3 days in Universal - help me with an itinerary

[lisaross]

will be April 27- 29th -

Arriving from Disney so figure won't get into park till early afternoon on Thursday (universal closes 8:30 - IOA 7) was thinking of hitting UNIVERSAL

FRIDAY - both parks open from 8-6

Saturday we can stay at the parks till about 4 before heading to airport

We are staying at the RPH - have the 3 day park to park - would like to get some pool time in maybe Fri late afternoon when husband and kids hit the water rides..

Any suggestions on where to start at each park - etc - want to take train both ways

 

[Marionnette]

will be April 27- 29th -

Arriving from Disney so figure won't get into park till early afternoon on Thursday (universal closes 8:30 - IOA 7) was thinking of hitting UNIVERSAL

FRIDAY - both parks open from 8-6

Saturday we can stay at the parks till about 4 before heading to airport

We are staying at the RPH - have the 3 day park to park - would like to get some pool time in maybe Fri late afternoon when husband and kids hit the water rides..

Any suggestions on where to start at each park - etc - want to take train both ways

You're better off asking on the Universal board than the budget board: http://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-studios-islands-of-adventure-forums.30/

 

[mrsabbott]

You will definitely get a bigger response on the Universal Board. The FOTL passes with RPH are great for most of the rides (especially if you go on a weekend where it may be more crowded) but the passes don't work on the HP rides. Just something to keep in mind.

Personally, I think the HP areas are lovely in the evenings (well, Hogsmeade was when we visited. Haven't seen Diagon Alley yet, but the evening pictures look breathtaking), so I would probably head there on Thursday evening. I would get there first thing on Friday and make the rounds until closing. Discuss with your family the "must see/do" things you want to try. Saturday, I would spend revisiting the things you loved the most and maybe catching anything you may have missed.

Enjoy!!

 

[lisaross]

You're better off asking on the Universal board than the budget board: http://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-studios-islands-of-adventure-forums.30/

I did - that board seems pretty quiet compared to this

 

[WVMomof3]

Maybe not much of a help, but I think the beauty of Universal is you really don't have to plan. We went during Thanksgiving week and we just went with the flow. Did not plan one thing, and that is not like me at all! Doing Disney I always knew which rides to go in which order and when not to do things. I think we may have hit Harry Potter during the early hour, but we hit both areas several times during our 3 days. Since the HP attractions did not have FOL passes for staying on site, we used the single rider lines for those. It may have been a fluke, but we rode the Gringotts ride 3 times single rider and all 3 times all 5 of us were in the same ride vehicle. Not sure how old your kids are or if you would be comfortable not sitting next to them, but it worked for us.

 

[onenursebrandy]

It depends on what your kids like! We were there in 2013 (ages ago, I know!!!) My family had the most fun at IOA. My son (7) wasn't quite tall enough to ride the big coasters, but he was REALLY into Super Heroes and Dinosaurs. (we rode spiderman and the jurrassic park rides 3-4 times each). And we LOVE Harry Potter!!! We were there prior to Transformers opening (but we got pics with bumblebee which was awesome), they were still working on the Simpsons area, and no Gringotts yet at Universal, we spent a fun day there, but one day was plenty.

For our next trip (June) I have a completely different touring plan, the Harry Potter expansion, Transformers, DS is now tall enough to ride ALL the coasters, possibly kong, and we'll have more park days.

There is plenty to do at both parks, just try and figure out what your family will really be into, and budget some extra time to ride/experience those things more than once if you want to!! (and don't skip Posideon!!! It has mixed reviews, but the effects are pretty original, and the water tunnel is spectacular!!!)

 

[JOCAmom]

Download the Unviversal app if you have not done so. It will give you the wait times and will help you with some planning. I would do the Studios on Thursday night just to be able to see Diagon Alley at night. It is breathtaking. When you get there Thursday, check your app for the shortest wait times and hit those rides. I wouldn't visit DA until the last 90 minutes of the night. Crowds will begin to drop off the later it gets.

Friday, I would start with the park that has early entry. When we were there last month, early entry was at the Studios. Take advantage of it if you want to do the HP rides. Express pass does not work for those rides in either park.

Since there are plans for water rides and you want some pool time during that ride time, I would do early entry to the Studios and do Diagon Alley. After that, I visit the rides that are close by and then take Hogwarts Express to IOA. Let your family do the water rides while you take the boat back to RPH. Will the rest of your family be leaving the park to change after the water rides? If not, you can meet them back in IOA and take the Hogwarts Express back to the Studios and finish up there.

Saturday, visit IOA and make sure you are at the turnstiles for opening. Visit Hogmeade first thing and do those rides. After that, you don't really have to do much planning.

The hardest part is working in the Hogwarts Express in both directions. The line can get incredibly long and can suck up a bunch of time. In our last 3 trips, we've only ridden it once and we probably won't be riding on our trip next week.

If you have any more questions, I'll try to help.

 

[lisaross]

Thanks everyone

 

[lisaross]

I will download the app

Download the Unviversal app if you have not done so. It will give you the wait times and will help you with some planning. I would do the Studios on Thursday night just to be able to see Diagon Alley at night. It is breathtaking. When you get there Thursday, check your app for the shortest wait times and hit those rides. I wouldn't visit DA until the last 90 minutes of the night. Crowds will begin to drop off the later it gets.

Friday, I would start with the park that has early entry. When we were there last month, early entry was at the Studios. Take advantage of it if you want to do the HP rides. Express pass does not work for those rides in either park.

Since there are plans for water rides and you want some pool time during that ride time, I would do early entry to the Studios and do Diagon Alley. After that, I visit the rides that are close by and then take Hogwarts Express to IOA. Let your family do the water rides while you take the boat back to RPH. Will the rest of your family be leaving the park to change after the water rides? If not, you can meet them back in IOA and take the Hogwarts Express back to the Studios and finish up there.

Saturday, visit IOA and make sure you are at the turnstiles for opening. Visit Hogmeade first thing and do those rides. After that, you don't really have to do much planning.

The hardest part is working in the Hogwarts Express in both directions. The line can get incredibly long and can suck up a bunch of time. In our last 3 trips, we've only ridden it once and we probably won't be riding on our trip next week.

If you have any more questions, I'll try to help.

 

[cvjw]

We visit Universal a couple times per year. As others have said, you do not need to plan. Since you are staying at HRH, you will have front of the line access for most of the attractions. Since the Harry Potter attractions are not included, we usually do them right before park closing - the lines seem to be smaller then.

Our favorite place to eat is the Three Broomsticks at IOA. We always get their family meal, which is huge, delicious and only cost $50. Although it does get more expensive when you add in all the frozen butterbeers

The pool at the HRH is very nice, although it can be hard to find lounge chairs at times. It seems that locals also can pay a fee and use the pool.

 

[Nohal]

DH and I went for 3 days last May we stayed at Cabana Bay. We didn't have front of line passes but since we don't do the big roller coasters we didn't need it. The only advice I would give is the same as Disney get there at rope drop for the Harry Potter rides. Make sure you do the Hogswart express both ways as they are different. We did single rider lines if the standby lines were long. Since you have front of the line passes you really don't need to plan like you do at Disney.

 

[shoney]

yes the beauty of Universal is there is no planning and running around.
Just hit the Harry Potter stuff at early entry.
We love taking a break for lunch at Mythos and Finnegan's.