A few quick questions before we leave next week!

[samheatherwhite]

1. Which parks will have EE the 10-13th? I keep getting different answers.
2. I have checked out the dining plan and know that it all depends on where you eat/ what you order to determine if it is a good deal. I know we will eat at 3Bs and LC in the HP areas and that Butterbeer is a snack on the plan not a drink. My question is, what counts as a drink in these places? Pumpkin juice, Otter's Fizzy Orange?
3. Any advice about the raptor encounter?
Thanks for any input!

 

[snoopboop]

1. You never know 100% for sure until you're there. Ask at the front desk of your hotel... they usually seem to have the most accurate information.

I can't help with 2 and 3.... sorry!!

 

[tink1957]

2...any drink is good except Butterbeer which counts as a snack

 

[samheatherwhite]

1. You never know 100% for sure until you're there. Ask at the front desk of your hotel... they usually seem to have the most accurate information.

I can't help with 2 and 3.... sorry!!

Thanks that is what I figured. My type A personality finds this to be annoying, LOL!

 

[samheatherwhite]

2...any drink is good except Butterbeer which counts as a snack

Thanks, that is what I was hoping to hear. I appreciate you taking the time to reply!

 

[Spacepest]

I can help you with some of these.

1. Check with your hotel, because they change the parks often and don't accurately update the Universal website. Plus your hotel bus stop will also post what park has EE.

2. I don't know, didn't use the Universal Dining Plan.

3. Raptor Encounter--GET THERE EARLY, because this is the mother of all meet and greets. It opens at about 10am, and goes until about 6pm, and its outdoors. The raptor has to take breaks like a regular meet and greet so it doesn't overheat. The line will get long because people can see (and hear!) this encounter when they walk through the Jurassic Park section of the park, so of course they want to stand inline to do it. You might not want to bring very small children to this encounter because the raptor will scare the bejeezus out of them (the raptor we got during our session kept snapping and trying to bite the small children like it was going to eat them, cue screaming toddlers). This was probably our favorite character meet and greet of all time, at any theme park!

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thank you Spacepest, raptor encounter sounds so cool.

 

[kohlby]

Where are you finding the info as to what park has EE? I realize it can change, but I haven't found where it states it at all yet. And - do you know if at least one park has EE or are there days when neither has EE?

 

[RMulieri]

One definitely will have EE.Likely IOA, but that can change

 

[Godaime]

I'm at universal right now and I'm guessing IOA will have EE. It's been IOA EE all week so far. I don't know about the drinks since we are not on the dining plan but don't buy a bottled pumpkin juice off the carts! It was $7.50...talk about sticker shock! not to mention it was gross!

The Raptor encounter was so much fun....the dinosaur kept trying to bite the kids which was hilarious!!!

 

[nkereina]

Definitely ask the front desk about the EE park. I think it fluctuates based on need or what is going on which is why it's difficult to find it published anywhere. We were there a week and a half ago and EE was Universal. We were there the week before Thanksgiving last year, and EE was also at Universal.

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am so excited.

 

[macraven]

have a great time at the parks !!

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thanks Macraven!

 

[hdnwaters]

LOVED the Raptor Encounter! It's even fun standing in line to watch the raptor, trainer, and everyone's reactions! We did the encounter early in the day and didn't have to wait too long. 20 minutes at the most. The raptor we had was a female, she loved pink (which I was wearing) breathed and growled down the back of my neck!!! The trainer WARNED me not to look at her! Our pictures are priceless and they will take your cell phone or camera to take photos with. They have a photographer there also.

 

[Spacepest]

LOVED the Raptor Encounter! It's even fun standing in line to watch the raptor, trainer, and everyone's reactions! We did the encounter early in the day and didn't have to wait too long. 20 minutes at the most. The raptor we had was a female, she loved pink (which I was wearing) breathed and growled down the back of my neck!!! The trainer WARNED me not to look at her! Our pictures are priceless and they will take your cell phone or camera to take photos with. They have a photographer there also.

I ignored the trainer's warnings and glared my raptor straight in the eye when I went up to it. The results were not what I expected. XD

 

[hdnwaters]

I ignored the trainer's warnings and glared my raptor straight in the eye when I went up to it. The results were not what I expected. XD

What did the Raptor do?????

 

[Spacepest]

I expected the raptor to get pissed off and make a scene, which would have made for some interesting pictures, plus the raptor was being aggressive with all the other people ahead of me in line, screeching and snapping its jaws.

Nope, the raptor just looked at me, stopped making any noises, came up to the edge of its fence, sniffed me...and then laid its head on top of mine. It just stood there calmly pretending to be my hat until the trainer tried to put my husband next to me to finish taking the pictures. Then the raptor sniffed my husband, put its head between us, and kept trying to shove him away and out of the picture with its head. Then the raptor tried to bite the trainer when he came to remove us to send the next group in. Hilarious.

 

[showers2flowers]

Aww--I loved the pumpkin juice...although I was the only person in my family who did!

EE was Islands the whole time we were there last week, but we still checked every evening to find out for the next day, as we'd heard it can change frequently.

Raptor Encounter--as others have said, get there early. We walked past at about 9:50 when there was no line (didn't open until 10am), walked onto the Jurassic water ride, and walked back to the Raptor Encounter about five minutes past 10 and the line was already 20 minutes long. Worth it though--really neat interactions and fun to watch.

 

[samheatherwhite]

OP here. I just got back yesterday and we had a great time. EE was IOA the whole time. Weather was super warm and we had the most fun with the raptor. We met Kilo and the trainer was a riot. He kept screaming, "No.....Do Not Eat the Children." The dino loved my husbands cowboy hat and kept rubbing her head on his.