A Mickey Loving Muggle Takes The Potter Plunge!

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I am planning a trip for my best friend and I to take our kids ( ages 11,16 and 17) Universal specifically to visit Harry Potter World. We are all HUGE Harry Potter fans.

My husband is not even going because he thinks we will all be too "Potterific" to tolerate. HA! Love him!

And, even though we have never been to Universal, I am seriously contemplating buying an annual pass. The "buy 2 days ticket and get the 3rd day free" option will cost me $175. For just $45 more ($215) I can get an AP. Even though it has several black out dates, I think it will still be a great plan since I wouldn't travel during those black out dates anyway.

But...am I insane to buy APs to a park I have never even visited? The reviews are wonderful and I tend to like to go back to the same place repeatedly on vacation.

I don't think I will tell my husband that I am considering this insanity!

 

[bumbershoot]

You can buy the tickets for this trip, and if 5 minutes into Diagon Alley you realize you MUST come back, then upgrade them.

Or buy yourself the AP and get the kids normal tickets, and see what happens with them.

We live near Seattle, upgraded from tickets to APs back in 2011 and haven't looked back. The only sadness we had was that we didn't budget to upgrade to the AP with our first trip! We didn't think it was going to be a more-than-once thing, didn't have room in the budget to ugprade since we'd already upgraded to a WDW AP, and then we went back inside that same 365 day period. Sigh.

If you're staying offsite, though, I recommend that you get a Preferred AP, though, because it includes parking at citywalk/themepark parking. If staying ONsite, that's not necessary because you wouldn't drive to the parks anyway.

 

[KorbensMomma]

Also remember that the AP can save mega bucks on on-site rooms and the on site deluxes have Express Pass.

 

[cgattis]

If you're huge Potter nerds, my feeling is that you will want to return. APs might be just the thing you need to convince nearly-off-to-college kids to vacation with you again.... . (I'm already scheming these things myself LOL)