A ton of questions

[Mrs. Bob Loblaw]

I'm so sorry if I'm asking repeat questions. I went over the FAQ, have read a ton of the board, and have lurked for ages. But I still feel like I don't know enough.

1. Is park hopping needed?
2. If I stay on site and have fotl, how many hours would I need to do the parks if I skipped half the shows, all the scariest roller coasters, and any kid lands other than Suess?
3. Is IOA the busier of the two parks? If I park hop, I was thinking of doing IOA at opening 2 mornings, taking an afternoon break, and then going to US. Good idea? Bad idea?
4. DH is a teacher, which really limits when we can travel. We're planning on August 17-18, 2011. Will the parks be crazy busy? How will that affect fotl lines?
5. Do we need reservations (and can they even be made) at Mythos or Three Broomsticks (actually, I know you can't make ressies here)? Do either stay open late enough for dinner so we can do lunch at one and dinner at the other?
6. My husband can handle Space Mountain, but not Big Thunder Mountain because the latter has more of an up-down motion that upsets his tummy. Do you think the Mummy will be okay for him? What about the Forbidden Journey? Spider Man?
7. Do they really turn away adults who don't have kids at Pteranodon Flyers?
8. Do I need to do the big rides first when I have FOTL, or can I do rides in the order I come across them?
9. Any guess when the parks close midweek mid-August?
10. Any chance the Universal 360 show will be playing midweek during this time?

 

[francie57]

If you stay on-site the FOTL makes your trip much more enjoyable and relaxing. We are going the 11-13th of Aug and will be staying at the HRH. We go every Aug. around the same time and the parks are not crazy. This past Aug. IOA was busy in HP but the rest was not bad. The FOTL perks is definitely still worth it at that time. You would be able to do just about everything in the park in a day. We get the tickets that allow you to go between the two parks. This past trip we did US the day we arrived and then went to IOA before closing to ride HP. If we are going to park hop it usually is after dinner at night. You should have plenty of time in the two days to do what you want. We have the same timeframe and get everything done and still have time to enjoy the pool. We also are the same as you said, we skip things that we aren't interested in. This past Aug. US closed at 8:00 and IOA at 9:00. We did take advantage of the early entrance to IOA to get to ride HP again. As far as DH with the Mummy, I suffer from motion sickness and ride it all the time. It does have two drops and is very fast and has lost of turns in both directions. Not sure if this helps. As far as HP, it is a very smooth ride with lots of motion. I rode it without any trouble. Spiderman is bumpy, has lots of movement but no hills or drops. Similar type to Dinasaur at Disney but in 3D. Hope some of this helps. Can't tell you much about the restaurants you mention since they are not places we go to. Our favs are Finnegans and Margaritaville.

 

[Metro West]

I'll answer what I can for you:

1. It's not required but it's certainly nice to have the option of doing what you want when you want. There's not a lot of price difference so go for the park to park tickets.

2. If you are going to skip everything you mentioned it would probably only take an hour or two per park. You shouldn't skip anything if you've never been there unless you can't ride coasters for health reasons.

3. IOA will be the busier of the two because of WWoHP and if you want to park hop like said in the example, that would be great. That's exactly what park hopping is for.

4. August will be busy again next year because WWoHP hasn't worn out it's popularity yet. I think the people who wanted to wait a year for things to calm down will be there next summer so I don't see much relief from the crowds.

5. Mythos is mainly for lunch but does stay open until 5 or 6pm during longer park hours. I would do Mythos for lunch and Three Broomsticks for dinner since it's just a standard counter service place. BUT...why not go to CityWalk for a nice dinner at Margaritaville or Hard Rock? That way you could get away from the crowds for a while.

6. Revenge of the Mummy has a couple of drops but nothing too bad...I don't think. I would compare it to BTMR except it's faster and smoother. I don't think anyone could really tell you...he's just going to have to try. Spiderman has more spinning than drops so he should be OK. I can't answer to what Forbidden Journey is like.

7. Yes...adults are not allowed to ride the P Flyers w/o a child.

8. If you are staying onsite, you can take your time and do things in any order you wish.

9. I would guess the parks will close around 9pm in mid-August. Shortly there after, they will start closing earlier.

10. The Universal 360 Cinesphere show is in the lagoon at the Studios and only runs during holidays and very busy seasons. It's a chance it could still be running but I think this year they cut it off around August 14th or so.

 

[CPA_ESQ.]

I just got back 3 weeks ago from my first 3 day trip to Universal and we stayed at Hard Rock (which was the best hotel IMHO - the walk to the parks was like 7 minutes)


1. It is good to have if you want to catch a show, and to get into HP early and then go to the other park.

2. We were able to do Studios in 3-4 hrs and the only thing we didn't get a chance to do were 3 shows. US rides have lots of 'pre' lines that are part of the line. for example - you stand in line, then the doors open and you wait in a room while a 15 minute video or guy comes out to "entertain the crowd," then you go into another room and for another 10 minutes you see another video / guy, then you go on the ride. so some "rides" can take up to 20 minutes to complete.


3. IOA potter is the go-to place. We did the castle ride early one morning, and then did the wand show the other morning - the rest of the day is yours.. you have front of line pass - go back to hotel eat lunch, swim come back and go on rides for an hour.

4. Don't know

5. go to Mythos for lunch (they are not open for dinner unless you eat at 4:30) but if you stay at the park you skip to the front of the line.. we only had to wait 10 minutes

6. Mummy - is like space mountain
Forbidden Journey - simulator ride.. not a coaster
Spider Man - simulator 3-D ride.. not a coaster


7. Pteranodon Flyers - no adults

8. Order you come across them - however - some lines will make you wait outside until you can move into the next 'staging' area - so if you see a door open get in there

9. don't know

10. don't know