Adding On Mickey

samara

Mouseketeer
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Mar 15, 2006
Messages
351
We're going to Universal for the first time ever at the end of September! We're staying for four nights at Portofino Bay and have three day park to park passes. Halloween Horror Nights will be going on while we're there, so US will close every day at 5. My kids (11 and 15) are too timid for HHN, so it seems like we may have some free time on our hands. I was originally thinking about trying to instead do an evening at Disney during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party so we could see the new expansion. But I'm wondering if it may be just too much to squeeze in or not worth it and if we should just stick to City Walk and the pool. Has anyone done something similar or have an opinion on how it would work out?
 
MNSSHP would be a good evening honestly, it is worth going to MK for the night and only need party tickets and can get in by 4. Your issue is transportation. I don't know if you have a car onsite at Loews (they all charge $20/night to park) but if you do, then Disney parking will be OOP. When I stay onsite at Universal I take a cab from MCO so if it were me I would cab it to and from MK (TTC or Contemoprary) or rent a car for the day. The whole cab thing with airport is $200 so you can see how a car vs cab can cost similar so doing the math in your individual case would be worth it.
 
I personally would stick to the pools (remember that you can pool hop at Universal resorts) and citywalk. See a movie, play some minigolf (there are two courses), do some shopping and more swimming....perfect.


" Halloween Horror Nights will be going on while we're there, so US will close every day at 5."

But IOA won't close that early, FYI.
 
We're doing the same plan as you in early October, staying at the HRH. My DH and DD13 are going to HHN while my DD16 and I hit MNSSHP. We plan to be at Universal for part of the day, head back to rest and eat, then be at MK by 4:00. I was able to grab 3 FP+ for the 4-7 time frame before the party officially starts. Long day, but we are going to give it our best! Have a fun trip!!
 

I save the $$ and hang out at Uni. Play some min golf, go to the movies, head to IoA. If you haven't seen the new Fantasy Land, it's certainly not worth a special trip. Once you see Diagon Alley, Disney's dual Dumbo rides won't do much for you..
 
My family and I are doing mostly the Dark Side trip in mid-Oct with an evening at MK for MNSSHP. The upside is that you will be able to do pretty much every ride you want during the party because most party goers are focused on the M&Gs and candy. The downside is that going on Splash Mountain after dark could be chilly. It is probably the least expensive way to visit MK for a single day. And you won't have to fuss with FP+.

You mention the new expansion, if you haven't seen any of the "New Fantasyland" I would highly recommend the party. Show up at 4 to get in and you can check out the new areas. Once the party starts at 7, you can hit all the popular rides once the non-party guests are politely escorted out. Plus the parade is really fun, and I am someone who does not like parades.
 
On our trip to Universal in Nov. 2012, we stayed 5 nights with 4 day Park to Park tickets. We also went to Disney's Xmas Party. We skipped the Universal Parks that day and went to Downtown Disney during the late morning and early afternoon and then headed over to MK at about 4pm for the party. We loved it! It was a great way to still sneak in some Disney into our Universal trip. (We've also been to MNSSHP during a Disney only trip.) We ended up using the 4th day of our tickets on our last morning. Even though we only had 2-3 hours to spare, it was worth going since we had Early Entry to the Harry Potter area of IOA. It was not busy at all. I'm sure some of that has changed with the expansion on the Universal Studios side and with Hogwarts connecting the two parks.
 
My family and I are doing mostly the Dark Side trip in mid-Oct with an evening at MK for MNSSHP. The upside is that you will be able to do pretty much every ride you want during the party because most party goers are focused on the M&Gs and candy. The downside is that going on Splash Mountain after dark could be chilly. It is probably the least expensive way to visit MK for a single day. And you won't have to fuss with FP+. You mention the new expansion, if you haven't seen any of the "New Fantasyland" I would highly recommend the party. Show up at 4 to get in and you can check out the new areas. Once the party starts at 7, you can hit all the popular rides once the non-party guests are politely escorted out. Plus the parade is really fun, and I am someone who does not like parades.

Last year the waits for rides were longer than years before. The candy lines were short, but that's about it. Maybe it was just the night we went. (It wasn't like that in years past). Just a heads up, I'd plan on being there until it ends too. After the second parade things really died down! Have fun!
 
I thought about adding a MNSSHP night to our UO trip this October also, then thought about the crowds leaving MK, the trip back to our car in the distant parking lot late at night when we were tired, and the drive back to RPR and decided against it.

Although MNSSHP is a less expensive way to visit MK, when we went two years ago, the crowds from 4pm to 7pm were insane, and that was on a Tuesday! And as for short lines on the rides, well I guess they were shorter during the party than during the day, but I think that between 4pm and MN we got about 5 rides done. We did get to see the phenomenal fireworks and parade though. We didn't do any candy lines or dance parties either- just rides.

Thanks goodness we did not have to battle the crowds to the parking lots though- we stayed onsite at BC so just took the bus.

Unless staying onsite at WDW, I don't think I would do it again personally (unless there was someone who could pick me up at the gates to the park and drive me back to UO).
 
I thought about adding a MNSSHP night to our UO trip this October also, then thought about the crowds leaving MK, the trip back to our car in the distant parking lot late at night when we were tired, and the drive back to RPR and decided against it. Although MNSSHP is a less expensive way to visit MK, when we went two years ago, the crowds from 4pm to 7pm were insane, and that was on a Tuesday! And as for short lines on the rides, well I guess they were shorter during the party than during the day, but I think that between 4pm and MN we got about 5 rides done. We did get to see the phenomenal fireworks and parade though. We didn't do any candy lines or dance parties either- just rides. Thanks goodness we did not have to battle the crowds to the parking lots though- we stayed onsite at BC so just took the bus. Unless staying onsite at WDW, I don't think I would do it again personally (unless there was someone who could pick me up at the gates to the park and drive me back to UO).

I feel the same way. It's great when you're staying on property, and great if you're already doing Disney. But, it's too much $ and too much waiting for us to just do the party. Plus, It would make me want more Disney time (specifically Epcot). But, just my opinion.
 




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