Advice, please! Unsure if I need one or two days at US/IoA

[100acreHiker]

We are Disney folk, but my two boys love HP, so we'd like to take some time to explore and get the HP experience at Universal in late April 2016. I originally thought about staying on Universal property to have access to FOL passes, but when I read that most HP attractions don't allow for them, I figured we might be better off returning to Disney and staying at an Epcot resort, since we enjoy access to the World Showcase so much. Is my thinking flawed? Secondly, my kids (10 &7) are not thrill ride kids, and neither am I. Soarin' and Star Tours is about as wild as we get--we don't like coasters. So my guess is that for Universal, we would get park-to-park passes and do either one or maybe two days at at US/IoA. Given that we are not going to ride most of the thrill rides (maybe a couple tamer ones) and focus just on HP stuff, do you think we need one or two days at US/IoA? Covering all of both parks is just not a goal for us.

Thanks in advance!

 

[damo]

Just get one day tickets and upgrade if you think you want another day.

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

If you don't like thrill rides there will not be much to ride in both HP worlds. All three rides in Hogsmeade I would classify as thrill - the two coasters, Flight of the Hippogriff and Duelling Dragons, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Escape from Gringotts in Diagon Alley is probably classified as thrill as well. I'd suggest watching ride videos first to see if you and your children would want to ride them (to save you lining up in the invariably long lines - although the lines are quite good to walk through either way).

Luckily both worlds still have plenty to see in terms of theming and shops so they're still worth visiting. I'd still suggest going for two days as there is a lot you can do even without thrill rides including a number of shows, but as the PP says if you are not sure just get a one day and upgrade in the park if you decide you want to do another day.

I did two days in August and was staying onsite at Disney and just coming across every day so you can definitely still stay at a Disney resort and do it.

 

[100acreHiker]

If you don't like thrill rides there will not be much to ride in both HP worlds. All three rides in Hogsmeade I would classify as thrill - the two coasters, Flight of the Hippogriff and Duelling Dragons, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Escape from Gringotts in Diagon Alley is probably classified as thrill as well. I'd suggest watching ride videos first to see if you and your children would want to ride them (to save you lining up in the invariably long lines - although the lines are quite good to walk through either way).

Luckily both worlds still have plenty to see in terms of theming and shops so they're still worth visiting. I'd still suggest going for two days as there is a lot you can do even without thrill rides including a number of shows, but as the PP says if you are not sure just get a one day and upgrade in the park if you decide you want to do another day.

I did two days in August and was staying onsite at Disney and just coming across every day so you can definitely still stay at a Disney resort and do it.

Thank you for your thorough reply. I do suspect that we will spend most of our time taking in the theming and only my older son will go on a couple of the rides. So, as a Disney guest, did you feel like not having a front of the line pass put you at a disadvantage regarding only the HP rides and attractions. I had read that the FOL pass isn't accepted at HP attractions, so I figure I might as well just stay at Disney.

 

[Robo56]

If you are new to Universal I think you would enjoy staying onsite and realize that you get some very nice accomadations for your money compared to Disney. You can get express pass for staying at RPR, PBH, HRH. Cabana Bay is the budget friendly resort and is very nice. It does not give you express pass ,but you get early admission as do all onsite guest to all the resorts.

You did not say how long you were going to be in Orlando.

I take my grandchildren to Universal every year since they were young. There are plenty of things for you and your children to do including WWOHP.

If you are going during peak times express pass is important.

In Hogsmeade there is Forbidden Journey, flight of Hippogriff, and dueling dragons. Fight of Hippogriff is a small coaster parents and kids can ride. Then there is Three Broomsticks to eat at and there are shops. Also if you have not read about it there are interactive wands that you can buy for your children to do magic at different areas in Hogsmeade and Diagonal Alley. The map with the interactive spell sites is included with your wand.

Also you want to have park to park tickets to ride the Hogwarts Express back and forth between the two Potter Parks.
The experience is different in both directions.

You need to see the Ollivanders wand show at Diagonal Alley..they pick children out of the audience for this show. Then maybe lunch at the Leaky Cauldren. Just walking around and seeing all the shops and doing the interactive wand spells as will as wandering through Knockturn Alley is something to see. I would suggest you go to Universal site and wander thru everything on there. It is really helpful

At Universal there is Minions, Shrek, ET, Woody WoodPeckers Kid zone. There are the characters Simpsons, Scooby Doo, Transformers and Shrek they can get pictures with and more. They also have the Beetle Juice show.

At IOA there is of course Hogsmeade but they would also love Suess Landing. This particular area of the park is all about the kids and they love it.

You would be suprised at the fun you all could have there. my suggestion stay on site, get park to park passes for three days and have a blast at your on speed. Then head back to Disney if you want. You will not regret it. Have fun

 

[elaine amj]

You said you don't do coasters. What about motion simulators? My DS and DH do't do coasters but love the motion simulators like Spiderman, Despicable Me, etc.Universal has only 3 true coasters (not counting the Mummy) - but lots of high thrill motion simulators.

And the kids play areas are awesome. We just discovered the Man in the Big Yellow Hat's Ball Factory hidden at the very rear of the Curious George play area. So much fun, even for older kids (side note: my kids are older and still love playgrounds so ymmv).

If you are already going for Harry Potter obsessed kids, I would take advantage to enjoy Universal's unique attractions. WDW has our heart - but we sure enjoy our time in Universal.

 

[johde]

Part of me is thinking, if you're going to do it, go all the way. You're planning on going to Universal all day then heading over to EPCOT that evening? Staying onsite at Universal is a lot like staying at one of the Epcot resorts where you can walk to the parks or take a short boat ride. I'd go ahead and spend at least 1 night at an onsite resort and spend two days at Universal.

Like other people have mentioned, there are only 3 (maybe 4) coasters bigger than BTMRR: Hulk(which will probably be closed), Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, and the 2 sides of Dragon Challenge. If you can handle Star Tours, you can probably handle Gringotts, Spiderman, Transformers, Despicable Me, and possibly Simpsons, and Forbidden Journey.

 

[100acreHiker]

Thank you for all of your thoughtful responses! It's tempting to go big, but unfortunately, we can't do a split stay on this trip (between Disney and Universal--it's just one resort for us). We really want to stay at Beach Club and spend most of our nights at the World Showcase. We'll probably take Uber to Universal for a full day, but the rest of the vacation would really just be a lot of relaxing at the resort and enjoying Epcot. So, not a ride-focused trip for us. I really thought long and hard about staying at Universal, but I've always wanted to stay at an Epcot resort (we've done MK resorts three times now), and I just don't know if we'll get another trip in anytime soon. Hopefully my kids will get their fill of HP with just one full day!

 

[hdnwaters]

We just got back! I had visited US about 15 years ago and had never been to IOA. FYI....we do not ride anything that goes upside down. We purchased the 2 day park to park pass. I am so glad we did! We started at IOA the first day. We wore "quick dry" clothing. Our first ride was HP and the Forbidden Journey. My daughter is 25 and she and I were both shaking upon exit! It has a couple of big tilts! It was fun and we did go back and ride it again! I love dinosaurs and Jurassic Park is my element. We did the "live" raptor encounter! The actors are good! The river adventure has a big drop at the end. Just a bit more than Splash Mountain. The other 2 water rides are really fun...but you will get wet! We took the train (great for Harry Potter fans) over to US and did Gringotts. It is an awesome ride. One of the best for special effects. It does run on a roller coaster track but no huge drops. We did Mummy also. Loved it! On day two....we did most all the attractions at US, then went for a 2nd trip on our favorites. Gringotts, Transformers, and the Mummy. Shrek and Minions are really cute, we even rode Cat In the Hat. We watched the Beetlejuice show, fun rock mash up! So there is lots to do! We are big chickens and this trip we also rode Expedition Everest and the dreaded Tower of Terror!