Are the lines at Universal as bad as Disney?

[Lou Holtz]

But the point is, for people who don't want to wait in a line, it's very easy to avoid lines at Disney. You're both talking about situations where you would CHOOSE to wait longer than that. If you are organized and know what you're doing, there is no attraction that you absolutely HAVE TO wait more than 15 minutes to ride or else not be able to ride it.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

That's just not an accurate account. It's not possible that you could only get two sets of fastpasses in one day, especially at an "off peak time". There is zero chance that at 11:15, the fastpass time for Tower of Terror was after 5PM. They just don't go that fast.

I wasn't going to add more OT to this, but I feel like you're saying I'm lying. Clearly I was just really unlucky.
It was about 11:45 am because I had to finish another attraction, wait in line for pizza, get my hungry kids settled at a table with their dad, and run across the park but the ToT fastpasses were for after 5 pm. I don't remember the exact time, but I skipped ToT so I could wait in line for food to carry into the Fantasmic theater as soon as they opened the doors.
I was surprised myself, considering it was a non-holiday in mid-January. I'd heard that it was challenging to ride TSM more than once without a long line, but I didn't expect ToT to be so bad. I gave up on the RnR when I saw the fastpasses return times for that and ToT. It was one of only two Fantasmic nights that week, but it obviously also had a lot to do with the huge groups of Brazilian teenagers, which is not something I could really plan for.
I agree that the key to avoiding MOST lines is good planning -- especially making rope drop. At our last off-season visit to Epcot, we were running through the fastpass line of Soarin for the second time while people were in a two-hour standby line because the fastpasses were gone by mid-afternoon.
Crowds can be unpredictable though when there are huge tour groups. It's also important to remember that not everyone can travel during non-peak times. That will be us when our kids are in middle school and high school and can't miss a week of school.
Back on topic, any guesses what the lines will be like at US on Thurs, Dec 9? If we go, it would be physically impossible to make rope-drop, we aren't staying in a hotel, and I can't afford express passes on top of the one-day passes. We are willing to use single-rider. All I've heard is that it will be managable, but is that holding true with Harry Potter at IOA?

 

[damo]

Early December is usually really, really slow.

 

[MRS AR]

I wasn't going to add more OT to this, but I feel like you're saying I'm lying. Clearly I was just really unlucky.
It was about 11:45 am because I had to finish another attraction, wait in line for pizza, get my hungry kids settled at a table with their dad, and run across the park but the ToT fastpasses were for after 5 pm. I don't remember the exact time, but I skipped ToT so I could wait in line for food to carry into the Fantasmic theater as soon as they opened the doors.
I was surprised myself, considering it was a non-holiday in mid-January. I'd heard that it was challenging to ride TSM more than once without a long line, but I didn't expect ToT to be so bad. I gave up on the RnR when I saw the fastpasses return times for that and ToT. It was one of only two Fantasmic nights that week, but it obviously also had a lot to do with the huge groups of Brazilian teenagers, which is not something I could really plan for.
I agree that the key to avoiding MOST lines is good planning -- especially making rope drop. At our last off-season visit to Epcot, we were running through the fastpass line of Soarin for the second time while people were in a two-hour standby line because the fastpasses were gone by mid-afternoon.
Crowds can be unpredictable though when there are huge tour groups. It's also important to remember that not everyone can travel during non-peak times. That will be us when our kids are in middle school and high school and can't miss a week of school.
Back on topic, any guesses what the lines will be like at US on Thurs, Dec 9? If we go, it would be physically impossible to make rope-drop, we aren't staying in a hotel, and I can't afford express passes on top of the one-day passes. We are willing to use single-rider. All I've heard is that it will be managable, but is that holding true with Harry Potter at IOA?

I also seem to be an "unlucky person" at Disney who spends way too much time waiting in line, even for fast pass rides. That's what I love about Universal's FOTL.

We always stay onsite at parks to keep from driving. We take a limo from the airport and only use taxis to go to BB Kings Blues Club a couple of times. I love immursing myself into the total experience of the parks and themed hotels, whether Disney or Universal. But at Universal I definitely spend way less time in lines and more time at the pools.

 

[dzd]

I also seem to be an "unlucky person" at Disney who spends way too much time waiting in line, even for fast pass rides. That's what I love about Universal's FOTL.

We always stay onsite at parks to keep from driving. We take a limo from the airport and only use taxis to go to BB Kings Blues Club a couple of times. I love immursing myself into the total experience of the parks and themed hotels, whether Disney or Universal. But at Universal I definitely spend way less time in lines and more time at the pools.

I like the lines at US/IOA as well. Cool theming. Loved the old castle at DD cant wait to see the HP makeover on the newly branded DC

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Glad to hear early December is really slow. It's the same for cruise lines apparently, because we got a really good deal. We finish our cruise early that morning, plan to self-disembark, and have a 8:30 pm flight about twelve hours later, so have lots time to be kid-free and relaxed at a theme park.
Of course, with my luck, they'll probably delay the space launch until that afternoon and DH will insist on standing around waiting to see it.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Early December is usually really, really slow.

Most of Sept, most of Oct, most of Nov, early-mid Dec, most of Jan = slowest times.

The later part of January is super slow. And it's a common time for water ride annual refurb.

 

[padawans]

That's reassuring. All the travel books I read make it sound awful. They say if you don't get there when the park opens you'll spend hours on lines. For me, 15 minutes on a line is very long, so the ideas of waiting for an hour is hard to imagine.

I agree 15 minutes is long enough. I would recommend touring plans or vacation guide mike to plan your days. If your there during non peak times, hit the parks on the right days, and get their at opening you can pretty much walk on to most rides for the first couple hours and grab some fast passes for the afternoon. We were there in May and never waited more than 10 minutes for any ride so it can be done. If you don't like lines don't go during peak times. You could not pay me to be there during school break time, and I would never wait in line for an hour. I don't know how people do it.

 

[patrickpiteo]

We were just there and the lines were crazy in both Disney and universal.

 

[Kellydelly]

But the point is, for people who don't want to wait in a line, it's very easy to avoid lines at Disney. You're both talking about situations where you would CHOOSE to wait longer than that. If you are organized and know what you're doing, there is no attraction that you absolutely HAVE TO wait more than 15 minutes to ride or else not be able to ride it.

This person clearly only visits Disney at extreme off-peak times.

 

[BuckeyeGuy28]

But the point is, for people who don't want to wait in a line, it's very easy to avoid lines at Disney. You're both talking about situations where you would CHOOSE to wait longer than that. If you are organized and know what you're doing, there is no attraction that you absolutely HAVE TO wait more than 15 minutes to ride or else not be able to ride it.

...but we're talking about Universal here pal

 

[Lou Holtz]

Read the rest of the thread and maybe you'll get the context. Also, don't call people "pal". It sounds like you're trying to be nasty whether it's intended or not.

 

[Lou Holtz]

This person clearly only visits Disney at extreme off-peak times.

You're quoting me, so how about trying to respond to me rather than passive aggressively saying "this person"? I have the wait times app and look at it often. Only in the most extreme of crowded times would you not be able to get on a ride without waiting more than 15 minutes if you know how to plan properly. I've been at many times of the year. You're probably not getting the distinction between the wait time gets to be longer than 15 minutes at some point during the day and being able to avoid waiting that long.

 

[sportzboy698]

guys, guys, guys...cant we all get along?