Are the lines at Universal as bad as Disney?

[mollybeasley]

Are the lines at Universal as bad as at Disney? I know the Harry Potter lines are long, but what about other attractions? Is Universal Studios less crowded than Island of Adventure now?

 

[Lou Holtz]

It's hard to know what you mean. I don't find the lines at Disney to be bad at all, especially since you can get fastpass for everything that has a long wait. How long the lines are depends on when you go.

 

[mollybeasley]

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.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Yes, the travel books do make it sound ridiculous. The lines for the major rides at Universal are shorter than Disney at similar points of the day.

 

[dzd]

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.

WOW! 15 minutes is very long! Sorry to say it but you should probably steer clear of theme parks all together.

 

[Lou Holtz]

I think 15 minutes is a long time as well. What do you have to wait longer than that for at Disney?

 

[dzd]

I think 15 minutes is a long time as well. What do you have to wait longer than that for at Disney?

Lets see, toy story, space mtn, splash mtn, exp everest, any headliner really, tower of terror.

 

[Kellydelly]

I think 15 minutes is a long time as well. What do you have to wait longer than that for at Disney?

Plenty of rides . Have you only been there at extreme off-peak times?

 

[McIntoshTx]

Are the lines at Universal as bad as at Disney? I know the Harry Potter lines are long, but what about other attractions? Is Universal Studios less crowded than Island of Adventure now?

I found that the lines are where my kids and I spent the most time talking and bonding. I was rather surprised by this but very happy. I do not want to wait 1-2 hrs mind you but 25 mins to 45 mins is pretty nice bonding time.

 

[Amber Leigh]

If 15 minutes is too long a wait for you, you might wanna look into going in the most off time of the off season.

In the stand-by lines, I have never waited LESS then 45 minutes for Toy Story, 30 for Peter Pan's Flight, 45 for Soarin' just to name a few. And over at Universal, I have not been there in two years but the last time it was 90 minutes for The Mummy, 90 for Spiderman, 45 for Simpsons, and from what I'm hearing about Forbidden Journey in WWOHP is it a 2 hour wait on a good day.

 

[brenda1966]

Lines at Disney can be painfully long if you can't get a fastpass. 100 minutes for Toy Story. 60 minutes for Space mountain. Do I wait in these lines? No. If I can't get there at opening when the lines are short, I use fastpass.

At US I saw long lines as well 60 minutes for Harry Potter FJ, 60 minutes for Spiderman. 45 for Jaws. Thankgoodness I had stayed onsite as there is no fastpass! Yes, many rides were walk on or had short lines.

Anything fun and worth doing is going to draw a crowd. Learning how to minimize your wait time is about the best you can do. I would say that midday both parks are hopping busy.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Lets see, toy story, space mtn, splash mtn, exp everest, any headliner really, tower of terror.

No, you wait more than 15 minutes at zero of those rides. They all have fastpass and with the slightest bit of a plan, you can ride them all three or more times per day, waiting less than 15 minutes each time.

 

[dzd]

TO be fair If you get a FP you are still waiting just not in line so....apples and pears? Not to mention after you get the fastpass you are back in line somewhere else since you cant just go around collecting FPs all morning.

Standby lines at all the headliners at WDW on a normal day will be well over 15 simply put.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

No, you wait more than 15 minutes at zero of those rides. They all have fastpass and with the slightest bit of a plan, you can ride them all three or more times per day, waiting less than 15 minutes each time.

I love Disney, but that's a bit of an exaggeration. I travel at very off-peak times and on our last trip to DHS we ran to Toy Story at rope drop, waited fifteen minutes in stand-by, then picked up fastpasses to ride a second time. When it was the time we were allowed to get more fastpasses, I ran across the park and the fastpass window for ToT was after 5 pm. By the time we could get MORE fastpasses for any ride, there weren't any more available. Even if we had not come on a Fantasmic day because we had never seen it and did not have park hoppers, I doubt we could have ridden TSM and ToT each three times in one day. OTOH, I'm sure we could have worked it out to get three fastpasses for either Everest or Space Mountain on those park days, but it would have required constant backtracking across much bigger parks.
That said, I much prefer this to the US system requiring an extra payment or an expensive hotel (we prefer an inexpensive rental house with extended family). At Disney, the way to reduce your lines is off-season, arrive at rope-drop, choose your parks for the day carefully, and use fastpasses wisely. It pains me to hear moms return from Disney trips complaining about 2 hour lines for Peter Pan.

 

[mom2aandj]

we went a few weeks ago and yes, there were some very long lines. We stayed on site, so they weren't lines we had to wait in, but we saw a 75 posted wait time for the Seuss trolley ride on a Friday,( non holiday weekend in late October). Over at Universal a day or so later we also saw similarly long posted wait times in the afternoon for MIB and Simpsons. So yes, I'd say there is definitely the same potential for long lines, and if you don't get to the parks early (or stay onsite or have an express pass) you're going to be doing some waiting.

 

[Lou Holtz]

I love Disney, but that's a bit of an exaggeration. I travel at very off-peak times and on our last trip to DHS we ran to Toy Story at rope drop, waited fifteen minutes in stand-by, then picked up fastpasses to ride a second time. When it was the time we were allowed to get more fastpasses, I ran across the park and the fastpass window for ToT was after 5 pm. By the time we could get MORE fastpasses for any ride, there weren't any more available.

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.

 

[dzd]

that may be an exaggerated account, although no doubt there are days like that. But your living in fantasy land if you think that lines are that short all the time. Heck even in off peak they can be over 15 min consistently at WDW. We waited 15 minutes WITH a FP for TSMWM last may.

PS even the lines in fantasy land are over 15 min.

 

[Lou Holtz]

You're under rating how much you can do in the first 2-3 hours before the crowds build at these other attractions to more than a 15 minute line.

Today the crowd level at Disney is 5. Exactly average. The crowd level for DHS specifically is 5, exactly average. And it's an EMH morning there, so that means they started giving fastpasses out an hour earlier than normal. It's 11AM right now and the fastpass return for Tower of Terror is 11:30. So on average, if you get a fastpass at 11:15 for TOT, the return will be noon. If it's at five, you've somehow chosen one of the most crowded days of the year.

 

[dzd]

Your still not getting it, your making special cases. The standby times are still at or over 15 minutes on average!

 

[damo]

You're under rating how much you can do in the first 2-3 hours before the crowds build at these other attractions to more than a 15 minute line.

Today the crowd level at Disney is 5. Exactly average. The crowd level for DHS specifically is 5, exactly average. And it's an EMH morning there, so that means they started giving fastpasses out an hour earlier than normal. It's 11AM right now and the fastpass return for Tower of Terror is 11:30. So on average, if you get a fastpass at 11:15 for TOT, the return will be noon. If it's at five, you've somehow chosen one of the most crowded days of the year.

If you are park hopping, you can't be at all parks first thing in the morning.