Can you help with itinerary? universal to wdw

[berries]

I have questions as we have never been to Universal. With Harry potter, it is necessary now.

1. I have a child with autism who is 10 yrs old, is Universal similar to WDW and will give her special accommodations? I am worried the long lines will be too much for her.

2. My plan was to arrive late, wake up refreshed earlyAM and hit Universal and IOE one day. spend another night at the cheaper hotel before heading to WDW. Is this reasonable or is there a better way? The dates I am looking at are feb29th to march 9th.

3. I would like to take my iPad, is there a cheaper hotel that has a safe available?

4. Is there any transportation from universal hotels to WDW besides taxis? And how far away is WDW?

5. I would like to take my camera to universal, will they make me stow it in a locker? It isn't that big. Photopass doesn't work at universal does it? What about wet rides?

6. Are taxis really only$5 from hotel to universal? That sounds too good to be true. Also are the two universal parks close enough to walk in between?

7. Eating at universal, are there less crowded restaurants? I am looking but do not know about crowd levels for each.

Thanks for your help!

 

[RMulieri]

1) not sure about this one
2)crowds shouldn't be too terrible then.Both parks can be done, but not completely in one day.You will miss stuff.IF Harry Potter is your focus, you will need to be AT the park gate for Islands of adventure for opening and go straight there.Do ollivanders wand show first since that line gets busy fast and they only allow about 20 people in at a time.Then do forbidden journey.Universal onsit guests get into WWoHP an hour before the regular public so there will already be waits and plenty of people in that section of IOA
3) not sure
4)Not sure
5) You can bring your camera, but certain attractions will not ALLOW ANY handheld items,bags etc.They will have to be stowed in a locker.Forbidden journey is one of the rides that does not allow bags or handheld items
6)What hotel? there are numerous hotels near universal.the only official Universal hotels are Royal Pacific, hard rock and Portofino bay.Those 3 have free transportation via boat or shuttle and are within walking distance.There are other hotels that are nearby .as for the parks Universal and Islands of Adventure are close to each other and can be walked between
7) Universal Dining is NOT like Disney restaurants.Reservations are not neccessary.Just be aware that alot of the TS eateries in park, close alot sooner than the park does..(example Lombards Landing in Universal often closes after lunch ).Citywalk dining does not really require reservations either other than Emerils.

 

[ElizabethB]

All good advice from RMulieri. I don't know if they make accommodations for children with autism. But, I would suggest if there is any way for you to manage staying one night at a Universal resort hotel, it would be well worth it. That would give you entrance to WWOHP an hour before the park opens to the public. You can do Olivanders, then Forbidden Journey, visit the stores and be done before the public is ever admitted.

As a resort hotel guest, you will then have fast pass entrance rights to all the rides at IofA and Universal Studios (other than WWOHP and the RockIt roller coaster) -- and can use the fast pass benefit as many times as you want. You would not need special accommodation for your daughter and your whole party can enjoy the rides together as many times as you like with no waiting.

I would recommend that you book the cheapest room at Royal Pacific Resort (I think the rooms will sleep 4, or 5 with a roll-away for an extra charge). Arrive very early, check in and get your hotel key and hit the parks. The next morning, be up very early and in line for the resort guest entrance time (usually 8 am) for WWOHP. You can then leave WWOHP as it gets crowded and enjoy other parts of the two parks. It is easy to walk between the two parks. There is also CitiWalk between the two parks, which has restaurants and shopping.

With this plan, you can easily do both parks and hit your favorite rides numerous times -- and still have time for lunch at one of the park restaurants on both days.

We so enjoy the unlimited fast pass option for resort guests that we spend more time at Universal now than at Disney.

 

[Badge]

I agree with the poster above me. Staying onsite is well worth the money. You simply show your room key at the entrance to every ride (except for the Rip Ride Rockit, the main HP ride, and one in the Jurrasic Park area) and you will be on the ride in less in 5 minutes. Its a really great perk of staying onsite.

Another option you have, but it normally NEVER worth it, is you can purchase the express passes inside the parks. However, there are some differences you need to know about.

First off, these are not UNLIMITED like the hotel room perk is. You can only skip the line of each ride ONCE with the ticket, but with your hotel room key, you can ride things like the Cat in the Hat or Spiderman over and over in the same day.

Next, these tickets are per day and per person. The price range varies depending on the crowds. If there are 3 or 4 of you going and the price is $32 per person, that would be $128 for a group of four per day. If you deduct that price from the cost of an onsite hotel, you will find that they can be a very good value. The onsite hotels are all like Deluxe hotels at Disney (and some say they are even better).

Another thing to keep in mind. If you stay onsite ONE day, you get TWO days of the express passes!!! So, I suggest checking in early in the morning to get your room keys and head out to explore the days. The next morning, check out of your hotel, pack your car, and head back to the backs. Your room keys will still allow you to skip the lines until the end of the day even if you have checked out of the room! That evening when you are done with the parks, you can take the free water taxi back to the hotel and drive to an offsite hotel to save some money before you checkin at Disney.

 

[RMulieri]

Adding to the 2 previous posters...The Express PASS ( either version) is NOT good for Forbidden Journey and Ollivanders at WWoHP, Pteranodon Flyers in the Jurassic park area or Rip Ride Rockit in Universal Studios.

 

[macraven]

I have questions as we have never been to Universal. With Harry potter, it is necessary now.

1. I have a child with autism who is 10 yrs old, is Universal similar to WDW and will give her special accommodations? I am worried the long lines will be too much for her.

2. My plan was to arrive late, wake up refreshed earlyAM and hit Universal and IOE one day. spend another night at the cheaper hotel before heading to WDW. Is this reasonable or is there a better way? The dates I am looking at are feb29th to march 9th.

3. I would like to take my iPad, is there a cheaper hotel that has a safe available?

4. Is there any transportation from universal hotels to WDW besides taxis? And how far away is WDW?

5. I would like to take my camera to universal, will they make me stow it in a locker? It isn't that big. Photopass doesn't work at universal does it? What about wet rides?

6. Are taxis really only$5 from hotel to universal? That sounds too good to be true. Also are the two universal parks close enough to walk in between?

7. Eating at universal, are there less crowded restaurants? I am looking but do not know about crowd levels for each.

Thanks for your help!

last night, i answered your questions here on another new thread you created earlier:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43644794#post43644794

i see you made another new thread here.

 

[berries]

Thank you! I did find the disability info.

My eyes are crossing from information overload!

I am looking at off-site hotels as the on-site hotels are 3x the cost and out of my budget! Holiday Inn Express seems a good deal but no safe. (They do have one at the front desk but not for anything larger than a wallet)

It will only be my daughter and I going on the trip. I plan only the one day at Universal/IOA and then heading to Disneyworld where we had a successful happy trip once before. I am hoping the Universal day goes well too!

I am trying to find better prices on tickets but do not know legit companies so am very nervous about that.

 

[berries]

Yes I wanted to delete that post but didn't know how, I posted on the wrong board!

Thank you for the information. I'll keep looking at prices but $400 almost for one night at an onsite hotel is a lot!

 

[macraven]

why don't you contact a mod to have your two threads combined?

when you make two new threads at different times, it really isn't necessary.


if no one is replying to your thread, just bump it up where peeps can see it and then be able to help you out with info.

creating a new thread before midnight, usually doesn't get many responses until the next day.

HTH

 

[RMulieri]

Thank you! I did find the disability info.

My eyes are crossing from information overload!

I am looking at off-site hotels as the on-site hotels are 3x the cost and out of my budget! Holiday Inn Express seems a good deal but no safe. (They do have one at the front desk but not for anything larger than a wallet)

It will only be my daughter and I going on the trip. I plan only the one day at Universal/IOA and then heading to Disneyworld where we had a successful happy trip once before. I am hoping the Universal day goes well too!

I am trying to find better prices on tickets but do not know legit companies so am very nervous about that.

Undercover Tourist is a legit company and I have had great experiences with them.IF you go to Mousesavers.com andd sign up for the newsletter, the newsletter has a link to additional savings thru Undercover Tourist

 

[berries]

Thanks! I signed up for the newsletter but won't receive it until next month

 

[RMulieri]

Thanks! I signed up for the newsletter but won't receive it until next month

I should be getting mine on the 15th..PM me around then and I will see if I can forward it to you,