Confused newbie...please help plan one day universal!!

[justme0729]

We have never been to Universal before and will be going on January 5th likely from 9am- 7:00pm (an hour or so before close) to both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida mainly to see ALL of the Harry Potter stuff. We are staying offsite and will probably buy the express passes. I have looked at the Orlando Informer touring plans one day guide and while it helps some, I don't feel it necessarily meets our needs. I would be so grateful in getting some help with deciding what order would be best to hit the following attractions below that we want to accomplish between 9am and 7pm to minimize wait times!

Harry Potter rides, shops, and attractions are our #1 priority so I figured that we should do those early in the day and do the other attractions later?? 3 of 5 of our group (teens/ adults) won't do big thrill rides so I thought it would be good to start with the more family friendly Harry Potter and Escape from Gringotts. Please critique and suggest anything about the plan below!! I have no clue if I am estimating the correct amount of time to get these things accomplished..what do you think?

-Arrive at USF by 8:15am (45 minutes prior to opening)
-Buy tickets (should we buy tickets ahead of time..any advantage in doing that?)
-Harry Potter and Escape from Gringotts 9:15-10:15am
-Hogwarts Express Train to Islands of Adventure 10:30-11:00am
-Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey 11:00-11:45
-Dragon Challenge 11:45-12:15
-Look at Islands of Adventure shops (wand shop, sweet shop etc.) 12:15-12:45
-Hogwarts Express Train back to USF 12:45-1:15
-Lunch at Leaky Cauldron 1:15-2:15 (what time is best? or should we eat at Three Broomsticks??)
-Diagon Alley Shops 2:15-3:15
-Despicable Me
-Men in Black
-Shrek 4D
-Terminator 3D
-Transformers 3D
-Spiderman
-Jurassic Park

It's okay if we don't get to everything on the list after the Harry Potter stuff but we would like to fit them in. What would you change, what order is best, and how much time should I expect each attraction to take?

Thank you so much in advance...I really need any help I can get!

 

[lazer]

First thoughts:
- I would do everything in one park, then go to the other. If you have time to ride Hogwarts twice, that's great, but I wouldn't want to spend that much time making my way back and forth.
- Also, 30 might be a low estimate for the time it takes to ride Hogwarts Express, we saw low wait times, but even 15 minutes took about 30 to ride and get off and be walking in the park again.
- 30 minutes doesn't seem like enough time to really take in the shops at Hogsmeade, especially if you explore Knockturn Alley
- not sure if you care about them, but the shows are great.
- my son loved Flight of the Hippogriff at Hogsmeade (you can use Express Pass)
- when we were there in October, we waited longer for all of the rides than you have listed, so don't count on any one plan or strategy, especially if Gringotts is still breaking down often.

 

[pcstang]

You should buy tickets ahead of time. Why waste anytime waiting in the ticket line? The lines to buy tickets can be ridiculous even during slow times. We have annual passes but most here recommend buying from undercover tourist. Not sure if there is any discount for one day tickets.

 

[kathy884]

In case you are interested, FYI for $6 you can get a touringplans.com subscription for the Universal parks. We subscribed and are using a variation of their plan for our one Universal day to hit both parks focusing mostly on the HP stuff.

 

[TXTransplant]

We were just there a couple of weeks ago. If you are truly going to enjoy the two HP areas, I would focus on just those two. Trying to do all of the rides at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and eat and enjoy the shops and enjoy just walking around and appreciating the scenery isn't going to happen from 9-3. You will feel rushed.

As far as the other rides go, you need to order them based on which park they are located in. It is pretty easy to go back and forth between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade via the Hogwarts Express, however, walking back and forth between the parks otherwise is not so quick. Hogsmeade in particular is way at the back of IoA and is a good walk. Jurassic Park is also over there, so you would want to also do that while you are in IoA. Trying to back-track between the two parks will eat up a lot of time if you try to do that. Jurassic Park will also get you very wet, so unless you wear a poncho, you may not want to ride it if it means you have to walk around with soaking wet clothes all day.

Also, unless you luck up and happen to get in line for Despicable Me and Shrek right when the show starts, you are looking at a 20 min wait, minimum. These are shows and not continuously loading rides, so you almost always have to wait for the previous shows to end. There are also pre-shows for both. I would expect these attractions to at least take 30-40 min each.

Men in Black, Spider-Man, Transformers, and Mummy are all continuously loading rides. If lines are short, these rides should only take 15-20 min each. Your strategy for them should be to order them to minimize walking and back-tracking through the park. Men in Black is probably in the least convenient location, as it is all the way at the back of US.

Buy your tickets ahead of time if for no other reason that it's one less line you have to stand in.

I can't stress enough taking your time to just soak in and enjoy all of the theming at the two HP parks (in particular, Diagon Alley). Even the queues are amazing and something you don't want to miss. You will really cheat yourself out of the full experience if you just rush from ride to ride. We spent about four hours just in Diagon Alley our first day, and then probably spent another 4-5 hours there over the next two days after the first and still didn't get to experience all of the magic it has to offer. Overall, we spent less time in Hogsmeade, but if you are trying to do both in one day, you are going to sacrifice a shorter wait at Gringotts for a longer wait at Forbidden Journey. You could do single rider and reduce your wait, but you will miss out on the amazing queue if you do that. The pre-shows and special effects you see while waiting to board Gringotts and FJ are really part of the ride.

If you decide to focus mainly on HP, buying express pass will probably be a waste as it cannot be used on Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, or Hogwarts Express.

 

[justme0729]

First thoughts:
- I would do everything in one park, then go to the other. If you have time to ride Hogwarts twice, that's great, but I wouldn't want to spend that much time making my way back and forth.
- Also, 30 might be a low estimate for the time it takes to ride Hogwarts Express, we saw low wait times, but even 15 minutes took about 30 to ride and get off and be walking in the park again.
- 30 minutes doesn't seem like enough time to really take in the shops at Hogsmeade, especially if you explore Knockturn Alley
- not sure if you care about them, but the shows are great.
- my son loved Flight of the Hippogriff at Hogsmeade (you can use Express Pass)
- when we were there in October, we waited longer for all of the rides than you have listed, so don't count on any one plan or strategy, especially if Gringotts is still breaking down often.

Thank you for all of that feedback! I really appreciate it. So do you think the following would be a better plan? It seems that I am getting done with Harry Potter attractions later if I do this plan than my other plan although the times were probably wrong.

-Go to Islands of Adventure by 8:15am (opening 9am)
-Forbidden Journey 9:15-9:45 (touring plans says 15 mins)
-Dragon Challenge 9:55-10:20 (touring plans says 15 mins)
-Shops at Islands of Adventure 10:20-11:20
-If hungry early...lunch at Three Broomsticks
-Hogwarts Express Train to USF 11:30-12:30
-Lunch at Leaky Cauldron 12:30-1:30
-Escape from Gringotts 1:30-2:45 (touring plans says 48 min but I added some time)
-Diagon Alley Shops

...and then the other attractions in USF as time allows

 

[justme0729]

You should buy tickets ahead of time. Why waste anytime waiting in the ticket line? The lines to buy tickets can be ridiculous even during slow times. We have annual passes but most here recommend buying from undercover tourist. Not sure if there is any discount for one day tickets.

Thanks! I'll look into that!

 

[justme0729]

In case you are interested, FYI for $6 you can get a touringplans.com subscription for the Universal parks. We subscribed and are using a variation of their plan for our one Universal day to hit both parks focusing mostly on the HP stuff.

Thanks! I know that I should just get it..I've just lasted this long without it planning for Disney but I should get it...

 

[justme0729]

We were just there a couple of weeks ago. If you are truly going to enjoy the two HP areas, I would focus on just those two. Trying to do all of the rides at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade and eat and enjoy the shops and enjoy just walking around and appreciating the scenery isn't going to happen from 9-3. You will feel rushed.

As far as the other rides go, you need to order them based on which park they are located in. It is pretty easy to go back and forth between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade via the Hogwarts Express, however, walking back and forth between the parks otherwise is not so quick. Hogsmeade in particular is way at the back of IoA and is a good walk. Jurassic Park is also over there, so you would want to also do that while you are in IoA. Trying to back-track between the two parks will eat up a lot of time if you try to do that. Jurassic Park will also get you very wet, so unless you wear a poncho, you may not want to ride it if it means you have to walk around with soaking wet clothes all day.

Also, unless you luck up and happen to get in line for Despicable Me and Shrek right when the show starts, you are looking at a 20 min wait, minimum. These are shows and not continuously loading rides, so you almost always have to wait for the previous shows to end. There are also pre-shows for both. I would expect these attractions to at least take 30-40 min each.

Men in Black, Spider-Man, Transformers, and Mummy are all continuously loading rides. If lines are short, these rides should only take 15-20 min each. Your strategy for them should be to order them to minimize walking and back-tracking through the park. Men in Black is probably in the least convenient location, as it is all the way at the back of US.

Buy your tickets ahead of time if for no other reason that it's one less line you have to stand in.

I can't stress enough taking your time to just soak in and enjoy all of the theming at the two HP parks (in particular, Diagon Alley). Even the queues are amazing and something you don't want to miss. You will really cheat yourself out of the full experience if you just rush from ride to ride. We spent about four hours just in Diagon Alley our first day, and then probably spent another 4-5 hours there over the next two days after the first and still didn't get to experience all of the magic it has to offer. Overall, we spent less time in Hogsmeade, but if you are trying to do both in one day, you are going to sacrifice a shorter wait at Gringotts for a longer wait at Forbidden Journey. You could do single rider and reduce your wait, but you will miss out on the amazing queue if you do that. The pre-shows and special effects you see while waiting to board Gringotts and FJ are really part of the ride.

If you decide to focus mainly on HP, buying express pass will probably be a waste as it cannot be used on Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, or Hogwarts Express.

Thank you for all of that detailed feedback! I think that I will look at it as any other attractions that aren't Harry Potter related are just a bonus and will just do them as time allows...Do you think it is better to start at Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley given that we want to ride Escape from Gringott's the most and is a higher priority but will likely end up riding Dragon Challenge and Forbidden Journey too. What would you do? Again, thank you

 

[TXTransplant]

On our first day, we went to Diagon Alley and rode Gringotts first. We were actually able to ride twice in a row because the first ride was essentially a walk on and by the time we got off, the wait was only 20 min. Believe it or not, our queue experience was different even between those two rides!

I have not read any of the HP books, but I knew that Diagon Alley preceded Hogsmeade and I wanted my son to experience that. After the two rides, we ate at Leaky Cauldron, went in some shops, got a wand, and then headed to the Hogwarts Express to go to Hogsmeade. We entered US about 8 am and didn't get to Hogsmeade until about noon. By then the wait for FJ was one hour...and we waited. Hogsmeade itself is much smaller than Diagon Alley, so the crowds get packed in much closer. After riding Dragon Challenge and the Hippogriff (neither of which had a wait) it was about 2 pm.

If you are super HP fans, you will want to ride the train in both directions, as the story and effects are different each way.

Like I said, we spent the better parts of two more days in both HP areas and still didn't see everything. We only saw one show (the puppet show), never got to see the dragon breathe fire, and (I think) missed some of the interactive wand stations with special effects (despite having the map and my son methodically going from one station to the next in numeric order!). There are also things on the map that can only be seen under a black light, which means you have to look at the map while in Knockturn Alley. Didn't know about that until we got home

All of the shops have different/unique items, so if someone is looking for that special souvenir, it's worth it to go in all of them. There is also the wand show...my son did that three times, AFTER he had already chosen his wand!

I just can't describe what an immersive experience it is. My son literally felt like he was a character in his favorite books. None of the lands at Disney are quite like that. You may go on a ride about a movie, but you never quite feel as if you are in the movie. You are a spectator being entertained, not a participant. In the two HP lands, my son felt like a participant. It was just amazing!

 

[justme0729]

On our first day, we went to Diagon Alley and rode Gringotts first. We were actually able to ride twice in a row because the first ride was essentially a walk on and by the time we got off, the wait was only 20 min. Believe it or not, our queue experience was different even between those two rides!

I have not read any of the HP books, but I knew that Diagon Alley preceded Hogsmeade and I wanted my son to experience that. After the two rides, we ate at Leaky Cauldron, went in some shops, got a wand, and then headed to the Hogwarts Express to go to Hogsmeade. We entered US about 8 am and didn't get to Hogsmeade until about noon. By then the wait for FJ was one hour...and we waited. Hogsmeade itself is much smaller than Diagon Alley, so the crowds get packed in much closer. After riding Dragon Challenge and the Hippogriff (neither of which had a wait) it was about 2 pm.

If you are super HP fans, you will want to ride the train in both directions, as the story and effects are different each way.

Like I said, we spent the better parts of two more days in both HP areas and still didn't see everything. We only saw one show (the puppet show), never got to see the dragon breathe fire, and (I think) missed some of the interactive wand stations with special effects (despite having the map and my son methodically going from one station to the next in numeric order!). There are also things on the map that can only be seen under a black light, which means you have to look at the map while in Knockturn Alley. Didn't know about that until we got home

All of the shops have different/unique items, so if someone is looking for that special souvenir, it's worth it to go in all of them. There is also the wand show...my son did that three times, AFTER he had already chosen his wand!

I just can't describe what an immersive experience it is. My son literally felt like he was a character in his favorite books. None of the lands at Disney are quite like that. You may go on a ride about a movie, but you never quite feel as if you are in the movie. You are a spectator being entertained, not a participant. In the two HP lands, my son felt like a participant. It was just amazing!

Thank you for all of that feedback...it helps so much to hear about a detailed experience! I think that we will do similar to what you described...Start with Diagon Alley area and then ride to Hogsmeade and then make the ride back on the train later if we want to/ have time to do other non-Harry Potter attractions in USF because we will probably want to ride the train each way anyways and not try to have a stressed time for getting to places. Thank you!!