Considering planning a Universal Trip

[mouseearstx]

My oldest DD will turn 30 this May, and her and I have been joking with the rest of the family that we were going to go to Universal without them for her birthday. She and I are huge Harry Potter fans, We went to every midnight book and movie release, own multiple versions of the books, have thrown lots of themed parties, sat there and cried together watching the reunions show on New Year's. but have never been to the parks! Every time we begin planning a trip to Universal, we seem to end up back at Disney (just got back from DLR Wednesday)! With the exception of my DD 11 and DGD 11, no one else is a thrill ride person, so Disney gives us a lot more options. However a milestone birthday is a good excuse to leave husbands and children home and do a mother daughter trip!

Before I make the leap and commit to this, I have a few questions:

When is the best time to go for the lowest crowds? We are 2 adults, so we don't have to worry about school schedules, and even though we are calling it a birthday trip, it doesn't have to happen in May!

What is there to actually do at universal if you aren't a thrill ride person? (I have a few herniated disks in my neck, and my DD gets anxiety over Soarin'!) From what it looks like we will just be hanging around the Harry Potter stuff, and may not even be able to ride any of those rides beyond the Hogwarts Express! and how many days would you recommend we plan for?

Thanks for your help!

 

[disneyseniors]

Hi: There is a lot of excellent advice and information on the Universal section of the dis. The trip reports are especially helpful. I can try to answer a couple of your questions.
We have only gone on "off" times which there are none at disney now I don't know about Universal having an off time. We bought one day EP's on our first visit. However, we found that we really didn't need them, except for the most popular rides.
Now? with the shift to Universal, I really don't know.
We always stay deluxe and get free EP's which we do use for all rides.
I don't like thrill rides either. The Horror Makeup Show is alot of fun. Also the new Bourne Adventure. I loved MIB, Minnions, ET. There are others but I can't remember them at this time. Of course, the HP lands are exceptional and just like the books. I can stay a whole day in them being immersed in HP. Their ride at IOA , Forbiddenn Journey is too rough for me so I wouldn't recommend it. It slings you around alot and feels like you are going to tip over backwards. However, the one at US is fantastic. It uses screens and there is some up and down and some jerking but it didn't bother me and I have a bad neck.
I hope this helped some. There is alot more to explore which we havent done yet. We can't wait to go back. Disney is not on our radar anymore. Hope you have a blast

 

[AJA]

We have been the first week of May many times and the crowds are moderate at most throughout the mid week (Tues-Thursday) Universal seems to have more crowds Friday through Sunday/Monday as more people visit for long weekends instead of all week.

 

[Kit Jackson]

There are plenty of things for Harry Potter fans that are not into thrill rides. I am a ride coward. Forbidden Journey is more or less my limit.

If you are serious Harry Potter fans go, because there is plenty of ways to get your Harry Potter fix without going on rides. What was DD's problem with Soarin'? (Was it illusion of height?)

The Harry Potter Shows are fantastic and worth seeing once (This is also true for the non-Harry Potter shows)

If you want to skip the ride Forbidden Jouney, then do the castle tour. You go through the full line (The Express Pass skips some parts of the line that are really fun for a serious Harry Potter fan) and get to see different parts of Hogwarts castle. Right before you get on the ride, you tell someone that you do not want to ride, and they send you out a different way. You get to see the Hogwarts Castle without having to do the ride. I think the same is true for Hagrid's Moterbike Adventure as well.

Rides/Attractions that I Enjoyed:
Minion Mayhem
ET
King Kong
Jimmy Fallon
Men in Black
Hogwarts Express
Suessland rides (Rides themed to Dr. Suess)
Poseidon's Fury is okay, but there is one really cool part in it.

Browse the stores in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley (don't forget to talk a walk through Knockturn Alley for Borgin and Burkes)
Ice Cream at Florean Fortescue's is amazing.
It wasn't something I was interested in but may appeal to you or your DD-buying a wand and doing the spells. Or, save your money for something else and watch other people do the spells in the Harry Potter sections.
This also applies to Olivander's-even if you have no interest in buying a wand, it's still fun to see someone else getting picked to test out different wands and seeing which wand choses the witch or wizard.

If you fans of the Simpsons, the theming in the Springfield/Simpsons area is just as good as the Harry Potter sections, but the big Simpsons ride is only good if you are sitting in the first row.
Kang and Kodos is pretty tame. I enjoyed it.

City Walk has some stores with tons of Harry Potter and other Universal Studios merch.

(This list contains motion simulators. You are in a seat that may move up and down or side to side. If you can handle Star Tours, you can probably handle most of the rides on this list)

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Like Aja said, mid-week during the school year, and not spring break. First week of May/last week of April is a sneaky quiet period. Also the week surrounding Halloween (though US will close early on some nights for Halloween Horror Nights, and the weekend will be packed). Late Aug / early Sept is probably the best for low crowds, if you don't mind horrible heat/humidity.

For really easy going rides, it would be:
Minions (there is stationary seating, but you might be ok with the wiggly seats)
ET
All of Suess Landing
Kang & Kodos (Dumbo)
Hogwarts Express
Jimmy Fallon
Men in Black has spinning but is smooth & doesn't jostle you around
Probably Kong and Fast & Furious, if you'd be ok on a bumpy car ride
And of course, the various shows

There was another thread fairly recently about non-thrill rides. It really depends on your tolerance level.

 

[sandam1]

I don't know if you've seen anything about it, but you might consider the Orlando Informer meet-up the first weekend in June. It is a special after-hours event (so extra cost), but the crowds are as low as advertised and it includes free food (well, included in your ticket). If you really want to poke around HP, there is no better time.

Also, poke around You Tube and look at some of the ride POV videos. Everyone says that Universal is all about "thrill" rides and I think sometimes people underestimate what they can do. I'm not a roller coaster/"thrill" person and there are still plenty of rides that I will do.

 

[martikus]

Do it! So much to see even if not able to do thrill rides. Don’t miss the animal show, horror makeup show and new borne show.

avoid School holidays and you will be fine. Stay onsite for ease. We like the hotels that offer boat service.

id say 3 days so no need to rush.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I’m going to research the OrlandoInformer Event…thanks

If you can …I would plan to go whenever they first have the holiday decorations … I went first time end of November for my bday and could not believe how “ decorated” Universal Studios is… and I noticed this year even more holiday lighting . They have fantastic holiday events Mardi Gras and Halloween …. And concerts.. I truly get excited for holidays at Universal and it makes Disney feel boring

Mannheim Steamroller Concert is included with ticket entry , weekends in December dates (?) never was a fan before and now Can not miss ! Must attend especially for the Youre a Mean One Mr Grinch… also a great Grinch holiday stage show performed…. Love the Grinch more than Mickey.
post your dates and I will offer more selections.
I love Hard Rock Resort $$&& and love the Cabana Bay Resort but recommend the family suite pool view if you keep looking for a savvy travelerdiscount… Reminder sticker shock but everything is more expensive so be prepared and book something and keep looking for discounts.

I hope planing is provided for other holidays for you. I would wonder what they provide for the July 4 , for instance… but off season would be suggested for less crowds!
Perhaps consider the current ticket offer . I think it is limited and will expire … Good luck I know you will have a great trip.

 

[asuburbanman]

As others said, there is lots to do. I just got back and I was actually surprised how much street entertainment there was in the Studios. There are a number of small shows to watch. Then there are four different HP shows to watch. Note that these do not have seating. The Horror Make Up show and Bourne stunt show are probably the best theme park shows around.

If you can do Big Thunder, you can handle Escape from Gringotts. Forbidden Journey is not so bad on the back or neck but can cause motion sickness easily.

Aside from the rides others mentioned JP River Adventure, Raptor Encounter, and Popeye are some others that you could enjoy. I think you’d be ok trying out Spider-Man and Transformers but it is a bit jerky.

You could obviously spend all day trying different food, drinks, and sweets from both HP areas.

I’d suggest two days park to park. Unfortunately the only discounts are now when you hit three days. Then you get two days free. That would require four nights in a hotel. I’d recommend Sapphire Falls or Aventura for a nice hotel and access to water taxi.

 

[mouseearstx]

Thanks for all your feedback! To answer a few of your questions, my DD doesn't like Soarin' because of the heights and she feels like she might fall. As far as my tolerance, I can't do Star Tours because it is too jerky. Too much jerking around triggers my neck injury. Big Thunder Mountain can be iffy, It would have to be a day when I have had no other strains on my neck. My DH thought I was crazy to ask these questions on a Disney site, but it's very helpful when people can compare rides to ones I am familiar with from Disney.

I don't feel like the Express Pass will be needed at all for our trip, there aren't a whole lot of lines we would wait in anyway. I just want to try to avoid the crowds as much as possible!

 

[Skywalker3]

Early May used to be a nice, slower time to go to the theme parks, judging from crowd calendars. I know that WDW is doing things like dance/cheer competitions around then, but no idea if that affects Universal at all. Totally recommend weekdays, over weekend. So much busier on weekends.
There is so much fun HP stuff to do that doesn't involve the rides. Although, I do recommend walking the entire queues for all of them, even if you don't ride. And there are the 4 shows, and sometimes timing those can be tricky, like if you miss one, being on a ride or whatever, you'll want to work it in later. All of the special HP treats/drinks are fun to try, and will need time to spread them out.
I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan, but geez, Star tours gets me bad. This last trip, I found Transformers, simpsons, and Forbidden Journey to be the WORST for motion sickness.
Lots and lots of HP details to wander around and see. I love Molly on Allears for HP secrets/Easter eggs, etc. The streetmosphere in both parks are also fun. Seussland is fun to just browse around in, and rides are cute!
The forums here were so very helpful with our last trip in Oct! Happy planning!!!

 

[Kit Jackson]

Thanks for all your feedback! To answer a few of your questions, my DD doesn't like Soarin' because of the heights and she feels like she might fall. As far as my tolerance, I can't do Star Tours because it is too jerky. Too much jerking around triggers my neck injury.

Thank you for providing more information. This is incredibly useful for me and for other people who want to be sure you have the best experience possible.

You and your DD will want to skip the actual ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, but do the full line/castle tour (go through the regular line, not the ExpressPass line). It's incredible. If you can't handle Star Tours, then skip the big Simpsons ride, and probably Transformers and Spiderman just to be safe. You could probably handle the Fast and Furious ride, but unless one of you is a superfan of the franchise, I would skip it because the ride isn't that great and is a bit of a dissapointment. There are better ways to spend your time.

@asuburbanman-I can't believe I forgot to mention the Raptor Encounter.

While you are waiting in line you get to see the raptor move around, and it's incredible. When it's your turn, you don't get to interact with the raptor that much, but a handler will guide you where to stand and how to look. During the experience they took a fantastic picture of me with the raptor. I don't tend to photograph well, but this was one of my favorite pictures of the trip.

I would say 2-3 days should be enough.

 

[kathy884]

We have been the first week of May many times and the crowds are moderate at most throughout the mid week (Tues-Thursday) Universal seems to have more crowds Friday through Sunday/Monday as more people visit for long weekends instead of all week.

+ 1 on this

Just wanted to chime in that DH a few years ago had a seminar the the Royal Pacific in early May which gave us the free Express Passes that we absolutely did not need. It was a nice time for both weather and moderate crowds. The first week in May weekday vs. weekend seems to be a sweet spot. I see a crowd calendars that I subscribe to agreeing with me on that too. No time is ever totally uncrowded now, but that seems to be a great lower crowd time.

November before Thanksgiving and early December before Thanksgiving typically aren't bad times crowed wise either. (September may be low crowed wise also, but it's so hot humid and miserable then, so that month is never on my list.)

What a fun trip to do one on one with your daughter! One on one trips with grown up kids are so much fun.

As other's posted, be sure to do the castle tour if you don't do the Forbidden Journey ride as it's really cool. I'm not a simulator ride person and although I loved the castle, the ride itself was a bit much for me. Beside the absolutely incredible Harry Potter areas, some of my favorite things are the park to park train ride from Universal to IOA (London to Hogsmeade), so cool that I always have to get the park to park ticket because you have to have a park to park ticket to ride that. I also really liked the Jurassic Park area, loved all the silly things they do when you are getting your picture taken with a Raptor -- got my whole family laughing and giggling), and I had a blast dancing with the Minions in the street while others in my party were doing simulator rides I don't do.