crowds/going early

[sparkles_grrl]

Hi all....I have a question, what time do you usually get to the park at? Do you go later because you have kids?

Thanks!

Christianna

 

[Cinderella822]

Are you staying on-site? What time of year are you going? How old are your kids? Personally, I like to go early to the parks. I go in the summer months and like to avoid the heat and crowds in the afternoon. Then I go back to the hotel to swim in the afternoon, then back out in the evenings. However, with FOTL if you stay on-site, you can really go any time of day and the crowds would not be as big an issue.

 

[gschmerl]

I go when the parks are opening. That way even with FOTL I can ride the front row of the coasters. There are no big crowds if you go early. The crowds start coming about 11:00.

 

[robvia]

I sound like a broken record, but the parking garage opens at 08:00am, and there's usually a line of people there at 07:45am. I park, or walk over from the onsite hotel and get to the gate at 08:15am and wait. I'm always first into the park, where I get a front seat ride on Hulk.

Even if you have FOTL, it's still a good idea to show up early and get the front seat rides on the coasters, plus a ride on Pteranondon Flyers.

The masses of people show up at 11am, the walkways get crowded, it's hot, and I leave from noon to 4pm.

You can do this plan any day of the year, and you'll get a lap of walk on rides, even if you don't have FOTL. At Disney it doesn't work because their rides have longer pre-shows, but at Universal you can get on each ride with no waits and keep moving.

 

[marciemi]

robvia - since you brought up Pteranodon Flyers - is this open to everyone or only families with small kids? I ask because the website says "Guests over 56 inches must be accompanied by a child under 56 inches". If all my kids are over 56 inches, does that mean we can't ride? They thought it looked cool on the website, and I don't see this restriction mentioned in any guidebooks. But certainly don't want to head over there if they can't ride. Thanks!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

No kids here.

We arrive at the parks generally between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. We do not stay on site, nor do we purchase express passes. We do, however, visit the parks during off season (September, February/March and May), and we haven't had problems with crowds.

 

[reelmom]

We just got back yesterday from a week at US/IOA. We stayed off-site. I would recommend getting to the parks at around 8:00. It is a long walk to the parks from the parking deck, but they do have moving sidewalks. By the time we got to the gates, they were opening them at about 8:30. You can walk onto every ride at this time before the crowd gets there at 11:00. I don't think Express Passes are needed, the longest wait time we had was about 15-20 minutes during the day.

Marciemi- We tried to ride the Pterandon Flyers but were told that we couldn't because we were all over the 56 inch mark. I have heard if you get there first thing in the morning, they might let you ride before the crowd gets there. Maybe you might have better luck.

 

[marciemi]

Marciemi- We tried to ride the Pterandon Flyers but were told that we couldn't because we were all over the 56 inch mark. I have heard if you get there first thing in the morning, they might let you ride before the crowd gets there. Maybe you might have better luck.

I'll just tell them they're too big and we won't worry about wasting time there! They're big coaster fans so this probably wouldn't be all that exciting for them anyways. One less ride to worry about unless anyone feels this is a "don't miss!"

 

[macraven]

robvia - since you brought up Pteranodon Flyers - is this open to everyone or only families with small kids? I ask because the website says "Guests over 56 inches must be accompanied by a child under 56 inches". If all my kids are over 56 inches, does that mean we can't ride? They thought it looked cool on the website, and I don't see this restriction mentioned in any guidebooks. But certainly don't want to head over there if they can't ride. Thanks!

i was at UO oct 6-9 and rode pteranodan flyers twice.
once at opening of the ride the next time after 11:00

when the crowds are light, and it is before 11, you can ride it as an adult without any littles with you. the entire line i was in only had 4 kids in it with parents. the rest of us were well over 16 and 5' tall.

i know you will be told how others could not get on the ride due to the restriction of the sign but sometimes you can.
go when it first opens and you more than likely will be able to ride it.

if it is after 11 am, just ask the tm at the bottom of the ride.

it is only a 90 second ride and not worth a 45 minute wait like i did.
i had fotl but could not use it the days i went on this ride.
second time on the ride, i went early and no wait.

 

[robvia]

Right, go early and you'll get your ride on PF. I usually do Hulk, Dr. Doom, skip Spiderman, then walk directly to Pteranondon Flyers and get a ride. One morning I was there first, and got 3 rides in a row without getting out of my seat. It's fun when you don't have to wait. After that, high tail it to Dueling Dragons and get front seat rides on each side. That's the morning thrill ride tour including PF.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We always get to the parks early , generally because we normally visit Florida in the hot summer months and we try and tour the parks when the weather is at it's coolest.