Crowds in late September?

[megsablue]

DH & I have never been to Universal Orlando, so this trip we've decided that we'll rent a car and spend 1 day at Universal (we're staying at BLT at Disney). As we've never been to Universal, I'm having a little difficulty planning our trip and figuring out our schedule.

The day that we'd be in Universal is September 24th (a Friday) and we'd like to do both parks if possible. At that time of year, are the parks at Universal crowded? I'm thinking most schools would be back in session by then... We could be there at opening and stay until closing, as that part of our schedule is flexible.

Is it too ambitious to try and do both parks in one day? One thing to consider is that DH and I are not major rollercoaster people (both get motion-sickness), so we'd be skipping Hollywood Rip Ride, The Hulk, Dueling Dragons and Doctor Doom's Fearfall. The others I think we should be able to do without too much problem. We were considering getting the Express Plus Pass, but it would be over $300 for two of us for 1 day tickets (if we did both parks), which seems like a lot.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

 

[mjohnson96]

Have you thought of getting a room at the hotel for that night? That will give you the express pass for both parks. Without the express pass it still will be pretty hard to do both parks in one day unless you skip alot of things. With WWOHP the crowd level is going to change from what it was that time last year. In September things might still be pretty busy as many people are holding off to go once school is back in thinking that it will be slower


Another option would be to not buy the express pass until you get there and see the crowd level. If you get there at rope drop and head for the WWOHP area and get through that and any others at IOA then you might not need an express pass to see what else you want, or you can opt to get the express pass only for the US side of the house to say some money.

 

[megsablue]

Have you thought of getting a room at the hotel for that night? That will give you the express pass for both parks. Without the express pass it still will be pretty hard to do both parks in one day unless you skip alot of things. With WWOHP the crowd level is going to change from what it was that time last year. In September things might still be pretty busy as many people are holding off to go once school is back in thinking that it will be slower

Another option would be to not buy the express pass until you get there and see the crowd level. If you get there at rope drop and head for the WWOHP area and get through that and any others at IOA then you might not need an express pass to see what else you want, or you can opt to get the express pass only for the US side of the house to say some money.

Since we'll already have our room at BLT, I don't think we'll get a room at Universal. Thanks for your honest opinion - I had a feeling that getting two parks done in one day was going to be stretching it anyways, let alone without the Express Pass. If we do decide to do both parks in one day, I think we'll follow your suggestion and see if we need the Express Pass.

Thank you!

 

[corgi_monster]

The lines were very short in September several years ago. We arrived at park opening and there were virtually no lines for popular rides like Spiderman, The Hulk, The Mummy, MIB, etc.

Personally, I think it would take me a whole day just to get through Harry Potter

 

[DisneyForLife]

We were there last year at that time and there were no lines to speak of at any attractions. I have a feeling this year will be different.

I think adding the Harry Potter attraction was a very smart decision on Universals part, it will bring in the crowds like Disney does. There are tons of HP fans, myself included that can't wait to go back.

I will be there at that time this year also and am expecting long lines. I am hoping other parts of the park will be less crowded as usual though. Time will tell

 

[skifast22]

I've gone toward the end of Sept 3 of the past 4 years. It's a very good time to go crowds wise. I think you could do both parks in one day since your skipping the coasters.

Two things to keep in mind though. While possible, it will be rushed and involve alot of brisk walking. US and IoA are alot like disney, what makes them special is the high attention to the smallest of details. Your apt to miss the majority of these trying to do 2 parks commando style in 1 day. You may want to consider choosing a park and just focusing on that.

The other thing is Halloween Horrow Nights. I think Sept 24 is opening night this year, which means the older park will close a little earlier. If you like haunted houses, this event is probaly the best in the country and worth checking out. Just be warned it's a very different experiance than a typical day at Disney, or even at US itself ;-)

 

[tinks_1989]

DH & I have never been to Universal Orlando, so this trip we've decided that we'll rent a car and spend 1 day at Universal (we're staying at BLT at Disney). As we've never been to Universal, I'm having a little difficulty planning our trip and figuring out our schedule.

The day that we'd be in Universal is September 24th (a Friday) and we'd like to do both parks if possible. At that time of year, are the parks at Universal crowded? I'm thinking most schools would be back in session by then... We could be there at opening and stay until closing, as that part of our schedule is flexible.

Is it too ambitious to try and do both parks in one day? One thing to consider is that DH and I are not major rollercoaster people (both get motion-sickness), so we'd be skipping Hollywood Rip Ride, The Hulk, Dueling Dragons and Doctor Doom's Fearfall. The others I think we should be able to do without too much problem. We were considering getting the Express Plus Pass, but it would be over $300 for two of us for 1 day tickets (if we did both parks), which seems like a lot.

Thanks for all of your help!

I don't know about how busy it will be but the 24th is opening night of Halloween Horror night that night

 

[Metro West]

The other thing is Halloween Horrow Nights. I think Sept 24 is opening night this year, which means the older park will close a little earlier. If you like haunted houses, this event is probaly the best in the country and worth checking out. Just be warned it's a very different experiance than a typical day at Disney, or even at US itself ;-)

Yes...I was just about to post on HHN. September 24th is opening night of HHN XX so the Studios will be closing at 5pm in order to get set up. IOA will close around 7pm so you are better off doing the Studios first and then IOA for the rest of the day. I think the crowds will be greater than in years past but no one knows how much greater they will be...yet.