Crowds on Columbus Day weekend

[SharonK0527]

We will be in Orlando October 8-17. The first full weekend of our trip is Columbus Day weekend. How do you think the crowds will be at the parks that weekend? Should we avoid the parks that weekend and just do other things until the holiday weekend is over? I really wanted to spend at least some time at the parks but not if it's going to be wall-to-wall people.

Thanks for your help! Universal newbie here (but SO excited about first visit to WWoHP!!! )

 

[mesaboy2]

I would guess the crowds that weekend to be moderate, but not crazy. If it doesn't impact your other plans adversely, I'd recommend going a few days later in that Tuesday-Thursday timeframe. Crowds should be lighter then.

 

[macraven]

i can share my experience with you on that question.


for the past 7 + years, i have gone over the columbus day weekend.
i start days before that weekend and leave 2 days after that monday.
i stay onsite.

the last 3 years, that monday is crowded...
lines for food and restrooms kick in around noon.
that is when the larger crowds are there.

you can do the monday but go early.
if you are onsite you won't have to be too concerned about line waits for rides.
walking around the park is where you will encounter crowds at ioa.
studios is much easier as it is larger and spread out.

the tuesday after that is not bad on crowds at all.
i leave on the wednesday evening for my flight.
doesn't seem like wednesday is any different from tuesday crowds.

you will have a great time.
a good time to be there in the parks.

you said you would arrive on the 8th, that is a saturday.
crowds will gain in the late afternoon at the studios due to hhn.
same with sunday late afternoon.
the studios will close at 5 and ioa closes at 7 on that weekend.
ioa will have moderate crowds, or did in the past few years.
parry hotter is busy.
always busy.

crowds will grow bigger in the weekends in the afternoons after you are there due to hhn nights.

 

[SharonK0527]

Thank you for the insight macraven. I appreciate your response since you have traveled over that weekend many times. We are not staying onsite. For the first week we are staying at our timeshare and then tacking on 2 extra nights on the end. Wanted to stay at Universal for those 2 nights but prices are too high so we are now looking at 2 nights at Caribe Royale. We are prepared for crowds at WWoHP but we're just going to take our time, as this is our first time seeing it and we are very excited. We purchased the Orlando Flex Tickets (admission to US, IoA, Sea World, Aquatica, and Wet n Wild). We are also doing a few days at Disney. So with all the things we have planned to do, I would hate to give up an entire weekend at the parks because of the holiday. I would even be willing to go for just a few hours Saturday afternoon, just to get some park time in. DD's birthday is Sunday the 9th and, weather permitting, she wants to go to a water park that day. The nice thing about the Flex Ticket is that it gives us unlimited admission to the parks, which will really come in handy. So if we want to just run over to a park for a few hours, we can.

Any other advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated

 

[mesaboy2]

I enjoy reading mac's posts--they're informative and entertaining. If I only didn't have to squint at the last couple of lines, though.

If you're doing both WDW and UO on your trip, I would arrange it so that the UO portion is during the week and the WDW during the weekend. My reasoning is that WDW is larger and can absorb crowds better--sorry homies--and UO is smaller. That is particularly true at WWoHP, where even the homies can't deny that it is small. Therefore, larger crowds will only be magnified at WWoHP.

 

[macraven]

Thank you for the insight macraven. I appreciate your response since you have traveled over that weekend many times. We are not staying onsite. For the first week we are staying at our timeshare and then tacking on 2 extra nights on the end. Wanted to stay at Universal for those 2 nights but prices are too high so we are now looking at 2 nights at Caribe Royale. We are prepared for crowds at WWoHP but we're just going to take our time, as this is our first time seeing it and we are very excited. We purchased the Orlando Flex Tickets (admission to US, IoA, Sea World, Aquatica, and Wet n Wild). We are also doing a few days at Disney. So with all the things we have planned to do, I would hate to give up an entire weekend at the parks because of the holiday. I would even be willing to go for just a few hours Saturday afternoon, just to get some park time in. DD's birthday is Sunday the 9th and, weather permitting, she wants to go to a water park that day. The nice thing about the Flex Ticket is that it gives us unlimited admission to the parks, which will really come in handy. So if we want to just run over to a park for a few hours, we can.

Any other advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated

since sunday is a birthday for your dd, i would go early on sunday and do ioa.
hit parry hotter first thing.
you will have a wait but it might not be too bad.
the waits increase during the morning........but calm down in the evening.
ioa will close at 7pm that sunday night.


maybe she will exchange the water park day for uo that sunday...
just a thought. bring a change of clothes and rent a family locker in the front. those lockers are one fee and can be opened and closed throughout the entire day.

if that doesn't fly with her, then at least get some hours in on saturday.
it has been posted many times on other threads that near the end of the day, the lines for rides and shops are not bad at all in p.h. land.

do realize that the ollivanders closes before the park closes.
don't wait until 6:30 pm to go there on that saturday.

make sure to get a birthday sticker at guest services for her to wear.


i guess you will have to wait to determine which first day for UO.
depending on the weather can make that decision for you since she wants a water park day.



if you could do a second day, i vote for tuesday.
you can check the uo website on what the charge would be for the express pass that day.
if it is low, that is a good indicator at this point that universal is expecting a low crowd day in the parks.

whatever you do, just have fun in orlando!

ps. columbus day at disney is very crowded.

 

[SharonK0527]

I enjoy reading mac's posts--they're informative and entertaining. If I only didn't have to squint at the last couple of lines, though.

If you're doing both WDW and UO on your trip, I would arrange it so that the UO portion is during the week and the WDW during the weekend. My reasoning is that WDW is larger and can absorb crowds better--sorry homies--and UO is smaller. That is particularly true at WWoHP, where even the homies can't deny that it is small. Therefore, larger crowds will only be magnified at WWoHP.

I agree Mesa and yes, we have arranged our trip that way. We are doing Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party one night (a MUST-DO for my DD) and then hitting 2 WDW parks over the weekend (the 2nd weekend, not Columbus Day weekend). We're going to hit UO and Sea World during the week.

Thanks for the input - it is much appreciated!!

 

[SharonK0527]

since sunday is a birthday for your dd, i would go early on sunday and do ioa.
hit parry hotter first thing.
you will have a wait but it might not be too bad.
the waits increase during the morning........but calm down in the evening.
ioa will close at 7pm that sunday night.


maybe she will exchange the water park day for uo that sunday...
just a thought. bring a change of clothes and rent a family locker in the front. those lockers are one fee and can be opened and closed throughout the entire day.

if that doesn't fly with her, then at least get some hours in on saturday.
it has been posted many times on other threads that near the end of the day, the lines for rides and shops are not bad at all in p.h. land.

do realize that the ollivanders closes before the park closes.
don't wait until 6:30 pm to go there on that saturday.

make sure to get a birthday sticker at guest services for her to wear.


i guess you will have to wait to determine which first day for UO.
depending on the weather can make that decision for you since she wants a water park day.



if you could do a second day, i vote for tuesday.
you can check the uo website on what the charge would be for the express pass that day.
if it is low, that is a good indicator at this point that universal is expecting a low crowd day in the parks.

whatever you do, just have fun in orlando!

ps. columbus day at disney is very crowded.

I'll have to talk to her. At this point, she has her heart set on a water park for her birthday. I was thinking of heading over to UO Saturday the 8th after we get checked in to our timeshare. Would you recommend hitting IOA since they are open until 7pm or US and just get a few things done before they close at 5pm? We can check in to our timeshare when we arrive in Orlando but our unit will not be ready until 4pm. We can come back any time after 4pm to pick up our key. So I was thinking of getting checked in and then heading over to UO for the afternoon and then heading back to the timeshare for the rest of the evening to unpack, relax and swim.

Any suggestions on what park to hit on Monday, Columbus Day? I was going to avoid WDW and UO for that one day. Our choices would be Sea World, Aquatica or Wet n Wild.

Thanks for the suggestion on the birthday sticker (if she decides to go to UO on her birthday). I knew WDW did the birthday buttons but didn't know UO did that too. Do I need to bring anything with me to prove it's her birthday (birth certificate or anything)?

Another question - you mentioned purchasing the express pass. I have read on the boards that when the parks are not so crowded it's not worth the money to buy the express pass because the lines aren't that bad to begin with. Do you agree? Would love to save the money and not buy the passes if we don't really need them.

Usually in the past we have always done a Disney character dinner for DD's birthday meal. This year she has expressed to me that she's a little bit sick of Disney scared1 and to be honest, I don't think she wants to do a Disney character meal this trip. Are there any restaurants at Universal or at City Walk that might make for a fun birthday dinner? Doesn't have to be a character meal. I was also contemplating one of the restaurants at Downtown Disney.

Thanks so much for your help and input!!!

 

[mesaboy2]

Another question - you mentioned purchasing the express pass. I have read on the boards that when the parks are not so crowded it's not worth the money to buy the express pass because the lines aren't that bad to begin with. Do you agree? Would love to save the money and not buy the passes if we don't really need them.

I hope neither of you mind me cutting in again.

On the Express Pass, the best advice is to not buy the Express passes until the day you get there, see the crowds for yourself, and judge their worth to you then. If you buy them in advance, they are non-refundable and date-specific--meaning they're yours and worthless on any date other than the one you specified. You also don't know in advance when a passing shower will clear the parks out for you.

The only potential downside to this strategy is that occasionally the price of the Express passes go up over time. To me, though, locking in a lower price is not worth it if it also locks you to a particular day.

 

[SharonK0527]

I hope neither of you mind me cutting in again.

On the Express Pass, the best advice is to not buy the Express passes until the day you get there, see the crowds for yourself, and judge their worth to you then. If you buy them in advance, they are non-refundable and date-specific--meaning they're yours and worthless on any date other than the one you specified. You also don't know in advance when a passing shower will clear the parks out for you.

The only potential downside to this strategy is that occasionally the price of the Express passes go up over time. To me, though, locking in a lower price is not worth it if it also locks you to a particular day.

I agree Mesa, and I don't mind you "cutting in" at all! I don't want to shell out the money up front for passes that we might not even end up needing if the parks aren't really crowded. We almost always do Orlando beginning to mid-October every year (although in the past, those trips have always focused on the WDW parks). We have never encountered large crowds at that time of year so I'm sure UO will be about the same.

I'm super excited about this upcoming trip because we are finally focusing on other things in Orlando besides WDW!! Universal, Sea World, etc. Of course we're still spending a few days at Disney But we're really looking forward to all the things we will see and do at UO!

 

[mesaboy2]

I agree Mesa, and I don't mind you "cutting in" at all! I don't want to shell out the money up front for passes that we might not even end up needing if the parks aren't really crowded. We almost always do Orlando beginning to mid-October every year (although in the past, those trips have always focused on the WDW parks). We have never encountered large crowds at that time of year so I'm sure UO will be about the same.

I'm super excited about this upcoming trip because we are finally focusing on other things in Orlando besides WDW!! Universal, Sea World, etc. Of course we're still spending a few days at Disney But we're really looking forward to all the things we will see and do at UO!

And I don't think you'll need Express, by the way. Even if lines are worse than expected, Universal has many rides with single-rider, whereas WDW only has 3. That's a quick and easy way to spend less time in lines with not spending more. Going single-rider on FJ doesn't dampen the ride experience, but you will miss the vast majority of the super-cool queue this way. Luckily there is the castle-tour queue that mostly fills in the gaps. Lots of info on here, including many posts by me, on these FJ queues.

 

[macraven]

1.Would you recommend hitting IOA since they are open until 7pm or US and just get a few things done before they close at 5pm?

2.Any suggestions on what park to hit on Monday, Columbus Day? I was going to avoid WDW and UO for that one day. Our choices would be Sea World, Aquatica or Wet n Wild.

Thanks for the suggestion on the birthday sticker (if she decides to go to UO on her birthday). I knew WDW did the birthday buttons but didn't know UO did that too. 3.Do I need to bring anything with me to prove it's her birthday (birth certificate or anything)?

Another question - you mentioned purchasing the express pass. 4. I have read on the boards that when the parks are not so crowded it's not worth the money to buy the express pass because the lines aren't that bad to begin with. Do you agree? 5. Would love to save the money and not buy the passes if we don't really need them.

Usually in the past we have always done a Disney character dinner for DD's birthday meal. #6. Are there any restaurants at Universal or at City Walk that might make for a fun birthday dinner? Doesn't have to be a character meal. I was also contemplating one of the restaurants at Downtown Disney.

Thanks so much for your help and input!!!

1. i would recommend doing ioa that day.
the park hours are longer. you will be able to get more things done in a longer time period.
you will have more opportunity to do parry hotter in the evening.

2. i am not sure which to choose.
i think i am confused. i thought you wanted to do the water park on sunday.
but, if you wanted one of the listed ones, i would say aquatica.
there are some older trip reports about homies spending the day there.

3. no proof is necessary. if you go during the week of your child's bd, i would still get the birthday sticker.
many do.

4. agree. do not buy the express passes when the parks are not crowded.
if the wait in line is 15 minutes only, tha† is a short line.

5. saving money is my goal.

never buy the express pass prior to going to the park.
if it rains that day you are in the park, there will be no crowds and you would have wasted your money.
the express passes when you buy in advance, are park and date specified.

there are no refunds on any express tickets.


if you go to the express pass calendar, you will see the costs of the ep for the date.
if that date has ep selling for $50, it will be a crowded day.
when they sell for under $30, don't waste your money.
it will be a moderate to low crowd day in the parks.

6. you have choices.

i would do a dinner at one of the onsite hotels.

you order off the regular menu.
anyone can dine at the hotel restaurants.
locals go there and don't do the parks.
it is encouraged.

you need to call the hotels and ask what dates they will have characters at their dinner hour and which characters will be there.

the hotels all have this on certain days of the week.
the characters rotate between them.
(if rph has the characters at dinner time on a saturday, that means there will be no characters at the other 2 hotels that evening.)

characters in the past i have seen are, simpsons, and scooby.

the characters will talk to you and you can do all the pictures you want.

another option is go to finnegans at the studios.
sit down place, can be loud if you are there when live music is going on.
good food, good staff.

mythos closes at 3ish.
good food, great ambiance and service.
this is a quiet place basically.
conversations don't carry in the place as much as other places.
tell them it is you bd.

in fact, tell them it is your bd at any of the dining places.

what i like in city walk may not be what others like.
i do like the hard rock cafe.
it is lively and has a lot of memoribilia of rock stars.
the menu is good and has choices.
prices are decent.

tell them it is your birthday and you get a free sundae.
you also can if you want, join the others in the center of the tables and get everyone's attention for the birthday singing time.

i like latin quarters and NBA city. mainly based on the menus. and good service.

the ones that some homies rave about i have not been satisfied with the menu and set up.
i thought bubba gumps was over priced. i have one near my place and the thrill is gone for bg. of course, if you liked the movie, you would enjoy trying this place at least one time due to the ambiance.

margaritaville was too loud for me and tables too close together.
nothing in the menu stood out for me.
i have been there three times to eat and it was just okay food for me.

if you are a parrothead, then you do need to check this place out at least once.

check out: www.citywalk.com for the city walk joints and menus.
if you decide to eat at city walk, go before the crowds so you won't have a long wait for a table.
if you go before 6:00 or after 8:30, you should have less of a wait.


back to the hotel restaurants......
on saturday nights, there is a lual/sp at rph.
it is a buffet with a hawaiin theme with hula dancers.
allyou can eat.

i think this one is better than the one at the Poly.
it is great.
you have to reserve in advance.

or, you can do dtd and do dinner there.
i have done dinner there before and it is nice.
but, saturday nights can make a wait for a table depending on where you go.

 

[macraven]

And I don't think you'll need Express, by the way. Even if lines are worse than expected, Universal has many rides with single-rider, whereas WDW only has 3. That's a quick and easy way to spend less time in lines with not spending more. Going single-rider on FJ doesn't dampen the ride experience, but you will miss the vast majority of the super-cool queue this way. Luckily there is the castle-tour queue that mostly fills in the gaps. Lots of info on here, including many posts by me, on these FJ queues.

that's a great point!!

do the single rider lines if you can.

even if you are there with a family or pre teens, it is not a problem.
for FJ, you all will be on a ride within minutes of each other.

you can't carry on a conversation with each other on this ride.

for MIB, the single line ride is shorter than the express line.
so many homies sit together and there is always a need for 2 extras in the car.

i stay onsite and use the single line ride most of the time....



i would have been back sooner but was creating another essay above.......

 

[SharonK0527]

1. i would recommend doing ioa that day.
the park hours are longer. you will be able to get more things done in a longer time period.
you will have more opportunity to do parry hotter in the evening.

2. i am not sure which to choose.
i think i am confused. i thought you wanted to do the water park on sunday.
but, if you wanted one of the listed ones, i would say aquatica.
there are some older trip reports about homies spending the day there.

3. no proof is necessary. if you go during the week of your child's bd, i would still get the birthday sticker.
many do.

4. agree. do not buy the express passes when the parks are not crowded.
if the wait in line is 15 minutes only, tha† is a short line.

5. saving money is my goal.

never buy the express pass prior to going to the park.
if it rains that day you are in the park, there will be no crowds and you would have wasted your money.
the express passes when you buy in advance, are park and date specified.

there are no refunds on any express tickets.


if you go to the express pass calendar, you will see the costs of the ep for the date.
if that date has ep selling for $50, it will be a crowded day.
when they sell for under $30, don't waste your money.
it will be a moderate to low crowd day in the parks.

6. you have choices.

i would do a dinner at one of the onsite hotels.

you order off the regular menu.
anyone can dine at the hotel restaurants.
locals go there and don't do the parks.
it is encouraged.

you need to call the hotels and ask what dates they will have characters at their dinner hour and which characters will be there.

the hotels all have this on certain days of the week.
the characters rotate between them.
(if rph has the characters at dinner time on a saturday, that means there will be no characters at the other 2 hotels that evening.)

characters in the past i have seen are, simpsons, and scooby.

the characters will talk to you and you can do all the pictures you want.

another option is go to finnegans at the studios.
sit down place, can be loud if you are there when live music is going on.
good food, good staff.

mythos closes at 3ish.
good food, great ambiance and service.
this is a quiet place basically.
conversations don't carry in the place as much as other places.
tell them it is you bd.

in fact, tell them it is your bd at any of the dining places.

what i like in city walk may not be what others like.
i do like the hard rock cafe.
it is lively and has a lot of memoribilia of rock stars.
the menu is good and has choices.
prices are decent.

tell them it is your birthday and you get a free sundae.
you also can if you want, join the others in the center of the tables and get everyone's attention for the birthday singing time.

i like latin quarters and NBA city. mainly based on the menus. and good service.

the ones that some homies rave about i have not been satisfied with the menu and set up.
i thought bubba gumps was over priced. i have one near my place and the thrill is gone for bg. of course, if you liked the movie, you would enjoy trying this place at least one time due to the ambiance.

margaritaville was too loud for me and tables too close together.
nothing in the menu stood out for me.
i have been there three times to eat and it was just okay food for me.

if you are a parrothead, then you do need to check this place out at least once.

check out: www.citywalk.com for the city walk joints and menus.
if you decide to eat at city walk, go before the crowds so you won't have a long wait for a table.
if you go before 6:00 or after 8:30, you should have less of a wait.


back to the hotel restaurants......
on saturday nights, there is a lual/sp at rph.
it is a buffet with a hawaiin theme with hula dancers.
allyou can eat.

i think this one is better than the one at the Poly.
it is great.
you have to reserve in advance.

or, you can do dtd and do dinner there.
i have done dinner there before and it is nice.
but, saturday nights can make a wait for a table depending on where you go.

Thanks macraven for the "essay"! Awesome info! To answer your question in #2, DD wants to do a water park on Sunday, her bday, but not sure if she may change her mind and want to do a UO park instead. Even if we do a water park on Sunday, we very well could go to another one on Monday, if you think the water parks may be less crowded on the holiday than the theme parks are. We could do Aquatica on Sunday and Wet n Wild on Monday, for example. We are not the type of family who minds going to a water park 2 days in a row. And since the Flex Ticket allows us access to 2 different water parks, we might as well take advantage and use the tickets. We will probably hit IOA on Saturday the 8th after we arrive and check in to our timeshare. Water parks on Sunday and Monday (weather permitting). Then US, IOA, and Sea World throughout the next 3-4 days. We have unlimted access with our Flex Tickets so we can hit the parks more than once during our stay.

I'll have to let DD check out the restaurants online and see what appeals to her as a place to eat for her bday dinner.

I think the first time we go on FJ, we will go through the queue together as a family so we can see everything. After that, will take advantage of single rider line. Will definitely not wait until park closing to check out Olivander's.

 

[macraven]

if you wanted to do a unbirthday/birthday for your dd after you do potter, try the broomsticks restaurant.
but do it at 11 so you can get in without a wait.

 

[SharonK0527]

if you wanted to do a unbirthday/birthday for your dd after you do potter, try the broomsticks restaurant.
but do it at 11 so you can get in without a wait.

Good thought. Will run that past her as well. Thanks!!

 

[macraven]

this is off topic but sharon, are you an Ohio-ian sports fan?

 

[SharonK0527]

this is off topic but sharon, are you an Ohio-ian sports fan?

No, not really. I grew up for the first 30 years of my life in Chicago so the Chicago teams are my first love in sports

I do like to follow the Buckeyes though. Living in Columbus, I don't have much of a choice

Are you from Ohio?

 

[Batesl49]

I was at Universal last year, Columbus Day was busier than any of the other 3 days we were there. This is what we learned during our 4 days there last year:

We made an agenda of must do and must repeat do (rides, wand, 3 broomsticks, Frog Choir, Triwizard Spirit Rally, and so on).

Each morning we did the must do first thing, then going to the next must do on our agenda until the lines became crazy.

Then we went to our must do list for the other areas of the parks and went and enjoyed those.

3 days we rode FJ first and then went on to do other things.

The 4 day we went to the wand shop first and we still had to wait about a half an hour. Much better wait early because most of the line is in the sun so being their first thing it was easier to wait.

Ask a WWHP attendant when the Frog and Triwizard shows are, they will be right there in the area where the wand line is looking towards Hogwarts.

When you get to the Owlery remember to get your WWHP postcards and have them stamped with the Hogsmead postmark.

And the best book on Universal is "Universal Orlando 2011" by Seth Kubersky and Kelly Monaghan. Other books I borrowed from the library, this book i bought.

Have fun and Happy Birthday your DD.

 

[macraven]

No, not really. I grew up for the first 30 years of my life in Chicago so the Chicago teams are my first love in sports

I do like to follow the Buckeyes though. Living in Columbus, I don't have much of a choice

Are you from Ohio?

not from ohio but in my prenup to Mr Mac, it said i had to be a loyal fan to the Buckeyes..........that entire family of his are buckeye fans.......
Mr Mac started life in Long Island, then the family moved to Ohio.

he was brainwashed as a young child....


but as for me, living in illinois all my life, i do prefer the illinois teams....


btw, the only thing in his prenup was about the buckeyes.
goes to show you his priorities in life.