Disney Pro First UO/IoA Trip! Questions

[MomOTwins]

Hello All,

Let me first say, that I haven't been to UO/IOA in almost 20 years and when I went it was still a technical preview! I'm somewhat of a Disney Pro and had that planning down to a science until COVID decided to join our world. We (Myself, 7y/o, 10y/o) are staying at Disney's Boardwalk (we are DVC members) for our trip in June and then at a friend's condo in August. We'll be visiting UO/IoA for 2 days in June and up to 5 days in August. With us going more than a few days and coming back within a year, we opted for the Preferred AP.

I have a bunch of questions, sorry if this is long!

1.) Travel from Boardwalk to UA/IoA - I looked into Mears Shuttle and the earliest they pick up is 7:25am. Is this early enough? Should we Uber instead or use another service? Especially if we need to pick up APs from Will Call.

2.) Are lanyards provided for AP holders?

3.) We pre-purchased Exp. Pass Unlimited for our First Day (Friday), what happens if the park reaches capacity before we get in? Will they refund this?

4.) With 2 kids and their appetites, any suggestions for dining, especially seating? Is it like Disney where advanced dining reservations are needed?

5.) Does anyone know what the Express Pass Unlimited may cost on a Saturday in June when purchased at the park (if available)? It looks AP members can save 30%. Just weighing options.

6.) Can purchases inside the park be delivered to the front and picked up at the end of the day similar to Disney?

My daughter has been immersed in Harry Potter this past year (read all the books!), my game plan is to head to IoA, try to get a Hagrid's Virtual Queue ticket, hit some of the Harry Potter Rides, Jurassic Park, and make our way over to UO. The good news is we'll be back the next day and in August in case it's crazy busy or the weather decides to flip. The bad news is telling my daughter that we need to hit as many rides with our Express Passes before hanging out in Diagon Alley or Hogsmead!

Thanks!

You sound just like us! We are disney vets who did universal for the first time this March and are going back in August so got the preferred pass too.

Glad you switched to hotel instead of buying EP—we are doing the same both trips as it is so much cheaper. After checking in at Portofino, there is a separate ticketing desk on the same floor a little down the hallway (as you walk in from the entrance, it is to the left of the little courtyard area in the lobby) where you can get APs. Your room key acts as your express pass. Lanyards are an additional cost of I think around $10-15. We bought ours cheaper on Amazon before the trip.

Don’t use Mears they are awful as a PP said. Get both the uber and lyft app and use whatever is cheaper at the time. Don’t stress about rope drop on your transit day from Boardwalk. You’ll need time to check in, get APs and get boat to parks. Just use your express pass first day and wait until the next morning when you are onsite to rope drop the stuff you can’t express pass (eg Hagrids, Ollivanders). Express pass does work on Gringotts, Forbidden Journey and Hippogriff so no need to put off harry potter for the non-EP portion of your trip.

We loved the harry potter quick service but mobile order is different from Disney. You place a mobile order but do not get a return time. Instead you just queue up outside the restaurant and wait in line for a table. Once you get a table, you enter your table number in the app and that is when they start preparing food. So best to eat quick service at off times or you may have a long wait in the heat. For table service, we had read ADRs were not needed at Universal but post-Covid that was not the case—definitely book restaurants ahead as when we tried to find a place to eat dinner on day one the earliest available was 9pm and places were not taking walk ups. We booked meals after that for the rest of the trip, but had some wacky meal times as a result of not booking in advance. Toothsome is incredible and we had a nice meal at Vivo too. Couldn’t get a table at cowfish or mythos but heard they are great so have both booked for our august trip.

 

[mamapenguin]

The stickies can help with some of your questions

I can tell you from personal experiences to hit
the potter section during early entry.
You can cover more ground then as crowds grow early once the park is open to all



take advantage when you stay onsite for that early one hour entry.

staying off site .... be there early so your wait in line time is not forever to get into the park
Line await time can vary based on the days you go to UO

I have never received a lanyard with an AP. I didn’t know that was an option. I just thought they were available for purchase.

 

[BobbyBond2]

You sound just like us! We are disney vets who did universal for the first time this March and are going back in August so got the preferred pass too.

Glad you switched to hotel instead of buying EP—we are doing the same both trips as it is so much cheaper. After checking in at Portofino, there is a separate ticketing desk on the same floor a little down the hallway (as you walk in from the entrance, it is to the left of the little courtyard area in the lobby) where you can get APs. Your room key acts as your express pass. Lanyards are an additional cost of I think around $10-15. We bought ours cheaper on Amazon before the trip.

Don’t use Mears they are awful as a PP said. Get both the uber and lyft app and use whatever is cheaper at the time. Don’t stress about rope drop on your transit day from Boardwalk. You’ll need time to check in, get APs and get boat to parks. Just use your express pass first day and wait until the next morning when you are onsite to rope drop the stuff you can’t express pass (eg Hagrids, Ollivanders). Express pass does work on Gringotts, Forbidden Journey and Hippogriff so no need to put off harry potter for the non-EP portion of your trip.

We loved the harry potter quick service but mobile order is different from Disney. You place a mobile order but do not get a return time. Instead you just queue up outside the restaurant and wait in line for a table. Once you get a table, you enter your table number in the app and that is when they start preparing food. So best to eat quick service at off times or you may have a long wait in the heat. For table service, we had read ADRs were not needed at Universal but post-Covid that was not the case—definitely book restaurants ahead as when we tried to find a place to eat dinner on day one the earliest available was 9pm and places were not taking walk ups. We booked meals after that for the rest of the trip, but had some wacky meal times as a result of not booking in advance. Toothsome is incredible and we had a nice meal at Vivo too. Couldn’t get a table at cowfish or mythos but heard they are great so have both booked for our august trip.

Thanks for the in depth reply! I actually booked a private care from Orlando Transfer there and we’ll use Uber/Lyft back to BWV.

I’m really worried about the crowdedness this time around, especially with food. But the EPs should help at least with attractions. TouringPlans just released their park predictions for UA/IoA and Disney. Things are off the chart. I don’t know what to expect in all honesty. Park attendance is increasing but ride restrictions are decreasing so maybe things will be even.

I need to look at ADR for UA/IoA but at this point I may be too late!

 

[macraven]

I have never received a lanyard with an AP. I didn’t know that was an option. I just thought they were available for purchase.

I misread your post and want to correct it
My free lanyards I received were due to taking a paid tour at UO.
There were the standard basic UO lanyards.