Do you find touring plans helpful for universal?

[kniquy]

I have the touring plans subscription for WDW, but a portion of our trip will be staying at RPR for 3 days with the unlimited express pass - Our plan is for 2 park days - one day at each park. No real time for volcano bay this trip.

So my question is - would the subscription for the touring plans for universal be helpful? I find it an invaluable tool for WDW, but with the unlimited express pass i don't know how much planning we will really have to do. I know very little about universal but i do understand that the Harry potter rides/area does not offer the EP, so that we may have to plan certain times to hit.

Any thoughts?

 

[sherlockmiles]

I wouldnt. Youll be find just exploring.

 

[tweak89]

IMO, no, especially since you will have the unlimited Express Pass. Now that Gringott's, Forbidden Journey and the Hogwarts Express ARE PART OF EXPRESS PASS you can enjoy the parks at your leisure. We have a trip coming up at the end of September, and this will probably be the first time we sleep in instead of doing the Potter dash during early entry hours (for hotel guests). Might still do it just to let my Sister soak in Diagon/Hogsmeade everything in without bigger afternoon crowds, but we won't be running straight for Forbidden Journey like we have in the past.

 

[kniquy]

Now that Gringott's, Forbidden Journey and the Hogwarts Express ARE PART OF EXPRESS PASS you can enjoy the parks at your leisure.

I had no clue!! this is how little i know about UO. I am actually really looking forward to this part of the trip so that i can relax from the disney portion. Aside from making some dining reservations it seems like this will be a dream

 

[sherlockmiles]

It is very different than Disney. Not better, not worse, just different. Really wish you could make reservations at toothsome though. My sister really liked mythos - we were there for lunch.

 

[bchbetha]

No plan needed. I do like the sample itineraries on Orlando Informer because they have awesome Harry Potter nook and cranny suggestions not to miss. Just relax and go where you want, when you want. Chill at the resort mid-day, if so inclined.

 

[Squirlz]

I've had Touring Plans subscriptions to Disney and Universal for several years. I've never used the actual touring plans feature though. I use it to check wait times and get info on attractions and restaurants etc.

 

[dizneedoll]

I had a subscription for our first trip 2 years ago but never used or needed to use any of the actual touring plans. That's one of things I loved about Universal. I do use Orlando Informer planning guides. They have a lot of info about rides, restaurants, express pass, photos, refillable mugs, etc. A great resource. Of course the Dis is an awesome resource too!

 

[embracejg]

The touring plans themselves are too rigid for my tastes. Going during the off-season and having Express makes them pretty unnecessary too.

I do like their Lines app because of its predictions for when lines will start going down and including times for single riders.

 

[gotomu212]

I had no clue!! this is how little i know about UO. I am actually really looking forward to this part of the trip so that i can relax from the disney portion. Aside from making some dining reservations it seems like this will be a dream

You have to come back and let us know what you thought. I love hearing reactions from people with little UO experience. (I think you'll be amazed at how incredibly relaxing it is).

 

[kniquy]

You have to come back and let us know what you thought. I love hearing reactions from people with little UO experience. (I think you'll be amazed at how incredibly relaxing it is).

I will definitely report back. I almost feel like i am doing something wrong because i am not worried about planning any of it. I do think if we were not staying at a hotel which had the unlimited express pass that we would need to plot out more of a plan for our day, so this does feel very freeing.

For WDW we are coming up with preliminary plans, having family meetings, making changes and then regrouping again -- I enjoy it but i feel like every day is thinking about how we can do our WDW part of the trip. It can get a little draining.

 

[SkiTeton]

I will definitely report back. I almost feel like i am doing something wrong because i am not worried about planning any of it....

I feel the same way! With Disney, everyday is mapped out but with our trip to UO this year, I feel as if I have forgotten something at home and we haven't even left yet. It's freeing yet gives me anxiety.

We don't have express passes (staying at CBBR) so I subscribed to the UO plan. I've done a few personalized plans and even with a "casual" pace we are scheduled to be done by 1:00PM. With the amount of time we will be on property and the 3-park explorer tickets, I expect this to be an actual relaxing vacation!

 

[Arden01]

I have the touring plans subscription for WDW, but a portion of our trip will be staying at RPR for 3 days with the unlimited express pass - Our plan is for 2 park days - one day at each park. No real time for volcano bay this trip.

So my question is - would the subscription for the touring plans for universal be helpful? I find it an invaluable tool for WDW, but with the unlimited express pass i don't know how much planning we will really have to do. I know very little about universal but i do understand that the Harry potter rides/area does not offer the EP, so that we may have to plan certain times to hit.

Any thoughts?

I got that subscription before our trip and didn't use it. We ended up following a loose version of one of the Orlando Informer plans. My daughters primarily were interested in Harry Potter, so we just followed the "Harry's journey" plan on the first day. The next day, we just wandered and did whatever we wanted. We also had the EP since we stayed on site and it was amazing to walk on rides and have very little wait. Also, Harry Potter rides now accept the EP! I don't think the subscription for Universal will be useful the way it is for Disney.

 

[gotomu212]

I will definitely report back. I almost feel like i am doing something wrong because i am not worried about planning any of it. I do think if we were not staying at a hotel which had the unlimited express pass that we would need to plot out more of a plan for our day, so this does feel very freeing.

For WDW we are coming up with preliminary plans, having family meetings, making changes and then regrouping again -- I enjoy it but i feel like every day is thinking about how we can do our WDW part of the trip. It can get a little draining.

I love it! And know exactly what you mean by family meetings to plan for WDW. Our family planning for UO was "hey everyone go find your old lanyards and your wands to pack" (this sadly took just as long as reserving 5 ADRs for a party of 50 would have lol)

 

[stcav2000]

No, not at all. I always use touring plans at Disney (every second of the day is planned out). What I love about Universal, especially when you have express pass, is there is no need for planning. Feel like sleeping in, no problem. Want to grab lunch or dinner at a nice sit down restaurant with no reservation, no problem. Kids want to ride a headliner 2-3 times in a row, have fun. Feel like going back to the room to relax and coming back later, its all good. Universal is truly a relaxing vacation. No planning required at all.

Disclaimer: Halloween Horror at Universal is not like that. Unless you want to buy the express pass (not included with your room or your park express pass) you can expect very long lines all night long. Making a plan for that event is highly recommended.

 

[jpkkld]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I wanted to share my slightly different view.

I do use TPs at WDW. We follow them closely at MK, slightly less so at the other parks. We build in afternoon breaks and relaxed meal times, and still do everything we want and more!

We've been to Universal 3 times since 2015, and we have 2 more trips planned this Fall. We did not have - or need - plans for our 1st 3 trips.

I'll be taking my mother to see HP and it will be over Columbus Day weekend. She's not in the best of health, and she has anxiety in crowds. It's essential that we minimize backtracking, maximize US park time (no HHN for us!), and build in LOTS of breaks.

I mapped out some loose plans and plugged them into the TP engine. Found a few pitfalls I hadn't considered. Found a few opportunities to do something extra. I ended up reworking a whole day due to some unrealistic expectations on my part.

So I think, with a nontypical group during moderate to busy times, TPs may be a great tool.

But for a typical family with normal mobility, and especially with EPs, no plan needed.

We leave in 3 weeks. Whoo-hoo!

 

[mamabearof4]

I'll put in my 2 cents worth....while we didn't stick completely to a touring plan, I did follow a lot of the suggestions.....on days we had EP it just made even shorter lines

1. Be at Despicable Me EARLY (at rope drop). even with EP the line gets long and remains long.
2. Either Harry Potter land was much nicer in the mornings with less crowds. (or late at night about an hour before closing)
3. Kong needs to be an early ride too...maybe not at rope drop but definitely within 1st couple hours. It was down for mechanical reasons when we got there around 10 am on 1 day, and when we tried to go back that afternoon even the EP line was horrendous. took us 3 days to actually ride that ride! (because if we didn't get there early enough we didn't want to wait)
4. Spiderman we found best if hitting somewhat early as well
5. most of the shows can be worked in just about anytime...there's a ton of people that all get let in at once