Do you make a touring plan w/ FOTL?

[forgetyourtroubles!]

If you have FOTL access, do you also make a touring plan to avoid the crowds or do tell yourself that the crowd is irrelevent b/c you have FOTL?

 

[4greatboys]

We know what things are a must before we go so we tend to do those things first and then hit everything else. Our last visit in Sept 2002 on several rides you didnt even need to use the FOTL access as there really was no line to speak of.
I still think its best to go with a loose plan and then if its not needed you dont have to stick with it.

 

[Robinrs]

Since there are some VERY popular rides at both parks, you should plan to try them earlier than the others. Universal Expresss lines can get longer than you'd like if you try after 10am.

After you've done the BIGGIES, Hulk and Spiderman at IOA and Shrek and Jimmy Neutron at US, you can take your time and do the others with no rush.

 

[damo]

Since some express lines dump into regular lines you may want to do some rides first, especially the coasters. The coasters have seperate lines for first row and if it is important to you, like it is to me, to be in the first row, then you need to do these rides first. Dueling Dragons is very, very quiet first thing since it is toward the back of the park. You can ride each, front row, if you go there first. Other than that, no plan is really needed.

If you have little kids who want to do Pteranadon Flyers then this another ride you should do first thing since the loading capacity is small and the line builds up very quickly.

 

[kellymonaghan]

I think the first thing to consider is will the park be busy or not?

If it's likely to be busy, it's probably a good idea to have a touring plan even if you have hotel FOTL and especially if you have the Universal Express Plus pass. Why? Because when the park's busy the Express lines can get long. Over the July 4 weekend, I saw Express waits at Shrek stretch to over 40 minutes!

That's the exception, though. Most Express line waits will be 15 minutes or less, but those 15 minutes can add up.

A touring plan will help guide you and insure you don't wind up missing something you'd like to see.

If the park's NOT busy, then I'd say relax and follow your bliss.

 

[forgetyourtroubles!]

We are going this weekend thru Monday, so I expect it will be fairly busy. We've never been and would like to do as much as we can.
I'm also thinking about factoring in a few waits for the "front car" of the coasters. Does FOTL get you any closer on these or if you'd like to wait for the front car, are you looking at a 1 hour wait?
Thanks again!

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

When you go to Universal Studios, quickly do Shrek and Jimmy Neutron first because they get crowded quickly (since they are up front AND new). After that run over to Men in Black on the opposite side of the park and ride that a few times until you are satisfied with your score then do Back to the Future and then whatever else you want.
The reason I say this is Men in Black's Express line sometimes gets REALLY backed up. This isn't always the case, however, near lunch time and afternoon, that's when the people over at Shrek and Jimmy Neutron have made their way over to MIB. This way, if you have done MIB a few times, you can always go back, but if you don't want to wait in a long line, you have already done it.
I always do it this way (actually I just skip Shrek and J. Neutron and go straight to MIB) and ride MIB 6 or 7 times, plus BTTF all before 11 AM!!! And that's when getting inside the park 30 minutes after it opens.
Later in the day I've found the wait to be way too long. Even single riders can be up to 20 minutes!
But, again, it's not always the case. Find out what most interests you and go from there. Keep in mind what rides are the newest (MIB is still fairly new...only J. Neutron and Shrek are newer...right??) and go from there.

Have fun!

 

[damo]

Get to the park early and first thing head to Dueling Dragons and shouldn't be much wait for front row.