Does this make sense?

[Alli1988]

We Disney every year, but since I've never seen a Star Wars movie, I started looking into Universal for this year. Also, thinking about leaving my kids at home (I've been pregnant at Disney, breastfeeding at Disney, changing diapers at Disney, and potty training at Disney, and this year I want to be bag-less, stroller-less, whine-less, and drunk at Universal

My husband and I are looking at September 8-12 - Buy 2 get 3 days free tickets. Because of a discount service offered through my work we can stay at DoubleTree or Holiday Inn across the street for around $60/night. Our flights are $110 round trip/per person - we have Allegiant in our back yard and will use Uber when we get to Orlando. We (meaning, I) have always planned Disney down to nearly our walking paths. Questions:

1. Is 4 nights/basically 4 days too much? Specifically, we check in Sunday night to basically go to bed, and Thursday head to the airport around lunch time. We rope drop and will stay late, we are used to pushing ourselves and enjoy the rush. We will single rider line. Will we get bored? We are open to City Walk and checking out resorts for a bit, but will not swim. We don't really want to venture Orlando too much because this is a budget trip and Uber and additional tickets will add up.
2. Is Doubletree or Holiday Inn without EP going to be annoying? We always Disney during the literal LEAST busy week of the year according to crowd calendars and have only stood in line for ONE ride line longer than 20 minutes in 5 years. We can stand in line, especially since we won't have the kids, but I don't want it to be significant. I thought about a EP pass hotel for 1 night, but my husband HATES resort hopping - plus in September is it needed - especially if we are willing to be at the park at open?
3. How much am I screwing myself by not having a plan? It feels like a good plan to not have a plan, and not watch a million online videos in advance, and just experience everything for the first time when we get there, but am I going to be kicking myself? I will of course have flight, hotel, tickets, uber on my phone, Universal App, and read DisBoards pretty diligently between now and then.
4. We aren't huge Harry Potter fans. Should I make an effort to watch the movies before going? No chance of reading the books, but maybe the movies is do-able.
5. Best location between Orlando Sanford and Universal for beer and junk food?

If anyone has experience with Doubletree/Holiday Inn breakfast (or lack of) and shuttle (or lack of) please share! Alcohol beverage prices (at the parks/the offsite hotels) - are they similar to Disney? Our last visit a frozen Marg was $17 at the resort!

 

[imprint]

2. Check the price for one night during your trip at each of Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, and Portofino Bay. You get included unlimited express passes for everyone in the room (it's your room key) for the day of check-in as well as the day of check-out. So, you could have EPs for two days for the cost of a one-night stay. And as for your husband's concerns about resort hopping, you don't actually have to stay there. Some people use this tactic and "throw away" the room just to get the included EPs.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. I think that is a good amount of time with no Express. We did 5 days total in Feb 2018 from the Holiday Inn Across from Universal (so no early entry or express passes). Also 2 adults. Copious use of the single rider lines is excellent. If you will want to ride your favorites a lot, this works well. If you'll want to ride each thing once or twice and move on, and skip shows, you may find 4 days is more than necessary.
2. You should be fine. UO rope drop gives actual walk-on rides for a while. Single rider lines allow for short lines during busy times of the day. Only thing will be that you'll be at a distance from the hotel if you do the water rides (which are fun). Jurassic Park didn't get me more than spritzed, but Dudley flume & Popeye barges will leave you soaked. Plan accordingly.
3. I like the "explore and discover" method to enjoy the scenery and rides for the first time (on ride video spoilers). It's a good idea to familiarize yourselves with the parks & City Walk layouts on the map. It's also beneficial to download the Universal App for ride wait times and show schedules. A few rides have no single rider lines and long waits through most of the day (Minions & Kong, mostly), so plan to hit them early in the day for minimal lines. Likely same with the new Hagrid coaster.
4. I'd watch at least the first movie. That will introduce both HP land settings and the Forbidden Journey ride. If you're semi-interested after that, watch more . The Gringotts ride is based on later movies but should still be fun without having seen them. The Gringotts Bank setting is also introduced in the first movie.

6. Holiday Inn shuttle - you grab a ticket for the ride over either the day before, or morning of (if there is availability - IME that is a crapshoot at best in the morning). They have a few times each morning; 2 times should be before park opening. We did it twice. Quick ride, full bus (not unsafe full, but standing room only). Drops you off at City Walk security. You don't need a ticket for the ride back (also a few prescheduled times). We never hit the timing right for the ride back, so we just walked. As 2 adults, I would walk rather than Uber. It's a pleasant walk on a landscaped lit sidewalk, crossing one major street (which they are building a pedestrian bridge over). If you walk in the morning, the sidewalk takes you to the valet entrance: no lines for security!
We brought light breakfast (cereal / granola bars) and didn't try the TGIFridays breakfast at the hotel. Got the "big pink" in Springfield one day and that provided breakfast a few days as well. Now there is also a VooDoo Donuts in City Walk, plus Cinnabon & Starbucks, so you shouldn't go hungry

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Disxuni]

I would highly recommend watching at least the first Harry Potter film, then continue on wards if it seems to be something you're enjoying. I will say that seeing something makes the whole experience more enjoyable. For example, when I first initially rode the Mummy and watched T2 (no longer at the parks), I definitely enjoyed them, but have to admit after watching the film and enjoying that experience, then going onto the ride, or watching the show made it far more better.

As for EP, I'm on the fence about it, because you have four days, which should be plenty of time without EP. As you'll have enough time to not only experience all the rides, but also enjoy all the little things Universal has to offer and let's you have time to smell the roses. However, the fact that you say you have never waited in line for more than 20 minutes raises a flag to me, as you might be able to do that with a decent amount of rides, especially if you go early when they first open, but as the day progresses, especially with the Harry Potter areas and more popular rides, you'll definitely be waiting for more then 20 minutes. I know you said you can wait, but going by what you said, I don't know what your limit would be in terms of waiting.

Also, people are thinking that the opening of GE might increase the crowds, as when people go to Disney, a lot of people do often like to go to Universal as well. Since you're aiming for the beginning of Sept and the opening of GE is at the end of Aug, if it does affect the crowd the wait times might be slightly higher than they typically would in September.

So, if you don't get EP, I'd suggest getting there early and enjoy it as much as possible, then when you think it's too busy, go back to the hotel to relax, enjoy a nice meal, maybe watch a show, or two, or shop. Then go back in the evening when things slow down a little and/or also watch the night time shows in the evening.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

1. Is 4 nights/basically 4 days too much? Specifically, we check in Sunday night to basically go to bed, and Thursday head to the airport around lunch time. We rope drop and will stay late, we are used to pushing ourselves and enjoy the rush. We will single rider line. Will we get bored? We are open to City Walk and checking out resorts for a bit, but will not swim. We don't really want to venture Orlando too much because this is a budget trip and Uber and additional tickets will add up. For me, this is the perfect amount of time. You don't have to rope drop or stay late to do what you want to do, so you can have some more relaxing days. We also pick one day for water rides and leave once we've gotten wet enough. We do have our own car, so it's easy to go back to the resort to shower and change and then come back for dinner at City Walk.
2. Is Doubletree or Holiday Inn without EP going to be annoying? We always Disney during the literal LEAST busy week of the year according to crowd calendars and have only stood in line for ONE ride line longer than 20 minutes in 5 years. We can stand in line, especially since we won't have the kids, but I don't want it to be significant. I thought about a EP pass hotel for 1 night, but my husband HATES resort hopping - plus in September is it needed - especially if we are willing to be at the park at open? We always stay offsite, just not at those hotels, and we have never felt like we missed the EP. We go in early June, when it's busier than your dates, and we do everything we want with waits that aren't bad. Some people will say you have to have EP, but we always are just as happy without.
3. How much am I screwing myself by not having a plan? It feels like a good plan to not have a plan, and not watch a million online videos in advance, and just experience everything for the first time when we get there, but am I going to be kicking myself? I will of course have flight, hotel, tickets, uber on my phone, Universal App, and read DisBoards pretty diligently between now and then. The great thing about Universal is that you don't need to plan! Seriously, other than picking a wet ride day, and trying to time the newest Harry Potter ride for late or very early in the day, we don't plan. We just show up and have fun, no plan needed.
4. We aren't huge Harry Potter fans. Should I make an effort to watch the movies before going? No chance of reading the books, but maybe the movies is do-able. You'll enjoy the HP stuff a little better if you've seen the first 1-3 movies, but it's not necessary. My mom has read none of the HP books and seen none of the movies and still really enjoyed the atmosphere of the HP areas. My boys were happy to explain things to her, but the area is enjoyable even if you know very little. The rides will make more sense if you have some ideas of the book / movie plots.
5. Best location between Orlando Sanford and Universal for beer and junk food? We always drive, so I can't help you here.

Go and have a great time. These are fun parks for grown-ups.