Easter crowds at USF / IOA?

[Hilary]

I know the Disney parks are packed over the Easter period, but does the same go for USF / IOA?

We have booked one night at the HRH to have front on line access to USF / IOA rides for the days either side - Good Friday and Easter Saturday.

We will be driving up from the Gulf Coast on Good Friday, so will have only half a day on arrival at HRH, but can spend all of Easter Saturday in the parks.

We've never been to IOA, but have been to USF a few times, and the main reson for this visit is to go to IOA. DH and DD2 are coaster fans, but DD1 and I aren't! With that in mind, we thought we might split into pairs to get more done.

With FOTL access, will we need the extra half day to do everything we're likely to enjoy, or do you think we'll need as much time as we can spare because of the Easter crowds?

(Or "How long is a piece of string?" )

 

[UKDEB]

Hil,

We've never been at Easter, but from everything I've read in various guidebooks (including Kelly Monaghan's Universal Orlando) and on the Universal forums here, attendance traffic pretty much mirrors that at Disney with the same 'spike' in levels during all the holiday periods, including Easter.

All that said we've been to Orlando at 'busy' and 'quiet' times and, other than the odd day here and there (once we made the mistake of doing MK on an EE day ), we've come to the conclusion it doesn't make a huge deal of difference. There are always crowds! Sure, there are days when it seems comparatively quiet and others when we pass a ride or two by because the line or FASTPASS return time is too long, but it doesn't really impact on our enjoyment. With FOTL, you won't have a problem.

In your position, I'd probably do US on Good Friday (presumably you'll at least want to do Shrek), leaving the whole of Saturday free for IoA. I'm not a coaster fan, either. I did Hulk the first time we visited IoA and loved it, but I've never plucked up the courage to do it again. I didn't like Duelling Dragons and, as for Dr Doom - forget it! I also hated Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I'm not a lover of log flume rides anyway, but this one is <i>horrible</i> - bumpy and uncomfortable. I would like to do Jurassic Park, but I've never been brave enough.

My recommedations are Spiderman (whatever you do, don't pass this by - I guarantee you'll want to ride again); Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges (but only if you don't mind getting soaked to the skin - maybe do it last just before you head back to HRH); Poseidon's Fury; The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad; The Cat in the Hat. I think The Lost Continent is probably my favourite for theming - don't miss the Mystic Fountain interacting with guests (although I don't recommend being the interactor ).

 

[TracyK]

Easter is VERY busy at all of the parks with perhaps the exception of Seaworld. We usually do Seaworld on the Easter weekend. You should be alright with FOTL. You should have perhaps a 15 min wait for the more popular rides such as Spiderman, Hulk and Shrek. We had FOTL in August which is a fairly busy time though not as busy as Easter. We found that we were able to do everything comfortably in two days. I hope they will not be selling the FOTL books at very busy times as this will impact on the Express lines.

 

[Hilary]

Thanks for the great tips, Deb I'm just working on our 'must do' attraction list and have a good start now.

Tracey - I hope you're right about the FOTL books

 

[Mike Jones]

Been at Easter last 2 years. The parks are survivable and rewarding if you follow a good plan and get there early. US and IOA are noticeably quieter than wDw anyway, at the start of the days, and were always open before the posted time..get there for 0800-0815. We'd done all the major rides at both parks over Easter weekend by about 1200. By then it was so busy we quit for the villa pool.

Mike

 

[Hilary]

Thanks, Mike

We should be able to get in early on our full day, so I'm hoping we can do the busiest rides early on and then enjoy the theming, etc later on if we have time 'spare'.