ECVs at Universal Orlando - 2 parks, one day

[kingrob76]

We're planning to do as much of both parks at Universal Orlando as we can on the 16th of this month. We have a party of three with two ECVs and and staying at WDW. We're serious vets of ECV usage at WDW, but, we haven't been to UO in a very, very long time (over 20 years). So lots of questions are floating around my head...

• Any issues or concerns with bringing our own scooters into Universal? Getting from parking / in the parks, etc?
• I know they don't let ECVs into the queues. My wife won't like that, but we'll make due. Any other "gotchas" to be aware of with ECV usage IN the parks?
• We have found navigation of ECVs in very dense crowds to be problematic at WDW. What kind of crowd density should we expect this time of year at UO?

My teenage son has Autism Spectrum Disorder and waiting is a challenge for him at times. We're considering Express Passes, but really know nothing about how UO is handling that vs. disability passes and what would be a better fit. I've read that at WDW they effectively just give them to you, but at UO you have to "make your case" and then they decide - which doesn't sound ideal.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[NLKim]

We have done UO with 2 ECVs for several years now (party ranging from 4 to 7). The wheelchair transfer can be a pain as some of the standby lines can be quite long so we usually do end up getting a couple of Express pass days and we find it makes our vacation easier and more enjoyable. That way we get to ride all of our favorites quickly and the distance needed to push the wheelchair is usually a lot shorter. There is no problem getting to and from the parking lot and if you get there early enough there are several handicapped spots at the level where you don't even have to take the elevator (but these tend to fill up first). We also find it more convenient to take the Hogwarts Express to go between parks at times since you take the ECV right up to the train and it will be right outside when you get off. The elevator can get a bit backed up with strollers but the waiting line is shaded. Keep an eye open for wheelchair signs while you are in line for other rides also because although there is usually a person there to direct you to the elevator route away from the main line, sometimes they will be called away and you can end up in a place with stairs and have to reroute.
Citywalk has ramps pretty much everywhere so we have never had a problem.
Hope you have a great time!

 

[CeCe0906]

We're planning to do as much of both parks at Universal Orlando as we can on the 16th of this month. We have a party of three with two ECVs and and staying at WDW. We're serious vets of ECV usage at WDW, but, we haven't been to UO in a very, very long time (over 20 years). So lots of questions are floating around my head...

• Any issues or concerns with bringing our own scooters into Universal? Getting from parking / in the parks, etc?
• I know they don't let ECVs into the queues. My wife won't like that, but we'll make due. Any other "gotchas" to be aware of with ECV usage IN the parks?
• We have found navigation of ECVs in very dense crowds to be problematic at WDW. What kind of crowd density should we expect this time of year at UO?

My teenage son has Autism Spectrum Disorder and waiting is a challenge for him at times. We're considering Express Passes, but really know nothing about how UO is handling that vs. disability passes and what would be a better fit. I've read that at WDW they effectively just give them to you, but at UO you have to "make your case" and then they decide - which doesn't sound ideal.

Any help is appreciated!

We did one day at Universal last week after being at Disney. My granddaughter had a DAS at Disney due to anxiety panic disorder; waiting too long in lines/crowds makes her anxiety spiral and can cause meltdowns or other emotional issues. That said having the DAS worked wonderfully at Disney, we interspersed our return times for long wait time attractions with short line wait lines,or meals/snack breaks or shows or quiet time. She was able to have a magical time even when the parks were crowded.
At Universal we had Express Passes and park to park tickets as the Harry Potter areas was one of area we wanted to visit most, as we weren't interested in the extreme stuff like velocicoaster. We had an ok time, but the Express Pass basically only cuts the wait time at least in half. That being said, the Harry Potter areas are packed! I think you would find it hard to move around in an ECV. The fire breathing dragon at Diagon Alley freaked her out. She was completely distracted waiting for it to go off again. We tried the Escape from Gringotts ride, but even with the Express Pass the wait after the elevator pre-show was too long with spooky music, we had to bail due to the anxiety.
We took the train to Hogsmead, and had some luck with doing the spells there( she was picked for the wand experience at Ollivanders)but was so crowded we left for other areas of the park. We had fun in Seuss area and some other rides like Minions and MIB.

So maybe should have tried for disability Pass there also, but thought the Express Pass would work, so didn't explore that.

I'm sure there are ways around it, but it seemed like there were stairs in a lot of areas. Like stairs up then go over and go down stairs to load rides. And many rides require you to put things in lockers and those areas are very busy, don't know how you would maneuver in there. But lots of people and only mask recommendations so not as much mask wearing.

 

[HopperFan]

At Universal we had Express Passes and park to park tickets as the Harry Potter areas was one of area we wanted to visit most, as we weren't interested in the extreme stuff like velocicoaster. We had an ok time, but the Express Pass basically only cuts the wait time at least in half. That being said, the Harry Potter areas are packed! I think you would find it hard to move around in an ECV. The fire breathing dragon at Diagon Alley freaked her out. She was completely distracted waiting for it to go off again. We tried the Escape from Gringotts ride, but even with the Express Pass the wait after the elevator pre-show was too long with spooky music, we had to bail due to the anxiety.

We took the train to Hogsmead, and had some luck with doing the spells there( she was picked for the wand experience at Ollivanders)but was so crowded we left for other areas of the park. We had fun in Seuss area and some other rides like Minions and MIB.

So maybe should have tried for disability Pass there also, but thought the Express Pass would work, so didn't explore that.

I'm sure there are ways around it, but it seemed like there were stairs in a lot of areas. Like stairs up then go over and go down stairs to load rides. And many rides require you to put things in lockers and those areas are very busy, don't know how you would maneuver in there. But lots of people and only mask recommendations so not as much mask wearing.

Just an FYI, my son utilizes the Disability Pass at Universal (yes they are much more strict there than Disney) and so you know it wouldn't have resulted in anything much different than the Express Pass. You would basically travel the same route, same wait times once inside but add that you'll have to wait outside the line the standby time. If you are trying to get as much done as possible in a short amount of time Express Pass is the way to go since it won't include the extra waiting to even get in line.