End of August Vacation with no Express Pass... please reassure me!

[PinkMagnolia]

Our first-ever trip to Universal! I am planning 7 nights at Cabana Bay with twin DS12 the week before Labour Day. They *love* all thrill rides.

I think we will love CB, but am concerned about crowds and lines in the parks. We have always been RD people at WDW with commando-style touring and strategic FP+. I will have 4 Universal park days (no park-to-park) so 2 full days in each park. We plan to go to Aquatica and Sea World on the other days.

How does this sound? What are crowds like this week? Will we be able to tour in a relaxed way, or should I have more of a touring plan to avoid crowds?

 

[DisneyOma]

If the kids are into Harry Potter, I'd rethink the no park to park, as you need that to ride Hogwarts Express.

I was there this past August, about a week before your timeframe, and the parks were pretty empty, except the HP sections. Not sure about the waits for the coasters, as we are not coaster people.

 

[RMulieri]

We are also going that week, staying at Portofino Bay, and went that week in 2013..It was busier than I expected, but most of the crowds were in the HP areas.I would have some sort of loose plan in place in case it turns out busier than you expect. I also agree with the PP, you will need the PARK TO PARK pass if you plan on riding the Hogwarts express

 

[PinkMagnolia]

Thanks for the replies - None of us are big HP fans, and with it being over $230 (for the 4 of us + we are CDN, so add another 30% *sigh*) to get the park-to-park feature, I think we'll avoid it.

It sounds like if we take advantage of EE we should be OK? Do all the HP sections at EE, then move onto the other areas?

 

[RMulieri]

Thanks for the replies - None of us are big HP fans, and with it being over $230 (for the 4 of us + we are CDN, so add another 30% *sigh*) to get the park-to-park feature, I think we'll avoid it.

It sounds like if we take advantage of EE we should be OK? Do all the HP sections at EE, then move onto the other areas?

The only thing besides that you are going to want to hit ASAP is Despicable ME at the studios.That ride builds HUGE lines all day.Even with express pass we waited 20 mins.Standby was over 120mins and it was over an hour first thing in the morning shortly after opening

 

[kohlby]

I think you'll be fine. Just make sure you are familiar with the rides/attractions and are aware of what you need to get to ASAP. But - also keep in mind that most of the southeast is back in school then! The two GA counties near me go back the first and second weeks of August usual. SC used to be earlier, but passed a law saying schools couldn't start before the 3rd Monday of August - so now that's when schools start, which is still before when you're going. (I don't know of a super accurate US/IOA crowd calendar, but to give you an idea, easywdw's crowd calendar is 3-5 for Disney that week this past year. So, quite manageable.

 

[PinkMagnolia]

We have been to WDW that last week of August, and crowds sure do drop off come Mon, Tue, Wed
I bought the Unofficial Guide to Universal, which has some touring plans in the back we will follow. We are on board with RDing the park, and following a plan - I just don't have a sense of how Universal absorbs crowds as this is our first trip. And I don't really know the rides well enough to know which is a priority and high capacity. I'll figure it out though - thanks!

 

[dancemonkey]

As I recall you can get in earlier because you are staying on property. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I am not a Harry Potter Fan but I must tell you all the Harry Potter ride are so visually appealing it's worth it to do them. I'd go for the Park to Park.

 

[2Kds2K9]

We typically go at the end of August and find it quite doable. Most kids are back in school by then, and the crowds are much less. We normally stay onsite for the EP, but noticed that it's really not necessary most of the time as the wait times are manageable. The only long lines really are Despicable Me and the Harry Potter stuff. If the lines are long, and single rider is available, do that. Most times you end up with your party anyway.

If you can figure out how to swing park to park, I highly advise it. We used the train to go back and forth when we could. Also, if we feel that one park is too busy, we'll move on over to the other. It's so easy to do at Universal.

Be prepared yo walk. DH was big into tracking our walking and we were doing about 15 miles a day! However, we had to go back to the hotel at least once in the afternoon to take our dogs out.

Enjoy!

 

[dja14]

That's when we are going too! All the kids in our area (west TN) and friends we know in east TN will all be back in school by then, all the family in TX and IN will be in school, so I am guessing most kids will be back, even with the later Labor day.

Thanks to our insurance rates going up so much we may have to drop back to one week instead of two and we most likely will not switch from our condo to onsite (so no express pass either) but I still think we will have plenty of time and while I expect lines I think they will be reasonable for most things. We usually ride things multiple times but I think for the rides that are consistently long we will just know ahead of time that some rides will only be done once. (I can't imagine waiting 2 hours for something and not being disappointed) We are planning on the park to park but we are big HP fans, before it was in both parks I would have left it off too.

 

[twinklestar22]

Our first-ever trip to Universal! I am planning 7 nights at Cabana Bay with twin DS12 the week before Labour Day. They *love* all thrill rides.

I think we will love CB, but am concerned about crowds and lines in the parks. We have always been RD people at WDW with commando-style touring and strategic FP+. I will have 4 Universal park days (no park-to-park) so 2 full days in each park. We plan to go to Aquatica and Sea World on the other days.

How does this sound? What are crowds like this week? Will we be able to tour in a relaxed way, or should I have more of a touring plan to avoid crowds?

 

[PinkMagnolia]

Thanks so much for all of the replies - I really appreciate it!

I have a feeling I can accomplish a lot with EE, doing some research into the rides, and using the single-rider line.

I'm also hearing over and over how awesome the train and park-to-park is, so I will do my best to try to swing that. Our low CDN $ is a real buzzkill!!! (The US $200 WDW BB deposit was CDN $270 on my statement - ouch!)

I can't tell you how excited we all are to explore Universal and all it has to offer. I have a feeling we will all love it.

 

[squirrel]

Flight Centre has the best deal for CB and it's priced in CAD. I'm arriving after you in early Sept. Their park tickets are not a good deal.

 

[wookiebeck]

We have done the deluxes with EP for the past three trips. We will be switching it up and going CB next Aug. like you. Figured we would just take it easy and not fret about the EP's. Yeah, it is crowded. Yeah, it's hot. But it is better than July. Kick back, relax, use your park days wisely and you will still get to see and do everything.