Evaluate my One Day/ Two Park Touring Plan

[prettypatchesmsu]

Would you US/IOA experts please help with our one day/two park touring plan. It will be three adults, we will get there at opening and stay till close (non hhn night), and it is the second week of October. We have been to US and IOA once for one day in 2011 and saw HP area plus parts of both parks. We have not been since DA opened.

Here is what I was planning:

1 Day Plan for Both Parks

Attraction

1 Escape from Gringotts (Diagon Alley area exploration)
2 Transformers
3 Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
4 E.T. Adventure
5 Hogwarts Express to IOA
6 Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey + Hogsmeade exploration
7 High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride
8 Cat in the Hat
9 Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
10 Jurassic Park River Adventure
11 Hogwarts Express to US
12 Revenge of the Mummy

----- If still have time:
13 Men in Black Alien Attack
14 Shrek 4-D
15 TWISTER - Ride It Out
16 Beetlejuice Revue

Please let me know if the order seems right or what you would suggest. I'm hearing about how long Despicable Me waits can be so I'm wondering if we should head there first then Gringotts. I was thinking that DA would get super busy so best to do it first, but I'm now second guessing that.

Thanks for any help! We know Disney but US/IOA are still kind of a mystery in planning.

 

[sharona]

At IoA, after FJ and Hogsmeade I'd go to Jurassic Park then continue on to Spiderman then over to Seussland and loop back around to Hogsmeade again to catch the train.

My only other advice is to head back over to DA after it gets dark. The alley is so much different at night. Less crowded and more room to really explore the shops and theming. The dragon is better at night too and the wait for Gringotts will be much more manageable. Go there first by all means but definitely go back!

 

[johde]

From looking at Touring Plans, right now, in general, shortly after rope drop is the worst time to hit Escape From Gringotts. Unless you can be at the head of the pack your better off waiting an hour or so. Everybody has the same idea as you. Let's hit it first. Despicable Me, on the other hand grows in wait time and never goes down. My commando park plan is

1. Despicable Me
2. HRRR (not on your list)
3. Revenge of the Mummy
4. Transformers
5. Simpsons (not on your list)
6. MIB

First thing in the morning you should be able to hit these very quickly.
Then head into Diagon Alley. Depending on the Show Schedules.
7. Watch Tales of Beetle the Bard and Celestina Warback
8. Ride Gringotts
9. Do a little bit of Exploring of Diagon Alley

10. Take Hogwarts Express over to IOA
11. Ride Forbidden Journey If the lines long to SRL combined with Castle Tour
12. Ride Flight of the Hippogryph (if the lines not too long)
13. Ride 1 side of Dueling Dragon. (not on your list)
14. Eat at 3 Broomsticks.

15. Exit IOA towards Jurassic Park and ride rides as you come to them in Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Marvel, and Seuss Landing.

16. If lines are manageable, ride Forbidden Journey a second time (possible in Single Rider) and ride other side of Dragon Challenge

17. Ride Hogwarts Express back to USF

18. Ride E.T. See Twister, Terminator 3D, Beetlejuice, etc.

19. Return to Diagon Alley after dark for more touring.

20. If time, eat Dinner at Leaky Cauldron. (If time is running short you can get in Citywalk after the parks close.

 

[macraven]

what date are you planning on?
mon/tue, no hhn so the studios will close at 6 and ioa an hour later if you go during the week.

so, you plan to go between the 1st to the 16th?

still try to work with mon/tues as hell week starts usually mid october.

try to aim for a monday or tuesday for better park hours and less crowds.

 

[lorryx3]

Do you think it's better to start at IOA or start at the Studios?
I was thinking start at Hogsmeade then Jurassic Park, then over to Studios and try Diagon Alley, but if too busy do the rest of the park and then head back to Escape from Gringotts?

Skipping -
Hulk and the rest of the marvel rides (too scary)
Dr Seuss - too young
RRR - too scary
Transformers - boring

want to go on:
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Dragon Challenge
Flight of the Hippogriff
Jurassic Park River Ride Adventure
Hogwarts Express back to Universal
ET Adventure
Dispicable Me – depending on wait times, happy to skip
Revenge of the Mummy
The Simpsons Ride
Back to Diagon Alley
Escape from Gingrotts

This will be Jan 2016.

 

[macraven]

Would you US/IOA experts please help with our one day/two park touring plan. It will be three adults, we will get there at opening and stay till close (non hhn night), and it is the second week of October. We have been to US and IOA once for one day in 2011 and saw HP area plus parts of both parks. We have not been since DA opened.

Here is what I was planning:

1 Day Plan for Both Parks

Attraction

1 Escape from Gringotts (Diagon Alley area exploration)
2 Transformers
3 Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
4 E.T. Adventure
5 Hogwarts Express to IOA
6 Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey + Hogsmeade exploration
7 High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride
8 Cat in the Hat
9 Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
10 Jurassic Park River Adventure
11 Hogwarts Express to US
12 Revenge of the Mummy

----- If still have time:
13 Men in Black Alien Attack
14 Shrek 4-D
15 TWISTER - Ride It Out
16 Beetlejuice Revue

Please let me know if the order seems right or what you would suggest. I'm hearing about how long Despicable Me waits can be so I'm wondering if we should head there first then Gringotts. I was thinking that DA would get super busy so best to do it first, but I'm now second guessing that.

Thanks for any help! We know Disney but US/IOA are still kind of a mystery in planning.

i'll be at the darkside for the week also.........
twister is going down so you won't be able to do that ride.
beetlejuice is either going down or could be relocated to another place, but unknown when that will happen.

looks like you have 2 on your list you can take off for the studios.

 

[sharona]

Do you think it's better to start at IOA or start at the Studios?
I was thinking start at Hogsmeade then Jurassic Park, then over to Studios and try Diagon Alley, but if too busy do the rest of the park and then head back to Escape from Gringotts?

Skipping -
Hulk and the rest of the marvel rides (too scary)
Dr Seuss - too young
RRR - too scary
Transformers - boring

want to go on:
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Dragon Challenge
Flight of the Hippogriff
Jurassic Park River Ride Adventure
Hogwarts Express back to Universal
ET Adventure
Dispicable Me – depending on wait times, happy to skip
Revenge of the Mummy
The Simpsons Ride
Back to Diagon Alley
Escape from Gingrotts

This will be Jan 2016.

Don't skip Spiderman. It's not all that scary and is a great ride!!!

 

[MAMA GRAVE]

Don't skip Spiderman. It's not all that scary and is a great ride!!!

I agree! Spiderman was our favorite ride in both parks.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

what date are you planning on?
mon/tue, no hhn so the studios will close at 6 and ioa an hour later if you go during the week.

so, you plan to go between the 1st to the 16th?

still try to work with mon/tues as hell week starts usually mid october.

try to aim for a monday or tuesday for better park hours and less crowds.

i'll be at the darkside for the week also.........
twister is going down so you won't be able to do that ride.
beetlejuice is either going down or could be relocated to another place, but unknown when that will happen.

looks like you have 2 on your list you can take off for the studios.

We really are trip twins aren't we haha! We are thinking about Monday Oct 5th or Tuesday the 6th. So no HHN, and the hours are extended those days. I've been following about the changes, so I guess I'm hoping BeetleJuice might last till that time.

So I'm hearing some conflicting info on whether to do Gringotts first or Despicable Me. If we did Despicable Me first instead, that would move Gringotts to fourth and timewise I'm figuring that would make it about it about 12:30pm for Gringotts. Wouldn't the wait still be high and it be busy still that early? I guess I'm wondering whether swapping them will make very much difference?

 

[macraven]

We really are trip twins aren't we haha! We are thinking about Monday Oct 5th or Tuesday the 6th. So no HHN, and the hours are extended those days. I've been following about the changes, so I guess I'm hoping BeetleJuice might last till that time.

So I'm hearing some conflicting info on whether to do Gringotts first or Despicable Me. If we did Despicable Me first instead, that would move Gringotts to fourth and timewise I'm figuring that would make it about it about 12:30pm for Gringotts. Wouldn't the wait still be high and it be busy still that early? I guess I'm wondering whether swapping them will make very much difference?

we are twinkies.......

my guess that oct 5th might have less crowds as it follows a night of hhn, which closes at 1:00 am that morning.
maybe some of the peeps that stay onsite will sleep in that morning.
(just a guess but either way, i'll be at the parks from that weekend until the 16th.)
if you are staying off site, that monday/tuesday should be decent days for the parks.
ioa closing at 8 pm lets you enjoy the parks after dark.

if you plan to do the cine spectacular show at the studios, i'm thinking better chances of that showing on M/T.

when you are in the studios, check the line for DE and make a decision then.
if the line is short, do that ride then.
it only builds throughout the day...

i think the decision of starting with Gringotts or DE might be best made once you are there and can see the line waits.

 

[johde]

We really are trip twins aren't we haha! We are thinking about Monday Oct 5th or Tuesday the 6th. So no HHN, and the hours are extended those days. I've been following about the changes, so I guess I'm hoping BeetleJuice might last till that time.

So I'm hearing some conflicting info on whether to do Gringotts first or Despicable Me. If we did Despicable Me first instead, that would move Gringotts to fourth and timewise I'm figuring that would make it about it about 12:30pm for Gringotts. Wouldn't the wait still be high and it be busy still that early? I guess I'm wondering whether swapping them will make very much difference?

I think you're overestimating how long it will take to get through the other rides at Universal first thing in the morning. Using Touring Plans, the plan I laid out get's you to Diagon Alley abut 10:00 (2 hours after opening). The only "long" wait you have is for Gringotts. and 45 minutes isn't that bad of a wait. The queue is so well themed that you want at least a little bit of wait time. Despicable Me has a fairly regular queue before the 2 preshows. If you wanted to risk it, the best time to hit Gringotts would be in the evening. But you always run the risk of something happening to the ride.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

I think you're overestimating how long it will take to get through the other rides at Universal first thing in the morning. Using Touring Plans, the plan I laid out get's you to Diagon Alley abut 10:00 (2 hours after opening). The only "long" wait you have is for Gringotts. and 45 minutes isn't that bad of a wait. The queue is so well themed that you want at least a little bit of wait time. Despicable Me has a fairly regular queue before the 2 preshows. If you wanted to risk it, the best time to hit Gringotts would be in the evening. But you always run the risk of something happening to the ride.

Thanks, yeah I might be thinking stuff takes longer than it will really take. I'm more familiar with Disney wait times. We will be slower in walking around so we will be enjoying the scenery more than pure "get it done" mode. I think I'll lean towards Despicable Me First and do like Macraven suggests and check the wait time when we enter for it first then decide. Swap as needed.

 

[johde]

Thanks, yeah I might be thinking stuff takes longer than it will really take. I'm more familiar with Disney wait times. We will be slower in walking around so we will be enjoying the scenery more than pure "get it done" mode. I think I'll lean towards Despicable Me First and do like Macraven suggests and check the wait time when we enter for it first then decide. Swap as needed.

You're still going to run into lines. At Universal the "big" lines tend to happen between 12:30 and 5:00. So, they are going to happen while you're at IOA. Touring Plans figures it will be a 4-5 crowd day. Most of the IOA rides will have a 25-30 min. wait. After about 5:00 lines will shrink again. Looking at the park hours, it would be temping to try and Park Hop 3 times. From 7:00-8:00 at IOA you should be able to ride most everything with under a 10 minute wait.

I would say park hop only once, but the Hogwarts Express is different each direction and both parks (Especially the HP areas) are especially magical after dark.

 

[macraven]

i have been going the same dates in october for the past 10 years or more.
some patterns are unchanged, some are new for line wait times.

one other thing that works is to do rides during the regular lunch time periods.
can run into shorter lines when others are breaking for food

but wait and judge the lines when you are there so you can adjust the options for shorter line waits.

those with the premier ap's can use the express lines after 4, think it is still at 4:00, and you might find many taking advantage of that up to the end of the park day.

 

[Ginya]

Don't skip Spiderman. It's not all that scary and is a great ride!!!

Agreed about Spiderman! We went to IOA in 2011 and my DD then10, afterwards announced she did not like IOA and her fave ride was Spiderman even though she doesn't like spiderman lol. Spiderman was not scary and the effects blew us away! We are going to WDW Christmas week this year and my OTHER DD16 and I will take one day to do both USF and IOA because she loved HP. My DH and DD15 will spend the day at DisneyQuest instead. So following along on this for ideas. Before we arrive at WDW,We are staying at Universal so we get the early entry. Do not know your travel plans but this may be worth doing to help you get through. Since only half of us are doing Universal we chose Cabana Bay and paid for the Express Pass that allows you each ride one time. Could not justify the deluxe hotel there for only two passes when we are staying two nights but in parks only one day. Enjoy your trip!