First time at Universal - lots of questions!!

[DisneyLover2011]

My family will be visiting Orlando in November this year and have only one day for Universal/IOA, just to get our feet wet. We plan on going on either Tuesday, Nov 15th or Wednesday, Nov 16th. I have a number of questions and would appreciate any/all advice.

We are thinking of focusing mainly on IOA and doing rides that our daughter will enjoy. When we went to Disneyworld last year she found Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean a bit scary - she managed them but she is not really into scary rides or fast/rough roller coasters although she loved Expedition Everest.

These are the things we would like to do:

Universal - Shrek 4-D, Men In Black, ET Adventure and (maybe) see the Animal Actors. My daughter may also like to check out Fievel's playland or Woody Woodpeckers nuthouse coaster if there is time.

IOA - Spiderman, Bilge-Rat Barges, Ripsaw Falls, Jurassic Park River Adventure and Camp Jurassic, Harry Potter TFJ, Hippogriff, Caro-Seuss-el and the Cat in the Hat.

Is this realistic? Will any of these rides be too rough or scary for my daughter? Will we be able to fit all of that in one day?

No one in our family is a big Harry Potter fan - my daughter has not even read the books yet - but we would like to experience it. I don't think we need to go to Ollivanders though. I know a lot of people say head to Harry Potter when the gates open, but others say go there later in the day when the morning rush has passed. I was thinking of going to Universal first to do our chosen rides/attractions there as it probably wouldn't take too long and then head to IOA for the rest of the day. Any advice?

Also, I have no idea how late the parks will stay open at that time of year, or what the crowds will be like. I am not planning to buy an Express pass, but I will if it is worth it. I just thought if the park was slow it would be a waste of money.

Lastly, we want to save our sit-down meal for the evening, perhaps after the park has closed. I would love to eat at Mythos but I understand they are not open in the evening. I am thinking of eating in Citywalk, but I don't know which restaurants are family friendly. Can anyone recommend something? I think Margaritaville seems to get good reviews. Or should we eat at one of the hotels on site? As well, I read that Thunder Falls Terrace (for lunch) is only open seasonally - does that mean it is closed in November?

Thank you so much to anyone who can offer me any assistance or advice with this. As you can see, I know very little yet and need info desperately.

 

[damo]

She may find Jurassic Park and Forbidden Journey too scary.

Parks will probably only be open until 7 at the latest and so Mythos will close early. Either do it for lunch or, as you suggested, try Margaritaville. It is yummy. Thunder Falls Terrace should be open all the time.

 

[DCTooTall]

I'm also not too sure how well she will handle Men in Black since the ride does spin you around a few times.

Cat and the Hat also spins you around a few times, but I think I've heard people mention in the past that you can request they disable the spinning.

Jurassic Park's River Adventure is questionable, simply due to the somewhat dark (scary) section when you are in the building and trying to "avoid" the raptors and Trex.... and the drop may or may not be too much depending on her tolerance for such things. (you can see the drop before you get in line)

Forbidden journey may also be too dark/scary for her...especially the dementors section. Plus you do get thrown around a bit in it.


November crowds are pretty light (at least, compared to the summer), so you can probably avoid the express pass. If you determine you might need one for all you want to do, you can always get it once you are there and actually see what the crowds are like. Since Express Passes are tied to a specific day, it also wouldn't make sense to get them in advance if you don't know exactly which out of those 2 days you will make your Universal trip.


Beyond that, I don't think you'll have any issues getting the rides you mentioned all done in a single day during November. I'm not so certain about the Animal Actor's stage though since it is a show that runs at pre-set times during the day. It may be difficult depending on the day's showtimes to fit those showtimes efficiently into your touring plan.

 

[DisneyLover2011]

Thank you so much for the great information - it definitely makes my trip planning easier. I will do a little more research into the rides - maybe I'll get my daughter to check some out on you tube before we go.

 

[Metro West]

Thank you so much for the great information - it definitely makes my trip planning easier. I will do a little more research into the rides - maybe I'll get my daughter to check some out on you tube before we go.

Checking YouTube for ride videos as an excellent idea and you will get an idea of what to expect.

 

[ZooKeeper13]

We were there last November from the 11th to the 18th and the parks weren't too busy at all. The hours for the Studios were 9-6 and IOA was the same except for Sat., Sun. & Mon. which were 9-7. This year we're going Nov. 10th - 17th & I'm already excited!