First Time at Universal

[mastodon]

Hi! This is my family's first time at Universal (me, husband, son 9 and son 13). We will be there Dec 17-Dec 19th. We are staying onsite at the Hard Rock so we will have Express Pass. It appears that only IOA will be open early for early admission. I am not sure if this is likely to change. What is the best way to tackle both the Harry Potter Worlds? Also, do we spend time exploring both lands each morning before moving onto the rest of the rides in the park. Does this put us at a disadvantage? Finally, if we want to eat lunch/dinner at the Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks how far in advance do we need to book?

Thanks so much for all your help!!!

 

[Robo56]

You all will love Universal.

You can't make reservations for Three Broomsticks or Leaky Cauldron for lunch or dinner. You just walk up get in line and give them your order.

If you want to experience the Potter parks first and if IOA is opening early for on site guest be there at rope drop and head to Hogsmeade right off. Ride the Forbidden Journey first then Flight of Hippogriff and then Dueling dragons. Take in the shops then be in line to get on the Hogwarts Express to go over to Diagon Alley as soon as they start running it over. You have to have a park to park ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express. Ride it both ways while your there because the experience is different in each direction.

When you get to Diagon Alley go straight to Escape from Gringotts then on to Ollivanders wand shop for the show. They pick youngsters out of the audience. Buy a interactive wand for the little ones to do magic at marked areas in both Potter Parks. The map for the magic spell spots is included in the wand box.

Get a butterbeer and wander around the shops and Knockturn Alley. Then have lunch or dinner at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley or The Three a Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

Another lovely place for lunch is Mythos in IOA. The food is very good and you can make reservations on the Universal site under the dining area for this 30 days out.

If things are slow and there are not many folks there and you accomplish your Potter fix them you can focus on the rest of the park.. If it is busy you will be glad you have your Express pass..

Make sure to enjoy one of the Lard Lad Big pink frosted donuts in the Simpsons area.

And the Characters Scooby,Shrek, Simpsons, Transformers etc will be there for pictures..So make sure the camera batteries are charged. The Minion characters are there for photos after you get off the Minion ride. Hope this helps.

Have a great time.

 

[mastodon]

Thanks for much for all your help! If we follow the IOA entrance and go to FJ and Hippogriff (we wont do dueling dragons) will we have time to explore hogsmeade before going over to Diagon Alley? After Gringotts and exploring the shops and Olivanders, we will likely be about lunch time? Would you recommend maybe staying at US for rides that afternoon and focusing on IOA rides the second day? Does US ever open early-seems it says IOA for the 3 days I am there. Seems would be great if we could do one one morning and one the other morning...

One other question- we will be getting to Universal about 2 the first day (think 7:00 close), any suggestions on which park to start in?

 

[nkereina]

Does US ever open early-seems it says IOA for the 3 days I am there. Seems would be great if we could do one one morning and one the other morning...

One other question- we will be getting to Universal about 2 the first day (think 7:00 close), any suggestions on which park to start in?

US has had early entry in the past, but they don't usually vary it between days. It will be IOA for a few months, then US for a few months, etc. US had it last year when DA was still the big draw. I suspect it will stay IOA until at least HHN is over, since US pulls in so many for HHN.

On your first day, I might suggest just hanging out at the pool. It would save you a park admission day, and the pools at the Universal hotels are awesome IMO. If that's not an option, I will say that as two adults (no kids), we spend much more time at US than IOA. We find IOA has more family/kid friendly rides that we're not interested in.