First time at UO, What’s all your tips?

[ada0801]

We are big disney peeps. We have been over 40 times, have our touring plan to a science, know when to eat, when to arrive, we’ve got it all.

Now we are surprising our our HP loving daughter with a trip for her 11th (with letter to hogwarts and everything). I’m trying to learn it all (where are the bathrooms, where do we eat, where do we go first) but the info is not as readily out there.

Our current plan:
3 nights at Royal Pacific
Nov 1- Nov 4 (our 15 anniversary too)
3 days Park to park (no volcano bay)
Dinner at Mythos
Dinner at Disney Springs we think (she is a disney nut and I think would like to see a bit of it while there). Or do we do something at uni and not break the bubble? We will have a car.
We want to do all the HP things. That’s why we are going. My kids are not big coaster fans.
11yo (as of Nov 1) and 6yo little sister.
I need all the advice please!!!

 

[ada0801]

I should add…. I am currently making my way thought the dis universal podcast. It’s been great. But I have a long way to listen to them all.

 

[TwoMisfits]

For Harry Potter, this very recent thread might help for tips...
https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-much-time-for-harry-potter.3843704/
As for eating at Disney Springs, with this short a trip, I wouldn't bother. I'd eat at City Walk - I love Cowfish, although its best dishes are the adventurous ones. And you have to go to Voodoo Doughnuts - order anything there.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Be sure not to miss the Moaning Myrtle restroom at IOA adjacent to Three Broomsticks.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. Make sure to check what time Mythos closes. You can / should make a reservation.
2. Keep an eye out for an AP room rate for your dates, and grab it if/when it pops up. An AP rate will save you more than the upgrade costs. Of course, you will then be tempted to upgrade everyone to APs and make another trip next year...
3. The menus including prices are posted on Universal's website - for park, resort, and City Walk restaurants. Browse through for where you'd like to eat. Reservations are currently necessary for dinner.

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Your 11 year old is going to be thrilled!

You are doing some smart things already: You are staying at a premier hotel so that you will all have Express Pass throughout your stay. Even though you're arriving after HHN finishes, it will probably still be busy enough that using the Express Pass lines will save a ton of waiting time. Forbidden Journey and Hippogriff in Hogsmeade have it, as well as Escape from Gringott's in Diagon Alley. Hagrid's Coaster doesn't have Express Pass, you either ride it at rope drop for the shortest wait, or else you stand in line for about an hour or so.

Another good move is getting park to park passes so you can utilize the Hogwarts Express to travel between the two parks. They also have an Express Pass line which saves some time.

There are so many things to do and see. Check out all the shops, see the Frog Choir and the Triwizard Rally shows in Hogsmeade and Celestina Warbuck & the Banshees in DA, as well as the Tales of Beetle the Bard show. Of course you need to check out Gringott's Money Exchange and ask the goblin some questions, buy a wand either at Ollivander's or one of the wand carts, and do all the spells. Don't forget to check out Knockturn Alley, a great place to cool down out of the sun!

Here is an older thread pre-Covid that has lots of ideas.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/wizarding-world-touring-plans-and-details.3666427/
Another suggestion would be to check out YouTube, there are so many great Wizarding World videos available made by true Harry Potter fans. Look for titles like, "How to Tour the Wizarding World" or "10 Best things to do at the Wizarding World" etc. Don't let your daughter see if you want to surprise her though!

Since you're going for 3 days, you will have plenty of time to see everything.

 

[MarcIsMe]

Get lanyards to keep your park pass and express pass in with bar codes facing out, better than digging through pockets. You can save some money by buying in advance at a store like Five Below. Many rides will not allow loose items and some have metal detectors so nothing in pockets. Free small lockers are at each of these rides, larger lockers have a fee. As previously posted, dinner reservations are a must, especially near park closing time. Hopefully, early entry lines are manageable on a weekday. Everyone with tickets or passes are allowed in line and through the turnstiles, so the line can get quite long on weekends. Early entry people, which include pass holders as well as on site guests, are sorted out at a later checkpoint.

 

[FargoBear]

Just some random thoughts. Make sure to take a moment and appreciate the look on your daughter's face when you round the corner in Hogsmeade and the castle comes into view. For die-hard Harry Potter fans, it's something magical. With the express passes you will be able to jump the lines and move through the castle more quickly, but you may want to go through the regular line once just to see the statues, greenhouse and Dumbledore's office and things you might not get to experience with the express pass lane.

Make sure to go to the Olivander's wand show, try out the ice cream in Diagon Alley and ride both ways on the Hogwarts Express, as the experience is slightly different depending on the route you go.

You mentioned your kids aren't big coaster fans, but man, Hagrid's coaster is just amazing. Maybe have a parent go on the ride if you can snag a short line and fill in the rest of your crew on how it went and whether you think your kids can handle it.

We love starting the day out with breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. Oh. And don't miss Knockturn Alley. It's to the left inside Diagon Alley and sometimes people can miss it if they aren't looking.

 

[shawthorne44]

Do the wand ceremony! It is magical to be chosen. By Nov, that will be back to normal with a bunch of people in the room. This is what we did to increase DD's chances to be chosen.

1. One of the locations always chooses kids, and the other sometimes picks adults (I forget which). Since this was for DD we picked the kid side. Yours will be close to the 'right' age so that helps.

2. They want to select people that will put on a good show. They don't want to pick a kid that will go mute or mumble. So, while in line, DD and I had a conversation about what she hoped would be the core of her wand. (I figured it couldn't hurt if they knew we were there to buy her special wand).

3. The family wore our HP stuff. I'd made her a HP robe that turned out awesome. I figured that showed we were fans willing to pay for stuff.

4. We also went late afternoon which was then the slowest time of the day.

5. I've heard that if you just keeping doing the show they will eventually pick you just to make you stop.

She was picked. We'd heard that the show is a little different on each side. So, we also did that side, but I had her hold her wand in front of her so that they knew to pick another kid.

 

[mom2rtk]

If anyone recalls which store is more likely to pick adults, I'd love to know. I'll be back with my 20 year old daughter in January and it will be our first time experiencing it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I got picked as an adult in Hogsmeade. We were first in line for the last "choosing" of the night (there was no one in line at that point, it was lovely!).

 

[Cuchman]

I think it sounds like a great trip! My family is also a group of big Disney fans...but we have tipped the scales of our travel far to the Universal side the last last several years.
Personally, I'd skip Disney Springs. Lots of time and effort for not much return, IMHO.
You might consider Margaritaville for a fun dinner option. It's very noisy and active with a Jimmy Buffet party theme. Not exactly targeted at kids, but it could be fun.

I think your 11 year old and probably your 6 year old are the perfect ages for the interactive wands. They are super fun for Potter enthusiasts. The wand shop shows (Olivanders) are also a great time.
Take your time in the Potter areas, especially Diagon Alley. It is beautifully detailed and worth the time.

 

[nkereina]

Since you will have express passes from your stay at RPR, do not stress about what time to get to the park or what order to do things in. EPs make it such a breeze, so much more relaxing than Disney. We don't even set an alarm anymore and just get there when we get there. Meanwhile, at Disney, I'm up at 5am for rope drop.

If we were doing a Universal only trip, we would try to sneak in time at Disney Springs for sure. City Walk is great and has some good dining options, but you can walk the whole thing and visit all the shops in a couple of hours. You really only need one night there, especially if you want to eat in the parks too.

I would also suggest being aware of the height requirements. There are more stringent ones than Disney, so it would be good to know which ones the youngest would not be permitted on.

Lastly, a big difference compared to Disney are the lockers for bags. There are certain rides that require you to put any bags inside a free locker at a locker bank adjacent to the ride. You will use your park ticket to open the locker. I always recommend a lanyard for everyone for this reason, and to have your EPs handy as well.

 

[ada0801]

We added one more day and water view! Now I need time to fly. I can’t wait to be there now.