First time visit...HELP??!

[PixieDustFanatic]

The details:

We bought the 1 day 2 park ticket through Dreams Unlimited. We are going Feb. 8th. Both parks are open 9am-6pm. It is my husband, myself and our DS 5 (he's 46 inches tall). We plan to be there for the duration of park opening. We already reserved the Mears Shuttle to pick us up from POR at 7:20am and take us back at 6:15pm

So, here is the situation.
-DS likes Harry Potter, but he isn't big enough to ride Forbidden Journey or Dueling Dragons. But we'll take him on Hippogriff, look around and get a butter beer. We could take going to Olivanders or leave it, not a big deal to us.
-DH and I love coasters, so we'll probably do a child swap for Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit...maybe Dueling Dragons, but not sure because we don't want DS to spend the day waiting for us in a waiting room...that wouldn't be fair. We won't ride any other rides that DS can't
-DS loves the Marvel Heroes and I understand that Spiderman will close for refurb on the 8th, so we have to ride it
-DS also loves Jurassic Park, so we can't miss that.
-DH loves the Simpson's so its also a must do

So, those are our musts, and here are my questions.

1. With Dreams Unlimited, I understand we can get early entry. Is that just for WWoHP or is it for either park?
2. Which park should we go to first?
3. Are there opportunities for DS to meet his Marvel Super Heroes and get photos,autographs?
4. Is there a parade or any end of day show??

Any other tips, tricks or suggestions would be great...and any ideas on which park we should go to first or any order of attractions would be great too.

Thank you so much !!! We are so excited to be going to Universal and venturing away from Disney.

 

[derekburgan]

1. Only WWoHP has early entry. Take advantage of it.
2. I'll leave that to the experts.
3. I've had pics taken with Spidey, Captain America, Dr Doom and the Green Goblin. There should be lots of opportunities to meet them and many others (including the XMen)

 

[macraven]

go to parry hotter land immediately once you enter IOA.

then work forwards to the front of the park..

take in Suessland.
you all will love it.

check out Discovery Island.

head over to the Studios side at noon time.
check out the park and do lunch there.
boulangerie is great. they have cheesecake factory goodies.

Louies is great for pizza. do the pizza and salad combo ...
show your AAA card if you have one and you will get 10% discounts off of food and merch in both parks and many places in City Walk.

Studios will close before IOA.
head back to IOA before 5:00

if you want to check out more in parry hotter ville, do it in the last hour or so before the park closes.

it has been posted by many that there are less crowds in that section at that time.

oops, i reread your questions and see you are leaving soon after 6:00 that day.
if you are having fun and want to stay longer, is it possible to change your return time?

if you could, you might have lower crowds for PH and could catch dinner at City Walk.

lots to explore there!

 

[Mom 2 Two]

Please tell me more about the ticket through Dreams Unlimited that gets you early entry to WWoHP. I would be very interested in that.
Thanks
Karla

 

[macraven]

it's tickets and transportation for a day to the darkside from the motherland.
click on their banner ad that is displayed on these boards for more details.

 

[Mom 2 Two]

I know I'm being dense, but I don't see where it says anything about early entry. Can you please provide a link to the offer? Thanks.

 

[Akwafunk]

So folks will rush to FJ and Olivanders, so you will be able to hit Flight of the Hippogriff several times with zero wait time. I will say though, that it is a rather horrifying little coaster that leaves you feeling like you're about to be flung out at any moment. My 5-year-old loves it though.

The child swap room in FJ has the first Potter movie playing and none of the kids seem to mind being in there - I would start here, and let your son see the castle as you walk though - it's really rather wonderful. By the time you emerged from this you would still probably have zero wait time on Hippogriff.

Olivanders - we did it, but much, much later in the day. And you know, it as kindof charming and wonderful. The boys (3 & 5) still talk about it (even though they weren't chosen - no rancour there either). We grabbed a couple of butterbeers and stood in line, and it wasn't too dreadful a wait and we were there on a Spring Break Sunday. Maybe you could leave one parent with him in line while the other hits Dragon and then switch?

If you want to hit Pterandon Flyers in JP, you need to head that way pretty early too. It's become quite the cult ride and the line gets long fast.

Hmmm. Spiderman. Motion-wise it is much more challenging than FJ, and content-wise it's kindof grownup. Basically you encounter villian after villain all of whom, with the aid of 3D specs leap at you and try to kill you. Rather graphically. I decided that it would be too intense for the 6-year-old, and he's not especially sheltered. I don't know. I'd consider that one carefully.

Once the gates open to all, we tend to start moving out of WWoHP and hit Seuss, and then go over to Studios fairly early. The place will be deserted, and you'll be ale to get onto Simpsons, MIB and ET with minimal/zero wait times. All very worthwhile doing, and the kid will have a blast. The SImpsons is just fantastic actually. Can't wait to do it again.

Our strategy on rides the kids don't do tends to be someone stays with the kid in a place that's fun for them while the other gets over there and goes through single rider. YMMV.

Two parks in one day will be a challenge, Good Luck!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

So, here is the situation.
-DS likes Harry Potter, but he isn't big enough to ride Forbidden Journey or Dueling Dragons. But we'll take him on Hippogriff, look around and get a butter beer. We could take going to Olivanders or leave it, not a big deal to us.

Even if he isn't big enough for FJ, you still should go through the Castle Tour. It's amazing even without the rideat the end!