First trip to USF & IoA. EEP!

[Lidian]

Hello wonderful DISers!

We're planning our first trip to USF & IoA. It will be DH and myself, DD10, and DS5. DD will be 10 by the time our trip rolls around and she's a thrill junkie, just like me! DS and DH are terrified of their own shadows, but excited to see USF and IoA for the first time!

I feel like a complete pro at planning a WDW vacation ... but totally lost when it comes to deciding a plan for USF and IoA.

We'll be staying at WDW and taking two days throughout our stay (days are still uncertain) to visit USF and IoA. I have a list of attractions, height requirements, and a general feel of who in the family might or might not ride. We plan to be at the parks as close to opening as possible. Outside of that, I'm overwhelmed on what to do. I don't even know the best way to pick which days out of our week to visit!

I anticipate we'll arrive at open and stay until 6-6:30 before heading back to WDW for dinner. I know we won't do the meal deal, and if I understand correctly, we should wait until we're there and judge lines before purchasing their "fastpass-equivalent book".

I'm an obsessive planner, so I'm very much out of my element. Any suggestions on websites, books, etc., that can help me plan? Our dates are March 3-9. How busy will it be? What kind of wait times am I looking at?

Thank you for your awesome suggestions. Any advice to help me get back into my element would be great!

 

[jcc0621]

Hope you don't mind if I tag along on your thread. I just got off the phone booking our trip! WE are going August. We were scheduled to go in 2009but I wound up sick and unable to go (my DH and DS went). I am looking for all the tips I can since they just winged it then.

 

[Metro West]

I know we won't do the meal deal, and if I understand correctly, we should wait until we're there and judge lines before purchasing their "fastpass-equivalent book".

I'm an obsessive planner, so I'm very much out of my element. Any suggestions on websites, books, etc., that can help me plan? Our dates are March 3-9. How busy will it be? What kind of wait times am I looking at?

The crowds should not be bad during that week so I doubt you would need to worry about purchasing the Express Plus pass. But...if you decide the lines are too long for you, purchase one at either park. Wait times should under 20 minutes in most cases.

This is probably the best guidebook to Universal. You should buy one since you still have time to enjoy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Orl...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327192414&sr=1-1

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

If you don't need a bag, don't bring one! It will bring your wait times down significantly. If you need a bag, take one with everyone's stuff in it and try to leave the bag with a non-rider if you can. USF/IOA has child swap if you need to use it with the 5yo. Also, if you are able to use the single rider line it can bring wait times down also.

I've been to IOA twice with no need for an express pass, even during peak season. The meal deal seems like a total waste to me, especially if you aren't eating dinner there. It doesn't start until 10:30 so you can't use it for breakfast, and it is only good at a few locations in either park. You'll spend $20 on an adult meal deal and probably more like $10 on a single meal (at the places where the deal is eligible, anyway).

 

[Lidian]

Hope you don't mind if I tag along on your thread. I just got off the phone booking our trip! WE are going August. We were scheduled to go in 2009but I wound up sick and unable to go (my DH and DS went). I am looking for all the tips I can since they just winged it then.

Tag along! We can learn together!

The crowds should not be bad during that week so I doubt you would need to worry about purchasing the Express Plus pass. But...if you decide the lines are too long for you, purchase one at either park. Wait times should under 20 minutes in most cases.

This is probably the best guidebook to Universal. You should buy one since you still have time to enjoy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Orl...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327192414&sr=1-1

You are awesome! Thank you for the book suggestion and for wait estimates!

If you don't need a bag, don't bring one! It will bring your wait times down significantly. If you need a bag, take one with everyone's stuff in it and try to leave the bag with a non-rider if you can. USF/IOA has child swap if you need to use it with the 5yo. Also, if you are able to use the single rider line it can bring wait times down also.

I've been to IOA twice with no need for an express pass, even during peak season. The meal deal seems like a total waste to me, especially if you aren't eating dinner there. It doesn't start until 10:30 so you can't use it for breakfast, and it is only good at a few locations in either park. You'll spend $20 on an adult meal deal and probably more like $10 on a single meal (at the places where the deal is eligible, anyway).

I typically run bag-less at the parks. Cameras and such usually fit well into pockets. But now that I think about the way you suggested it ... how does a bag increase wait times? Do they bag-check you at each attractions? I imagined they'd have a bag-check at the gate (like WDW does) ... or is there something I'm missing?

Most things DS5 won't ride, DH won't either. So it works out well. But good to know there is child swap available just in case! I dunno if I'd be comfortable being seperated from DD. Yeah, I'm an over-protective mom ... so we'll probably bypass single rider lines and just wait it out together.

We're planning to skip the meal deal. I couldn't imagine us eating $20/$10 there ... and I don't want to be confined to select menus and restaurants. We'll be eating dinner on WDW property since we're on the DDP.

Thanks for sharing info!

 

[Metro West]

I typically run bag-less at the parks. Cameras and such usually fit well into pockets. But now that I think about the way you suggested it ... how does a bag increase wait times? Do they bag-check you at each attractions? I imagined they'd have a bag-check at the gate (like WDW does) ... or is there something I'm missing?

The main bag check is located in the garage complex as you're heading towards CityWalk. If you have to wait in line for a locker to stow something, it could significantly increase your wait as well as the time it takes to retrieve your stuff after you ride. The TMs (team members) will access any bags they see when you enter the queue and if the attraction has a no carry on rule, they will direct you to the lockers. The lockers are free during the ride but it's still a pain. You might want to think about cargo shorts/pants so you have ample pockets to take stuff with you and not have to fool with the lockers. That's what I do.

 

[Lidian]

The main bag check is located in the garage complex as you're heading towards CityWalk. If you have to wait in line for a locker to stow something, it could significantly increase your wait as well as the time it takes to retrieve your stuff after you ride. The TMs (team members) will access any bags they see when you enter the queue and if the attraction has a no carry on rule, they will direct you to the lockers. The lockers are free during the ride but it's still a pain. You might want to think about cargo shorts/pants so you have ample pockets to take stuff with you and not have to fool with the lockers. That's what I do.

Our rule has been "if it doesn't fit in a pocket, it stays in the hotel". But it's nice to know how things work! DH always wears cargo shorts, so he has nice, large pockets for me to fill.

I got addicted to bypassing the WDW bag-check lines the past couple of years.