Grad Nite ?'s

[4HOLIDAYS]

We will be going to UO/IOA for the first time in yrs for 3 nites-4/19,20,21- and just saw the reason for the reason for the early close (6 on fri and sat) is grad nite.

So will the grads also be in the city walk area?
Will they be in the hotels or do they come and go by bus?
How crowded will the days be?
And does this mean that we now have to go at 7am for early entry on Fri/Sat! We are staying at RPR.

We are rethinking the entire stay now. We are doing a 4 nite DCL trip first so this is to finish out the week. The dates are not flexible but may have to move over to WDW again depending on what you,the experts, tell me.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Metro West]

Grad Bash takes place after the parks are closed to day guests so the crowds won't be impacted much at all. They clear the parks of day guests before the event starts.

Most of the students attending are locals so I doubt many will be staying at the hotels. Some might but not many.

Here is the link if you want to learn more about the event:

http://www.universalorlando.com/Events/Grad-Bash/Overview.aspx

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I read all the material, even the chaperone info, details on pre parties, drop off... I did see that it says they are on "lock-down" during the party hours so I am hoping we will still be able to go to City Walk but My DH pointed out that it may be more crowded there beause the parks will be closed.

We are so used to WDW-go 4/5 x a year. I was SOOO lookng forward to this but now I am worried that we won't get to enjoy it all, see it all. Clearly , we won't see the parks at night., which is disappoinitng I just don't know if I see us getting up at 6 , trying to eat something and be at park at 7 for HP-it is pushing it for us.

Anyone been to one of the parks during th day of one of these events?

 

[mgpan]

Haven't been to Universal since 2004, going when grad nites is going on. Will this be the factor that makes it another 10 years or more before I go back again? I have read why WDW cancelled theirs and don't know if I want any part of paying thousands for less park time and more hastle./?????

 

[Metro West]

Haven't been to Universal since 2004, going when grad nites is going on. Will this be the factor that makes it another 10 years or more before I go back again? I have read why WDW cancelled theirs and don't know if I want any part of paying thousands for less park time and more hastle./?????

Well...this is a hard ticket event so the public is not allowed in the parks during the event. Both parks will close early to accommodate the attendees...at 6pm. Not sure what kinds of problems you're expecting but you shouldn't have any.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

The only day we can go to IoA happens to be a grad night. I don't expect the crowds to be worse than any busy spring break weekend, and with early entry and express pass we should be fine. It's my understanding that early entry is at 7 a.m., so that could be an issue if you're not early risers on vacation. We're actually looking forward to seeing WWOHP at that hour -- hoping the time will discourage some guests. We're just going to sleep early the night before and bringing a quick breakfast to eat in the room. We were already planning to leave the park at 6 p.m. and start heading north, but I can understand that would be frustrating if you planned to see the park at night.

 

[Poly-Anna]

We will be going to UO/IOA for the first time in yrs for 3 nites-4/19,20,21- and just saw the reason for the reason for the early close (6 on fri and sat) is grad nite.

So will the grads also be in the city walk area?
Will they be in the hotels or do they come and go by bus?
How crowded will the days be?
And does this mean that we now have to go at 7am for early entry on Fri/Sat! We are staying at RPR.

We are rethinking the entire stay now. We are doing a 4 nite DCL trip first so this is to finish out the week. The dates are not flexible but may have to move over to WDW again depending on what you,the experts, tell me.

Thanks for the help!

On the Universal website the Grad Bash dates for this April are: April 4, 11, 25, 26, not 4/19 - 21. The only dates the parks close that week at 6 pm are Friday, 4/25 and Saturday, 4/26. You can get alot done in a park from 7 a.m. til 6 p.m. We are going during that time and will leave the park at 6 and go out to dinner, probably at one of the hotel restaurants. Not a reason to redo my entire vacation. I'd rather have a relaxing vacation this year at Universal than spend it in the lines at Disney. Fast Pass choices are long gone by 6 pm at WDW!