Great WDW trip - regret splitting with Universal

[quest4dl]

I had posted part way through our trip and will recap the first part here 3/22-3/26 at WDW :

We arrived Saturday late afternoon to gorgeous weather and moderate crowds.

1. FP+ rocks on arrival day. We had fastpasses for RNRC, TOT, and star tours. Also went on RNRC single rider with little wait.

2. No issues with magic bands so far - love the convenience

3. MDE works fine so far in peak crowds though dining is clumsy and slow

4. Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop - knock out any attractions u don't have fastpass for. Get there a bit early. - minutes can count.

5. Food at the flower and garden booths is fantastic and reasonably priced. Favorites include: lamb brewat roll, duck confit, spring onion pancake with chicken, apple and sausage roll, watermelon and feta salad, shrimp and grits, dole whip with coconut rum, ghost pepper tilapia

6. Able to do a walk up for noon at Brown Derby today - tip: get two appetizers instead of an entree

7. Stay positive about the weather - overcast but much better than predicted.

8. Flying Fish is fab!


So FP+ worked great for Epcot and DHS but I knew it would be more of a challenge at MK. Despite record crowds (might have been close to 10) we managed MK pretty well. We hit AK first (thought I was getting there at rope drop but oops - got the opening time wrong) - no FP+ for this park.

AK tips:

1. Arrive early and go to safari first. We had the best drive through ever - lots of animals and the lions were evening posing and roaring at us!

2. Hit EE next - went together in regular line first (10 minutes) and then single rider with no wait - this line is a bit hidden with the entrance on the other side of the gift shop.

3. Off to Dinosaur -now about 10:30 a.m. with a 20 minute wait.

4. Finished with Tough to Be a Bug and decided to do trails the next day when we would return mid-afternoon.

MK tips:

1. Although we had rented a car, this park especially is best accessed by the buses. So park to park or resort to park takes you right there.

2. We arrived at about 11:30 and it was packed. Our FP+ were for 4 pm (BTMRR) , 5 pm (Splash), 6 (Pirates).

3. Had lunch at Sleepy Hollow to try the waffle sandwiches - pretty good but too much waffle to filling and waffles were soft.

4. Staked out parade spot near hub to watch ds march (by this time he, in addition to his broken toe, he had also rolled his ankle on the trolley tracks while practicing marching down main st.). Cheered them on and then this crazy mama marched down main st. behind the band!

5. Since nearly all attractions had huge waits we did the few with low waits such as Tiki Room, People mover, Philharmonic, Monsters Laugh.

6. Country Bear Jamboree between our BTMRR FP and the Splash FP

7. Pork shank dinner with Le Fou's Brew at Gaston's - really tasty but why does all counter service take so long? It's cooked already so all they need to do is plop it in the container and ring it up. I spent more time waiting for food than I did for rides!

8. Ride times started to go down by 7 - got on Speedway, Winnie the Pooh. Did Haunted Mansion during fireworks. After did Little Mermaid, Monsters Laugh again. So basically ride times reasonable early and late in the day on a really busy day. Because we stayed late and got most stuff done (almost 11:30) we didn't return to MK at rope drop as planned and arrived for our first FP at a bit after 10.

9. BOG FP+ lunch works great - no need to order ahead. Weren't told we served ourselves drinks so food got a bit cold as we scrambled up to get cutlery and drinks.

Boardwalk is a fantastic resort - so convenient, rooms nice. loved entertainment on Boardwalk. Lots of food options close by. So much nicer than Royal Pacific Hotel at Universal where we spent our last two nights.

Calfornia Grill - not as good as it used to be. Appetizers were amazing but their famed beef filet is nowhere near as good and very small for the price. Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Universal blew them out of the water.

It's all about expectations folks. I was so worried about the FP+ system but it worked okay (except one MDE blip when it swapped a time on me but the attendant gave me a special pass to let us thru anyways) even with the humongous crowds. I had thought Universal would be more relaxing with unlimited express access but with large crowds there too, it wasn't quite as efficient as what we experienced 3 years ago. Also the single rider at Forbidden Journey was not managed properly and we ended up waiting as long as the regular line (possibly longer!). And when it rains - guess what? The open boats to the Universal resorts don't run so we had to walk (we were going to the airport so couldn't wait) in the pouring rain back to the resort. Basically Disney is just better with all the details and entertainment. And boy did I miss the Magic Bands!

 

[finchy3]

I had posted part way through our trip and will recap the first part here 3/22-3/26 at WDW : We arrived Saturday late afternoon to gorgeous weather and moderate crowds. 1. FP+ rocks on arrival day. We had fastpasses for RNRC, TOT, and star tours. Also went on RNRC single rider with little wait. 2. No issues with magic bands so far - love the convenience 3. MDE works fine so far in peak crowds though dining is clumsy and slow 4. Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop - knock out any attractions u don't have fastpass for. Get there a bit early. - minutes can count. 5. Food at the flower and garden booths is fantastic and reasonably priced. Favorites include: lamb brewat roll, duck confit, spring onion pancake with chicken, apple and sausage roll, watermelon and feta salad, shrimp and grits, dole whip with coconut rum, ghost pepper tilapia 6. Able to do a walk up for noon at Brown Derby today - tip: get two appetizers instead of an entree 7. Stay positive about the weather - overcast but much better than predicted. 8. Flying Fish is fab! So FP+ worked great for Epcot and DHS but I knew it would be more of a challenge at MK. Despite record crowds (might have been close to 10) we managed MK pretty well. We hit AK first (thought I was getting there at rope drop but oops - got the opening time wrong) - no FP+ for this park. AK tips: 1. Arrive early and go to safari first. We had the best drive through ever - lots of animals and the lions were evening posing and roaring at us! 2. Hit EE next - went together in regular line first (10 minutes) and then single rider with no wait - this line is a bit hidden with the entrance on the other side of the gift shop. 3. Off to Dinosaur -now about 10:30 a.m. with a 20 minute wait. 4. Finished with Tough to Be a Bug and decided to do trails the next day when we would return mid-afternoon. MK tips: 1. Although we had rented a car, this park especially is best accessed by the buses. So park to park or resort to park takes you right there. 2. We arrived at about 11:30 and it was packed. Our FP+ were for 4 pm (BTMRR) , 5 pm (Splash), 6 (Pirates). 3. Had lunch at Sleepy Hollow to try the waffle sandwiches - pretty good but too much waffle to filling and waffles were soft. 4. Staked out parade spot near hub to watch ds march (by this time he, in addition to his broken toe, he had also rolled his ankle on the trolley tracks while practicing marching down main st.). Cheered them on and then this crazy mama marched down main st. behind the band! 5. Since nearly all attractions had huge waits we did the few with low waits such as Tiki Room, People mover, Philharmonic, Monsters Laugh. 6. Country Bear Jamboree between our BTMRR FP and the Splash FP 7. Pork shank dinner with Le Fou's Brew at Gaston's - really tasty but why does all counter service take so long? It's cooked already so all they need to do is plop it in the container and ring it up. I spent more time waiting for food than I did for rides! 8. Ride times started to go down by 7 - got on Speedway, Winnie the Pooh. Did Haunted Mansion during fireworks. After did Little Mermaid, Monsters Laugh again. So basically ride times reasonable early and late in the day on a really busy day. Because we stayed late and got most stuff done (almost 11:30) we didn't return to MK at rope drop as planned and arrived for our first FP at a bit after 10. 9. BOG FP+ lunch works great - no need to order ahead. Weren't told we served ourselves drinks so food got a bit cold as we scrambled up to get cutlery and drinks. Boardwalk is a fantastic resort - so convenient, rooms nice. loved entertainment on Boardwalk. Lots of food options close by. So much nicer than Royal Pacific Hotel at Universal where we spent our last two nights. Calfornia Grill - not as good as it used to be. Appetizers were amazing but their famed beef filet is nowhere near as good and very small for the price. Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Universal blew them out of the water. It's all about expectations folks. I was so worried about the FP+ system but it worked okay (except one MDE blip when it swapped a time on me but the attendant gave me a special pass to let us thru anyways) even with the humongous crowds. I had thought Universal would be more relaxing with unlimited express access but with large crowds there too, it wasn't quite as efficient as what we experienced 3 years ago. Also the single rider at Forbidden Journey was not managed properly and we ended up waiting as long as the regular line (possibly longer!). And when it rains - guess what? The open boats to the Universal resorts don't run so we had to walk (we were going to the airport so couldn't wait) in the pouring rain back to the resort. Basically Disney is just better with all the details and entertainment. And boy did I miss the Magic Bands!

Great tips! Thank you

 

[Surfinpiratee]

Glad to hear you had a good time!! When we went to disney in January, we went to universal for a day. I enjoyed it. But disney was better (I am biases towards disney BUT) universal had at least a 30-40 min wait for everything...alot were in the 100s. At disney we just walked on alot or only waited like 10-20 mins! And universal just seemed so crowded! That being said..I will return to universal...just for a 1 day visit..never any longer.

 

[quest4dl]

Glad to hear you had a good time!! When we went to disney in January, we went to universal for a day. I enjoyed it. But disney was better (I am biases towards disney BUT) universal had at least a 30-40 min wait for everything...alot were in the 100s. At disney we just walked on alot or only waited like 10-20 mins! And universal just seemed so crowded! That being said..I will return to universal...just for a 1 day visit..never any longer.

Also there are fewer attractions at Universal. For example, in the Jurassic Park area there is really only the one (very wet) ride and I was surprised and disappointed that the Pteradon Flyers were only for very young children (looked like fun!). Interestingly we hit the same slow service at the counter service restaurants at Universal. Again, everything is pre-prepared and there seemed to be many workers rushing around but it took so long!

 

[mrsmorrow]

Thanks for sharing! It makes me excited for our upcoming June trip and also much more positive feeling about the crowds

 

[damo]

Universal boats run in the rain....just not when there is lightning. We had bad luck with the single rider line once at Forbidden Journey too. Either there just weren't many single spots available or the seat assigner was doing a terrible job. That's why we take advantage of early admission and ride that ride before the general crowds arrive. If you get there to be near the front of the pack, you can generally walk right on the ride.

Some people think that express access at Universal means you will walk right on every ride. If the crowds are large there are going to be more people with express access and the express lane is naturally going to be longer. You've got to compare it to the normal line to judge how much time you are saving.

 

[CNYDisneyFan]

Thanks for sharing. I'm excited to go to Disney in May.

 

[csmith041177]

Thanks for sharing!!! Sounds like you had an awesome time!

 

[quest4dl]

I have to say I was impressed by how clean BOTH parks were considering the huge crowds.

About the boats not running - I'm thinking the tornado warning may have had something to do with it!

My only main beef with MDE was trying to change a FP, getting it changed and then when getting to the ride, the time had changed to a slot 6 hours later. The CM at the ride advised not using MDE and usingthe FP kiosks instead to change them!

 

[tarheelblue8853]

Thanks for sharing your tips. Sounds like y'all had a really great time! We are heading down in a couple weeks and we can't wait!

 

[quest4dl]

I should mention there will be one major difference that could still affect wait times and lines. I believe this is the first week that off-site is allowed to pre-book FP+. I think it will get more difficult to book times and to change them day of.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I love reading positive reviews, thank you so much for sharing. You've helped lower my anxiety just a little for our trip in May.

 

[quest4dl]

I love reading positive reviews, thank you so much for sharing. You've helped lower my anxiety just a little for our trip in May.

I have to admit I was not feeling the least bit excited - really more a feeling of dread before the trip. My brother, who used to be the fastpass runner, definitely felt more relaxed! We also experienced Monsters Laugh for the first time and were so pleasantly surprised that we did it again later in the day!

I forgot to add that another great way to spend time between Fastpasses is to the enjoy the fabulous bands. There always seems to be some of kind of street entertainment going on. Also we did not experience any ride malfunctions though I think a few rides were closed briefly (e.g. Pirates).

Note that rides which did not have fastpass lanes before such as Pirates now have significantly longer standby lines than in the past. Normally wouldn't have reserved FP for Pirates but I had been studying wait times prior to tour trip and so glad we made the res for that ride.

 

[MrInfinity]

Thanks for sharing -- we're going in May and can't wait!

2. Hit EE next - went together in regular line first (10 minutes) and then single rider with no wait.

Wow EE in 10 min after doing Safari?

Why does all counter service take so long? It's cooked already so all they need to do is plop it in the container and ring it up. I spent more time waiting for food than I did for rides!

We've always waited a long time for Disney food. It's just the way it is.

Ride times started to go down by 7

This is my biggest takeaway from your trip. By 7 getting better? That's pretty good. We have two MK evenings planned that see us getting to the park around 7 so hopefully things aren't bad then.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Your thoughts on Compareing Disney and Univesal are interesting. When I went to both I was pleasantly surprised by IOA. The HP area is amazing and way more detailed than even Disney does. I think Universal is catching up with Disney and Disney better watch out while Disney is spending billions of dollars into MB which at best is a slight benefit compared to what we use to have and Universal is spending their money on expend actually attractions, which is a huge benefit to their guests. I just cannot help but think what Disney could have done with all that money they are spending on MB, imagine they could be building right now Star Wars land or up dating Epcot. I would easily say Universal easily beats HS, Epcot and AK. MK still beats it but it is much closer than it use to be.

 

[quest4dl]

Your thoughts on Compareing Disney and Univesal are interesting. When I went to both I was pleasantly surprised by IOA. The HP area is amazing and way more detailed than even Disney does. I think Universal is catching up with Disney and Disney better watch out while Disney is spending billions of dollars into MB which at best is a slight benefit compared to what we use to have and Universal is spending their money on expend actually attractions, which is a huge benefit to their guests. I just cannot help but think what Disney could have done with all that money they are spending on MB, imagine they could be building right now Star Wars land or up dating Epcot. I would easily say Universal easily beats HS, Epcot and AK. MK still beats it but it is much closer than it use to be.

When I visited Universal/IOA for the first time in 2011 I was also pleasantly surprised - the resort areas and walkways are beautiful, theming is good, the sophistication of some rides (e.g. MIB, Forbidden Journey, Spiderman) exceeds any WDW ride. But taking a second look, now that the novelty had worn off, I didn't find as much to do, the parks and other public areas did not seem as 'bright' and detailed as WDW, many of the rides are simulator based and ones similar to Disney (e.g. Cat in the Hat vs Winnie the Pooh) - the Disney ride is much better with the details.

Also although the number of people entering the parks at Universal/IOA were much, much smaller than WDW, it took longer to get through even without bag checks. Their readers are terrible! They had to scan multiple times to get it to read the ticket. That after paying $5 for a lanyard so I didn't have to yank out my ticket every time for entry and Express (trouble reading thru the plastic). Never had an issue with the magic bands and didn't see any getting into Disney. And every time I had to dig in my backpack for my wallet to pay for something I was really missing the magic bands. I think they are ironing out the issues and it is really a nice technology (though my younger ds did say wearing the band was uncomfortable for him, it was fine for the rest of us).

Before the vacation started I was feeling very down about going to Disney and was expecting Universal to be the relaxing part of our vacation. While we didn't have to rush to the parks at Universal, it really didn't feel much more relaxing than being at Disney. I think partly because Disney does such a great job of setting mood with music and architectural details.


Editing to add that I agree the HP area is richly detailed but there aren't a lot of attractions. Almost all the store fronts are fake so you can go into the over-crowded Owl Post (where the Olivander's show spills into) or Honeydukes. Love the Butterbeer too - got it at Boar's Head with some Cornish pasties to munch on!

 

[GillianP1301]

Great report! Sounds like things have gone very well for you with MB/FP+. The MDE glitch is a bit worrisome, so I guess it would be prudent for me to double check any changes I may make on the fly during our trip.

As for the QS slowness, I noted this as well during both our previous trips and it drives me absolutely crazy, because it's always due to very obvious lack of efficiency and in some cases, just poor training. I always have to find my happy place before I go into any QS to remain calm.

 

[jmkrat]

Thanks for the report, you are making me so excited for my upcoming trip.

 

[quest4dl]

Great report! Sounds like things have gone very well for you with MB/FP+. The MDE glitch is a bit worrisome, so I guess it would be prudent for me to double check any changes I may make on the fly during our trip.

.

The MDE glitch occurred when I was trying to change a FP on my iPhone. Initially I got the message that no attractions were available. Then I was shown a screen with many attractions to select from. I selected BTMRR to replace Buzz for the same time slot. The app showed my new attraction in the old time slot. We get to BTMRR, scan our magic bands and are told we are six hours early! We were pulled to the side and a CM tried to get me to go to FP Kiosk but I think I looked so incredulous that he quickly pulled out some extra fastpasses for us so we could ride then.

I did make other FP changes on my iPhone without problems though I don't think they were for same day changes.

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I had posted part way through our trip and will recap the first part here 3/22-3/26 at WDW :

We arrived Saturday late afternoon to gorgeous weather and moderate crowds.

1. FP+ rocks on arrival day. We had fastpasses for RNRC, TOT, and star tours. Also went on RNRC single rider with little wait.

2. No issues with magic bands so far - love the convenience

3. MDE works fine so far in peak crowds though dining is clumsy and slow

4. Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop - knock out any attractions u don't have fastpass for. Get there a bit early. - minutes can count.

5. Food at the flower and garden booths is fantastic and reasonably priced. Favorites include: lamb brewat roll, duck confit, spring onion pancake with chicken, apple and sausage roll, watermelon and feta salad, shrimp and grits, dole whip with coconut rum, ghost pepper tilapia

6. Able to do a walk up for noon at Brown Derby today - tip: get two appetizers instead of an entree

7. Stay positive about the weather - overcast but much better than predicted.

8. Flying Fish is fab!


So FP+ worked great for Epcot and DHS but I knew it would be more of a challenge at MK. Despite record crowds (might have been close to 10) we managed MK pretty well. We hit AK first (thought I was getting there at rope drop but oops - got the opening time wrong) - no FP+ for this park.

AK tips:

1. Arrive early and go to safari first. We had the best drive through ever - lots of animals and the lions were evening posing and roaring at us!

2. Hit EE next - went together in regular line first (10 minutes) and then single rider with no wait - this line is a bit hidden with the entrance on the other side of the gift shop.

3. Off to Dinosaur -now about 10:30 a.m. with a 20 minute wait.

4. Finished with Tough to Be a Bug and decided to do trails the next day when we would return mid-afternoon.

MK tips:

1. Although we had rented a car, this park especially is best accessed by the buses. So park to park or resort to park takes you right there.

2. We arrived at about 11:30 and it was packed. Our FP+ were for 4 pm (BTMRR) , 5 pm (Splash), 6 (Pirates).

3. Had lunch at Sleepy Hollow to try the waffle sandwiches - pretty good but too much waffle to filling and waffles were soft.

4. Staked out parade spot near hub to watch ds march (by this time he, in addition to his broken toe, he had also rolled his ankle on the trolley tracks while practicing marching down main st.). Cheered them on and then this crazy mama marched down main st. behind the band!

5. Since nearly all attractions had huge waits we did the few with low waits such as Tiki Room, People mover, Philharmonic, Monsters Laugh.

6. Country Bear Jamboree between our BTMRR FP and the Splash FP

7. Pork shank dinner with Le Fou's Brew at Gaston's - really tasty but why does all counter service take so long? It's cooked already so all they need to do is plop it in the container and ring it up. I spent more time waiting for food than I did for rides!

8. Ride times started to go down by 7 - got on Speedway, Winnie the Pooh. Did Haunted Mansion during fireworks. After did Little Mermaid, Monsters Laugh again. So basically ride times reasonable early and late in the day on a really busy day. Because we stayed late and got most stuff done (almost 11:30) we didn't return to MK at rope drop as planned and arrived for our first FP at a bit after 10.

9. BOG FP+ lunch works great - no need to order ahead. Weren't told we served ourselves drinks so food got a bit cold as we scrambled up to get cutlery and drinks.

Boardwalk is a fantastic resort - so convenient, rooms nice. loved entertainment on Boardwalk. Lots of food options close by. So much nicer than Royal Pacific Hotel at Universal where we spent our last two nights.

Calfornia Grill - not as good as it used to be. Appetizers were amazing but their famed beef filet is nowhere near as good and very small for the price. Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Universal blew them out of the water.

It's all about expectations folks. I was so worried about the FP+ system but it worked okay (except one MDE blip when it swapped a time on me but the attendant gave me a special pass to let us thru anyways) even with the humongous crowds. I had thought Universal would be more relaxing with unlimited express access but with large crowds there too, it wasn't quite as efficient as what we experienced 3 years ago. Also the single rider at Forbidden Journey was not managed properly and we ended up waiting as long as the regular line (possibly longer!). And when it rains - guess what? The open boats to the Universal resorts don't run so we had to walk (we were going to the airport so couldn't wait) in the pouring rain back to the resort. Basically Disney is just better with all the details and entertainment. And boy did I miss the Magic Bands!

Thanks for the report quest4dl.

Seems like you are yet another in a long list that is finding the only *true* crowds at WDW to be at the Magic Kingdom while the other 3 parks are a relative breeze.

I know you said that Universal/IOA was packed, but was it as crowded as the Magic Kingdom? How about the Royal Pacific Resort? Did it seem fully booked?

P.S.- We have stayed at the Boardwalk Inn(in 2009) and absolutely fell in love with it!