Harry Potter - EE and Express Pass - How to plan.... help!

[BrotherCraig]

Hey everybody. We are doing 5 days at Disney (3 at the park). We decided to add on to our land vacation since we cancelled our cruise and spending 4 nights at Universal Resorts (RP). I have been to Universal Studios several times but it has been 20 years since I have been. So.... please help.

My kids are 9 and 7 (we will also have 1 year old with us). The kids like Harry Potter and we will have EE and EPs since staying at RP. We are planning on two days at Universal parks. Should we get passes where we can hit both parks in a single day and bounce around OR should we stick to one park per day? What should be hitting early with EE?

Kids won't do 'scary' rides but I will.

Thank you.

 

[CarolynFH]

I can't answer regarding EE (we never get up that early!) but can tell you that in order to ride the Hogwarts Express, you have to have the park-to-park ticket. So you'll probably want to buy that 2-park ticket for that alone, since I can't see your kids being happy to pass it by. It's a neat ride, actually, and we (all adults) wouldn't want to miss it either. We also like being able to change parks if we want to - especially after we've ridden everything we like in both parks at least once and then have the time and desire to ride some things twice.

 

[macraven]

Take advantage of the child swap rooms so both parents will be able to do the Potter rides
The older two kids will be allowed to ride a second time when they swap out parents

 

[BrotherCraig]

Take advantage of the child swap rooms so both parents will be able to do the Potter rides
The older two kids will be allowed to ride a second time when they swap out parents

Wow. Didn't know they had that. I knew Disney did but didn't even think about that with USO. Thank you.

 

[BrotherCraig]

I can't answer regarding EE (we never get up that early!) but can tell you that in order to ride the Hogwarts Express, you have to have the park-to-park ticket. So you'll probably want to buy that 2-park ticket for that alone, since I can't see your kids being happy to pass it by. It's a neat ride, actually, and we (all adults) wouldn't want to miss it either. We also like being able to change parks if we want to - especially after we've ridden everything we like in both parks at least once and then have the time and desire to ride some things twice.

Will do that then. Figure two days is plenty with kids that age. I was there when the Spider-Man ride just opened so a lot has changed since then. LOL Park hopping will definitely be best then. Thank you.

 

[Pooh's World]

Hey everybody. We are doing 5 days at Disney (3 at the park). We decided to add on to our land vacation since we cancelled our cruise and spending 4 nights at Universal Resorts (RP). I have been to Universal Studios several times but it has been 20 years since I have been. So.... please help.

My kids are 9 and 7 (we will also have 1 year old with us). The kids like Harry Potter and we will have EE and EPs since staying at RP. We are planning on two days at Universal parks. Should we get passes where we can hit both parks in a single day and bounce around OR should we stick to one park per day? What should be hitting early with EE?

Kids won't do 'scary' rides but I will.

Thank you.

At the very least I would get one Annual Pass (cost $300-$450 a year)

This automictically gets Park to Park tickets.
Also free parking for Power and Premium APs I believe.
Discounts a universal restaurants, stores, hotels.

 

[Nabas]

Hey everybody. We are doing 5 days at Disney (3 at the park). We decided to add on to our land vacation since we cancelled our cruise and spending 4 nights at Universal Resorts (RP). I have been to Universal Studios several times but it has been 20 years since I have been. So.... please help.

My kids are 9 and 7 (we will also have 1 year old with us). The kids like Harry Potter and we will have EE and EPs since staying at RP. We are planning on two days at Universal parks. Should we get passes where we can hit both parks in a single day and bounce around OR should we stick to one park per day? What should be hitting early with EE?

Kids won't do 'scary' rides but I will.

Thank you.

What nights are you planning at Universal?

Sometimes, the hotel AP discount you get more than pays for the AP.

But AP discounts usually are for Sunday to Friday. It tends to be more difficult to get a Deluxe Resort discount for the weekend.

 

[CarolynFH]

Wow. Didn't know they had that. I knew Disney did but didn't even think about that with USO. Thank you.

One difference with child swap at UOR is that everyone goes through the line together. At the boarding dock, the non-riding parent and child go to a special waiting room. When the first riding party gets off the ride, they meet in that room and swap responsibility for the non-riding child, then the second parent gets to ride with the older kids.

 

[cschaaf]

What should be hitting early with EE?

there isn’t much open during Early Park Access, but the things that are open are typically priorities for most.

In IOA, it’s usually Hulk or Spider-man (they trade off from time to time), Velocicoaster, and Hagrids, Forbidden Journey. hippogriff, and Olivanders.

At Studios, Minions or Mummy and Gringotts

 

[tlseege]

Yup, no advice as I haven't gone with children as of yet (10/3-10/6!) but for us, we had planned 2 days. Needed park to park tickets so we could ride Hogwarts Express. At that point, I noticed that an annual pass was VERY little more. And then I noticed I could change my resort to be an annual pass discount and I ended up saving quite a bit of money by switching to an annual pass instead.
Annual passes are park to park, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. If you're doing 4 nights, you might enjoy a leisurely tour of the parks at night or something too!

 

[BrotherCraig]

What nights are you planning at Universal?

Sometimes, the hotel AP discount you get more than pays for the AP.

But AP discounts usually are for Sunday to Friday. It tends to be more difficult to get a Deluxe Resort discount for the weekend.

We check in on Sunday Nov 21st so our park days will be Monday and Tuesday (22 & 23). Wednesday resort day and checking out on Thanksgiving. We already booked the hotel and I don't believe there are any AP deals for that week. Staying Sun-Thurs but holiday week. We were not planning Universal this trip at all. Was suppose to be Disney and then a cruise but we cancelled our cruise so we might as well.

 

[BrotherCraig]

One difference with child swap at UOR is that everyone goes through the line together. At the boarding dock, the non-riding parent and child go to a special waiting room. When the first riding party gets off the ride, they meet in that room and swap responsibility for the non-riding child, then the second parent gets to ride with the older kids.

Great to hear that. Thank you.

 

[BrotherCraig]

Yup, no advice as I haven't gone with children as of yet (10/3-10/6!) but for us, we had planned 2 days. Needed park to park tickets so we could ride Hogwarts Express. At that point, I noticed that an annual pass was VERY little more. And then I noticed I could change my resort to be an annual pass discount and I ended up saving quite a bit of money by switching to an annual pass instead.
Annual passes are park to park, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. If you're doing 4 nights, you might enjoy a leisurely tour of the parks at night or something too!

Looking into that now but no AP for the week we are going - Thanksgiving Sun-Thurs. Would be great if they did though. Appreciate that tip. Will definitely look into in the future.

 

[Pooh's World]

Looking into that now but no AP for the week we are going - Thanksgiving Sun-Thurs. Would be great if they did though. Appreciate that tip. Will definitely look into in the future.

What if you do Universal first and then Disney close to Thanksgiving.
Does that change the Universal Resort AP discount?

 

[cfoxga]

Looking into that now but no AP for the week we are going - Thanksgiving Sun-Thurs. Would be great if they did though. Appreciate that tip. Will definitely look into in the future.

It is too early for APH rates over Thanksgiving. I'm waiting for the Sat-Wed before Thanksgiving to open up. Hopefully they'll come soon, so keep checking...

 

[asuburbanman]

The one thing I’d suggest is to become familiar what HP drink/food is sold where. For example I’m Hogesmade butter beer (regular and frozen) are sold in the Hogs Head and there is usually no line. At Diagon Alley it is sold at Fountain of Fair Fortune. The best use of your time for EE may be to do the wand show, purchase a wand, and explore the shops. If you have EP I wouldn’t worry about riding the rides with the exception of Hagrids.

In order to prep your kids I’d have them watch POV videos of the Potter rides. FJ is much scarier than Gringotts.

Also Men In Black is likely to be one of your kids favorites. That single rider line moves faster than most bc they hold 3 across which is a really weird number. It moved faster than the EP line. So if you tell them to wait when getting off the ride you can likely get lots of rides in.

 

[BrotherCraig]

What if you do Universal first and then Disney close to Thanksgiving.
Does that change the Universal Resort AP discount?

Can't. Already have plans set and Disney is the top priority on this trip but thank you for the suggestion. Rather do Disney when it is not as crowded over Universal as well.

 

[BrotherCraig]

The one thing I’d suggest is to become familiar what HP drink/food is sold where. For example I’m Hogesmade butter beer (regular and frozen) are sold in the Hogs Head and there is usually no line. At Diagon Alley it is sold at Fountain of Fair Fortune. The best use of your time for EE may be to do the wand show, purchase a wand, and explore the shops. If you have EP I wouldn’t worry about riding the rides with the exception of Hagrids.

In order to prep your kids I’d have them watch POV videos of the Potter rides. FJ is much scarier than Gringotts.

Also Men In Black is likely to be one of your kids favorites. That single rider line moves faster than most bc they hold 3 across which is a really weird number. It moved faster than the EP line. So if you tell them to wait when getting off the ride you can likely get lots of rides in.

Thanks. Yeah, they won't be doing FJ at all and will keep them away for the "scary" rides. I will go on that one on my own or with my wife. They just started watching Harry Potter a few months ago. We recently finished all of the movies. Thanks for the tips. Helps a lot!

 

[Erica Ladd]

Wait and see AP hotel rates before buying tix!

 

[Lynne G]

You can always buy tickets then upgrade to an AP at an outside the parks customer service location. To get an AP rate at hotel, you just need to have an AP sometime during when you are staying there to show that you are entitled to that rate. They may not, but they may ask to see it. And best part of a room only reservation, you can cancel up to 5 days before you check in day without penalty. So if you see a better rate, cancel and rebook before those 5 days before. They tend to refund a cancellation in a few days.

Whatever you decide, park to park is good to have, as train is fun to ride. Both ways, as they show they have inside is different each way. Plus, the parks are not that far from each other’s entrances.

And Royal Pacific is a beautiful hotel, with a boat that will take you to City Walk or a path that will take you to City Walk, closer to Islands.

I hope you enjoy your stay at Universal.