Harry Potter nut - 1 or 2 days? stay on-site?

[megamay]

I'm planning a kind of last minute trip to Orlando with my 8 year old daughter. We have 4 days.

She LOVES Harry Potter, so I originally thought we would do 2 days in Universal - one in IOA and one in Universal Studios. The multi day ticket would get us a third day that we could use to come back later if necessary. Then we would pretty much just do Magic Kingdom from Disney.

However, after some more research, I'm thinking that there might not be much in the Studios to interest her. She's tall enough for all the rides except the Hulk and Dragon coasters, but the rides in the Studios look like they might be too scary for her.

Plus, in addition to the Magic Kingdom, she really likes the look of the stuff in Epcot and would like to check out the Animal Kingdom (even though I told her it's not the most exciting, she loves animals)

Would it be a bad idea to cut back to one day in IOA for Harry Potter? I'm worried that it will be crowded and she won't get her fill in one day (she is going to want to spend time in EVERY shop, eat in the pub, etc.). We are going on March 27 - which is a level 6 crowd level according to touring plans.

So, now Im thinking of shelling out the extra money to stay a night at Universal for the early entry. That way we would be pretty much guaranteed to get plenty of time in Potter world right? We could go there first, see some other stuff and then go back later, right? But it's over $200 more to stay there than the cheap off site hotel - for one night! We dont have a lot of money right now, so this is a pretty big decision for me.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[damo]

If she is a scaredy cat, she may not even like the rides at the Wizarding World. I think one day is probably plenty for you. Personally, I would just be at the gates at least half an hour before they open, head straight for the Wizarding World and make the best of it. You can't use the express pass for Ollivander's or Forbidden Journey anyways, so staying onsite will give you early entry but won't give you any express passes for those two things.

I suggest you go for one day and just do what you can and then come back again after Diagon Alley opens with the Hogwarts Express. It sounds to me like that would be a better use of your time and money.

Another suggestion is to buy a one night package at an offsite hotel through www.universalorlando.com
That will get you early admission to the Wizarding World and allow you to ride things before the general public.

 

[wergoin2camouse]

U should check the dates u are going to see if there is an AP rate available... Our room (with 4 people) was only 199.00. Plus the AP will allow you to come and go again later in the year

 

[SarahWeasley]

I don't like very scary rides, either. At USF, I like ET, Despicable Me, The Simpsons, Men in Black, Disaster, Terminator, Shrek, Animal Actors, the Horror Make-Up Show. (There are also some other children's rides that I don't remember.) Your daughter would probably be bored by Terminator, and the Simpsons might be too overwhelming. But I would guess that you could fill up a day at USF without a problem and have a lot of fun. (And you could always go back to IOA if you did have any time left over on the second day.)

That being said, with only four days total, I would probably lean toward just the one day at IOA and spending the other three days at Disney. As much as I like Universal, I think of Disney as being a more special experience for a kid. I would guess that you'd be more likely to regret having only two days at Disney, than to regret having only one day at Universal. But that's just my feeling. Either way, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

Also, if the money to stay on-site would be a problem, I don't think it's a necessity. Just show up early.

 

[megamay]

thanks everyone! I'm still deciding, but staying at one of the partner hotels for early admission might be the winner. I didn't realize you could get early admission at those.