Help a couple out!

[pigletgirl]

Little back story, my family and I are coming to Orlando for 10 days, and the majority of which will be spent in Disney. During this time, we'll also be travelling with both sets of grandparents and other family. We have arranged for our girls to stay with the grandparents while DH and I get to spend a full day in Universal!

We are both Universal newbies. We've never been. We are thrill ride junkies and are open to almost any attraction/show that Universal offers.

We plan on getting a 1 day park to park pass, and possibly buying an express pass? DH has a whole list of stuff he wants to accomplish. We have the entire day to ourselves plus dinner in Citywalk. We will be there the first week in December.

Does anyone have a good itinerary for us to follow? Which park should we start in? We will arrive prior to park opening.

 

[tinydancer09]

Little back story, my family and I are coming to Orlando for 10 days, and the majority of which will be spent in Disney. During this time, we'll also be travelling with both sets of grandparents and other family. We have arranged for our girls to stay with the grandparents while DH and I get to spend a full day in Universal!

We are both Universal newbies. We've never been. We are thrill ride junkies and are open to almost any attraction/show that Universal offers.

We plan on getting a 1 day park to park pass, and possibly buying an express pass? DH has a whole list of stuff he wants to accomplish. We have the entire day to ourselves plus dinner in Citywalk. We will be there the first week in December.

Does anyone have a good itinerary for us to follow? Which park should we start in? We will arrive prior to park opening.

Haha I say throw the idea of an itinerary out the window and watch it blow away!!!

I have a disney bible with daily lists of fast passes and what needs to happen between fast passes.... when ADR are, and when bathroom breaks are allowed(kidding.) Want to know what I have for universal? .... a lanyard with my ticket and my hotel confirmation. That's it.

First week of December is my absolute FAVORITE!!! I have done both parks in one day during that week HOWEVER it was before Diagon Alley and I skipped a few shows.
I would recommend waiting to purchase your express pass until closer to time. Watch their prices for your date online. Check maybe weekly or bi-weekly? monthly? If the prices start jumping you can purchase... but if I were in your exact shoes I would not purchase them until I got to the parks unless I saw they reached over $110 bucks(that's unlimited express pass which you may not need since you only have a day to do all the things.) If when you get to the park you find you wish you could have an express pass you can purchase them in the stores. I don't think you'll need one though if you get the same experience I've had.

I would do Harry Potter first if the ride lines have not already built up. After that I would just start somewhere and go in a circle, ride hogwarts express, and then start in a circle at the other park. There are three main water rides at IOA. You might want to save those for last, bring a change of clothes, or skip them all together. I think they are three of the best water rides around, but some people really don't like getting wet. (me, I hate it! I plan for water rides and go back to the hotel and change.)

Things will get pretty quiet usually after dinner and around closing. If you missed any rides with large lines at this time try them then. I would be at the turnstiles 30 minutes before "rope drop" since you only have one day. The only thing you'll need to plan when you get there are shows and how to make those convenient in your circling. You will have maybe a 10minute walk from the parking garage to the turnstiles. I walk fast! If you can purchase your tickets ahead of time so you don't waste time at the ticket windows.

And most of all have fun! Don't worry TOO much about planning. Don't forget to do the basic stuff, but no fast pass reservations, no ADRs(unless you want to eat at Mythos), no scheduled bathroom breaks...

 

[cbsnyber1]

And be sure to know the park hours at that time of the year - they don't stay open as long when crowds are quiet.

 

[tinydancer09]

And be sure to know the park hours at that time of the year - they don't stay open as long when crowds are quiet.

Yes, but don't tell the grandparents that. Have a nice dinner out at Citywalk instead

 

[pigletgirl]

Haha I say throw the idea of an itinerary out the window and watch it blow away!!!

I have a disney bible with daily lists of fast passes and what needs to happen between fast passes.... when ADR are, and when bathroom breaks are allowed(kidding.) Want to know what I have for universal? .... a lanyard with my ticket and my hotel confirmation. That's it.

First week of December is my absolute FAVORITE!!! I have done both parks in one day during that week HOWEVER it was before Diagon Alley and I skipped a few shows.
I would recommend waiting to purchase your express pass until closer to time. Watch their prices for your date online. Check maybe weekly or bi-weekly? monthly? If the prices start jumping you can purchase... but if I were in your exact shoes I would not purchase them until I got to the parks unless I saw they reached over $110 bucks(that's unlimited express pass which you may not need since you only have a day to do all the things.) If when you get to the park you find you wish you could have an express pass you can purchase them in the stores. I don't think you'll need one though if you get the same experience I've had.

I would do Harry Potter first if the ride lines have not already built up. After that I would just start somewhere and go in a circle, ride hogwarts express, and then start in a circle at the other park. There are three main water rides at IOA. You might want to save those for last, bring a change of clothes, or skip them all together. I think they are three of the best water rides around, but some people really don't like getting wet. (me, I hate it! I plan for water rides and go back to the hotel and change.)

Things will get pretty quiet usually after dinner and around closing. If you missed any rides with large lines at this time try them then. I would be at the turnstiles 30 minutes before "rope drop" since you only have one day. The only thing you'll need to plan when you get there are shows and how to make those convenient in your circling. You will have maybe a 10minute walk from the parking garage to the turnstiles. I walk fast! If you can purchase your tickets ahead of time so you don't waste time at the ticket windows.

And most of all have fun! Don't worry TOO much about planning. Don't forget to do the basic stuff, but no fast pass reservations, no ADRs(unless you want to eat at Mythos), no scheduled bathroom breaks...

This is so helpful!

I tend to plan probably too much so we'll just kinda go with whatever we see and want to do. Harry Potter is definitely a priority, so we'll start there.

As for dinner in citywalk, does anyone know when the chocolate emporium is set to open?

 

[bumbershoot]

If you're interested in Harry Potter and considering express passes, look into reserving a hotel room (portofino, hard rock, or royal pacific) for that night. It could very well be cheaper than EP for both parks for two people, and it gives you unlimited EP plus early entry for Wizarding World.

Get there early, check in and get room key (for early entry) and express pass and off you go.

You don't even need to stay in the room. (Though if the grands are extra nice, you could stay there then have a second day of early entry and EP! Though you would have to pre-plan that to make sure you had tickets for that second day.)

 

[tinydancer09]

This is so helpful!

I tend to plan probably too much so we'll just kinda go with whatever we see and want to do. Harry Potter is definitely a priority, so we'll start there.

As for dinner in citywalk, does anyone know when the chocolate emporium is set to open?

They've been hiring for weeks. If they follow the same schedule of NBC restaurant from last year it will be late September/ early October. They have not announced anything yet.

As bumber listed above if you plan on purchasing unlimited express pass sometimes it can actually be cheaper to rent a room than purchase them. During that time of the year I'm not sure if that would be true or not. Or you can look into the lesser express pass. It only has express pass per ride that participates. Since you'll only be there one day will this be enough?

Anyways if you think of anything else please ask and we'll be happy to help! I hope you have a wonderful adult trip and I know the kids will have a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa!

**Edit "It only has ONE express pass per ride that participates. (The lesser one)

 

[pigletgirl]

It would be awesome to have a night away, and get a room. That didn't even cross my mind. I will need to talk to DH about that.

We would definitely have dinner in the Emporium if it's up and running when we're there. What an awesome and unique thing!