Help! Disney-level planner ... 45 days out and getting stressed

[gwek]

Instead of our annual Disney trip in November, this year, we're taking a Universal trip in early October. I'm used to planning tons of details throughout the year, including reservations 180 days out, FastPasses 60 days out, etc. I'm not complaining -- I LOVE the planning, and my wife and daughter have come to expect that I'll take care of the details and they won't have to wait on long lines or anything.

So, with Universal booked a few months back and no pressure to use a meal plan, I feel like I'm not pulling my weight!

I also want to make sure that I have my head around what I SHOULD be planning for. We're staying at Cabana Bay, but paid for the Universal Express (which I know doesn't cover everything), so I'm hoping most attractions won't have long waits, but what do I need to plan for? What are the trouble spots? Where should I be applying my Disney-level precision?

And a side question: For our last two trips, we had a place -- Garden Grocer, Green Grocer? -- that delivered food, etc. to our Disney hotel room. Can we do that at Universal? If not, is there an alternative?

Thanks in advance!

 

[squirrel]

Not sure about grocery delivery. I'm using a town car service to pick us up and it will include a grocery stop on our way to CB.

I too feel like I haven't done much planning for my trip to the Darkside. It sure is different than Disney. Seems like it's more laid back. Not sure how many park days you have but we have about 9.

Only other things I can think of are tickets to Blue Man Group (if you plan on it), pool float for Cabana Bay (they will fill up ones you have brought), ingredients for smores plus sticks for marshmallows (or you can purchase at CB).

 

[gwek]

Thanks for the advice on Cabana Bay. We have three park days, so it'll be a little tighter than your trip!

 

[bchbetha]

You probably would have been fine without express passes but too late I guess. I wouldn't expect crazy crowds then so waits would be in the 20 minute range without them. Sometimes it's nice to wait in the lines bc the theming is so good. Keep that in mind while you're there if you're willing to wait, it can be worth it.
No planning is really necessary. Get the wait time app when you're there so you can avoid the heavier crowds then just flit about at your leisure. Truly, let go of the need to plan it out. It'll be fine and fun!

 

[macraven]

Op if you will be at the darkside first week in October, the 3, 4, 5 should be fine in the parks

Do the rides that have short lines up to noon, then use your ep if parks are crowded

Thursday is when more will be in the parks as Hhn begins that night

Studios will close at 5
If by chance that is your last day for the parks, hit the studios first and switch to ioa for the afternoon


All weekends at UO will have crowds in the park due to hhn

 

[jenhelgren]

Do all resorts have a campfire for smores or just Cabana Bay? We will staying at Royal Pacific and I am trying to absorb all I can from the boards

 

[gwek]

I suppose I was rounding, Our park days are October 1-3 (Saturday through Monday). I believe the Halloween stuff is already in effect, but since my daughter is 7, we won't be doing it.

How viable is it to park-hop? I've only been to Universal once, pre-Harry Potter, but it seems like could do some of the Harry Potter stuff in one park early, Hogworts Express it over to the other park, and spend the day there.

Which line wait apps do folks suggest? I have the Magic Guide app on my phone (for Universal, Disney World, and DisneyLand, all in a nice little row...).

From what I can tell, it seems like, Potter stuff aside, the biggest crowds are usually at:

Universal Studios: Despicable Me, Transformers

Islands of Adventure: Jurassic Park stuff, Dudley Do Right

Is that about right?

(I'm factoring out the biggest roller coasters, since we won't be going on them)

What are some of the best themed queues? My daughter gets mad when we FP Haunted Mansion and Winnie the Pooh!

 

[macraven]

Well with those dates the parks will have crowds on Saturday and Sunday

Use the EE and hit DM before potter

Use SRL when it is available
The ep would be helpful for the two weekend days but you should be ok with EE and SRL

Studios will start to have more in it around 2 and later
Peeps come in for Hhn and hit rides before the park closes at 5

Switch to ioa if crowds are an issue those days

Monday you won't see crowds in the parks

 

[bchbetha]

Hopping is super easy. The parks are right there. It's not like Disney at all. With the train, you'll have the choice of going between on that or just walking through the CityWalk. Both are easy and just a matter of where you want to go.
Get the official Universal resort app. It also has maps, show times...

 

[bchbetha]

Be sure and do an evening in Diagon Alley.
Almost all lines are great. Mummy, however, is scary.

 

[survivormike]

Relax. UO is not Disney. And that is from a true commando diser. If you are staying on site...all will be fine!

 

[Disney Ron]

OP, another Disney vet here. We are 5 days away from our 7 day stay at RPR at UO and the thing we're loving the most, at the moment, is the lack of planning involved for this trip. No ADR's, no FP+'s just go with the flow. We had Disney booked with Free Dining and cancelled it for UO, in fact, we won't even step foot on Disney property the week we are there.

Can't wait for a more relaxing vacation.

 

[kohlby]

Use the early hour. The issue I found during moderate crowds was that it became hard to walk around in the HP areas due to all the people. The lines at the rides weren't long at all, but it was hard to walk around in both the HP areas - making it less enjoyable and less relaxing. So - use that early hour as it's a nice time to take in the sights and do a ride. If you do the interactive wands, going during the extra hour makes it much easier too. My son bought his wand one day but didn't get to use it much that day - it was just too hard with the crowds. (And that was during moderate crowds). He spent the entire early hour the next day just for using his wand and it went very well.

I don't use any wait time apps - I've found it's really not needed when crowds aren't high. (Add in that you'll have express and I wouldn't worry at all).

 

[kohlby]

Hopping is ridiculously easy. We thought it was easy before the train - since there was no bus/boat/tram like Disney but just walk. The train makes it even easier. I think we hopped 5 times in one day once during our last trip. We hopped every single day - usually multiple times. (Hmmm . . . I could go for an ice cream but we're in the wrong park - let's hop. Oooh, we didn't get the giant Simpson's donut yet but we're in the wrong place - let's hop. Etc). That was likely park of our problem with walking through the crowds in the HP areas last time. We kept hopping so we had to walk through the crowds. The train had either no wait or a short wait but getting the 7 of us through the crowds trying not to lose any kids wasn't exactly relaxing.

 

[angryduck71]

For the fun of it, and since you like to plan, take a look at orlandoinformer.com -- it has some touring plans and ideas. Now, you won't REALLY need it because you have express pass, but it might help you a bit with the Potter portion and some ideas about getting there early, hopping, etc. Just to get that touring bug out of you.

 

[angryduck71]

OH, also, trouble spots will be Harry Potter (as other poster said, get there early -- no express pass). Despicable Me (even with express pass). Kong. I don't think there's an express pass yet.

 

[nkereina]

We're Disney planner type people too. For us, the biggest things were making sure we hit rope drop at each park at least once, and also taking advantage of early entry. Gringotts and Forbidden Journey do not have EP, so you'll want to hit those at rope drop for the shortest waits. This is why making sure we did rope drop once at each park was important. Also, Hogwarts Express does not have EP and the line does get backed up. Sometimes we will ride it after doing Forbidden Journey/Gringotts, and then just ride it back to our original park so we can get it in. Lines will be low in the morning but by lunch time, when most people want to park hop, we've found it gets backed up. Despeciable Me can get lengthy too, but you can use EP for that.

IMO, with Universal, you don't need to plan the details of your day so much. But I do think it helps to research and familiarize yourself with each ride, QS restaurant, TS restaurant, etc. I didn't do much research before our first trip and when we wanted a QS lunch, I was at a loss as to what was good, who had what, etc. Also, some Universal rides are much more intense than you'd experience at WDW, so knowing about each ride is good since you can't see many of them. I knew nothing about the Mummy ride before going on and was very (pleasantly) surprised with how intense it was. I wasn't expecting anything like that.

Also, study park maps too. We spent time scratching our heads trying to figure which way to go, what ride was in each park, etc.

 

[bchbetha]

FYI the Universal wait time app has a guide me map feature. Handy.