Help me plan our 1st family trip to the dark side

[saysib]

We are seasoned Disney goers and have our next trip planned for Nov/Dec this year. DD wil be 9 by then and she is obsessed with Harry Potter. We have tagged on a week at the Cabana Bay as a surprise and I cant wait to see her face
DH and I were last at Universal in 2005 so I have no clue where to start planning? Hoping you guys can point me in the right direction. We'll be there Dec 10th to 17th and its DH, me, DD9 and DS3 (almost 4 and tall).

Im so excited, cant wait to get plans on paper

 

[disneyholic family]

"trip to the dark side".....love it!!!!
we're disney people, so i can't really help you with universal...
only been there twice...both times stayed one night on property so that we could have front of the line...
we were at the original HP....haven't been back since they built the new part...

 

[chmurf]

There is a universal section on the DIS if you scroll down the list of forums

 

[dixonsontour]

If you look on universal trip reports board my 2 trip reports are there. Stayed at cabana both times. Dd was almost 9 first time and almost 10 second. My live trip report on here is from us last week at cabana/universal again. Will do a full report soon. My dd loves Harry Potter too. Best tip is to buy an interactive wand, my dd loves casting the spells. Both potter areas are nicer and quieter in the evening.

 

[saintrob]

We tag on a Universal trip at least once a year but stay at either Royal Pacific or the Hard Rock. We do this primarily to get the front of the line access. We plan for three nights at Universal and find that this gives us enough time to do all that we want in both parks and also to have a wander around City Walk.

 

[scoobydooby2016]

I would advise 4 nights in a deluxe Universal hotel for the FOL passes because they remove the need for any other planning at all TBH except getting up for early hour at the Potter attractions.

 

[pinklotusflower]

We stayed at Cabana last year, we tended to go in to the parks early to make the most of the early entry, we found we didn't have to queue too long for most of the rides, Gringots was the longest & your best getting there early. You don't have to wait long for the buses as it's so close & the seats are comfy. There's also plenty to do at Cabana, there a lazy river & two pools one with a slide, there's movies outside & a bowling alley and the counter service had some nice options. There is also city walk with lots of places to eat, a cinema and mini golf. Your also not that far from International drive where there's lot's of place to eat.

 

[1nfrequent]

Definitely check out the Universal Forum here - lots of good advice.

If you're going in the sweet spot between Thanksgiving and Christmas then FOL passes aren't a must have. I've been to Universal twice during that period and the parks are surprisingly quiet - almost all the rides were 15 minute queues at most and even Harry Potter was a walk on. Busiest ride is actually most likely to be the new Kong ride which opens this summer.

I'd definitely suggest getting an interactive wand and doing that experience - kids absolutely love it and have a real blast when they get the magic to work. I'd recommend getting a meal at The Leaky Cauldron (just for the experience) but for me, Universal's restaurants aren't that great and I prefer eating at the restaurants at City Walk (which also has a cinema so if you run out of stuff to do, there's an extra option there).

Hope you have a marvellous time.

1F

 

[saysib]

Thanks for your advice guys. I knew I could count on you. I'm always a bit nervous to venture into the different sections of the board as they move so quickly.
The interactive wand sounds amazing. My DD will love that. I am so excited to see her there and watch her as we see all the Harry Potter stuff. I'll go and look out for your posts now Dixons, thanks for that.
Wish we could afford one of the other hotels, but we are staying 2 weeks at AKL before then so unfortunately its not in our budget. Im hoping that because we'll be doing all this new stuff it wont seem like too much of a come down.
Thanks 1nfrequent. The citywalk restaurants look great. Hopefully we'll hit that sweet spot your talking about!!!

 

[Princess Leia]

I'm sure you are going to have a great time. MY DD was a huge Harry Potter fan when she went for her first trip after Hogsmeade opened. On our first trip my DS was 3 and he really enjoyed it. The first part of my trip report covers Universal and staying on site.

 

[Shazzie B]

Try and make your 1st trip to IOA early morning if your DDs can cope with that, somehow Hogwarts is even more magical then in the half light (bright Florida light later in day is not quite the same).

DD will love it if she's a HP fan theming is fantastic.

 

[zavandor]

If you go during your DD birthday, be sure to take an Happy Birthday button at guest services. They have them at Universal too. And there are reports that they increase the chance to be picked at Ollivander for the "wand chooses the wizard" cerimony. I'd suggest you to start from Diagon Alley, go to the Gringott Bank to change some muggle money into wizard money, then go to Ollivander to buy your DD a wand. Like what you would do if she were going to buy her stuff to go to Hogwarths.
The rides are incredible, expecially Forbidden Journey, but the details of the areas are incredible and be sure to spend a lot of time just wandering around and enjoying the atmosphere. Be sure to visit both during the day and at night.
One week is plenty of time (even a bit too much, I believe).
Ice cream butterbeer is delicious!

 

[BagOLaughs]

Welcome to the dark side! I'm a 50/50 person when it comes to Disney and USO and I'm also from the UK.

Hopefully you're going to love cabana bay, we sure did!

Some off the top of my head tips: Don't feel the need to get a rubber ring for the lazy river. We purchased them and hardly used them, we just preferred to swim in the river and they also have free flotation vests which are pretty fun to put on and float around the river in.

HP is amazing in the morning and the evening. Make sure to see it in the dark, all the lights come on and its so atmospheric! Also go and speak to the Knightbus conductor & head. They are so funny especially if you're from the UK!

If you get a butter beer or any other "speciality" drink. Get it to share. They are massive and I feel sick about halfway through the drink. Usually I have to throw it away. They don't do smaller sizes but you can ask for an extra cup.

Most importantly have fun!!!