HELP.. ONE Day at UNIVERSAL..What do I do?

[StarGazer99]

I am flying in on a Wed(late Sept) with my husband and daughter(9) and have two nights at the Royal Pacific Resort. Our flight gets in at 3:15 and I was wanting to hit a park that day. I have no idea what time I can expect to get to the park and not sure what park to attack. I was looking/wanting to do the BLUE MAN GROUP at 8pm(don't know if I am nuts or not).

We then have the next full day(Thurs) to do the parks which we start at IOA, enter at 8AM with the Harry Potter package a breakfast at the Three Broomsticks 9AM.

Friday morning I am hoping to leave early to hit Hollywood Studios at opening 9 a.m. for our 6 days at Disney. I am totally clueless, have never been to Universal or Disney and am in desperate need of direction.

 

[ChipnDaleRule]

My first bit of advise would be,in the early morning do your must do's first,then anything else after that will be a bonus.
Because you are staying at RP you will have your express passes.Use them, the longest we had to wait was 10 minutes.
As for HS,again,use fast passes as much as possibe,remember,as soon as you are at your alloted time eg 10.00-11.00 on the pass get another fast pass,you can get another fast pass for another ride at 10.00,it saved us SO much time.
We found Toy Story Mania the most popular ride,so try and do this one first. When we were there three weeks ago we saw a 120 min wait
If you are staying at a Disney hotel,the Extra Magica Hours(EMH) in the morning were great.Also if you are Disney Dining Plan,try and pre book some restaurants before you leave.
And also,you can not spend too much time researching,especially on DIS Boards.The more research you do and questions you ask the better time you will have.I have found out so much from here that any other NORMAL person who does not DIS would NEVER know

 

[StarGazer99]

My first bit of advise would be,in the early morning do your must do's first,then anything else after that will be a bonus.
Because you are staying at RP you will have your express passes.Use them, the longest we had to wait was 10 minutes.
As for HS,again,use fast passes as much as possibe,remember,as soon as you are at your alloted time eg 10.00-11.00 on the pass get another fast pass,you can get another fast pass for another ride at 10.00,it saved us SO much time.
We found Toy Story Mania the most popular ride,so try and do this one first. When we were there three weeks ago we saw a 120 min wait
If you are staying at a Disney hotel,the Extra Magica Hours(EMH) in the morning were great.Also if you are Disney Dining Plan,try and pre book some restaurants before you leave.
And also,you can not spend too much time researching,especially on DIS Boards.The more research you do and questions you ask the better time you will have.I have found out so much from here that any other NORMAL person who does not DIS would NEVER know

Thank you... I have been researching Disney World for two yrs now and have info out the wazoo. It's sad that I have spent more time on planning this trip than I did for my wedding. I have plans A, B, C and D made up for our days touring and the main thing I think will trip me up is the packing which I have 50% done 3 months in advance...

I just decided to do this Universal thing and am really hoping to be able to hit all the headliners. I've had two people tell me they can do all the main rides in IOA and US in 7 hrs.

I'm not really sure how to attack the parks though.
When we get there we will have approximately 2 hrs in the park and I'm not sure which park to spend that on(Will IOA be slower since everyone has had all day to see HARRY POTTER)...and will it wipe us out to do Blue Man Group on the first night...BMG is at 8...will we have to leave the park early(it closes at 7) to go to the show?

The second day is definitely starting at IOA with early admission to HARRY POTTER I'm thinking there are about 5 or 6 main rides we'll want to do...will we have enough time to see Universal Studios after IOA. We do have a third day ticket we could use if we needed to, but I was really wanting to have an extra early morning entrance into the Disney parks if I could.... I don't want to regret missing out on something at Disney because we spent more time at Universal but then again I may not think Disney is worth it... It's just lack of experience.

I seem pretty fanatical about my decisions, and I am. But, just like with my wedding day, when the day arrives I will throw up my arms and give in to what ever comes knowing that I planned the best I could and that what ever happens is going to happen and it will happen with a smile on my face... I WILL be grateful for what ever I get.

I definitely do not have the research for Universal Studios and it's a lot harder to find than Disney... I feel so unprepared!!!!

 

[j9000]

things to do if youve not been before (aside from potterworld)

- the mummy
- spiderman
- jaws
- et
- horror makeup show

last one is good on an afternoon, not a serious must do though, just alot of fun, very funny and unlike anything at disney (genuinely gory).
top 4 are unique rides and really good fun (especially jaws & spiderman) Mummy is in my top 5 coasters (number 1 psycho-coaster ive ever been on)

Universal is a much smaller complex than Disney (more like Disneyland in size), and it takes about 5 minutes to walk between the two parks. The Blue man theatre is between them (not been to the show though)

 

[StarGazer99]

things to do if youve not been before (aside from potterworld)

- the mummy
- spiderman
- jaws
- et
- horror makeup show

last one is good on an afternoon, not a serious must do though, just alot of fun, very funny and unlike anything at disney (genuinely gory).
top 4 are unique rides and really good fun (especially jaws & spiderman) Mummy is in my top 5 coasters (number 1 psycho-coaster ive ever been on)

Universal is a much smaller complex than Disney (more like Disneyland in size), and it takes about 5 minutes to walk between the two parks. The Blue man theatre is between them (not been to the show though)

Thank you. It really doesn't look like it's going to be a problem..(Famous last words. lol). You wouldn't happen to know how strict they are on the height requirements... I think my daughter will is about 53.5+ inches in shoes and I doubt she will grow much in 3 months.

 

[Planogirl]

If you like water rides be sure to go to Jurassic Park. Also the Bilge Rat Barges are great fun but you will get soaked. We love Cat in the Hat but be prepared to spin!

I would also recommend the Terminator show as another attraction that can hold a lot of people and it's great to rest there.

 

[MadeToLove]

Consider doing a towncar service from the airport like fltours or happy limo, that will save you some time from the airport as they are prompt and fast and efficient (and will make a grocery stop if you need it)

Check in, then after you dump your stuff (have your packs or whatever ready to go) take the boat to Citywalk and then head to US. With Express Passes/Hotel Keys, you can get several rides in and then it's a short hop to Blue Man Group (I'd say do a fast food snack for dinner, then if still hungry you can get dessert in Citywalk). Have your shopping purchases for the day sent to the hotel, they'll arrive the next morning while you are gone.

Day two, get up early for the early entry into HP. Do Olivanders first, then you'll still have time to do FJ once or twice before breakfast (if you're only a few minutes late it won't matter). Finish up at WWoHP then use that express pass to circle around IOA. Once you finish, you can hop over to US to finish up there.

Luckily, Sept should be a bit more managable both weather wise and crowd wise than it was this past week, so you should be able to get it all done in a day and a half if you keep moving.

 

[j9000]

Thank you. It really doesn't look like it's going to be a problem..(Famous last words. lol). You wouldn't happen to know how strict they are on the height requirements... I think my daughter will is about 53.5+ inches in shoes and I doubt she will grow much in 3 months.

no idea how strict they can be, its only the really big coasters (hulk, dragon challenge) that you will have a an issue with (both 54") dragon challenge is good, hulk is just painful.

just noticed you will be there late september, dont know how much Potter will effect it, but the last 2 times i went was in september, the biggest queue was all of 5 minutes. You will struggle to to everything in both parks in 1 day, but you will do everything you want.

 

[StarGazer99]

Consider doing a towncar service from the airport like fltours or happy limo, that will save you some time from the airport as they are prompt and fast and efficient (and will make a grocery stop if you need it)

Check in, then after you dump your stuff (have your packs or whatever ready to go) take the boat to Citywalk and then head to US. With Express Passes/Hotel Keys, you can get several rides in and then it's a short hop to Blue Man Group (I'd say do a fast food snack for dinner, then if still hungry you can get dessert in Citywalk). Have your shopping purchases for the day sent to the hotel, they'll arrive the next morning while you are gone.

Day two, get up early for the early entry into HP. Do Olivanders first, then you'll still have time to do FJ once or twice before breakfast (if you're only a few minutes late it won't matter). Finish up at WWoHP then use that express pass to circle around IOA. Once you finish, you can hop over to US to finish up there.

Luckily, Sept should be a bit more managable both weather wise and crowd wise than it was this past week, so you should be able to get it all done in a day and a half if you keep moving.

and to j9000 thank you... this is definitely what I was looking for. I chose SEPT because the weather is better and my hubby not only doesn't like crowds but doesn't like being rushed... He thinks this is going to be a relaxing vacation... hehe RUDE AWAKENING..

Are you saying that it is ok to be a few minutes late to the 9am breakfast... that would be great if I didn't have to worry about that.
I'm hoping to do: (top of my list besides Harry Potter)
IOA.............................US
Spiderman............Rip Ride Rocket
Hulk................... Shrek
Ripsaw................Jimmy N.
Bilge Rats............Terminator
.........................Simpsons
.........................MIB
.........................Mummy
If Possible:
Jurassic ............Twister
Poseidon............Disaster
........................Jaws..........Lucy....and Blues Bros.

This list is pretty much in order of importance... if I can get this done, I will be happy. If I still have energy for Disney, I will be elated!!!

Oh and planning on using MEARS transportation from the airport ($35)... I've never done this before..never taken a taxi. Apparently I can "pre-order" them and I planned on taking them from Universal to Disney... Does anyone have any advise on this or if MEARS is good?

 

[StarGazer99]

If you like water rides be sure to go to Jurassic Park. Also the Bilge Rat Barges are great fun but you will get soaked. We love Cat in the Hat but be prepared to spin!

I would also recommend the Terminator show as another attraction that can hold a lot of people and it's great to rest there.

Thanks for the advise...I'll have to write Terminator as a rest stop... I hope my hubby believes me.

 

[MadeToLove]

Are you saying that it is ok to be a few minutes late to the 9am breakfast... that would be great if I didn't have to worry about that.

We had a 9:30 and got in at 9:15 and I saw lots of people coming in at off times for their reservations with no problems. The TMs who are checking you in understand about the possibility for lateness due to ride or Olivander lines. You'll just need to be there before 10 when they start changing things over from breakfast to lunch.

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for the advise...I'll have to write Terminator as a rest stop... I hope my hubby believes me.

Oh, it's a fun show. But you do get to sit in comfortable seats for a while and that attracts me like nothing else at times.

 

[j9000]

you should do what you are estimating, but you may not have much time to smell the flowers, (if you catch my drift) just remember to drink plenty and stay hydrated, as september is blisteringly hot and increadibly humid.

2 things to heads up on,
very end of september the halloween horror nights will be starting up (24,25,30th), might make the parks a little busier towards the evening, ive never been at the parks when its been on unfortunately. It will also move entrances & exits to rides as they use queue lines for the houses (jaws and disaster will both have makeshift queues)

with the water rides at IOA take a change of clothes (including underwear) in a backpack and store in a locker as you will be SOAKED to the skin.

 

[StarGazer99]

you should do what you are estimating, but you may not have much time to smell the flowers, (if you catch my drift) just remember to drink plenty and stay hydrated, as september is blisteringly hot and increadibly humid.

2 things to heads up on,
very end of september the halloween horror nights will be starting up (24,25,30th), might make the parks a little busier towards the evening, ive never been at the parks when its been on unfortunately. It will also move entrances & exits to rides as they use queue lines for the houses (jaws and disaster will both have makeshift queues)

with the water rides at IOA take a change of clothes (including underwear) in a backpack and store in a locker as you will be SOAKED to the skin.

Yes will have to make a note on taking extra clothes... that's something I wouldn't have thought of.. I have hydration back packs that I'm thinking we will carry one through the park... I hope back packs don't get in the way of the rides... I'm wondering: if I would need to go back to my hotel (Royal Pacific) for something, how much time does it take?

We are staying away from HHN which I think we are out of there before they start... I take a swing when I get scared and no one need to get hurt..

Oh yes you don't know this but I am special and this Sept is not going to be too hot or too humid just for meeee. :