Help! WDW planned, now have Harry Potter fan!!

[mousefan73]

Hey Guys!
I am taking the easy way out. I know I can Research all of this, but to be honest I am mentally exhausted from planning our WDW VACAY in 3 weeks. Need some fast insite.

We are a Family of 4 ( 2A 2C 9 and under).
I have spent the past 8 months planning our tWDW rip, all is set. Details are:

Arrive from Germany on 29 Aug ( 2 nights PoP, room only) 01Sep-08 Sept we start our WDW, free Dining package at PoR.. Including the H2o Option.


The 2 nights Pop were planned to recover from Jet-lag and do some outlet Shopping..I was toying with the idea of maybe getting our park tickets early and doing a park on the 31st.


And one more Thing.. Is it true HP is actually spread out into to of the Universal Parks,, so to see all I Need two tickets? which one is better.. Son is not a thril ride Person,,more the theming... in that world type Thing.


Anyways....now my son, Age 9, has read 1st HP book, seen first two movies and 2nd book on the way... He is not obsessed, but I find more from my end ( maybe I am the true HP fan??) it would be cool to check out the Harry Potter stuff at Universal.

Sooooo here are my questions.

1. How much will this cost me?

2. The only Option would be that Weekend before our package ( Labor day.. crowds???) or I give up a WDW day in the middle of our package.

3. We have a car.... is parking expensive??


4.Anyways.. who has done this ?? Is it a whole day experience, how are crowds??I am hoping that first week Sept will die down.


More important is there a cheap way of only doing HP,, to be honest rest of Universal does not interest us at this Point.


any tips,, ?? should we do this..??

I just feel coming all the way over the Pond, and NOT to do it, dont know..

 

[Ametista]

I would not miss the Wizarding World. I love Disney but I think Universal has really outdone Disney with the Harry Potter stuff. You really have to see it to believe it. I would get park-to park admission for one or two days. Yes it is expensive. You have to get park-to-park tickets to ride Hogwarts Express between the parks. If you wait til after Labor Day the crowds should die down a lot. Parking is $17.

https://www.universalorlando.com/

https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/General-Admission.aspx

 

[Upatnoon]

Hey Guys!
I am taking the easy way out. I know I can Research all of this, but to be honest I am mentally exhausted from planning our WDW VACAY in 3 weeks. Need some fast insite.

We are a Family of 4 ( 2A 2C 9 and under).
I have spent the past 8 months planning our tWDW rip, all is set. Details are:

Arrive from Germany on 29 Aug ( 2 nights PoP, room only) 01Sep-08 Sept we start our WDW, free Dining package at PoR.. Including the H2o Option.


The 2 nights Pop were planned to recover from Jet-lag and do some outlet Shopping..I was toying with the idea of maybe getting our park tickets early and doing a park on the 31st.


And one more Thing.. Is it true HP is actually spread out into to of the Universal Parks,, so to see all I Need two tickets? which one is better.. Son is not a thril ride Person,,more the theming... in that world type Thing.


Anyways....now my son, Age 9, has read 1st HP book, seen first two movies and 2nd book on the way... He is not obsessed, but I find more from my end ( maybe I am the true HP fan??) it would be cool to check out the Harry Potter stuff at Universal.

Sooooo here are my questions.

1. How much will this cost me?

2. The only Option would be that Weekend before our package ( Labor day.. crowds???) or I give up a WDW day in the middle of our package.

3. We have a car.... is parking expensive??


4.Anyways.. who has done this ?? Is it a whole day experience, how are crowds??I am hoping that first week Sept will die down.


More important is there a cheap way of only doing HP,, to be honest rest of Universal does not interest us at this Point.


any tips,, ?? should we do this..??

I just feel coming all the way over the Pond, and NOT to do it, dont know..

The best blog on the topic is here: *********************************/universal/

I would take 2 days to explore the universal parks. You can reduce the number of Disney park days and eliminate the water parks to save some money.

 

[Upatnoon]

The best blog on the topic is here: *********************************/universal/

I would take 2 days to explore the universal parks. You can reduce the number of Disney park days and eliminate the water parks to save some money.

for some reason, this website is censoring orlando informer .com / universal

 

[mousecrazy]

The cheapest tickets I've found are at
http://store.usssa.com/Products/122-universal-orlando-park-tickets.aspxhttp:// Not sure about the shipping situation given your out of US, but worth a look. $130 vs. about $187 gate price each (adult and kids are same price).

I think you might be pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of Universal. The rides are amazing...even the movie attractions (4-D Despicable Me) are really cool! Not to mention that the Harry Potter attractions will blow your mind ...it seems that no detail is overlooked. I haven't seen DA yet (but will in 2 weeks!), but the IOA part is out of this world! And your youngest will likely love Seussville (ok, I love it too).

Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day are projected as "Busy" days but will die down considerably after that! If you're not staying on site or springing for Express Pass, then I would definitely go after Labor Day if you can make your schedule work. And give yourself two days so you can experience "both sides" of Harry Potter.

Another option would be to move one of your Pop nights (probably the 2nd so you can recover from you flight a bit) to a Universal onsite hotel (Royal Pacific is usually the cheapest...and it's very nice!) and you'll have access to Express Pass for check in day and check out day...and if you check in really early (like 6:30am) you'll be able to hit rope drops at both parks. I understand this might not work considering your "jet lag" but I would definitely seriously consider it. Universal is not to be missed! (and this is coming from a die hard Disney girl!)


Good luck and I hope it all works out for you! Enjoy your trip.

 

[sashusmom]

I will 2nd a universal visit for a HP fan. I went with my college age daughter 3 years ago. She read every book by the age of 10 or so, then would wait for the release of the next one with great anticipation!!

When we went into the HP world- the first one (wizarding world?) - Both of our jaws dropped. I saw every movie, but have yet to read the books. I felt like I was in the movies- it was incredible -the job they did to reproduce everything!!!

I will have to be honest though- it will set you back about $800 if you chose to stay in a universal hotel- that also includes tickets, but it is so worth it. Don't stay in the economy new family one- they don't give you the express pass with that one, and for just a day visit you will definitely need the express pass.

My example for you- my daughter, now 22, and I are going back in a month or so to see the new HP area. We will be doing Epcot food and Wine festival, condo for that week, then end with a Universal visit. We have a room at the Royal Pacific Loews(cheapest of the 3 but beautiful) for 2 nites (approx. $500 with taxes and such)- and tickets for 3 day park to park with 1 nite of the halloween fright nite(about $450 for the both of us). Your 1 or 2 day tickets will be cheaper than that Im sure.

The first time we went we decided to really see it all required only 2 days. We had 4 day passes- but remember we had practically no wait due to fast passes.
If purchased separately they run an additional $89 tacked onto the ticket price for park admission, so for your family it pays to stay that one nite in the universal hotel.

You get fast pass for the day you stay and the next day I believe. If this is incorrect, please someone jump in here. But I think that's how it worked for us 3 years ago.

Coming all the way from Germany, if this is your one and only trip to Orlando & if you have the $$, don't hesitate to tack on the universal day or 2. Definitely worth it. You can also opt to just drive over to universal with your HP fan and 2 of you do the park. That will just cost you the ticket to get in and please opt for the fast pass tacked on. But this will run you about $400 for the tickets that include fast pass. There is nothing worse than wasting your time standing in line and not getting to see everything you wanted to. Add into that crabby kids, crabby hubby, and crabby you, not a pretty site

Good luck with your decision and your trip. I wish you a safe and happy one.

 

[TheSpooph]

I echo the suggestion to get the two park pass and stay onsite. The early entry and express pass is well worth it. I might go so far to suggest going directly to a US hotel and skip Pop altogether. City walk is a short walk/boat ride away from the hotels and has restaurants/stores like DtD. Just my two cents!

I haven't been to DA but I know it's amazing - I know one of the workers who helped create everything. He helped with the original HP area and said this is better. More detail, etc.

I know you said thrill rides aren't anyone's fav, but IoA does have some great roller coasters. For the non-thrill seekers, check out the Suess rides. Very cute and tame. We loved them.

Have a great trip!

 

[dscott1996]

We just did this and I can't endorse a universal visit enough. Wizarding World is incredible. Do both parks and take Hogwarts both ways. We rode forbidden journey twice and never waited more then a half hour. Get there at 8 (or park opening) and head straight there. Gringo tats is different. We hit that in the evening, around 6pm and waited 75 minutes. Posted wait time was 105 minutes. We like FJ better, but Diagon Alley is incredible. The family found plenty to do in the rest of the parks also. I don't think you need the express pass, particularly if you're coming in September.