Help with a 2 day trip

[mamamac]

Part of me wants to just throw my hands up and say screw it, I will surprise my girls and take them to Disney where I know way more. I just don't have the time to "read and investigate" for Universal.

I have two girls that are 11 & 12 who are obviously Harry Potter fans. I want to surprise them while we are in FL this July. We seriously only have two days.

I am bummed to read that you can't even use the express passes on any of the HP rides. At first I was all over getting them, but now will it really matter? With two days, will we really be able to see anything else if we are spending our days waiting in line for HP?

Hotels - Cabana Bay looks fun, but since we are cramming our time in at the parks, is it worth the "extra atmosphere"? I just worry that we will need that afternoon break like at Disney and we would want to go crash at the hotel for an hour or two. Do the buses run as frequent? Or would I be better off driving to the park?

Then I see the VIP - my husband would freak if I spent that LOL! BUT...would that help with the line situation for HP? We need to eat at the parks, so I'm sure that lunch & dinner wouldn't be cheap?? So with all the extras, is it worth it?

 

[Lyricallie]

So I don't know about VIP but for the other things. If they are huge Harry Potter fans they will love it. It feels like you are in Harry Potter. It's extremely magical! It will be busy being July but definitely do-able my family used to always travel in July. You can do it in two days, if you want to do Hogwarts Express you need a park hopper ticket and it will transport you to the other Harry Potter section in the other park. There will be long queues for the 2 main rides (Hogwarts and gringrotts) but if you time it right - early morning/evening you should be fine. Also the queues are amazing themselves so plenty to look at. Also they both have single rider if you prefer to (potentially) get on faster.

With Cabana Bay my bf and I liked it, but like you we spent most of our time in the parks so didn't use much of the amenities, but the bus was really frequent, air conditioned and nice. It's walking distance I think it was about a 20 minute walk and the buses were quick so you could definitely have a break, however the parks do sometimes close earlier than Disney so you might not want the couple of hours break, you might be better going to citywalk for a long sit down lunch in the aircon.

Hope that helps!

 

[tink1957]

I would suggest the meal plan for your party it's $21.95 per day includes a meal with beverage, a snack and extra beverage. Your HP fans can eat in the Leaky Cauldron and the 3 Broomsticks.

I think the VIP would be great if you can afford it but you can easily get it done using the previous suggestions.

Hope you all have a wonderful time And stay hydrated

 

[mamamac]

I would suggest the meal plan for your party it's $21.95 per day includes a meal with beverage, a snack and extra beverage. Your HP fans can eat in the Leaky Cauldron and the 3 Broomsticks.

I think the VIP would be great if you can afford it but you can easily get it done using the previous suggestions.

Hope you all have a wonderful time And stay hydrated

You can't make reservations at the HP places, correct??

 

[jeffbeardreams]

You can't make reservations at the HP places, correct??

Correct. They are both basically counter service. Both restaurants are terrifically efficient though. So the lines only get completely out of control at the busiest times of the year and the day.

If I could suggest some stuff to de-stress a bit:

1. The Potter elements are really the only things at the Universal parks that require a lot of planning ahead.
2. Those elements are so freaking good that if your daughters are big Harry fans, then they will absolutely flip out.
3. With early admission, it's completely possible to do Universal's two main parks in two days and not leave a whole lot hanging ... especially if you book on site for at least one night to get the Express Passes. In fact, I think your money is likely better invested in a Universal resort that will give you Express Passes than in a VIP Tour.
4. There are also some Potter related extras that can be booked like a breakfast at one of the Wizarding World restaurants and a photo session at Shutterbugs. Right now they have a package exclusive on those items that you might want to check out.
5. If you want to "make sure" then the VIP Tour is a way to go. The non-exclusive ones are fairly reasonable as those things go. The one day, one park non-exclusive is around $1,100 for a family of four. It's a lot, but that level of peace of mind is expensive.

I still think you can manage just as well on your own ... especially if you go with a resort that will give you Express Passes.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I agree with pp where if you do it first thing in the morning or at night closer to closing should be much better. We are staying at Cabana Bay this July except for one night at Royal Pacific to get Express Pass for two days. Personally if you can swing an on-site hotel I would especially if it is one night. I would go with one of the three with the express pass. True you can't use it at the Harry Potter stuff but if you are planning to ride other things then yes it would help. If you stay one night at one of the three premiere hotels you get the day you check in and the next for express pass. If you just care about early entry then Cabana Bay can work. We personally don't like to drive. We like to stay on-site to get more out of our visit. The bus is great from Cabana Bay. The other resorts have a water taxi or are a little closer for walking.

We are doing the VIP tour but not the private one. We are doing the one with other people. We chose this because we have done other VIP tours and really enjoy all the little extras you get plus the front of the line for the tour.

The Harry Potter worlds are amazing and really can't be missed. Honestly, once you figure out your best strategy this trip will be good. We find Universal much more relaxed to do then Disney. We do love disney too!!
Good luck