Help with offsite one day visit to Universal

[PatMcDuck]

In the past, we have always stayed onsite at Universal, and I am well aware of the advantages.

But in October, we just have one day to pop over from our Disney hotel. I DO want to ride the new HP train and the Gringotts ride, for sure. This is for Sunday Oct 12.

I don't even know where to begin. Obviously no EE for us. What time should we arrive as day guests? Should we enter and head for Gringotts first anyway? Walk there first, then take the train over to IOA and Hogsmeade? We would probably spend more time at IOA vs. Universal.

I feel so clueless going for only one day (and a tiny bit bummed, but we will go again and stay in a Uni resort hotel). My son is special needs, and in a Convaid chair, which makes it tough to walk into the small shops to look around, so we would probably skip that this trip.

Does the Leaky Cauldron take reservations? I feel like such a newbie.

Thanks all.

 

[RMulieri]

Keep in mind that that is Columbus Day weekend, so it will be very busy.I would be at the parks about an hour before scheduled opening and be ready to go.You can try Gringotts and if the wait is too bad, try it later in the day.Leaky Cauldron does not need ressies.It is like the Three Broomsticks over at IOA.

 

[kathy884]

For $5 you can go to touringplans.com and get their recommendations for a one day trip that covers both parks and focuses on the HP stuff. That's what we're using for guidance on our one day trip to cover both parks in mid December, as the new HP things are our main interest and we only want to allocate one day for Universal, given how many great things there are to do in Orlando.

The site is www.touringplans.com. Click on the Universal Florida tab at the top.

Since we're spending $138 or so pp to visit, we thought the $5 investment for their suggestions about what to do and what order to do things to minimize line waiting was worth the investment. I like it do that they will based on your day and order of attractions give you estimated time in line. It helps you see what seems reasonable to do.

 

[kathy884]

I actually for our one day trip have three mini customized touring plans I created on the touringplans.com site. I used there recommendations to start and subtracted some things we've done before and aren't interested in. We start by hitting two headliners at Universal early morning (rides that will later have the longest lines), take the train to IOA and hit six favorite attractions there (if it was a heavier crowd day, I would do fewer, but we had plenty of time based on estimates, so I added in a few more), take the train back to Universal, have a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron (counter service), explore the new HP area there ( Olivanders and Diagon Alley for an hour and a half or so), check out street scenes and then leave. // Works perfectly for us for getting in everything we really want to do at Universal given our limited time in Orlando. And I actually have 2 1/2 hours to spare based on their estimates in case things run longer or there is something else that strikes our fancy.

 

[Donald - my hero]

We start by hitting two headliners at Universal early morning (rides that will later have the longest lines), take the train to IOA and hit six favorite attractions there take the train back to Universal, have a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron (counter service), explore the new HP area there ( Olivanders and Diagon Alley for an hour and a half or so), check out street scenes and then leave.

We haven't been yet but my research has shown that you need Park-to-Park passes to use the train. Not sure if you know that lil tid-bit which significantly raises the cost of tickets!! Luckily for me i was able to snag them with my Airmiles

 

[kathy884]

We haven't been yet but my research has shown that you need Park-to-Park passes to use the train. Not sure if you know that lil tid-bit which significantly raises the cost of tickets!! Luckily for me i was able to snag them with my Airmiles

Yes, We want to hit both parks in one day (see both HP areas), so that's $136 pp on the website and there might be tax on top of that. Ouch. // This trip is pretty cheap for us except for theme park tickets. Using frequent flyer miles to fly down, parents are doing a timeshare trade and we're staying with them, parents are getting a rental car and will pick us up at the airport, so no cost for lodging or transportation. We'll also eat some meals in. And we don't do shopping or souvenirs except for the grocery store. Doing the parks we want though instead of the multi park deal though will cost some dollars: SeaWorld one day, MK one day for $100 pp or so, and the Universal park to park for $136 pp, and one resort day plus the Titanic attraction on I-drive. Should be an absolute blast though. // DH is staying home as he doesn't care for theme parks.

 

[subtchr]

Here is a link to the USSSA site, where you can get two-day park to park tickets for $130 (plus shipping or a pick-up fee): USSSA STORE

I know you are not planning two days in the parks, but if you use part of your resort day to visit again to hit a few things you miss the first day, it might help. And even if you don't use the second day, it's a bit cheaper anyway!