Hogwart's Express

[sunshinemelody]

Well....not a bad idea - we'd have to definitely buy 3 though. The 2 avid "Potterheads" are 2 of the kids. Not sure if we'd want to separate or not...something to think about though! I just priced it out....it would be $265 for the 5 of us to have the hoppers.

I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited too! I hate to wish the summer away, BUT.....I can't wait until Sept!

Oh yes, yes, I definitely agree. Are your kids over the age of 12? Only asking because maybe this could be their taste of freedom in a park? They ride it to the other park and come back to the starting point to meet back up with y'all?

 

[slbgnb]

Oh yes, yes, I definitely agree. Are your kids over the age of 12? Only asking because maybe this could be their taste of freedom in a park? They ride it to the other park and come back to the starting point to meet back up with y'all?

They are 14 and 9. If my 14 year old was a bit more aware of her surroundings, I might trust her to take my 9 year old. However.....she's usually wondering around in LaLa land and I don't think we'd ever see them again!!

 

[sunshinemelody]

They are 14 and 9. If my 14 year old was a bit more aware of her surroundings, I might trust her to take my 9 year old. However.....she's usually wondering around in LaLa land and I don't think we'd ever see them again!!

Oh! Well then, maybe not!

I'd have a game plan with her before you go, along the lines of, (and I have no kids, so I'm only supposing that this could work) sitting down with her now and coming to an agreement. "We're wanting to buy two PH's so you both can ride the HE, however! I need to see you become responsible with your surroundings. I need to know that I can trust you to go to one park and come back in a timely fashion." YEAH IDK I'M JUST SURMISING THAT THIS COULD WORK BUT TEENAGERS.

 

[cheerupem0kidx0x]

We are in the same boat. 4 of us, I am the only HUGE harry potter fan but DS likes it too just not to my extreme lol. We went last time we were at Disney 4 years ago but that was before the new stuff opened. I am dying to ride HE but it kills me to have to pay for park to park that we wouldn't really want to use other than for HE. I had originally planned on just going to the new park since we already spent plenty of time in the old one but I don't want to miss out on HE. I think we finally came up with the plan that DH and DD are going to stay at Disney for the day and me and DS will go to universal. Then I am only buying 2 tickets instead of 4. DH isn't a huge fan and DD is young enough to not care either way so it doesn't really make sense to spend $300+ for them to go but I am a little sad we will be splitting up.

 

[Kivara]

Sounds like a nice plan, and the kids will probably enjoy getting some one-on-one time with one of the parents

 

[slbgnb]

We are in the same boat. 4 of us, I am the only HUGE harry potter fan but DS likes it too just not to my extreme lol. We went last time we were at Disney 4 years ago but that was before the new stuff opened. I am dying to ride HE but it kills me to have to pay for park to park that we wouldn't really want to use other than for HE. I had originally planned on just going to the new park since we already spent plenty of time in the old one but I don't want to miss out on HE. I think we finally came up with the plan that DH and DD are going to stay at Disney for the day and me and DS will go to universal. Then I am only buying 2 tickets instead of 4. DH isn't a huge fan and DD is young enough to not care either way so it doesn't really make sense to spend $300+ for them to go but I am a little sad we will be splitting up.

It really does stink! We went 4 years ago too - and 1 day at each park worked awesome. I don't mind buying the park tickets, because we LOVE US and IofA - it's the park to park JUST for HE that kills me. Splitting up would take some of the fun out of it for me. Everybody definitely wants to do Universal in general though - SO many great rides - even for little ones. Minion ride, Simpsons, Spiderman....It's a hard decision to make...

 

[snoopboop]

I guess it's all in how you look at it. It's not JUST for the Hogwarts Express. You literally obtain the ability to access another whole theme park for the price of the upgrade.

 

[slbgnb]

I guess it's all in how you look at it. It's not JUST for the Hogwarts Express. You literally obtain the ability to access another whole theme park for the price of the upgrade

True - but, we go at a very slow time and are totally fine doing US 1 day and IofA 1 day....for US.....the only reason to purchase the park to park is for HE. I wouldn't spend that extra hopping money otherwise...but, again, that's just for my family.

 

[nkereina]

We're only casual Potter fans and always get the park to park ticket, not just for HE but it because allows us to have some spontaneity when visiting Universal which is hard to do at Disney. Its one of the things we like about Universal. Also, being only two adults, we usually don't spend as much time at IOA so it allows us to visit Studios in the same day as well.

That being said, for those on the fence about spending the money, I will caution that HE does not have Express Pass and sometimes the waits can be quite long. For us, we were ready to park hop after lunch last trip, and the wait was 45 minutes for HE so we opted just to walk over instead. There was another trip when we started our day at the Studios because it had EE, and once IOA was open, we got right on HE just to experience it with a short wait. Once we got to IOA, we turned around and rode it right back to the Studios. Its a different experience each way. But my point is, it's not a reliable means of park hopping transportation so if you decide to go for the upgrade, do it because you really want to experience the ride.

 

[cheerupem0kidx0x]

True - but, we go at a very slow time and are totally fine doing US 1 day and IofA 1 day....for US.....the only reason to purchase the park to park is for HE. I wouldn't spend that extra hopping money otherwise...but, again, that's just for my family.

Same here, I would rather spend 1 day at each park if anything. Plus this trip I would have been satisfied just seeing the new stuff and only doing the 1 park. The HE would be the sole reason I would buy the park to park. I never get park hoppers at Disney either. We are just a 1 park a day kind of family I think.

 

[slbgnb]

I will caution that HE does not have Express Pass and sometimes the waits can be quite long. For us, we were ready to park hop after lunch last trip, and the wait was 45 minutes for HE so we opted just to walk over instead

That is good to know. Thanks!

 

[newestkg06]

We are in the same boat as you too, and I think we're just going to skip the park to park (family of 4). It's just too expensive and since we're only doing two days, 1 day per park in enough. IF we were doing 3, I could see getting park to park for that 3rd day to hit all the favorites again. I'm excited about going to Universal this time, but the extra charges (like express pass) and even just the extra expense over getting a longer ticket from Disney, really start to add up.

 

[snoopboop]

We are in the same boat as you too, and I think we're just going to skip the park to park (family of 4). It's just too expensive and since we're only doing two days, 1 day per park in enough. IF we were doing 3, I could see getting park to park for that 3rd day to hit all the favorites again. I'm excited about going to Universal this time, but the extra charges (like express pass) and even just the extra expense over getting a longer ticket from Disney, really start to add up.

I realize that it's very tempting for hardcore Disney fans to look to Universal with a biased eye and find fault wherever they can. But your assertion that Universal is "just too expensive" compared to Disney doesn't add up.

3-day single-park ticket for Disney = $290
3-day Disney park hopper = $345

3-day single-park ticket for Universal = $180
3-day Universal park-to-park ticket = $230

4-day single-park ticket for Disney = $325
4-day Disney park hopper = $394

4-day single-park ticket for Universal = $190
4-day Universal park-to-park ticket = $240

You don't NEED to purchase Express Pass if you don't want to. And there is always the option of staying onsite (for about the price of a Disney moderate) to get the unlimited EP option.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I'm sure there are YouTube videos of the train ride that would let you see if it is worth the upgrade for you. DD and I are the world's biggest HP fans, and I'm not sure we would upgrade JUST for the Hogwarts Express.

Fortunately, we didn't have to make that decision, because we are on the boat with those who always get park-to-park at Universal because it fits better with our touring style. Since HP is our priority, we start each day in the Harry Potter areas, stay there until it gets busy (and move between them as desired), do other things, then go back to the HP areas in the evening. I think of Universal & Islands of Adventure more as one big park since it is so easy to move between them.

Also, for the record, I don't find Universal too expensive on its own. However, it is a very expensive add-on to an already planned vacation. For us, it is almost impossible to be so close and not visit Universal, so we build it into the budget. It is kind of our happy place.

 

[snoopboop]

Also, for the record, I don't find Universal too expensive on its own. However, it is a very expensive add-on to an already planned vacation. For us, it is almost impossible to be so close and not visit Universal, so we build it into the budget. It is kind of our happy place.

The same would be true if one were looking at adding Disney on to an already-planned Universal vacation. Adding ANY park on for just one or two days is going to be expensive.

 

[tortilla24]

So just to clarify... I had planned on spending a day at each park.. so buying a two day pass. Although I don't feel the need to hop from park to park on a single day, I would love to ride the ride. There are 5 of us, so yes, upgrading the ticket to primarily take the ride adds up!!

Yes, we're doing the same in June with 2 single park tickets. There's 4 of us. We're not buying hoppers as we're only doing 2 days - one in each park. If we were staying longer, hoppers would maybe be something to consider. It helps that the 2 kids in my group have no clue that HE exists and will be so busy with all of the great attractions there is to do in each park that they probably won't miss it.

I'm in the same situation as OP. We are going in Sept and doing 5 Disney days and 2 Universal days. There are 5 of us (2 avid HP fans) and I'm having such a hard time deciding if I should get the park to park pass! I don't feel the need to hop - 1 day at each park seems like it would work fine....BUT, I'm sure the kids would LOVE to ride HE.

If you can make it work budget-wise, I'd go for it. But with only 2 park days for our trip too, it just doesn't seem worth it. I've heard it's incredible from many friends - both online and off - so if you're Potterheads, it could be worth it. 2/4 in my party are Potter fans (and I may be the only big one) so for us, it didn't seem worth it.

 

[snoopboop]

II think of Universal & Islands of Adventure more as one big park since it is so easy to move between them.

Maybe that's why I have such difficulty understanding the mindset that park-to-park access is unnecessary or not worth the expense. We hop back and forth all day long!

 

[tortilla24]

The same would be true if one were looking at adding Disney on to an already-planned Universal vacation. Adding ANY park on for just one or two days is going to be expensive.

THIS! I have 2 days at Universal (onsite at RPR) and 1 day at Disney. Very short stay in general but yes, the Disney "add-on" is a pricey addition to the trip. I've just come to accept that it is what it is and this is a trip of a lifetime for the crew I'm taking. Even if it's not as long as we like or as "upgraded" as I would want, the kids will know no different. I feel like adults put a lot of pressure to make everything as ideal as possible and kids will enjoy the vacation regardless

 

[bchbetha]

Maybe that's why I have such difficulty understanding the mindset that park-to-park access is unnecessary or not worth the expense. We hop back and forth all day long!

Same! We weren't exactly efficient but it was so nice to have the flexibility. The parks are just right there. You can see the other park from rides. I'd hate to be locked into one side.

 

[newestkg06]

I'm certainly not saying Universal is more expensive than Disney, I'm saying it's really expensive to try to do both in one trip (and that's what we have to do). We live in MN, so driving 2000 miles is not something I want to do. Plane fares for 4 (about $1300 if we're lucky), so we need to squeeze a lot in on the trips we can do, only once every 2-3 years. I wish I lived close enough to drive, or could pop over for the weekend. I'm sure I could stay at somewhere really cheap in Kissimmee and save lots of money there too. Everybody's budget it what it is and has to make the choices they make. They have to decide what is "worth it to them" which is going to be unique for everyone.