How to handle EE entry rides when you don't have early entry?

[skier_pete]

So, starting to think about our trip in May over Memorial Day. Noticed that it seems like US will be the park listed for Early Entry every day. We aren't staying on-site and no park-to-park. (Flying in for a weekend did not leave money in the budget for on-site stay.) Thinking we are going to do US on day one and three, IOA on days 2 and 4, so day one probably won't make rope drop. (Our flight lands in Orlando at 7:45 AM, don't think we can make it to RD with a stop at the resort to drop our bags - best guess is around 9:30-10 AM be in the park our first day.)

Would want to get at least one ride on Gringotts and Minion Mayhem during the two days. How would you folks recommend doing it so that we don't have a 90+ minute wait. My thought is to do rope drop anyways on Day 3 and do one of the two. Maybe do MM that way, and either do Gringotts at the very end of the day or do single rider as early as possible on Day 1? I know there's often huge lines for Gringotts even single rider - last time we were there they closed down single rider because it was so long. I think it sucks that they have EE in the same park every day so there's no getting around it.

 

[TommyJK]

When I look back at last year's memorial day weekend, Gringott's was between 15-30 minutes wait time throughout the morning and didn't hit above 30 minutes until around noon.

Crowd patterns this year might be different, so I would plan to "check it out" in the morning as you may be surprised with a decent wait time. And if it's bad, return in the evening when crowds taper off

 

[Blue32]

I would definitely do Minions first if you don’t have EE. Then maybe Gringotts or Gringotts late afternoon or evening.

 

[damo]

Yes, just like at WDW, getting there early is your best bet.

 

[skylock]

I agree with getting there as early as possible and hitting minions first thing if you can.

You can download the universal app if you have a smart phone and you can check wait times, in case the line is too long when you pass by the first time. The first time or two I used the app it did not reflect true wait times very well, but I compared this past nov (thanksgiving week sun-thur) and the wait times listed were almost always pretty spot on with the app times. They must have a better way of doing it now because we used to call it the lying app and it was way more accurate this past time.

Gringots, as early as possible, or closer to close would be my choice. As long as you are in line before close, they will let you ride.

And of course you know about single rider. Single rider was being used in Nov which was a little surprising. I do not know if it was all day but it was at least open sometimes.

 

[Disxuni]

The only time I ever do Gringotts SR is in the morning, so that is definitely something to do. Anytime I go over there besides early morning, when I'd get over there either the SR line is closed, or getting way too backed up. Once you you do that you can check, Minions to see how long of a wait it is and run over there after you done that if it doesn't seem too long, or do Minions, then the SR line at Gringotts. As it isn't as if the SR is going to fill up within less than 30 minutes of the park officially opening. If anything, you can always do one, or the other in the evening, once a lot of people have filed out, or watching any of the shows in the evening.

 

[only hope]

Rope drop Minions one morning. It won’t be busy if you’re one of the first non-early entry people to get there- nearly all early entry people go to HP. Do Gringotts next, if the lines not too bad. If it is wait til evening. The wait is usually much shorter in the evening.

 

[skier_pete]

Thanks everyone - much appreciated! I remember using the app last time we were there but I think the few times we used it it wasn't very accurate.

 

[nkereina]

I agree with PPs advice. But will mention that if you can get express pass, even for one day, it won't matter what time you get there and EE will be a non-issue. You'd have to price whether purchasing EP or booking a throwaway room would be more cost efficient, but to have the EP benefit over a holiday weekend would be worth the cost to me.

 

[skier_pete]

I agree with PPs advice. But will mention that if you can get express pass, even for one day, it won't matter what time you get there and EE will be a non-issue. You'd have to price whether purchasing EP or booking a throwaway room would be more cost efficient, but to have the EP benefit over a holiday weekend would be worth the cost to me.

I can't see doing this. We bought 4 day passes (because of the deal) for 2 days in each park. There's so few rides we care about potentially riding more than once, I just don't see us needing an EP. There's really only 7 rides I see on the list at US that we really would want to do this trip across two days. And a "throwaway" room over the holiday weekend with EE is about $450 a night. Even cabana bay was $250 a night which is why we are staying off-site. I think we have plenty of time to do these rides - but I just don't want to be stuck waiting 90 minutes for them if I can help it.

 

[keishashadow]

Have visited over Memorial Day a few times, not especially crowded at U or WDW for that matter. Many of the northern schools still in session thru early June, especially with snow days factored.

 

[skier_pete]

Have visited over Memorial Day a few times, not especially crowded at U or WDW for that matter. Many of the northern schools still in session thru early June, especially with snow days factored.

That's good to know. I was more thinking a lot of locals coming in for the long weekend. Having the first day on Friday I was thinking won't be that bad a day since most people don't have it off.

 

[keishashadow]

YMMV. Undercover tourist has a free crowd calendar

 

[nkereina]

I can't see doing this. We bought 4 day passes (because of the deal) for 2 days in each park. There's so few rides we care about potentially riding more than once, I just don't see us needing an EP. There's really only 7 rides I see on the list at US that we really would want to do this trip across two days. And a "throwaway" room over the holiday weekend with EE is about $450 a night. Even cabana bay was $250 a night which is why we are staying off-site. I think we have plenty of time to do these rides - but I just don't want to be stuck waiting 90 minutes for them if I can help it.

Fair enough. I was just offering up the advice because some people are willing to spend the money if it means a more relaxed/enjoyable overall experience. We fall into that category. One of the things we love most about Universal is the express pass program, because it takes the strategy and planning out of our day. We can go with the flow, but still maximize our time with minimal waits. For some people, that's worth whatever the cost of EP is.

 

[Robo56]

I’am at Universal over Memorial Day and it has gotten busier over past few years hence the high prices for the Resorts.

The locals will in the park as well as the others who are taking advantage of the holiday weekend.