How to split 2 days?

[gem21]

Hello!
MY family and I (three adults) are headed to Disney in the fall (Sept/Oct) and will be taking two days (non-consecutive) to visit Universal. We are not staying on site, and I don't think we'll be buying the Express Pass.

We are not into thrill rides at all, so we plan to see more of the shows and do the tamer rides. We are HUGE Harry Potter fans though so definitely want to spend lots of time in those areas (but will only ride the Hippogriff ride). We will be getting a park-to-park pass as we want to ride the Hogwarts Express!

Any suggestion for the best/most strategic way to split up the days? It is our first trip to Universal and I've been reading the Unofficial Guides, but would looking for tips from people who've done similar things.
Would doing something like Diagon Alley/Hogwarts Express/Islands of Adventure work one day (and then do the "opposite" the next day)?

Thanks!

 

[glocon]

Try to visit on non-HHN days as the parks (especially US) will close earlier. So, Mondays, Tuesdays and some Wednesdays would be your best bet.
And if you are Harry Potter fans, try the two restaurants in the HP areas for your meals.
You probably won't have time to try the magic wands as the lines can get long, or people have trouble making the spells work and take a rather long time getting magic spells cast, so watch a few of these before you decide whether or not you want to purchase an interactive wand as they are rather costly.
And last- the ep's won't help in the HP areas anyway, so no worries there. If you really want to do rides outside of the HP areas (and there are some really great rides), you can then decide if you want to purchase an ep if the lines are long.

Hope this helps!

 

[damo]

Hippogriff ride is rougher than the Gringotts ride.

 

[macraven]

plan your visits on a monday and tuesday.
parks will be open later to about 7

 

[gem21]

Thanks everybody, but our days are set right now because we are spending most of the trip at Disney and have MNSSHP, F&W and a tour planned already. I know one day will probably be HHN but that's fine, we were only planning to stay most days until before supper time anyhow.

Thanks for the tip about the interactive wand, we may just stick to the regular one then! My mom and I both want to get a wand! And yes, definitely want to tree the Leaky Cauldron and Three Broomsticks if we can! Although we love the Simpsons too so we shall see!

As for Gringotts, it's not so much the movement that is bad but the added effect of the full 3D screen. (For example, the movement on Star Tours doesn't bother us in the least, but I can not watch the screen and such without getting sick. I just close my eyes for the majority of the ride).

Maybe I wasn't clear in my first post. Not so much interested in which rides to go on and such (although I do appreciate the tips!) What I am really looking for suggestions on how to do the two parks in two days, given that we will have a park-to-park ticket. So would doing the HP areas first each day and then switching parks be the best thing? Or would it better to stick around a bit after the HP areas and then switch after lunch? Or something different?

 

[johde]

With IOA being a big circle, You'll probably want to do some of that park each day. My thinking would be the following.

Non-HHN day, start at IOA, tour Seuss Landing, Lost Continent and Hogsmead. Take Castle Tour of Forbidden Journey. Eat Lunch at 3 Broom Sticks. Take Hogwarts Express over to USF and Finish day there. (I would save Diagon Alley this day until after dark).

HHN day, Start at USF. Hit Despicable Me (if interested) at Rope Drop. From there, hit the following rides of interest Mummy, Transformers, E.T., MIB. Head to Diagon Alley, Ride Gringotts (yes I think you can handle Gringotts as well). Eat at Leaky Cauldron. Take Hogwarts Express over to IOA. hit Hogsmead, continue around to Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Superhero Island.

 

[tinkermomto3]

I'm planning our October trip and we have one HHN night and one night that isn't. We are doing exactly what johde said. HHN night is first (a Friday) so we will do Universal until about lunch, ride the Hogwarts express over to IOA and finish over there around 6. Then Tuesday is our next Universal/IOA day and we will start in IOA and finish in Universal so we can hit more shows over there that day.

 

[gem21]

Thanks johde and tinkermom! That sounds like a good plan that could work with our schedule!

Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to ride Gringotts, motion simulator and the likes make me nauseous - it's not the movement but the visuals (full screen with perceived movement as if your travelling) I've watched the video and the part where you sort of drop down would not do me well! If I were to go on it I'd have to close my eyes the whole ride to avoid seeing the screens which defeats the point.

 

[gem21]

Thanks johde and tinkermom! That sounds like a good plan that could work with our schedule!

Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to ride Gringotts, motion simulator and the likes make me nauseous - it's not the movement but the visuals (full screen with perceived movement as if you're traveling) I've watched the video and the part where you sort of drop down would not do me well! If I were to go on it I'd have to close my eyes the whole ride to avoid seeing the screens which defeats the point.

 

[johde]

it's not the movement but the visuals (full screen with perceived movement as if you're traveling) I've watched the video and the part where you sort of drop down would not do me well!

The screens on Gringotts feel very different from a ride like Star Tours. The part you're worried about is only about 15 seconds of an almost 5 minute attraction. With Gringotts, other than that 15 second fall, there is enough physical sets surrounding the projection screens to focus on that that type of motion sickness isn't a major problem. Some of those ride get to me at times. Some I can handle, some I can't. I need to close my eyes during the screen portions of Forbidden Journey. I can ride Star Tours, but normally only once and can't loop the ride. I have zero problems with Gringotts.

 

[gem21]

The screens on Gringotts feel very different from a ride like Star Tours. The part you're worried about is only about 15 seconds of an almost 5 minute attraction. With Gringotts, other than that 15 second fall, there is enough physical sets surrounding the projection screens to focus on that that type of motion sickness isn't a major problem. Some of those ride get to me at times. Some I can handle, some I can't. I need to close my eyes during the screen portions of Forbidden Journey. I can ride Star Tours, but normally only once and can't loop the ride. I have zero problems with Gringotts.

I can't ride Star Tours once with my eyes open unfortunately! And sadly even 15 seconds would do me in for the rest of the day if I watched it. I can't do any circle vision movie either at Disney without getting a headache.

I really appreciate your advice, but having watched the video on Youtube and knowing what works and doesn't I can tell you I won't be able to ride it unless my eyes were shut a lot of the time, which defeats the purpose of the ride.

 

[NikkiMouse]

Sorry for hijacking thread.

I'm helping my friend visit for the first time in October 2015. One day is a HHN. They are not staying onsite so do not have that fantastic perk!

Can they follow the plans below or do they need to prioritise Harry Potter and make that their first destination?

With IOA being a big circle, You'll probably want to do some of that park each day. My thinking would be the following.

Non-HHN day, start at IOA, tour Seuss Landing, Lost Continent and Hogsmead. Take Castle Tour of Forbidden Journey. Eat Lunch at 3 Broom Sticks. Take Hogwarts Express over to USF and Finish day there. (I would save Diagon Alley this day until after dark).

HHN day, Start at USF. Hit Despicable Me (if interested) at Rope Drop. From there, hit the following rides of interest Mummy, Transformers, E.T., MIB. Head to Diagon Alley, Ride Gringotts (yes I think you can handle Gringotts as well). Eat at Leaky Cauldron. Take Hogwarts Express over to IOA. hit Hogsmead, continue around to Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, and Marvel Superhero Island.

 

[tinkermomto3]

Sorry for hijacking thread.

I'm helping my friend visit for the first time in October 2015. One day is a HHN. They are not staying onsite so do not have that fantastic perk!

Can they follow the plans below or do they need to prioritise Harry Potter and make that their first destination?

I read somewhere to first do despicable me if you planned to then go to Gringotts. One reason is you will eliminate backtracking. Another is that the wait times for Gringotts seem to be pretty steady and despicable me wait times climb pretty high. I have smaller children with me too that are really into the minions We have our priorities for day one (minions, harry potter on both sides and marvel island). day 2 we plan to do the rest, I've estimated we should be done between 4 and 5 both days.

 

[johde]

Sorry for hijacking thread.

I'm helping my friend visit for the first time in October 2015. One day is a HHN. They are not staying onsite so do not have that fantastic perk!

Can they follow the plans below or do they need to prioritise Harry Potter and make that their first destination?

I am by no mean an expert. I'm relaying a combination of what seemed to work for me in January combined with a bit of Touringplans recommendations. In general, like the previous poster mentioned, if you want to do Despicable Me, do it first. The best way of describing it is it's the "Peter Pan" of USF. It has an acceptable wait at rope drop but quickly grows to what can be the longest wait in the park even on a light day. So, without express passes, you want to knock that ride off first.

If Gringotts is not having technical problems, it can move the people. Also, everyone seems to rush there at Rope Drop. That's why I tend to hit the other headliners first then hit Diagon Alley and Gringotts late morning to check and see how the rides running. If you're into thrill riding, the one ride I'd add to my list above is Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt right after Despicable Me. That way, you're riding the other headliner with a short wait while everyone else is in Diagon Alley. I've seen days on Touring plans where the longest wait time for Gringotts is right at Rope Drop and shortly after.

 

[Planogirl]

Try to be in each park after dark if you can. Both parks are gorgeous when lit up.

 

[pcstang]

Thanks johde and tinkermom! That sounds like a good plan that could work with our schedule!

Unfortunately I don't think we will be able to ride Gringotts, motion simulator and the likes make me nauseous - it's not the movement but the visuals (full screen with perceived movement as if your travelling) I've watched the video and the part where you sort of drop down would not do me well! If I were to go on it I'd have to close my eyes the whole ride to avoid seeing the screens which defeats the point.

Even though you don't want to ride gringotts, you should really do the que and then use the chicken exit. Also, I think there is only about a $10 difference between the interactive and non interactive wand.

 

[NikkiMouse]

I am by no mean an expert. I'm relaying a combination of what seemed to work for me in January combined with a bit of Touringplans recommendations. In general, like the previous poster mentioned, if you want to do Despicable Me, do it first. The best way of describing it is it's the "Peter Pan" of USF. It has an acceptable wait at rope drop but quickly grows to what can be the longest wait in the park even on a light day. So, without express passes, you want to knock that ride off first.

If Gringotts is not having technical problems, it can move the people. Also, everyone seems to rush there at Rope Drop. That's why I tend to hit the other headliners first then hit Diagon Alley and Gringotts late morning to check and see how the rides running. If you're into thrill riding, the one ride I'd add to my list above is Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt right after Despicable Me. That way, you're riding the other headliner with a short wait while everyone else is in Diagon Alley. I've seen days on Touring plans where the longest wait time for Gringotts is right at Rope Drop and shortly after.

Johde Thank so much for the explanations!

It's so hard trying to plan for someone else when we have only ever stayed onsite before!

 

[johde]

Johde Thank so much for the explanations!

It's so hard trying to plan for someone else when we have only ever stayed onsite before!

My last trip was onsite, but it was at Cabana Bay so I had Early Entry but no Express Pass. With the buses, I ended up arrived with about 15 minutes left in EE so I had a bit of a head start on Despicable me.

 

[macraven]

Try to visit on non-HHN days as the parks (especially US) will close earlier. So, Mondays, Tuesdays and some Wednesdays would be your best bet.
And if you are Harry Potter fans, try the two restaurants in the HP areas for your meals.
You probably won't have time to try the magic wands as the lines can get long, or people have trouble making the spells work and take a rather long time getting magic spells cast, so watch a few of these before you decide whether or not you want to purchase an interactive wand as they are rather costly.
And last- the ep's won't help in the HP areas anyway, so no worries there. If you really want to do rides outside of the HP areas (and there are some really great rides), you can then decide if you want to purchase an ep if the lines are long.

Hope this helps!

you are right on for everything glocon but this year, wednesday will be a regular hhn night.
it's been added for the season now

 

[gem21]

Even though you don't want to ride gringotts, you should really do the que and then use the chicken exit. Also, I think there is only about a $10 difference between the interactive and non interactive wand.

I was actually going to ask if I could do that like at Forbidden Journey! Thanks!