In the Park at 7 am. Worth it?

[Anonomom]

We're doing out first Universal trip July 2-5. Staying at Portofino Bay, so EE is at 7 am, and I'm wondering if it's really worth it to haul everyone out of bed before 6 am to get there.

Here's my thought process: of the 5 of us, only two can ride Forbidden Journey (I'm likely too big to ride; one of my kids is definitely too short, another is right on the cusp of 48 inches and gets motion sick easily). I also assume I can't ride Gringotts, though the rest of the family can. Only DH and my oldest DD can (or want to) ride the Dragon coaster.

So, if we're not really going to be doing the biggest rides, do we all need to be in the park super-early, or can we wait until 8 am? We all can (and want to) ride Hogwart's Express and want to experience Ollivander's and spend time in the shops, so if it's necessary, we'll wake up early to get to do those before things get too crowded. Just wondering if we'd really need to.

Also, just to check: would DH be allowed to bring all 3 kids onto Gringotts by himself? My kids are 10, 7 and 4 and I know at WDW there are some rides they cannot do unless we have both adults. Is it the same at Universal? Though now that I'm thinking about it, last time we were at Disney, DD2 was only 6...

 

[vatmark]

You could try the Potter areas the last hour before park closing. Those areas really start to clear out. We went 3rd week of June and found minimal lines that last hour. Maybe try it your first evening there to see what you can get done.

 

[pcstang]

OP, this is one of the gray areas...
Is the 4 yr old 42 inches? The 10 and 7 yr old can ride by themselves. The 4 yr old with you.

ETA it shouldn't be a gray area but it is. Trust me, I've dealt with it before!

 

[macraven]

Going during that time period you will see crowds

I would go to the park sometime during EE so you won't have to deal with the long line waiting to get in for those without the EE

 

[Anonomom]

OP, this is one of the gray areas...
Is the 4 yr old 42 inches? The 10 and 7 yr old can ride by themselves. The 4 yr old with you.

ETA it shouldn't be a gray area but it is. Trust me, I've dealt with it before!

We measured him this morning. In shoes, he's comfortably above 42 inches (though not quite 43).

 

[Keyser]

We'll be there the same days as you, although only in the parks for part of the 2nd, part of the 3rd, and all of the 4th. We're planning on doing Early Entry on two of those days, mainly since everything I've read says the crowds will be super-heavy during that time. Even though we will have Express passes, I think the only way to be sure we can see the Harry Potter areas is if we take advantage of early entry (we can't stay all the way to park closing...).

If you'll want to be sure that some of your family can ride all the HP rides, I'd bet you want to either be there early (at least one day), be willing to stay late, or make sure you are in the parks enough times that you are OK to have some long waits in line.

 

[dixonsontour]

If the children want to do the spells with the wands then early morning is a good chance or late evening. Otherwise lines can build up.

Gringotts is more forgiving than forbidden journey to bigger people. My husband can ride gringotts not forbidden journey.

 

[allybabba98]

If Ollivander's is open at that time I would suggest going. My DH and I just came back on Friday and although we only had EE (8am entry) the line for Ollivander's started right away.
However, you could walk easily and people were performing their spells without a huge crowd.
Then when the other park opens hop the Express to the other park. The line for the Express can be long...it moves really well but wow...so many people.
I would also suggest going into the line for the Forbidden Journey as the castle is just incredible. There is an exit just before the ride.
Have a great time...it is such a great place and I am beginning to plan to take the boys in 2017.
Have fun!

 

[Bluer101]

We will be there too for 9 days. We go that time every summer and the only time we do EE is for a new ride. Might do EE one morning but the rest we sleep in, it's vacation. Besides as others have said try the last hour and the parks are not bad.