Insights on visiting Universal during a DVC Stay?

[Mtnman44]

I was actually referring to the unlimited express pass privileges you get when staying at an onsite hotel. Your room key functions as an unlimited pass.

The unlimited fast pass?? What is this? It looks like the Universal ExpressSM Plus Pass is not unlimited, in fact it can only be used once a day on each ride.

Unless you are talking about the Disney Fast Pass?

Wait I found what you were talking about.


2-Day Park to Park VIP Ticket

The 2-Day Park to Park VIP Ticket entitles one (1) guest admission and unlimited Universal ExpressSM Access

Right??

Moe

 

[Judique]

Does anyone know what the big deal is on HP rides with backpacks or fannypacks?? I've seen some posts about having to put them in lockers to ride FJ.

Also if you get park to park tix, how do you go from US to IOA??

Forbidden Journey has its own free lockers that you access as you go through the line to stash your loose items. The other ride has them also.

Front of the park lockers cost money. Ride lockers are free.

You walk from park to park.

We went 10 days ago and stayed at RPR for one night and did two days. (Then off to BLT!) First day was at IOA with a late arrival - 3-4pm. Harry Potter was basically empty - no lines except for the wand thing. Harry Potter theming was awesome! Dinner was at Mythos reserved through Open Table.

Next morning early entry for hotel guests - no where near the crowds of a Disney park. Again first we went to HP and had breakfast at 3 Broomsticks as walk ins. Than got in line for the wand show which is big draw but a minor event in my opinion AND we bought a wand for $30 with a small discount of 10% AAA. Then my daughter did the rides again and continued to the rest of the park.

I went to our hotel and got checked in. Universal is not really for me as I'm not a coaster rider. I also did little other than HP(did the walk throughs of the rides). If you don't do coasters, don't miss walking through FJ. And - if you do express, you WILL miss the great theming of FJ - so walk through the line at least once. Daughter really enjoyed both parks, but still prefers the whole Disney experience. And butterbeer is good!

 

[shoes99]

I have also read some other posts that say Tues/Weds are better for the Potter areas as far as crowds go, since most people tend to end their WDW trips with a trip to US.

We stayed at the THV for 7 nights, Sun to Sun. We had a rental car and went to Universal on a Wednesday in October. We left WDW property around 8AM, took I4, and missed the turn to US/IOA so we turned around.
Parking was fine, we went directly to Harry Potter. We used the ride lockers. You can't ride with backpacks. At Forbidden Journey DH had to have the extended harness since he couldnt lock the first seat. We had to get quickly out of the ride chair and we were escorted to get in line for the 4 seater with one larger chair. DH was comfortable and away we went. The ride was amazing. There were three of us, and only one of us road the upside down coaster. We all rode the family coaster. All in all we had a fine time, and by 3:30PM we were tired and ready to go back to SSR-THV.

 

[debbieandroo]

Chiming in on the whole locker situation - yes, your day will be much less complicated if you don't have put anything in a locker!!! Whoever set those up, especially for the Forbidden Journey, was not planning for any type of crowds. We were smushed and it wasn't even that busy!

I went to IOA/US last December - yes, WWoHP is definitely worth a trip, you will love it. I was surprised at how small it was, and how cramped everything felt, especially in the shops. But US did a wonderful job of transporting us to Hogsmeade and I thoroughly enjoyed the Forbidden Journey - best ride I have ever ridden.

That being said, I wasn't that impressed with the rest of IOA - very loud and garish - although I loved the other thrill rides there. We got a little bored and left earlier than we had planned.

The next day, we went to US - that was my favorite of the two parks. Theming was lots of fun - I loved that old movie set feel and the rides were great, too. Ended the day with a Christmas concert from Manheim Steamroller...*sigh*

I had my car so transportation was taken care of .... that taxi idea isn't a bad one, easier to be dropped off at the front than to walk the llloooonnnngg way to the front entrance [whew!].

Whatever you do, have a wonderful time!

 

[XGrumpy1]

The lockers are not always free. We had a long wait when the ride broke and we had to pay a fee.

 

[DizGirl20]

FYI There is a lot of good info on the Universal Boards if you start poking around. They are very friendly "over there" and helped me plan a very successful trip!

We went the Saturday after Easter with the intention of solely visiting WWOHP. We had purchased our tickets online ahead of time and had a rental car. We arrived around 9-ish (park opened at 9am that day). They let us walk to the right. We first stood in line at Olivander's (15 minute wait). Then went on Forbidden Journey (20 minute wait). Then went to FOH (10 minute wait). Longest wait was for Dueling Dragon b/c it broke down. Was supposed to be a 15 minute wait but ended up more like 45 minutes.

We ate at Three Broomsticks, drank butterbeer and hit all the shops. We were done with everything within 2.5-3 hours! Left WWOHP and did the show at Lost Continent (sorry, can't remember the name) and rode a few rides in Seuss Landing. We left Universal @ 3pm to head back to Disney. All in all I have to say, it couldn't have gone any better!!! Good Luck and be sure to check out those Universal Boards!

 

[dzorn]

We have 7 day tickets bought for a future trip. When we have time for an extra long vacation we will add time at a univeral hotel followed by a relaxing no park DVC stay. For the cost we decided we might as well use the hotel express pass and save those points for Disney.

Denise in MI

 

[bumbershoot]

One note on getting back and forth: You don't have to walk all the way around citywalk. You can take a much quicker direct shot strait accross (in front of Hard Rock Cafe).

YES.

The lockers are not always free. We had a long wait when the ride broke and we had to pay a fee.

If that happens, you should be able to find a locker attendant, explain the problem, and get your stuff out withOUT a fee. A human knows the reason for the delay...the locker computer does not.

 

[DonDon]

We'll be at BLT 1BR for a week in August and we want to take a few (2) days to go to Universal Studios. It is no small undertaking, from transport, to tickets to "express pass", and I'm trying to sort out a sober, realistic plan.

Has anyone tried this and if so are there any key points to plan for? Did you do days in a row or did you break it up between dis parks? Which park should a newbie do first? US or IOA?

My plan is to get "free tickets" with AMEX and HHonors points, and buy express pass (US fast pass... sort of), which is still $26/day/person, but you have to nail down what day you are going when you buy the pass.

I was going to opt for a taxi each way, as with 4 people, the shuttle bus is no cheaper and less flexible.

Any insights would be wonderful. Thanks.

Chase credit card's Total Rewards program has 1 day ticket for 5000 pts... not a bad deal, but what's the AMEX/HH rewards like?

 

[buzz5985]

We were also going to try to go this coming August - then I found out that Part 2 of the latest movie is coming out in July. We figured all the "extreme fans" would be there in droves. There's always next year.

 

[adminjedi]

Our kids are older and like the more extreme rides. We think it is worth the effort and $ to stay at a Universal hotel to get unlimited FOL. We get a private shuttle van for RT service on our schedule.

 

[leane]

Thanks for starting this thread! For over a year now I've been "planning" (ha ha) to head over to check out Harry Potter during one of our (frequent) trips to WDW...but added to the extreme difficulty I feel in leaving Disney at all for any reason once I'm there is the utter lack of knowledge about how to go about doing it...

I'm so used to knowing where I'm going, how to get there, etc. at WDW that the "unknown" in going to Universal has been, so far, overwhelming enough to keep me from going!

Looking forward to reading tips and hints on how to do a day w/Harry Potter on a WDW vacation!

Thanks...

Me too!

 

[HarrietSLP]

I've been a DVC member since 1996 but if you want to really enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter then I STRONGLY urge you to buy one of the package plans from Universal. We did this a couple of weeks ago and got the one hour early entrance and were there at around 7:30 the first day and shortly after 8:00 the second day ( and believe me......the lines were already getting long then with just the resort guests arriving). We had done everything in the WWHP in about 2 hours with about a 10 minute wait for Ollivander's where I got my own wand. We had the English breakfast at the Three Broomsticks on the second day at 8:30. The third day of our package deal we did Universal Studios. We loved it so much at the Royal Pacific that we even added on an extra day there.

I just wanted to add that with the Universal package deal you get a Fast Pass which is not like the regular fast passes quests buy. You show your room key and have unlimited access to the rides and can ride the same ride as many times as you want. However, this does not apply to the rides at Harry Potter ( you have to have the early access if you don't want to wait hours to ride). Also, you get priority seating at restaurants at CityWalk when you show them your room key card and don't have to wait as long for seating.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've been a DVC member since 1996 but if you want to really enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter then I STRONGLY urge you to buy one of the package plans from Universal. We did this a couple of weeks ago and got the one hour early entrance and were there at around 7:30 the first day and shortly after 8:00 the second day ( and believe me......the lines were already getting long then with just the resort guests arriving). We had done everything in the WWHP in about 2 hours with about a 10 minute wait for Ollivander's where I got my own wand. We had the English breakfast at the Three Broomsticks on the second day at 8:30. The third day of our package deal we did Universal Studios. We loved it so much at the Royal Pacific that we even added on an extra day there.

I just wanted to add that with the Universal package deal you get a Fast Pass which is not like the regular fast passes quests buy. You show your room key and have unlimited access to the rides and can ride the same ride as many times as you want. However, this does not apply to the rides at Harry Potter ( you have to have the early access if you don't want to wait hours to ride). Also, you get priority seating at restaurants at CityWalk when you show them your room key card and don't have to wait as long for seating.

All of those things are available just by booking an onsite hotel. Doing a package, in my experience of booking or looking at booking various vacations, is just about the most expensive way of getting exactly the same things.

Now if you want to stay OFFsite, but still want WWoHP Early Entry, then YES you have to book the package. But if you're willing to stay onsite, then look into all the various ways of getting tickets and onsite hotel at lowest cost.

Because the express pass that's so awesome goes along with the *hotel*, not the package.

We were also going to try to go this coming August - then I found out that Part 2 of the latest movie is coming out in July. We figured all the "extreme fans" would be there in droves. There's always next year.

I think July is when they are having the big convention for HP fans... I wouldn't worry about leftover uber-fans in August.

...is the utter lack of knowledge about how to go about doing it...

I'm so used to knowing where I'm going, how to get there, etc. at WDW that the "unknown" in going to Universal has been, so far, overwhelming enough to keep me from going!

Looking forward to reading tips and hints on how to do a day w/Harry Potter on a WDW vacation!

Thanks...

Not sure anyone has mentioned it, but THE planning book for Universal is Universal Orlando 2011, The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure, by Seth Kubersky and Kelly Monaghan. It's on amazon, but also seems to still be available for purchase on their website.

 

[lucyem]

It is interesting to see how other DVCers handle Universal. Our tentative plan is to wait a couple more years and then stay at Universal the last night(s) of our annual vacation. Save points and see some new things. We have our car so transportation is not a big deal. I have a 9 yr old begging to see the WWOHP but he hates fast rides. I have visions of spending a ton of money so my DH can ride a bunch of rides while our kids and I wait for him. Thus the wait.

 

[jmatias]

Last summer we got into the park a little past opening. Our plan was to go straight to HP but once we got to the Spiderman ride we saw the extremely long line.

Instead of waiting in the long, long line, we rode everything else first b/c there was hardly any wait at all.

Around 11:30 we were able to walk in the HP area. Line on Forbidden Journey was about 60 mins so we just all walked into the single rider line. You do miss seeing some of cool items in the castle but we knew we would be back in the future.

We will be staying at BLT in a couple of weeks and will visit Universal again since our oldest DS hasn't been there yet. We will have a car and once in the park will go with the flow as before.

 

[La2kw]

We rent a car and stay at the Universal resorts. Unlimited express pass is included. If you add up the cost of the express pass they sell, it can get expensive depending on when you go and the amount of people in your party. Plus, they are only good for one ride each. The hotel pass lets you ride as much as you want.

 

[damo]

I've been a DVC member since 1996 but if you want to really enjoy the Wizarding World of Harry Potter then I STRONGLY urge you to buy one of the package plans from Universal. We did this a couple of weeks ago and got the one hour early entrance and were there at around 7:30 the first day and shortly after 8:00 the second day ( and believe me......the lines were already getting long then with just the resort guests arriving). We had done everything in the WWHP in about 2 hours with about a 10 minute wait for Ollivander's where I got my own wand. We had the English breakfast at the Three Broomsticks on the second day at 8:30. The third day of our package deal we did Universal Studios. We loved it so much at the Royal Pacific that we even added on an extra day there.

I just wanted to add that with the Universal package deal you get a Fast Pass which is not like the regular fast passes quests buy. You show your room key and have unlimited access to the rides and can ride the same ride as many times as you want. However, this does not apply to the rides at Harry Potter ( you have to have the early access if you don't want to wait hours to ride). Also, you get priority seating at restaurants at CityWalk when you show them your room key card and don't have to wait as long for seating.

The only ride in the Wizarding World without express is the Forbidden Journey. All others have it.

 

[msp2mco]

We were at IOA in March and noticed that some of the Express Pass lines were actually longer than the stand-by lines. We walked on to Flight of the Hippogrif while the EP people waited a long time.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have a 9 yr old begging to see the WWOHP but he hates fast rides. I have visions of spending a ton of money so my DH can ride a bunch of rides while our kids and I wait for him. Thus the wait.

FWIW, none of us did any of the big coasters. Biggest ride we did was probably Spiderman, and that's kinda like Star Tours on steroids, LOL. I rode Forbidden Journey and while it made me very ill, I don't consider it to be a fast ride...it's not a coaster. We did ride Flight of the Hippogriff, which is a very small, simple coaster, and DS rode the kiddie coaster themed to Woody Woodpecker.

Anyway, without riding the "real" coasters, we all managed to have a MOST excellent time, money spent was well worth it. And just BEING in Wizarding World was worth quite a bit of money...it's really really cool in there.


I would really research it carefully, see all the rides that your son WOULD ride, find out about what sorts of rides they are, etc etc, and then make your decision. Because a 9 year old going to the HP area would be great...but if you wait until he's a moody teenager, the magic of HP might be lost on him.