Itinerary thoughts for 1st timers?

[mickeymom629]

Hi all! I'm a Disney planner so not familiar with U/IOA.
Son/Wife and 8 1/2 year old daughter are going to U/IOA next weekend for a quick visit. They are mostly going because my granddaughter is into HP. They'll probably buy the 1 or 2 day hopper so they can go on the train.
Any advice to the order of rides/attractions with HP as preference. I'm sure they'll want to do other things once they are there. I'm not sure whether they will do 1 or 2 days.
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Are they staying on site, and if so are they willing/planning to be there for early entry?

 

[mickeymom629]

Are they staying on site, and if so are they willing/planning to be there for early entry?

No, they aren't staying onsite. Thanks for asking - I should have said that.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'd suggest starting at Studios side in that case, since they'd be behind the early entry crowd at Islands. Mornings before the crowds build are the best to explore Diagon Alley. The Ollivanders wand show line is faster in Studios too.

The train is a bit different each way - if they're only doing one day, I would just ride it one way. It's not different enough to nix another ride just to do the other way.

The ice cream at Florean Fortescue's in Diagon Alley is really good. If they can time it to bring it over to watch Tales from Beedle the Bard, that's ideal. There's no real seating for the show but normally you can just sit on the ground in front of the stage. There are benches around elsewhere if they're not timing ice cream to watch a show.

Do they have a few other rides they want to prioritize aside from the Harry Potter areas?

The line for Hagrids Motorbikes tends to be best around lunchtime/early afternoon, or getting in line right before park close.

If they're ending the day at Islands, they can hang out in Hogsmeade doing spells after park close. As long as people are still coming off Hagrids, the area stays open (shops close, but the spells still work). Usually gives you a solid hour after official close, as the area becomes progressively quieter. It's lit up all pretty at night.

Parks close at 9pm. That's a very long day, if they're doing open to close. I imagine they're not planning to go back to the hotel mid-day. Might want to plan for a leisurely lunch & dinner to provide breaks. Losing an hour a few times in the middle of the day to recharge is so worth it if it means they can take advantage of the last few hours when crowds die down.

 

[mickeymom629]

I'd suggest starting at Studios side in that case, since they'd be behind the early entry crowd at Islands. Mornings before the crowds build are the best to explore Diagon Alley. The Ollivanders wand show line is faster in Studios too.

The train is a bit different each way - if they're only doing one day, I would just ride it one way. It's not different enough to nix another ride just to do the other way.

The ice cream at Florean Fortescue's in Diagon Alley is really good. If they can time it to bring it over to watch Tales from Beedle the Bard, that's ideal. There's no real seating for the show but normally you can just sit on the ground in front of the stage. There are benches around elsewhere if they're not timing ice cream to watch a show.

Do they have a few other rides they want to prioritize aside from the Harry Potter areas?

The line for Hagrids Motorbikes tends to be best around lunchtime/early afternoon, or getting in line right before park close.

If they're ending the day at Islands, they can hang out in Hogsmeade doing spells after park close. As long as people are still coming off Hagrids, the area stays open (shops close, but the spells still work). Usually gives you a solid hour after official close, as the area becomes progressively quieter. It's lit up all pretty at night.

Parks close at 9pm. That's a very long day, if they're doing open to close. I imagine they're not planning to go back to the hotel mid-day. Might want to plan for a leisurely lunch & dinner to provide breaks. Losing an hour a few times in the middle of the day to recharge is so worth it if it means they can take advantage of the last few hours when crowds die down.

Thanks so much for your suggestions! I will pass this advice on to them.

 

[mickeymom629]

Are they staying on site, and if so are they willing/planning to be there for early entry?

I have passed on the itinerary you posted above but now I found out that they are staying at Lowe's Saphire so they will have early entry and plan to buy express passes. I don't know if you want to take the time to offer a new game plan but it would be much appreciated!

 

[NVDISFamily]

I have passed on the itinerary you posted above but now I found out that they are staying at Lowe's Saphire so they will have early entry and plan to buy express passes. I don't know if you want to take the time to offer a new game plan but it would be much appreciated!

Is there any way they can upgrade to the Royal pacific? The passes + a stay at the Saphire may net out to more than just staying at RP and getting the included ones. RP is also a closer walk to Islands.

In addition to what others have recommended I'd suggest planning a meal or two at both of the themed places to eat in the HP lands. We very much enjoyed our breakfast and lunch/dinner at them. The English breakfast was decent and the shepherds pie was awesome. We very much loved our trip to US last year and we are looking forward to doing a 4/5 day trip in a few weeks.

 

[Skippyboo]

Breakfast at the HP QS restaurants is a pretty good deal since it comes with a drink and you can get Butterbeer or any of the other non alcoholic HP drinks as your drink. The butterbeer itself is 9 bucks.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

IF they're willing to get to the parks at least 30min before early entry begins, they should hit a decent wait for Hagrids. Earlier is better, although then you're obviously waiting longer for the parks to open... Anyways, if they're through the big archway and can see the entry turnstiles, they're in great shape for Hagrids with a 5-10min wait. Then proceed to enjoy Hogsmeade at their leisure. This is also a good time for Forbidden Journey, although with Express Pass that won't matter too much when they do it - EP isn't active during early entry.

They can do whatever they want to do in Islands, take the train to Studios, and then start in on Studios.

Staying onsite at a boat resort makes it really easy to head back to the room for a break mid-day. If they're doing early entry and intend to stay until 9pm, a solid 2-3 hour rest in the middle of the day might be a good option. Ideally, this could be timed after heading into Studios and making their way to the front of the park - sticking along the right side of the park would take them past Fast & Furious (though I'd recommend skipping this), Mummy, Jimmy Fallon (also recommend skipping on a short trip), Transformers, Minions, and Rip Ride Rocket.

After a hotel break, coming back the opposite side of Studios would be going past the Bourne Stuntacular, ET, Simpsons, MiB, and then back to Diagon Alley to explore in the evening, have an ice cream / Tales of Beedle the Bard break, ride Gringotts, etc. Of course, this could be done without a break too, picking a longer resting meal for lunch & dinner.

And depending on time, then take the Hogwarts Express back to Islands to end the night in quiet Hogsmeade - another ride on Hagrids (at night!) or spells after parks close, when everything is lit up all pretty with minimal crowds.

If they're already doing an onsite hotel, and especially if they switch to an Express Pass hotel, it's probably worthwhile to upgrade to the 2 day ticket at that point (since the hotel EP is good for arrival and departure day). On the other hand, with EP they can get an awful lot done in one long day.

 

[mickeymom629]

Thanks for the replies/advice! They are going this weekend and got UT 2 day/2 park tickets for going Sat/Sun. I will let them know to get there 30 min before EE and the suggested game-plan here. They weren't sure about the 3 on-site hotels and thought the Saphire looked nicer, I guess. I have no experience with any, so couldn't offer advice.

 

[skramer100]

Is there any way they can upgrade to the Royal pacific? The passes + a stay at the Saphire may net out to more than just staying at RP and getting the included ones. RP is also a closer walk to Islands.

In addition to what others have recommended I'd suggest planning a meal or two at both of the themed places to eat in the HP lands. We very much enjoyed our breakfast and lunch/dinner at them. The English breakfast was decent and the shepherds pie was awesome. We very much loved our trip to US last year and we are looking forward to doing a 4/5 day trip in a few weeks.

Do this. minimal difference in price and they will save money on express pass. Room will probably be $500 or so and express will be about $250 or so.

 

[mickeymom629]

OP here. Thanks for all the replies!
They ended up going on the Friday and staying at Lowe's Saphire. They did what they could on Saturday, not really getting there too early since their flight was late arriving on Friday night. When they saw a "short" line, they got in it. They went back on Sunday, not getting there too early since they slept in a bit. But, they bought 2 express passes and had a great day. DS and his wife shared one pass to ride with their daughter who had a pass of her own. They had a great time. They didn't know what they were doing but my granddaughter got to ride HP rides multiple times and enjoyed all the rest that they did. I'm sure they didn't do everything.

ETA that it was not a cheap weekend and I'm sure they spent way more money than they needed to. DS said he's gotten to be a hotel "snob" and didn't like the reviews of the 3 hotels that included the express passes. I haven't been to any of them so I had no advice.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

DS and his wife shared one pass

Universal used to use facial scans to prevent sharing - not sure why the stopped? Or if it's intermittent?

 

[mickeymom629]

Universal used to use facial scans to prevent sharing - not sure why the stopped? Or if it's intermittent?

Interesting. I have no idea since I have never been and this was their first time. It was just what they told me they did.