JennyMP03
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2008
- Messages
- 1,025
We stayed one night on property at Royal Pacific Resort. We initially weren't inclined to pay so much for a room, but the express pass would have cost $60 each for the two of us. Rather than paying an extra $120 to skip the lines, we stayed at RPR one night to get the passes and the early admission to Harry Potter.
I am so glad we had both of those advantages! We visited on Monday, July 13. We walked to IoA from the resort and got in the gate about 7:15 AM. The Harry Potter section was already very busy even though only resort guests were allowed entry (but it was nothing compared to how packed it became as the day went on).
My husband was irritated because I stopped to take a few pictures on the way to Forbidden Journey. My advice? Get your pictures while you can! When we came back to this section for lunch at The Three Broomsticks (around 10:45; there was no wait to eat at this time, thankfully), I could hardly take a picture without someone's head blocking half the shot. DH admitted I was right to take a few that morning.
We waited maybe a half-hour to ride Forbidden Journey during the early entry hour, but honestly, I wish I had more time in the castle portion of the queue. There's so much to see, and I didn't get to hear much of the portraits' conversations. The ride itself was incredible and very difficult to describe-- we were both impressed and agreed we'd never been on anything quite like it. Don't miss it, even if you must wait awhile.
A few other notes:
--Harry Potter foods: The frozen butterbeer and shepherd's pie at The Three Broomsticks are both fantastic, as is the Cauldron Cake from Honeydukes (it's in the bakery case near the register). I read about the cake on this forum and we both enjoyed it very much. Not a fan of pumpkin juice, but DH liked it... and it's very overpriced at over $6 a bottle!
--I was worried about the bag situation at Universal since certain rides like Forbidden Journey don't allow backpacks or shoulder bags. Many people were sent to the lockers, but I was able to get on every ride with my small fanny pack. I found it in the luggage section at Target for $10 and it proved very convenient.
--If you are a party of two, prepare to be rushed into a ride. On two rides (Forbidden Journey and Hulk), the attendants called for two riders and, upon finding us, yelled at us to run through the line and hustled us into carts. On FJ, we were running down the moving platform with workers yelling at us to hurry and jump in. It was a little stressful, but also kind of funny and we were getting to ride a little sooner, after all!
--We got on Cat in the Hat when it had no wait and I'm glad we did. I thought it would only be for kids, but it was cute and reminded me of Disney rides like Peter Pan.
--Waits for rides like Spider-Man were over 100 minutes long. Even with Express Pass, we waited at least 20 minutes on certain attractions (Spidey being one of them, and that's not counting the downtime when it broke down right before we stepped into our car). Without Express Pass, it would have been a much less pleasant day.
I am so glad we had both of those advantages! We visited on Monday, July 13. We walked to IoA from the resort and got in the gate about 7:15 AM. The Harry Potter section was already very busy even though only resort guests were allowed entry (but it was nothing compared to how packed it became as the day went on).
My husband was irritated because I stopped to take a few pictures on the way to Forbidden Journey. My advice? Get your pictures while you can! When we came back to this section for lunch at The Three Broomsticks (around 10:45; there was no wait to eat at this time, thankfully), I could hardly take a picture without someone's head blocking half the shot. DH admitted I was right to take a few that morning.
We waited maybe a half-hour to ride Forbidden Journey during the early entry hour, but honestly, I wish I had more time in the castle portion of the queue. There's so much to see, and I didn't get to hear much of the portraits' conversations. The ride itself was incredible and very difficult to describe-- we were both impressed and agreed we'd never been on anything quite like it. Don't miss it, even if you must wait awhile.
A few other notes:
--Harry Potter foods: The frozen butterbeer and shepherd's pie at The Three Broomsticks are both fantastic, as is the Cauldron Cake from Honeydukes (it's in the bakery case near the register). I read about the cake on this forum and we both enjoyed it very much. Not a fan of pumpkin juice, but DH liked it... and it's very overpriced at over $6 a bottle!
--I was worried about the bag situation at Universal since certain rides like Forbidden Journey don't allow backpacks or shoulder bags. Many people were sent to the lockers, but I was able to get on every ride with my small fanny pack. I found it in the luggage section at Target for $10 and it proved very convenient.
--If you are a party of two, prepare to be rushed into a ride. On two rides (Forbidden Journey and Hulk), the attendants called for two riders and, upon finding us, yelled at us to run through the line and hustled us into carts. On FJ, we were running down the moving platform with workers yelling at us to hurry and jump in. It was a little stressful, but also kind of funny and we were getting to ride a little sooner, after all!
--We got on Cat in the Hat when it had no wait and I'm glad we did. I thought it would only be for kids, but it was cute and reminded me of Disney rides like Peter Pan.
--Waits for rides like Spider-Man were over 100 minutes long. Even with Express Pass, we waited at least 20 minutes on certain attractions (Spidey being one of them, and that's not counting the downtime when it broke down right before we stepped into our car). Without Express Pass, it would have been a much less pleasant day.
