Need help, planning first 2 day visit to Universal Orlando in March

[EyePlumber]

Hello,

We are doing a Disney/Univeral trip (Heavy on the Disney, 2 days at Universal) in March. We are staying at Disney for the whole trip and commuting to Universal - we decided on this for a number of reasons (2 yo staying back at Disney w/ family member, cost and hassle of moving to Universal hotel for 2 days, etc).

We are incredulous at the cost of Universal tickets in comparison to Disney. If we wanted 2 days worth of tickets for 6 people at Universal with express passes, it is going to cost us MORE than 7-8 days for 7 people at Disney!?!?! And 3 days for our party is cheaper than 2 at Universal, which is also mind-boggling...

The Universal portion of our trip is going to be with 4 adult and 2 kid tickets based on our oldest child being 11 yo.

My questions center around a few points:

- My 9 and 7 yo kids aren't as much of thrill seekers, but the 11 yo will likely be up for most of the thrill rides. Although I don't know if the adults will all be on board with the most extreme rides (I personally get motion sickness if it's too crazy). Our primary interest is the Harry Potter aspect as both my 11 yo, 9 yo and all 3 adults are fans.

- Are the express passes necessary? Can we expect to ride most of what our kids will be interested in without the express passes or will it make our short visit unenjoyable? It doesn't seem like express unlimited makes any sense for such a short visit. Do visitors ever get the express pass for only certain members of their party? And if 3 of the 6 have an express pass can it be passed among party members for different rides? We also will possibly be using a guest assistance pass for one of our party members with a disability, so does this negate any of the need for an express pass?

- It looks like if we want to ride the Hogwarts Express we would have to get a multi-park pass. Is it worth it for just this one ride? For 2 days at Universal is it necessary to be able to go between the two parks (we only are interested in Universal and Islands of Adventure). I know my Harry Potter obsessed son wants to ride it.

Just trying to come up with an overall strategy when pulling the trigger on these tickets.

Trip is 2nd to last week in March.

Thanks!

 

[Kit Jackson]

If you want to go to Universal and Islands of Adventure on the same day, you will need the multi-park pass. If you want to ride the Hogwarts Express, you will need the multi-park pass.

 

[Minnie1222]

The Express Passes will make your visit much more enjoyable, especially in March.

 

[CynBeth]

I would stay on Universal property at a premier hotel before doing your Disney portion or right after. It comes out cheaper than buying tickets that are park to park passes adding on express pass you still have to buy the park to park tickets for the days you are there but the unlimited express pass comes with premier hotels and you get early entry. We did this for the first time in November 2021 stayed 2 nights at Portofino before 9 days at Disney. We don’t have kids and do not go on roller coasters or anything with a drop but were so glad we had the express passes. Got to do almost every ride and show we wanted. We were there before the Thanksgiving crowds arrived but it was still a little crowded. We are huge HP fans and liked riding the Hogwarts Express both ways you get a slightly different experience.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. Disney ticket prices vs Universal tickets w/ EP is a wildly unfair comparison. Also for either company, adding days beyond the first 2-3 is significantly cheaper than the first 1-2 days. If you're looking for the most cost effective, that would always be one company per trip.

2. EPs are very nice, but you can do the parks without just fine. Getting there early and/or staying late will give you the shortest lines (just like Disney). The UO App is your friend for wait times so you can tour optimally. Have a priority list & have a good time with whatever you have time to do.

3. Since EPs will not help for exploring, doing spells, Hagrids, or most shows, you will find it cheaper to get park-to-park tickets and only one day of EP (if you get EPs at all). Then you can have a ride-focused day, and an "other things, Hagrids, and short line rides day." But if you'll have a disability pass, you may just skip EP, and do the exploring, shows, etc while you are awaiting your return times.

4. Waiting for the Harry Potter rides in particular isn't terrible, because the queues are immersive taking you through various rooms in Hogwarts or Gringotts. They're like little slow tours.

5. No way to share EPs amongst each other. They are connected to your facial features, to prevent that.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Also it sounds like you are looking to buy soon, but just in case be aware that the EPs are date specific and non-refundable. And they tend to increase in price as the date nears, frequently getting to double or more the original price. So if you know you surely want them, you want to buy sooner than later (and then hope for cooperative weather).

 

[M23F5]

I second a one night stay at the universal deluxe hotels. A one night stay will give you express pass both on check in and check out day. A huge savings compared t buying them on their own.

 

[Captain Morgan Sparrow]

I second a one night stay at the universal deluxe hotels. A one night stay will give you express pass both on check in and check out day. A huge savings compared t buying them on their own.

Even if its a burner room!

 

[JulieODC]

Even if its a burner room!

Is this possible? I was pondering it when looking at the prices of express passes for a one-day visit in February…

 

[Skippyboo]

With 6 people getting a burner room would be difficult, you could put your 4 people that would do most of the riding on a room. You would get 2 days of express for those 4 with a burner room. If you are focusing mostly on Potter stuff probably don’t need express. The two parks are right next to each other in the same security zone unlike Disney parks. There’s Potter sections in both parks so I would go with park to park tickets. Studio side will be having their Mardi Gras event with food booths, nightly parade and weekend concerts.

 

[Brian Noble]

Is this possible?

I've done it, though with a party of four. We are timeshare people, and would never cram the four of us into one hotel room.

They don't care if you don't sleep in it; the only thing that matters is that you pay for it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Is this possible?

It sure is! You just have to check in to pick up your room keys, which double as the EPs. You can do so very early if desired. You can use the room, or not.

 

[M23F5]

Just want to add that they allow 5 in a room. We were able to check in and grab our keys to use as EP at 7am when we moved resorts from Disney to Universal.

 

[Tatum20]

It sure is! You just have to check in to pick up your room keys, which double as the EPs. You can do so very early if desired. You can use the room, or not.

I wondered about this! The premier hotels were sold out during Christmas week, but a few of them had single night availability. Even though we had a six day package at Sapphire Falls, when Hard Rock showed a room for $500 Christmas night only, I seriously considered booking it just for the express passes. I even asked the customer service rep if that would work, and she said theoretically it should but she'd never heard of anyone doing it before (booking the hotel and not staying there). Since express passes were $300 a person/day that week, and there were four of us, that would be huge savings. We ultimately did not do it since I wasn't 100% sure it would work, since our tickets were linked to our Sapphire Falls package.

 

[Tatum20]

As far as whether you need express passes, OP, if it's a peak spring break week you may need them. We went Presidents Day week in 2020 (shortly before the shutdown) which is a busy time for parks but not comparable to Christmas and spring break, without express passes, and managed to do everything, although waits were around 45-60 min for the big rides (not counting Hagrids, which was rarely below 3 hours at the time, unless you got lucky and got on right after the ride had been delayed and just reopened, although in that case express passes wouldn't have helped).

We just went for Christmas last week, and the cold weather helped with the waits the early part of the week. Towards the end of the week, by 9 am, most of the lines had 45-60 min wait and by 10 am, all rides (and I mean ALL) had standby waits that were 60+ minutes. If your goal is to ride as many rides as you can, and you are willing to be there from open to close, you might get most of the rides in over 2 days, but you will spend something like 85% of your day in lines. Some of the lines are kind of fun, but it gets old. Plus, a lot of the rides experienced delays when we were there last week, which gets super frustrating.

If it's really not feasible to stay on property, and you don't want to buy express passes, then I recommend getting there the second park opens (that means allowing extra time for parking, walking through security, getting from parking garage to park entrance) and ride all the bigger rides that aren't in the Harry Potter area. By park opening time, that will already be busy, and jumping in line for a ride there will cost you precious time where other rides are a walk on. I'd just take my lumps waiting in line for those rides in the late afternoon, maybe when people are getting tired or ready to eat dinner.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

We ultimately did not do it since I wasn't 100% sure it would work, since our tickets were linked to our Sapphire Falls package.

The nice thing that Universal/Loews does is have the room EP totally separate from your tickets. So you can use the EP with an annual pass, with tickets from Undercover Tourist, etc. I'm sure that's part of why they price single night deluxe hotel rooms at such a premium. Also why the AP hotel discount is great - since it brings down the price on single hotel nights so substantially.

 

[disneyseniors]

I second a one night stay at the universal deluxe hotels. A one night stay will give you express pass both on check in and check out day. A huge savings compared t buying them on their own.

We did this on our first 2 day visit. It might cost more for a hotel for one night But I think it will be less in the long run. The ability to get your passes and go to the parks the first day is great. Then when you check out, your park passes are good til the end of the 2nd day. So 2 for 1. I would check into booking a premium hotel and see how it balances out.

I know it can get pricey the other way. You might consider an AP for one of you which has lots of benefits and is good for a year, if you are interested in that.

I know you will love the HPlands. Your kids will have a blast there. There is nothing like it at Disney. It is so immersive and exactly like the movies. The attention to detail is unbelievable.

Hope this helps and have a great time. We are going in February for 4 days and can't wait. We are staying at the Royal Pacific and have 2 day 2 park tickets with 2 days free. Check online for good deals.

As far as EP's? On our first time one day visit, we didn't have them and we really didn't need them. However, with the mass exodus from disney to Universal, the crowds might be bigger.