Need help with some planning ideas an April father son trip please!

[JAG107]

I’m planning a birthday trip for my DS10 and I for April (trying to avoid SB crowds) and it will be our first USO visit (Disney vets changing it up). It would be a long weekend, with 3 park days. I am trying to figure out if Express passes will be all that necessary, and if 2 days at the USO parks with hoppers will be enough. I’m a little hesitant to spend the $ on a hotel stay that includes Express, and want to know just how critical it would be (just how crowded are the parks on a given late April weekend after spring break?).
We are more into JP than HP, but we definitely want to experience Gringotts and Hagrid, so we aren’t really needing to do the full HP experience. We have done USH several times also, so FJ isn’t necessarily a priority either.
Also, would you say that two day hoppers will be sufficient for both parks (leaving us with a third day for DHS, which we haven’t seen since 2016), or should we go for a full 3 days at Uni? We also plan to visit Fun Spot in the evenings after the USO parks close. It would seem like using Uber for transportation would be more cost effective than renting a car? Given the minimal driving distance for the trip.
Thank you so much!

 

[nwcutie]

Remember, Easter is on April 17 next year so parks will be packed and discounts few around that time. Just sayin....

I would do 2 nights/3 days at a deluxe personally. The EP will make a difference during crowds. 3 days gives you plenty of time to revisit your favorites and take everything in at a slower pace. If it's not crowded, you can do the HP standby lines to get the full experience. Also, with the price of rental cars AND parking onsite, Uber will probably make a lot more sense. It is really easy to get around the UO properties.

10 year olds are fun. Kids at that age are still tender, sweet, and full of wonder (ew, sounds like I'm describing a dish ). Have fun!

 

[JAG107]

Remember, Easter is on April 17 next year so parks will be packed and discounts few around that time. Just sayin....

I would do 2 nights/3 days at a deluxe personally. The EP will make a difference during crowds. 3 days gives you plenty of time to revisit your favorites and take everything in at a slower pace. If it's not crowded, you can do the HP standby lines to get the full experience. Also, with the price of rental cars AND parking onsite, Uber will probably make a lot more sense. It is really easy to get around the UO properties.

10 year olds are fun. Kids at that age are still tender, sweet, and full of wonder (ew, sounds like I'm describing a dish ). Have fun!

Thank you!
I am definitely flexible on the dates, I was just thinking April would be warmer for the water rides (we definitely want to ride Dudley and the Bluto rides). If February would make more sense crowd wise then we would be good with that. I know Mummy is going down for a lengthy refurb so we are taking that as a loss right off the bat. I came up with April as a good time to go as Google shows most schools taking spring break in March. I am more interested in having a non-insane crowd experience than being tied to any specific dates, so if I had to push the trip to May that would be okay too.

 

[AJA]

If you are flexible on dates, the very last week of April or first week in May are your best bests for any April -Summer trip for crowds.

For a first time trip, having Express will give you time to tour at your own pace, re ride favorites, and still have plenty of pool time (usually a priority for 10 year olds)

 

[Kit Jackson]

I’m a little hesitant to spend the $ on a hotel stay that includes Express, and want to know just how critical it would be (just how crowded are the parks on a given late April weekend after spring break?).

Save Disney World for another trip. If you can do it, 3 park days in May with Express Pass would be ideal. If you can afford a hotel that inlcudes Express Pass, do it. It is usually less expensive to stay at a hotel that includes Express Pass instead of buying them seperately. Spring Break season is February-April, because different schools takes breaks at different times. You have high school and college students taking spring break trips.

I have heard Forbidden Journey on the East Coast is totally different from the West Coast version, so you may not want to skip it.

 

[cfoxga]

@JAG107

I would definitely shoot for 3 days in the parks, as there is a lot to experience there. The other advantage of the deluxe resorts besides EPs is the proximity to the parks. HRH is a 5-7 minute walk, which means it is very easy to go back and forth. RPR is only a couple minutes further away. No walking through CityWalk to catch a bus. You can also take the boat as it is a nice way to travel (especially from PBH).

The other thing to consider is the APH rates are a lot cheaper than the regular rates. Here is an example from Jan 25-27 (https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...ls=&ada=0&currid=1&vouchercode=&attendeeCode=). HRH Pool View is normally $397 per night, but is $250 per night with the APH rate. If you can get one, then it would be worth getting one Annual Pass for the discount. If you can make another trip within 12 months, you might upgrade your son as well.

The APH rates may not be available for your dates yet, so just save bookmarks for the dates you are interested in and keep checking. Usually it is 2-4 months prior, but that is not always the case.

 

[JAG107]

Save Disney World for another trip. If you can do it, 3 park days in May with Express Pass would be ideal. If you can afford a hotel that inlcudes Express Pass, do it. It is usually less expensive to stay at a hotel that includes Express Pass instead of buying them seperately. Spring Break season is February-April, because different schools takes breaks at different times. You have high school and college students taking spring break trips.

I have heard Forbidden Journey on the East Coast is totally different from the West Coast version, so you may not want to skip it.

That is interesting, I did not know FJ was all that different, as I had heard the Hollywood version was just a clone. I will definitely make sure we check that out in that case. We are also looking forward to seeing the JP River Adventure, as my son has only been on the JW version at USH and it's one of his all time favorites.

I am seeing the deluxe hotels with Express Pass included for around $600/night. I don't see how that is more cost effective than staying off site for $80 and paying for EP, I'm not sure if it makes sense for us (the deluxe accommodations aren't a big deal to us as we will be out in the parks most of the time anyway). If the parks will be less crowded in May, then EP may not be that much of a game changer as it would during SB crowds. It's also a little disappointing that Hagrids and Velocicoaster aren't included with EP, as those are probably going to be the two rides we will want to re-ride the most.
Thank you for your suggestions! I will definitely look into the Universal hotels and compare them to staying off site.

 

[AJA]

OP the parks will start getting crowded around mid May, if you can have your stay before May 15th. Also if you plan on purchasing Express just know that the price fluctuates with crowds and when you purchase it. For example for our trip last April Express was $200-$300 per day each (not including your park ticket).

I am not saying Express is necessary. We haven’t needed it in years. Since my daughter became a teen and is fine with using single rider lines, even by herself. We’ve found we would rather use the money somewhere else in our trip. But we do go often, usually have AP’s and stay onsite for a week -not just visiting the Universal Parks but that means we “could” go in the parks each day for early entry or to catch a favorite ride if we found the parks packed during the day. We travel in slow or moderate crowd times.

 

[Skywalker3]

I’m planning a birthday trip for my DS10 and I for April (trying to avoid SB crowds) and it will be our first USO visit (Disney vets changing it up). It would be a long weekend, with 3 park days. I am trying to figure out if Express passes will be all that necessary, and if 2 days at the USO parks with hoppers will be enough. I’m a little hesitant to spend the $ on a hotel stay that includes Express, and want to know just how critical it would be (just how crowded are the parks on a given late April weekend after spring break?).
We are more into JP than HP, but we definitely want to experience Gringotts and Hagrid, so we aren’t really needing to do the full HP experience. We have done USH several times also, so FJ isn’t necessarily a priority either.
Also, would you say that two day hoppers will be sufficient for both parks (leaving us with a third day for DHS, which we haven’t seen since 2016), or should we go for a full 3 days at Uni? We also plan to visit Fun Spot in the evenings after the USO parks close. It would seem like using Uber for transportation would be more cost effective than renting a car? Given the minimal driving distance for the trip.
Thank you so much!

What a fun, fun age to go to UO with your son! My oldest son's first trip was when he was 9 (in 2000,) and then my younger son enjoyed great trips when he was 9 and 11. (and 14 this past year, but it starts getting different for sure....)
We've pretty much only been w express pass, staying at one of the premier hotels. But we have 4 people, so was always more cost effective to get a room/not express pass separately. But we also go during busy times...Memorial day weekend, Columbus day weekend, Thanksgiving.
It's So very nice to just go to the head of the line on almost every ride. We love MiB, and love riding over and over, like 3-4 times in a row. But I would think at that time of the year, late April/early May (at least 1-2 weeks after Easter week, quite a few schools are off the week following Easter, it's not slow,) EP might not be necessary. But it's still nice. I know it may seem crazy, but might be worth for 1 person to have an AP to possibly get a hotel discount?
Good idea to sit and look over the rides and prioritize. Rope drop is VERY important, and lines tend to get a lot shorter in the evenings/last hour. We rope dropped Hagrids, and was on/off quickly. But it also didn't go virtual queue while we were there. Sometimes it's VQ. Be prepared for that just in case. We tried to rope drop Velocicoaster, but it wasn't running yet, so just had do that one later, longer lines, but not dreadful. My son waited about 60 mins midday, and my husband, maybe 20-30 mins in the evening.
keep in mind you will get soaked on Bluto and mostly soaked on Dudley do right. They are super fun, but SOAKED. Wet shoes, wet bottoms, (bring plastic bags for phones, or put them in lockers!) etc. Also fun to ride those over and over. once you're wet, you're wet, so why not?
idk what to say about working in DHS.... I usually advise 3 days at Universal, so you're not rushed, can do everything, but a lot of that involves taking the time for all the HP shows, food, snacks, etc. If not doing that...idk. Galaxy's Edge is great. But it's very important to get there at rope drop if you're going to do Rise/Resistance. If offsite, I hear it's hard to get a lightning lane, or just impossible, but they have standby now. Can be 90-120 mins on most days, but it's an awesome ride/experience. My family LOVES Tower/terror, and RnRC, and Smuggler's Run. Know several families who worked in 1 day at DHS just to make sure to do the SW stuff, and they had fun days. If you think you'll be back soon, maybe save for then. It'll sure add a lot of hustle/bustle, But we love Galaxy's Edge and DHS in general.
Have fun planning. Hope y'all have a great trip!!!

 

[JAG107]

What a fun, fun age to go to UO with your son! My oldest son's first trip was when he was 9 (in 2000,) and then my younger son enjoyed great trips when he was 9 and 11. (and 14 this past year, but it starts getting different for sure....)
We've pretty much only been w express pass, staying at one of the premier hotels. But we have 4 people, so was always more cost effective to get a room/not express pass separately. But we also go during busy times...Memorial day weekend, Columbus day weekend, Thanksgiving.
It's So very nice to just go to the head of the line on almost every ride. We love MiB, and love riding over and over, like 3-4 times in a row. But I would think at that time of the year, late April/early May (at least 1-2 weeks after Easter week, quite a few schools are off the week following Easter, it's not slow,) EP might not be necessary. But it's still nice. I know it may seem crazy, but might be worth for 1 person to have an AP to possibly get a hotel discount?
Good idea to sit and look over the rides and prioritize. Rope drop is VERY important, and lines tend to get a lot shorter in the evenings/last hour. We rope dropped Hagrids, and was on/off quickly. But it also didn't go virtual queue while we were there. Sometimes it's VQ. Be prepared for that just in case. We tried to rope drop Velocicoaster, but it wasn't running yet, so just had do that one later, longer lines, but not dreadful. My son waited about 60 mins midday, and my husband, maybe 20-30 mins in the evening.
keep in mind you will get soaked on Bluto and mostly soaked on Dudley do right. They are super fun, but SOAKED. Wet shoes, wet bottoms, (bring plastic bags for phones, or put them in lockers!) etc. Also fun to ride those over and over. once you're wet, you're wet, so why not?
idk what to say about working in DHS.... I usually advise 3 days at Universal, so you're not rushed, can do everything, but a lot of that involves taking the time for all the HP shows, food, snacks, etc. If not doing that...idk. Galaxy's Edge is great. But it's very important to get there at rope drop if you're going to do Rise/Resistance. If offsite, I hear it's hard to get a lightning lane, or just impossible, but they have standby now. Can be 90-120 mins on most days, but it's an awesome ride/experience. My family LOVES Tower/terror, and RnRC, and Smuggler's Run. Know several families who worked in 1 day at DHS just to make sure to do the SW stuff, and they had fun days. If you think you'll be back soon, maybe save for then. It'll sure add a lot of hustle/bustle, But we love Galaxy's Edge and DHS in general.
Have fun planning. Hope y'all have a great trip!!!

Thank you for the tips, I will definitely check into the AP discount as an option. Having motivation to return within a year would be a pleasurable burden for sure as well!