New to HP World - Need Advice

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I am planning a trip over Presidents Day weekend for several HUGE HP fans! We will stay at a Universal Partner hotel so we get early entry. We plan to go to the parks on Saturday, Feb. 14, Sunday Feb 15 and Monday, Feb 16. One of the people in our party has limited vision as she is legally blind and epilepsy so we plan to take it really easy and tour all the HP stuff at a slow pace. We are all huge HP fans and we can’t wait to see all it has to offer! There will be 2 adults (my BFF and me), a 4 year old and 3 teenagers. I have some questions. Please feel free to share your tips and advice and help me plan this very special trip!! We may see some others parts of universal Studios, but we are really just mainly interested in HP stuff…Sorry Spiderman…

1. Can I park my stroller outside of the rides and leave it there while we ride just like we do at WDW?

2. Can we take water bottles and snacks into the parks? (We have one person who is diabetic and has a gluten allergy)

3. When you board the train to go between the 2 parks, is it close by and convenient or a long walk? Does the train let you out right at the HP World attractions?

4. Where do you get an interactive wand? Are those at Olivander’s or others places, too?

5. Would it make sense to arrive early and hit the key attractions, then go back to the hotel to rest and relax and then return at night to look around and shop some more? I was thinking of maximizing our morning hours with rides and returning at night to shop and enjoy all the theming and details. Make sense?

6. Which rides are challenging for larger size people? I hear some people can do certain rides because of size limits.

7. What is the one piece of advice that will be most helpful to a total newbie at Universal for HP World??

Thanks in advance!

 

[macraven]

I am planning a trip over Presidents Day weekend for several HUGE HP fans! We will stay at a Universal Partner hotel so we get early entry. We plan to go to the parks on Saturday, Feb. 14, Sunday Feb 15 and Monday, Feb 16. One of the people in our party has limited vision as she is legally blind and epilepsy so we plan to take it really easy and tour all the HP stuff at a slow pace. We are all huge HP fans and we can’t wait to see all it has to offer! There will be 2 adults (my BFF and me), a 4 year old and 3 teenagers. I have some questions. Please feel free to share your tips and advice and help me plan this very special trip!! We may see some others parts of universal Studios, but we are really just mainly interested in HP stuff…Sorry Spiderman…

1. Can I park my stroller outside of the rides and leave it there while we ride just like we do at WDW?


park the stroller in the designated marked area. the TM's can direct you for this.
2. Can we take water bottles and snacks into the parks? (We have one person who is diabetic and has a gluten allergy)


yes but no glass containers are allowed.
water and snacks will not be an issue.

3. When you board the train to go between the 2 parks, is it close by and convenient or a long walk? Does the train let you out right at the HP World attractions?

you will be let out in the harry potter section in the parks.
4. Where do you get an interactive wand? Are those at Olivander’s or others places, too?

gift shops in the park, especially in the HP sections.
5. Would it make sense to arrive early and hit the key attractions, then go back to the hotel to rest and relax and then return at night to look around and shop some more? I was thinking of maximizing our morning hours with rides and returning at night to shop and enjoy all the theming and details. Make sense?
check the park closing times if you want to leave during the day and return in the evening.
city walk will be open until 2:00 am but the parks do not stay open that long.
saturday feb 14th will have crowds at the studios.
mardi gras event will be going on that date.
parade, music event, all free for those in the park at that time.
6. Which rides are challenging for larger size people? I hear some people can do certain rides because of size limits.
will you be doing any of the coaster rides?
which rides are you planning on?

7. What is the one piece of advice that will be most helpful to a total newbie at Universal for HP World??

go early to hit the opening time.
saturdays can be busy.
Thanks in advance!

www.universalorlando.com is one place you can find a lot of info.
you can read descriptions of the rides and any restrictions, get a layout of the parks so you will be familiar where everything is located, etc

check out the menu sticky for places to eat and info on their menus.
read some of the trip report threads to see advice some posters have given to newbies.

if you didn't notice, i answered your questions in red when i quoted your post.


hope you have a great trip and lots of fun at the darkside.

 

[nkereina]

1. Can I park my stroller outside of the rides and leave it there while we ride just like we do at WDW? -- not sure, no kids, sorry!

2. Can we take water bottles and snacks into the parks? (We have one person who is diabetic and has a gluten allergy) -- yes

3. When you board the train to go between the 2 parks, is it close by and convenient or a long walk? Does the train let you out right at the HP World attractions? -- very quick walk, you board/exit right at the HP attractions in both parks.

4. Where do you get an interactive wand? Are those at Olivander’s or others places, too? -- Gift shops have them but Ollivander's is cool to buy it at. The one in Hogsmeade has the special wand choosing ceremony which makes for long lines. The one in DA rarely has lines - much less crowded and easier to browse.

5. Would it make sense to arrive early and hit the key attractions, then go back to the hotel to rest and relax and then return at night to look around and shop some more? I was thinking of maximizing our morning hours with rides and returning at night to shop and enjoy all the theming and details. Make sense? -- You could if the parks are open late enough. We were there in the fall and the parks were only open until 6. They may be open later in February, but I don't think they're open as late as 11 or 12 like Disney often is.

6. Which rides are challenging for larger size people? I hear some people can do certain rides because of size limits. -- I can't speak much to this but I would say the coasters could be tight (none are worse than a "standard" coaster) and I would say any of the 3D simulators would be fine.

7. What is the one piece of advice that will be most helpful to a total newbie at Universal for HP World?? -- Do Hogsmeade at rope drop to maximize your time without long waits. It has more rides than DA so the waits get backed up. I would then hop over to DA and ride Gringotts single rider to avoid a long wait (if necessary). If you have a second day, rope drop DA on the second day. Also FWIW for the rest of the parks, we spent more time in Universal than we did IOA.

 

[johde]

6. Which rides are challenging for larger size people? I hear some people can do certain rides because of size limits.

If all you've ever been to is Disney then you'll find the ride seats on several of the rides smaller than your used to. The rides that are most complained about at the parks are:

At Islands of Adventure.

Dragon Challenge and Hulk: Roller coaster with over the shoulder restraints. Rows 3 and 6 have "big boy" seats to accommodate larger riders. The seats themselves are the same size but they have 2 seat belts so the restraint doesn't need to go down as far. So, it's useful for people bigger bellies and chests.

Forbidden Journey. The outside seats of every car are modified to allow for larger riders. The test seat out front has 3 lights. Green means good in any seat, yellow means good in an outside seat, and red means too large to ride.

Dudley Do Right. Low Flume Ride. This is similar to Splash Mountain at Disneyland in California where everyone is right behind each other. The Drop final especially before it was reprofiled was intense and fairly high backed seats were installed. Then, like Splash Mountain at WDW lap bars were retrofitted. As a result, the space can be fairly tight. The worst problem though can be getting out. When you combine a night seating area and wet slippery floors it can be tough to get out of without assistance. I remember reading somewhere online but I can't find it again and haven't seen it personally that the handicapped seat for wheelchair guests can accommodate almost everyone.

The other ride of note is Jurassic Park River Adventure. Most people don't have trouble with the ride but, everyone in the row uses the same lap bar. So, the other passengers in your row may try to pull down the restraint further than you would like.

Universal Studios Florida.
Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. Most people consider this the toughest ride for larger guests to fit into. The ride has a strange wraparound lap bar. There are 2 different test seats out front. Guests with larger abdomens will have better luck with the test seat for row 3. While guests with larger thighs will have better luck with the test seat for row 4.

Revenge of the Mummy and Gringotts. Both have similar trains. Escape from Gringotts has an additional restraint at shins that make is tougher for people to fit into. The back row of the train tends to have more leg room which can drop the thighs allowing people to get that last click needed to ride.

Most of the rest of the rides have little problem with people fitting. But, I'm sure almost every ride has had someone too big to ride.

 

[Oodalally13]

I was just there 12/20-12/22 so I'll give some advice based on what I experienced/saw. Sorry it doesn't follow your numbers...

With snacks and drinks, as long as it isn't glass or needs to be hauled in an ice chest or microwaved, bring it. I saw one family pull out sandwiches in bags, a can of Pringles and celery sticks with dip and have a picnic in the "New York" park. I also saw a family with what looked like chicken and rice in ziplocks and each pwrsn had their own sandwich bag of it. I take extra quart size and gallon size ziplocks with me into the park. Many of the meals are huge and we will take leftovers to snack on later.

If you stay at a "deluxe" resort you will have both early entry and express pass. Granted the express pass can't be used on Harry Potter, but if there is other stuff to ride you could shorten wait times. If you aren't too bent on seeing ride queues, the single rider option is excellent. From now on I will only do single rider for transformers.

I'm not sure what crowds will be like when you are there, but be prepared for Harry Potter to be so crowded you can hardly move. On 12/20 the studios side looked deserted, when we got in to diagon alley it was slammed. I was still able to shop, ride, buy a wand and do some magic. Our plan was spend 1 day at studios, 1 day at islands and then reride or shop on the 3rd day. The first day all rides had short waits, train was always 10-20 minutes. We said we would ride It the next day. On 12/21 both parks were more crowded and the train was always at 60 minutes. We said we would wait and use our early entry for the last day and ride it. Got up super early on 12/22 and were one of the first few in. Be prepared for a really strange entry to diagon if they still have it up. It winds all the way around and comes back and funnels down. They didn't have the fence around the train. As we approached the workers started practically yelling at us to go through the fenced line. I asked what about if we were only riding the train. They said train wouldn't be open "until later" I asked when and they said 8 am (regular park opening). I was very angered at this but could see people getting off the train as they rode from the other side.i asked about that and they kinda stumbled and stammered and said "oh no we mean it only comes to diagon alley from hogs eased today" what??? So we carried on and spent maybe 10 mi Utes in diagon. As we were leaving the fenced area the SAME workers asked if we enjoyed our time. Again we said how we had gotten up early and all just to ride the train and then were told that first it wouldn't be open till later and then that it was just going from hogsmewde to London. THEN we are told, oh no it's open come on in? I'm thinking maybe they were messing with us and having a laugh playing a cruel joke. Just a warning about this. If you see a short wait for the train, get on it!

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Thanks for all the great info! So...it sounds like 2 days is plenty of time if we only plan to see the HP stuff at the 2 parks. We actually have 3 days so this will give plenty of time. We may check out the other sections of the parks, but we will have to thoroughly get our HP fix first! HA!

 

[gumbypee]

I actually much prefer ioa to universal

 

[SnipsNSnails]

1. Can I park my stroller outside of the rides and leave it there while we ride just like we do at WDW?

Yes, there are stroller parking areas and they will direct you to them.

2. Can we take water bottles and snacks into the parks? (We have one person who is diabetic and has a gluten allergy)

Yes, no glass containers.

3. When you board the train to go between the 2 parks, is it close by and convenient or a long walk? Does the train let you out right at the HP World attractions?

There is a line but you get on and off right at the HP areas.

4. Where do you get an interactive wand? Are those at Olivander’s or others places, too?

There are wands in shops and carts but I recommend doing Olivanders and then choosing a wand after the show. Do Olivanders at Diagon if you can visit there the first day to get wands right away. Olivanders in Hogsmeade had quite a wait but there are multiple showrooms in Diagon so no wait there right away in the morning.

5. Would it make sense to arrive early and hit the key attractions, then go back to the hotel to rest and relax and then return at night to look around and shop some more? I was thinking of maximizing our morning hours with rides and returning at night to shop and enjoy all the theming and details. Make sense?

Definately get there early. Morning is the best time to tour by afternoon you can barely move in Diagon Alley and there is a line for ice cream, butterbeer, to use the wands, etc. Head straight for Forbidden Journey or Gringotts and then spend time looking around until it gets crowded. We didn't go back in the evening so not sure if it clears out later. We had a very enjoyable time doing magic and looking around after riding Gringotts before the park opened to day guests.

6. Which rides are challenging for larger size people? I hear some people can do certain rides because of size limits.

There were a couple behind us on Gringotts and they couldn't get the restraint to close due to size so they had to get off. That seemed to be the least forgiving but I'm sure size could be a factor on FJ, Flight of the Hippogriff, and Dueling Dragons as well.

7. What is the one piece of advice that will be most helpful to a total newbie at Universal for HP World??

Go early! That is your best chance to ride and see the area without it being wall to wall people!