New to Orlando, Not Universal

[ArielSparrow]

We will be spending two weeks in Orlando. It's so weird going from a wealth of information for my Disney week to limited sources for my non-Disney week. That week will include Universal, Sea World, Kennedy Space Center, and an airboat ride/something with alligators.

I am a HUGE Harry Potter nerd and plan on spending three days at USF/IOA. I keep reading that WWoHP is really only a half day but I don't want to rush myself when I finally go home to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I've been waiting ten years for this moment. Besides, it was only $20 more to get a 3-day instead of a 2-day pass.

So, tips? They will be single park tickets, not hoppers. We do not have kids; it will just be my husband and I. I have a general idea of what I want to ride/see (everything that is not at US Hollywood or that has been added since December 2010, and our favorites), but I want to know if there are tips like see this first, avoid that during midday, etc. We'll have lunch in the Three Broomsticks one day but other than that will probably pack a lunch and eat after since the park closes so early (7p) and we have a kitchen in our timeshare.

Thanks!!!

 

[macraven]

be in line to enter very early.
45 minutes out from the official opening would be of benefit.



avoid weekends if possible.

 

[Senator Tressel]

I would say if the park is closing at seven, you are probably fine getting in line 20-30 minutes early. Unless you REALLY need to be one of the first in there (assuming you don't have early entry). You'll want to do Ollivanders first, then Forbidden Journey. If it's a low crowd time, the only attractions outside of Harry Potter that get any kind of line are Suess Train ride and Spiderman.

For Universal, do Despicable Me first, then Rip Ride Rockit if you want to ride that, then Transformers. Mummy, Simpsons, and Men In Black will all have lines as well, so you'll want to do those in the first two hours.

 

[macraven]

senator, since the op did not give their dates and said they were staying offsite, i was general with my suggestion.


op said 2 adults doing orlando for 2 weeks but only 3 days at the darkside.

i'm guessing early september by the siggie trip countdown.
could be labor day time period??

 

[ArielSparrow]

senator, since the op did not give their dates and said they were staying offsite, i was general with my suggestion.


op said 2 adults doing orlando for 2 weeks but only 3 days at the darkside.

i'm guessing early september by the siggie trip countdown.
could be labor day time period??

Sorry, you're right. I forgot to give dates. I'm thinking W-F September 18-20, which are green days according to Undercover Tourist crowd calendar.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am a HUGE Harry Potter nerd and plan on spending three days at USF/IOA. I keep reading that WWoHP is really only a half day but I don't want to rush myself when I finally go home to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I've been waiting ten years for this moment. Besides, it was only $20 more to get a 3-day instead of a 2-day pass.

So, tips? They will be single park tickets, not hoppers.

Tips...consider adding the park to park option. Just consider it. You might want to have the option. I like it because it allows us to have butterbeer every day. I like frozen, DS likes cold, DH likes both.

Sure, WW has 3 rides and one non-ride attraction, BUT I bet you'll be doing some shopping and some looking around and some sitting there saying WOW wow wow wow. And then more shopping. Try the rock cakes! Delicious. Super-good with a frozen butterbeer, but if you're there in the morning and like coffee, try one with a cup of coffee from the 3 Broomsticks as a treat. I truly could not tell you which combo I like better.

I like the pumpkin fizz in a cup rather than the pumpkin juice in a bottle. Very different sorts of drinks.

If you're truly a Potter person, up your souvenir budget by a whole lot.

Heck, raise that souvenir budget for things other than just Potter. We buy way more at Universal than we do at WDW.

Enjoy the whole place! Try to take some time to visit the Discovery Center in Jurassic Park, it's really very cool. Delight in how seamless they make the music changes between lands. Yes you can see one land from another, but the sounds change so gradually and perfectly that it barely matters that you can see it coming.

 

[ArielSparrow]

I considered park hopper since I'm not sure if USF or the remainder of IoA offers more but the cost is so much higher that I don't think i can swing it.

For that reason I won't be doing a lot of shopping as I'm not a very spendy person. Especially after the dough it's taking just to get there. It doesn't mean I'm any less than a fan though. It just means my husband finds my obsession endearing instead of problematic lol. Plus I'm trying to fit everything into one suitcase. We're not really souvenir people (except for pennies) and we just moved into a smaller apartment and got rid of so much stuff that we are highly critical of anything new coming in. I do imagine I could spend hours window shopping or just sitting (the two things I loathe at amusement parks, where I'm always go go go). I might get the wand. I already have a wood one I got on Etsy but my husband doesn't have one. We'll see. I'm a thrifter so gift shop prices are incomprehensible to me lol.

I'll definitely buy butterbeer but am guessing it won't be something I'll want multiple times. I always try every recipe I come across and they've been all over the board. I heard this one is like cream soda? I'll probably get frozen, just in case it's like Flying Cauldron, which is too sweet for my taste but is good as a float nonetheless. I know, I sound like a horrible fan. Month before last I attended a HP roller skating night dressed as Luna and i play Muggle Quidditch so that's not the case lol.

 

[ArielSparrow]

I would say if the park is closing at seven, you are probably fine getting in line 20-30 minutes early. Unless you REALLY need to be one of the first in there (assuming you don't have early entry). You'll want to do Ollivanders first, then Forbidden Journey. If it's a low crowd time, the only attractions outside of Harry Potter that get any kind of line are Suess Train ride and Spiderman.

For Universal, do Despicable Me first, then Rip Ride Rockit if you want to ride that, then Transformers. Mummy, Simpsons, and Men In Black will all have lines as well, so you'll want to do those in the first two hours.

Is it possible to do all that in two hours or do I need to pick which ones I want to do within the first two hours?

I'm realizing that I've done a lot of research for WDW, but haven't even yet good ride by ride to figure out what's exclusive to Orlando! I didn't know there was an MIB attraction. I love the movies.

I don't think i said yet, but I'm currently planning two days at IOA and one day at USF. Does that sound right? I'm also big on superheroes. Not HP level but i do dress up for those movies as well.

 

[Metro West]

Sorry, you're right. I forgot to give dates. I'm thinking W-F September 18-20, which are green days according to Undercover Tourist crowd calendar.

Those dates shouldn't be big deal crowd wise.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

We are here now. I am amazed at how little there is at WoHP but how much time we have spent there. LOL! Of course we have ridden Forbidden Journey 3 times and my kids have ridden the dragon coaster multiple times. We have only ridden Flight of the Hippogriff 1 time. The line for that is usually 45 minutes. I have found that the lines are much much shorter for the other attractions in the evening except for Hippogriff which will have a wait as long as 45 min. When we arrived we went straight to Forbidden Journey and had our longest wait. I think it was at least a half hour if not longer. We then had about a 15 min wait on Hippogriff. We did Olivander's in the evening for about a 15 min wait. The moral of the story is Yes..do HP in the morning because you are a huge fan and can't wait but leave as soon as you feel like it is crowded. I think we left at around 11. Go back about 2 hours before closing.

 

[Senator Tressel]

Is it possible to do all that in two hours or do I need to pick which ones I want to do within the first two hours?

I'm realizing that I've done a lot of research for WDW, but haven't even yet good ride by ride to figure out what's exclusive to Orlando! I didn't know there was an MIB attraction. I love the movies.

I don't think i said yet, but I'm currently planning two days at IOA and one day at USF. Does that sound right? I'm also big on superheroes. Not HP level but i do dress up for those movies as well.

Yes, you can do all of those rides in the first two hours in September.

Not sure about two days at IOA and one at US. I feel like there is more to do at US at this point, but you're coming for Harry Potter and not hopping, so it may not be very fulfilling to do that just one day. Just decide after you've done both parks once, I guess.

 

[macraven]

yes, MIB is a pretty good ride at the studios.
really, it's a great ride.

www.universalorlando.com

go to the site and check out the parks.
you will see where each ride is located in each park.

it would be better to get an idea of the parks layout instead of picking up the park guide map when you enter the park.

 

[ArielSparrow]

Yes, you can do all of those rides in the first two hours in September.

Not sure about two days at IOA and one at US. I feel like there is more to do at US at this point, but you're coming for Harry Potter and not hopping, so it may not be very fulfilling to do that just one day. Just decide after you've done both parks once, I guess.

Yeah. I guess I could do it that way. Undercover Tourist's crowd calendar is as follows :

18 USF/IOA recommended
19 IOA rec, USF neutral
20 USF rec, IOA neutral

I was thinking one at USF because it seems to have the most duplicates with California. While here the only IOA attraction we have is Jurassic Park. I've always been jealous of the size of Orlando's, as ours doesn't have coasters. I'll just wait and see i guess.

I'm bummed that Orlando doesn't have Water World, as I loved it but didn't get to say goodbye before they shut it down in Hollywood.

 

[TheAviator]

Universal Orlando is nothing like Universal Hollyweird. Orlando is way bigger, and of course has 2 parks. There is no comparison. Hollywood is almost like a miniature version of Orlando. The Orlando version is much more like Disney in the sense of multiple parks, resorts onsite, etc.

Keep in mind there are a ton of things to do besides HP. Jurassic Park, Marvel Island, you will want to check out The Lost Continent, my favorite themed area, and also eat at Mythos there at LC, my personal favorite restaurant onsite, possibly the greatest themed restaurant in the world with a creative menu.

I couldn't remember from your post if you are staying onsite, but if that is an option I would highly recommend staying onsite, much better experience IMO, since you can take a boat into the parks from your hotel and you get free front of the line to the rides with your room key

 

[ArielSparrow]

Universal Orlando is nothing like Universal Hollyweird. Orlando is way bigger, and of course has 2 parks. There is no comparison. Hollywood is almost like a miniature version of Orlando. The Orlando version is much more like Disney in the sense of multiple parks, resorts onsite, etc.

Keep in mind there are a ton of things to do besides HP. Jurassic Park, Marvel Island, you will want to check out The Lost Continent, my favorite themed area, and also eat at Mythos there at LC, my personal favorite restaurant onsite, possibly the greatest themed restaurant in the world with a creative menu.

I was just saying I could miss any rides that we have here if necessary. Even though I highly enjoy those few rides. I don't think we'll be eating there since it's only open until 6p on th 18th and 7p the other two days. Except the Three Broomsticks, I can't miss that. I was just going to pack sandwiches and snacks to eat as we go. At Disneyland we normally only stop for one meal and pack the other.

I couldn't remember from your post if you are staying onsite, but if that is an option I would highly recommend staying onsite, much better experience IMO, since you can take a boat into the parks from your hotel and you get free front of the line to the rides with your room key

We are staying at a timeshare two miles away. Those benefits sound nice but you can't beat $200 for the week for a 1 bedroom suite.