New to Universal - Help!

[ZehnJahren]

We have quite suddenly decided that we need to see Harry on our October trip, and I have some questions I'm hoping others can help with:

1) This will be a day trip. We have a timeshare near Disney, so we're driving the rental car in. Is preferred parking really preferred, or is it just as close to park in the regular lot?

2) I see people suggesting to not get the express pass until the day you go, in case crowds are lower than expected and you don't need it. Is there a crowd calendar somewhere that's reliable? Do express passes "sell out"? What are the chances they'd be sold out in October?

3) Where's the cheapest place to get 1 day park to park tickets? So far, I've been looking to get them on points through my credit card, but if not through that avenue who is going to get us the best price? It seems like that is through Universal themselves, just like Disney.

4) What are "typical" wait times for FJ (let's say, midday)? Does the single rider line really cut down the wait from that wait time? Can someone describe the ride to me?

Thank you!

 

[macraven]

what is your date in october that you will be doing a day trip to the dark side?
some days in october will be busy at UO.

it's the same as the motherland, the darkside doesn't discount a one day park ticket.


possibly a time share presentation can offer discounted tickets.
other than that, it would be hard to come by.

 

[RMulieri]

1) ALL parking is in the massive Universal parking garage and you need to walk or use the moving walkways to Citywalk and the 2 parks.So I am not sure exactly what preferred parking entails
2)There are crowds calendars out there, Touringplans.com has one that costs , Undercovertourist has a free one and you can also check the universalorlando website.There are others, but they are prohibited from being mentioned on the forums.The cost of the express pass GOES UP With the projected crowds.The higher the crowds are expected to be, the higher the cost.They do sell out in peak times, october usually isnt one of them, but certain times in October will be VERY busy.If HP is all your focus is, the express passes arent going to help all that much.They are NOT good for Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Ollivanders,HArry Potter Escape from Gringotts,Hogwarts Express or Pteranodon flyers.
3)1 day park tickets are rarely if ever discounted.Like Disney they become cheaper the more days you stay
4)Wait times can vary.At mid-day in Late Jan we saw 45-60 min waits.In late August we saw waits of 60-90mins .Single rider can save alot of time.The Harry Potter areas will have the most people in the parks and be most crowded.Even the original Hogsmeade area in IOA is the busiest,most packed place.Even in slower times.
Plus ONSITE resort guests get early entry, so by the time you even get into the parks, HP will have substantial wait times.
Keep in mind, Unviersal parks are not open as late as Disney parks, and October is HHN at the studios ,which means on some nights, it closes at 5pm for the hard ticket event.

 

[ZehnJahren]

what is your date in october that you will be doing a day trip to the dark side?
some days in october will be busy at UO.

it's the same as the motherland, the darkside doesn't discount a one day park ticket.

possibly a time share presentation can offer discounted tickets.
other than that, it would be hard to come by.

I figured that it would be hard to find a discounted one day ticket but I had to try! We'll be going before Columbus Day for sure. No way will we do a timeshare presentation! I might be able to do some tickets through my credit card, but I'm still checking on that.

1) ALL parking is in the massive Universal parking garage and you need to walk or use the moving walkways to Citywalk and the 2 parks.So I am not sure exactly what preferred parking entails
2)There are crowds calendars out there, Touringplans.com has one that costs , Undercovertourist has a free one and you can also check the universalorlando website.There are others, but they are prohibited from being mentioned on the forums.The cost of the express pass GOES UP With the projected crowds.The higher the crowds are expected to be, the higher the cost.They do sell out in peak times, october usually isnt one of them, but certain times in October will be VERY busy.If HP is all your focus is, the express passes arent going to help all that much.They are NOT good for Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Ollivanders,HArry Potter Escape from Gringotts,Hogwarts Express or Pteranodon flyers.
3)1 day park tickets are rarely if ever discounted.Like Disney they become cheaper the more days you stay
4)Wait times can vary.At mid-day in Late Jan we saw 45-60 min waits.In late August we saw waits of 60-90mins .Single rider can save alot of time.The Harry Potter areas will have the most people in the parks and be most crowded.Even the original Hogsmeade area in IOA is the busiest,most packed place.Even in slower times.
Plus ONSITE resort guests get early entry, so by the time you even get into the parks, HP will have substantial wait times.
Keep in mind, Unviersal parks are not open as late as Disney parks, and October is HHN at the studios ,which means on some nights, it closes at 5pm for the hard ticket event.

1) Interesting! I wonder if preferred is just first floor or something like that. I guess we can decide when we get there.
2) Thanks for the tips on crowd calendars. Our date is set so I will check out undercover tourist. I did find that touring plans had the pay-for calendar; I already have a subscription that will run out soon for WDW, so I think I can just add on for a small price. I will check it out.
We will be seeing as much of the Harry Potter stuff as we can, and doing single rider lines where we can, but I think we will definitely do the express pass. I just have to figure out which one. It would be awesome to find a ride we like and be able to ride it multiple times; I have a feeling Mummy and MIB will be like that.
4) Thanks for all that info, especially that the park might close as early as 5!!! Hours aren't out yet that I can find, but I did find that supposedly the night we want to go is NOT an early closure night. I know that's subject to change though!

Thanks for your answers to me!

 

[macraven]

i don't know if this has changed but the last time i used the parking garage, the preferred was the section closest to the elevators in the garage.


i'll be at the darkside from the 5th to 17th in october.
the week leading to columbus day can have dates that won't be crowded.

no HHN on the monday (6), tuesday or wednesday so those days would be good to attend.
HHN will be held on that Thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. Monday is columbus day and crowds can begin around noon on some past years.

suggest you stay away from the weekends.

 

[ZehnJahren]

i don't know if this has changed but the last time i used the parking garage, the preferred was the section closest to the elevators in the garage.


i'll be at the darkside from the 5th to 17th in october.
the week leading to columbus day can have dates that won't be crowded.

no HHN on the monday (6), tuesday or wednesday so those days would be good to attend.
HHN will be held on that Thursday, friday, saturday and sunday. Monday is columbus day and crowds can begin around noon on some past years.

suggest you stay away from the weekends.

Thanks for the additional information! I can't believe Universal has a parking garage! It must be massive!

Good to know about HHNs. I can't believe the park closes at 5, that seems so early!

We'll definitely be staying away from the weekend.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Preferred parking used to be on the 3rd level -- which is the same level as the moving walkways that lead to Citywalk and the parks. Not sure if this has changed over the years or not. If you don't park in preferred, you simply take an elevator to the third level. We've never felt it was worth the upcharge, but others may feel differently.