Newbie Advice please :)

[ericaseiler]

My husband and I haven't been to Universal in almost 20 years (and we were in college). We are taking our 11 year old Harry Potter loving daughter and our 6 year old roller coaster loving daughter for the first time in December. We are FL residents and frequent Disney but Universal is extremely unfamiliar to us. We are staying at the Loews Royal Pacific and will have 3 full days at the park. I was not going to get the 2 parks in one day pass but heard from multiple people that the Hogwart's Express train is a must-do, so I guess we are getting the 2 parks per day pass.

We will be celebrating my youngest's 7th Birthday while there. She loves the minions, spongebob, etc. but unfortunately our days are 'off' for character dining.

If you don't mind can you please give me your best tips, advice, etc. for.... well, basically, everything? Rides, Express Pass unlimited (included w/ our hotel stay), going one hour early for Harry Potter World, best way to tour, character meets, dining. We are pretty picky and do not really eat fast food (I am a vegetarian), are reservations needed?

Thank you so much in advance for your help and advice.

 

[bchbetha]

You'll really enjoy your trip! Definitely do the park to parks. Those plus your express passes mean you don't have to plan anything. Download the Universal Resort app and/ or pick up a park map upon arrival so you can see show schedules. Other than those times, you can be extremely flexible. You can just visit any characters you see out. If you see one, get in line. They don't stay out long.

Set aside a few hours to simply play at Camp Jurassic. It's fun for all ages!

You really don't need reservations but they can be nice to have so no chance of having to wait. Mythos is a nice place to relax. We like to eat something quick for breakfast, an early lunch, midday snacks and dinner after the park closes. For a HP fan, I would prioritize those restaurants as must dos. The Hogshead Inn patio is a great place to unwind with a Butterbeer (try all varieties- hot is my fave!) and you can also try some of the HP booze.

When you hit early entry, that's a great time to buy a wand and cast spells since crowds are light.

There are restaurant stckes with menus. Check them out. Cowfish at Citywalk is good. Jake's at your hotel is great!

 

[mjhtvchick]

If you are morning people, then go ahead and do the early entry to the Wizarding World at least one day. Other than that, it is not really necessary with Express Passes.

One of the biggest advantages to Universal is that you really don't need a touring plan. It sounds like you are not planning to visit Volcano Bay so that gives you 3 days to split between the 2 other parks. I would start one morning at Islands of Adventure and then take the train over to Universal Studios then reverse the plan the next day. Then on the 3rd day you can repeat any rides you loved, grab any that you missed on the first two days.

Have a look at the park hours for the days you are there - the Universal parks sometimes close very early and this can often take Disney people off guard - https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/plan-your-visit/hours-information/park-hours/index.html

Here is the schedule for shows, meet & greets, etc. - https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/plan-your-visit/hours-information/show-times/index.html

If your daughter is interested in buying a wand while she is there, there are "interactive" wands that allow you to "cast spells" throughout the park. They are a little more than the non-interactive wands but a lot of fun.

You may find that the in-park food is not the greatest - we are not the biggest fans but it is extremely easy to walk out to Citywalk for lunch / dinner. The resort restaurants are also very good. A few dining tips:

• If you are interested in trying out a restaurant at one of the resorts other than RPR, you can easily get to and from most of the resorts using the water taxis (transferring at Citywalk) - alternatively, from 6-10pm, they also run a dining shuttle to/from each of the resorts.
• RPR is one of the hotels that gives you priority seating at select restaurants - you just show your room key to the restaurant host, and if available, you will get seated ahead of non-resort guests.
• Here are the details and menus for the restaurants - https://www.universalorlando.com/we...ing&attraction_location=&attraction_interest=

I can't think of anything else right now but if you have specific questions, feel free to ask!

 

[damo]

Another thing that your kids might have fun at for a break is the ball factory in the Curious George area. It is a big building with all sorts of interactive ball activities. Great fun for the whole family.

 

[gotomu212]

Just to pile on, the planning at UO is amazingly simple. Pick your hotel, pick your length of stay, decide when you want to wake up...done! Express Pass is a similar concept to Fastpasses only better! You’ll enter a separate ride line (similar to Fastpass but that’s where the similarities end) the EP one should get you on the ride in 5-15 minutes sometimes it really is a walk on, you can decide to ride the same ride over and over with EP, and you don’t have to schedule them. The only downside is you miss some of the line and UO does some cool things with lines. I’ve never felt that it was worth actually waiting for, but some people do use slow times to go through them.

We make reservations the night before or morning of if we want to schedule, but in general there are usually small waits as long as you aren’t eating right at noon or right when the park closes.

Park to park is worth it to us. The parks are so close that we jump back and forth multiple times a day. To us it’s like going from Adventureland to Tomorrowland, and you go through security before Citywalk so you don’t have separate security lines when you hop parks.

Transportation from hotel to park is free on water taxis or you can walk. About 10 minutes from your hotel on a nice walking path. You can also pool hop at UO so if you want to take an afternoon or evening to check out other pools you can. Kids really like Cabana Bays pool with the lazy river.

 

[andyw715]

For HP, take a look at the first post in this thread. Some neat ideas/tips.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/wizarding-world-touring-plans-and-details.3666427/

 

[ericaseiler]

Thank you all so much! Very helpful info!