Newbie Needs HELP planning.....Please.

[kalliyan1]

So I'm trying to plan our first trip to USO and need some help/advice:

Heres the situation....My daughter who is a HUGE harry potter fan is turning 13 on Dec. 28. For her birthday, we are wanting to take her to USO. We live in South FL and are AP holders for Disney so we can go to Orlando really anytime on weekends/school breaks. Ideally, I would like to do it FOR her birthday as my 2 son's who live in CA will be home for Christmas and we would then all be able to go.

I plan on staying at one of the onsite resorts in order to take advantage of the early morning access and the unlimited EP, no matter when we go. With that being said, IF we were to go on Dec. 29 for a few nights, would having the EP and early access really benefit us too much or would even those lines be crazy given the time of year?

How many park days would we need during this time to do the parks?

If I buy at least one AP tix, can you get the resort discounts during that time? I've looked for information on AP hotel rates but I can't find it. I know that the AP tix is blocked out during that time but didn't know if it was still worth it if there were hotel discounts that we could take advantage of. Of course we could still use the AP tix on future trips so it wouldn't necessarily be a waste.

We've been to Disney a few times over Christmas break and it was CRAZY crowds and really couldn't do much as the lines for everything were LLLLOOOOOooooonnnnng(including the bathroom....you needed a fast pass for that.....LOL), but for us with our AP, we were really just going for the Christmas decorations, etc vs really wanting to do a bunch of rides. When we go to USO, this will not be the case, as we have never been. We want to do the rides and as much as we can, esp. in HP world.

Should I give up on trying to taking her for her actual birthday and instead, tell her about it on her birthday and go another weekend after the holidays? Should I still try to plan it for her birthday so our whole family can go and it can still be enjoyable(tolerable lines, not elbow to elbow with people, etc)?

If we don't go over Christmas break, is there a suggested time when crowds are lighter? I know to avoid holidays, but I don't know if USO has "events" like Disney does that will increase crowds during certain times of the year.

Help me set realistic expectations

Thanks to all who can offer advice.

 

[Chickinvic]

I haven't been at that time, but my gut tells me I'd rather avoid it. I would imagine crazy crowds.

 

[bchbetha]

Sounds like a fun trip!
If you can splurge, consider club level at one of the fancy hotels. It’ll give you a calm respite from the crowds. More importantly, having food available with no lines to navigate would be really welcome

 

[butterscotchcollins]

This is such a lovely idea for your daughter and family! If you can handle crowds I say do it for her birthday when your other kids are there and the parks are all decorated for the Holidays (so magical). There isn’t so much to do in the parks that you need more than a few days, esp if you’re mostly just there for HP (you can do both HP parks in a single day) and if you pack your patience you’ll be fine

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You can start with buying regular tickets (Park to park to ride Hogwarts Express) and then upgrade to an AP on your last day, to avoid blackout dates for the lower end APs.

Or consider one higher level pass for the discounts - get this at the beginning of your trip to maximize the value of the discounts. Then the rest can be Seasonal passes.

However, if you'll also want to go next Christmastime and/or other blackout times during the year, pick whichever passes will allow your schedule.

Wait until the evening to do the spells in HP areas, or utilize early entry for that while crowds are lowest.

There is an AP hotel rate thread in the UO Hotels forum, which has an easy link in the first post to check for the AP rates - they usually are released in phases a few months in advance.

 

[kalliyan1]

You can start with buying regular tickets (Park to park to ride Hogwarts Express) and then upgrade to an AP on your last day, to avoid blackout dates for the lower end APs.

Or consider one higher level pass for the discounts - get this at the beginning of your trip to maximize the value of the discounts. Then the rest can be Seasonal passes.

However, if you'll also want to go next Christmastime and/or other blackout times during the year, pick whichever passes will allow your schedule.

Wait until the evening to do the spells in HP areas, or utilize early entry for that while crowds are lowest.

There is an AP hotel rate thread in the UO Hotels forum, which has an easy link in the first post to check for the AP rates - they usually are released in phases a few months in advance.

Great ideas! So do I understand correctly that even if I buy 1 seasonal AP in advance, there probably won't be any hotel discounts during that timeframe? BUT if I buy the highest level AP, that if I read correctly doesn't have any blackout dates, then there would be an AP discount for the hotel?

When we upgrade on the last day, we would just pay difference correct? Stupid question I know but just want to make sure.

Sorry I don't understand what you mean about the spells in HP areas....never been there and haven't gotten that far yet in the threads to see what there is to do in the parks

 

[kalliyan1]

Sounds like a fun trip!
If you can splurge, consider club level at one of the fancy hotels. It’ll give you a calm respite from the crowds. More importantly, having food available with no lines to navigate would be really welcome

The food would be at the hotel only correct or are there places in the park to take advantage of this?

 

[kalliyan1]

This is such a lovely idea for your daughter and family! If you can handle crowds I say do it for her birthday when your other kids are there and the parks are all decorated for the Holidays (so magical). There isn’t so much to do in the parks that you need more than a few days, esp if you’re mostly just there for HP (you can do both HP parks in a single day) and if you pack your patience you’ll be fine

Oh, I never even considered the Christmas decorations!

 

[kalliyan1]

So what would "average" expected wait times be for the lines using the EP or can someone direct me to a place where I might be able to see historical waits? I'm really curious how much the EP would help.

 

[Ben E N]

You can start with buying regular tickets (Park to park to ride Hogwarts Express) and then upgrade to an AP on your last day, to avoid blackout dates for the lower end APs.

Or consider one higher level pass for the discounts - get this at the beginning of your trip to maximize the value of the discounts. Then the rest can be Seasonal passes.

However, if you'll also want to go next Christmastime and/or other blackout times during the year, pick whichever passes will allow your schedule.

Wait until the evening to do the spells in HP areas, or utilize early entry for that while crowds are lowest.

There is an AP hotel rate thread in the UO Hotels forum, which has an easy link in the first post to check for the AP rates - they usually are released in phases a few months in advance.

Just a quick follow-up question. We are also going to Universal around the same dates (December 29-30). We are getting 2-day, 2-park tickets for this trip. On the 30th, are you saying we would be able to upgrade to a seasonal pass for only a little bit more money, even though December 30th is technically a block-out date for that pass type.
Thanks for the help.

 

[bchbetha]

The food would be at the hotel only correct or are there places in the park to take advantage of this?

Just in the hotel but both Hard Rock and Royal Pacific are so close to the parks that it’s pretty decent to head to the hotel for periodic break

 

[marymouse]

We were there this time period last year. It was the most crowded I've ever seen it but still didn't compare to the packed crowds at Disney. Line waits were long and even with EP we waited for 20-30+ minutes on stuff that is usually a walk on so I would say it is a must. It's crazy but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I have no advice for the annual pass but we did upgrade to Preferred APs the last day of our trip.

 

[Squirlz]

AP rates apply for any AP level but they are not guaranteed.

 

[kalliyan1]

Thanks for all the replies. Very Helpful

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Like Squirlz said, the AP hotel rates are the same regardless of which AP you have. Just check regularly, you never know what dates they might need to encourage bookings.

As long as you upgrade your ticket after you are done entering a park for the day, you can upgrade on a blackout day. For example, if you are ending the day at IOA, you can upgrade while in the park and continue to do rides and stuff - they won't kick you out. But once you exit, you will not be able to get back in if your AP is blacked out.

 

[Ben E N]

Like Squirlz said, the AP hotel rates are the same regardless of which AP you have. Just check regularly, you never know what dates they might need to encourage bookings.

As long as you upgrade your ticket after you are done entering a park for the day, you can upgrade on a blackout day. For example, if you are ending the day at IOA, you can upgrade while in the park and continue to do rides and stuff - they won't kick you out. But once you exit, you will not be able to get back in if your AP is blacked out.

That's awesome. Thanks for letting me know this. My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan and is currently only 46". Our big fear was that she would not be able to get on the two 48" rides, but with this upgrade option, we can upgrade to the cheapest AP and then try again over our spring or summer breaks for only like $40 extra than a 2 day ticket.