Newbie Questions

[Colleen27]

We've never ventured over to Universal before, but with our Aug Disney plans looking less and less like they'll work out we're looking at "plan B" around Thanksgiving. Since it'll be a longer trip at a busier time of year, we're thinking about kicking it off with a couple of nights at Universal before heading to Disney, and of course I have questions.

How nuts is the weekend of Thanksgiving, and how much does being on-site help? I expect busy, but is it wall-to-wall people Disney-at-Christmas busy or long-lines-but-still-enjoyable busy? We'd be staying at Hard Rock so we'll have the unlimited express.

Also, what are park hours usually like for the T-giving weekend? We'll be at Universal Friday through Sunday of the holiday weekend.

Is three days with park-to-park tickets enough to see the highlights at a busy time of year? We're most interested in Harry Potter and the Marvel attractions for my older kids (9 & 13) and the Dr Seuss area for the baby (2).

How does the priority seating benefit work? At which Citywalk restaurants is it valid? How long of a walk is it from the parks to Citywalk? Close enough to grab lunch there rather than in the park?

And finally (for now) is Universal's parent swap as easy as Disney's? How, exactly, does it work? Is it like Disney, where the older kids can ride with both parents, or like some other parks where the second parent to ride is the only one allowed to 'skip' the standby line?

TIA for having the patience with all mu newb questions.

 

[tinydancer09]

We've never ventured over to Universal before, but with our Aug Disney plans looking less and less like they'll work out we're looking at "plan B" around Thanksgiving. Since it'll be a longer trip at a busier time of year, we're thinking about kicking it off with a couple of nights at Universal before heading to Disney, and of course I have questions.

How nuts is the weekend of Thanksgiving, and how much does being on-site help? I expect busy, but is it wall-to-wall people Disney-at-Christmas busy or long-lines-but-still-enjoyable busy? We'd be staying at Hard Rock so we'll have the unlimited express.

From what I hear this week is NUTS! On-site is BY FAR worth it! You will get free (with stay) unlimited Express Passes! That means FOTL rides on all rides that participate in Express pass for your entire stay. I have a feeling WWOHP will be wall to walll, capacity, "OMG Get me out of here" busy, but I feel like the rest of the park will just be plain "Busy". Once WWOHP reaches capacity the rest of the park and US tends to fill up substantially. If you stay onsite you will get an hour yearly entry into WWOHP also, VERY worth it! Take advantage of this- you will get on rides with 20-30 minute waits versus 120min later in the day. Also staying onsite you can shop early in the morning when the shops are quieter and have it sent back ot the room.

Also, what are park hours usually like for the T-giving weekend? We'll be at Universal Friday through Sunday of the holiday weekend.

This is my opinion not fact Ive never been at this time- I would imagine it will be full capacity times: 8AM-10 or 11PM at IOA and 8 or 9 to 9 or 10PM US.

Is three days with park-to-park tickets enough to see the highlights at a busy time of year? We're most interested in Harry Potter and the Marvel attractions for my older kids (9 & 13) and the Dr Seuss area for the baby (2).

Yes, I would say if you are staying on site you will have plenty of time to see and do everything even moving at a slower pace than what you can usually do at WDW. I generally say 1 1/2 days for both at minimum... but I only go at slow times (september/oct/early march).

How does the priority seating benefit work? At which Citywalk restaurants is it valid? How long of a walk is it from the parks to Citywalk? Close enough to grab lunch there rather than in the park?

No idea about seating. Parks to city walk isn't far at all.. its circled around a big lake, pond, lagoon whatever you want ot call it. The most annoying part is not having a walk through. I would say its no longer than the distance from the parking lot at DTD to Rainforest Cafe. But that really depends where you are coming from. If you're coming from HRH you will only have a 5-10 minute walk.

And finally (for now) is Universal's parent swap as easy as Disney's? How, exactly, does it work? Is it like Disney, where the older kids can ride with both parents, or like some other parks where the second parent to ride is the only one allowed to 'skip' the standby line?

I've never done this, so I will leave it to someone else.

TIA for having the patience with all mu newb questions.

We love questions! Keep em coming! Answers are above in bold.