The good news is that we are coming before the Christmas crowds and the unofficial guide gives our day a crowd level 2 our of 10. We're mostly going to see the HP stuff. Anyway too, I subscribed to touring plans to get tips on a one day strategy.
My questions are, has anyone else used touring plans and if so what did you think of their advice? We think they are good for WDW parks, but never tried them for Universal.
And next all you Universal experts out there, what do you think overall of this strategy that I'm going to describe below for offsite visitors ages 19 and up who are going on a low crowd day and are not purchasing the express pass?
The advice seem to be:
(1) start at Universal and hit all the regular stuff you are interested in first (don't go for Gringott's first thing with all the early onsite entry people) And all the other things we are interested in (six or so) all with this have predicted wait times of 16 minutes and less (practically walk on for a lot). The lines for those other things a different plan are a lot longer later in the day from touring plan projections.
(2) Take the train over and do coasters, attractions of interest, and of course, Forbidden Journey // Projections are walk on for everything except Forbidden Journey, and wait is projected to be only 21 minutes for that, not bad at all.
(3) Now take the train back and hit Gringotts and Diagon Alley (We'll have a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and then do this.) And the wait time for Gringotts is only projected to be 22 minutes (about the same as if we went over there first thing in the morning.)
Sounds pretty good. Gringotts is my only concern. It's of major interest to us, and we wouldn't be hitting it till 2 p.m. or so, and I hear it breaks down a lot. // We would though with our plan be done with everything of interest by 4 p.m. or so, and the park is open till 8, so that gives us up to four hours if Gringotts is broken down if we want to try it again, repeat anything, or add anything to the list. // It looks, though, like we'll finish up with everything we want to do around 4 though. Perfect because many in our party have no interest in Universal / IOA at all, will be doing a resort day instead, and it would be really nice to have dinner / visit hang out with them in the evening (Relatives I love hanging with who don't live in the same state that I do and who I don't get to see all that often). // This low crowd time looks great! First time we can hit parks at a lower crowd time -- DS's college finals finish up pretty early meaning we are in and out before the start of Christmas week.
Anyway, curious about your thoughts on this strategy.
My questions are, has anyone else used touring plans and if so what did you think of their advice? We think they are good for WDW parks, but never tried them for Universal.
And next all you Universal experts out there, what do you think overall of this strategy that I'm going to describe below for offsite visitors ages 19 and up who are going on a low crowd day and are not purchasing the express pass?
The advice seem to be:
(1) start at Universal and hit all the regular stuff you are interested in first (don't go for Gringott's first thing with all the early onsite entry people) And all the other things we are interested in (six or so) all with this have predicted wait times of 16 minutes and less (practically walk on for a lot). The lines for those other things a different plan are a lot longer later in the day from touring plan projections.
(2) Take the train over and do coasters, attractions of interest, and of course, Forbidden Journey // Projections are walk on for everything except Forbidden Journey, and wait is projected to be only 21 minutes for that, not bad at all.
(3) Now take the train back and hit Gringotts and Diagon Alley (We'll have a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and then do this.) And the wait time for Gringotts is only projected to be 22 minutes (about the same as if we went over there first thing in the morning.)
Sounds pretty good. Gringotts is my only concern. It's of major interest to us, and we wouldn't be hitting it till 2 p.m. or so, and I hear it breaks down a lot. // We would though with our plan be done with everything of interest by 4 p.m. or so, and the park is open till 8, so that gives us up to four hours if Gringotts is broken down if we want to try it again, repeat anything, or add anything to the list. // It looks, though, like we'll finish up with everything we want to do around 4 though. Perfect because many in our party have no interest in Universal / IOA at all, will be doing a resort day instead, and it would be really nice to have dinner / visit hang out with them in the evening (Relatives I love hanging with who don't live in the same state that I do and who I don't get to see all that often). // This low crowd time looks great! First time we can hit parks at a lower crowd time -- DS's college finals finish up pretty early meaning we are in and out before the start of Christmas week.
Anyway, curious about your thoughts on this strategy.
