Our touring plan ?

[Libertyke]

Hello everybody! I’m new here, and I registered because I have a few questions for our upcoming trip in October (our = me and my best friend)

We will visit both Universal & Disney, and do a self-drive tour in Florida.
Due to limited time, we will only spend one day at Universal, so we’re trying to come up with a good touring plan for this day.
We will be going to Universal Resort Orlando on Tuesday 18th October.

I think we are lucky in one way, because we’re not huge fans of rollercoasters and simulators (motion sickness…), so we will be skipping those, and that will save us time I guess.

Our main goal is to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure.

Our plan was to start with WWOHP, but then I started reading (bought some books about Universal etc), and they say that even if you are there before opening-time, there’s a possibility that you have to stand in line (for a long time) just to enter WWOHP.
Since we only have one day, we would love to avoid that, so here’s my question :

Would it be a good idea if we started with Universal Studios, stay there until around noon & then head over to Islands of Adventure ?
I noticed IOA is open an hour later then US, so that would be a good thing.
We want to do some stuff over at IOA too (Jurassic Park, Lost Continent, …), and then we would head over to WWOHP, guessing somewhere around 4 or 5 pm.
Will we still have to stand in line to enter WWOHP, or should we be able to walk right in?
We’re not going to ride the Forbidden Journey, but we do want to do the castle tour.

Does this look like a good plan, or absolutely not ?

Thanks in advance for all sorts of advice, tips, … !

 

[mesaboy2]

I think you'll have no problems entering WWoHP at any time of day on a Tuesday in mid-October. That guidebook is wrong as well, at least on the point of having to wait to enter even before park open. That may have been true the first week or two of WWoHP last summer, but I've not heard of that since.

I don't see any reason why your plan won't work. Just watch your clocks and don't wait too long before heading over to IoA.

to the boards!

 

[purple hippo]

We too are going to US/IOA in October, however we have a 3 day pass, but I do have smaller children (6 &8). We will be there Oct 24-26 so my current plan is US on Monday, IOA on Tuesday and probably a bit of both on Wednesday.

We hate lining up for long periods of time. We are not roller coaster people either, but would do the Hippogrith if the kids wanted. For our IOA day I thought we would arrive for park opening, but instead of rushing to WWOHP we would head left to Marvel and start with Spider Man, then work our way around. My second thought was to go straight to Jurassic Park (kids are big fans) and then work towards Marvel and then Seuss, etc. What do you think? I figure if we didn't get a chance to do WWOHP on the Tuesday we could do the mad dash on Wednesday morning. My only problem with doing Marvel first thing is we would want to do Popeye and Dudley, however a late October morning may not be the best time to do water rides with the little ones. What do you think? What would you change? Does anyone know if they still have the boat taxi to take you from Port of Entry to Jurassic Park?
Thanks!!!

 

[macraven]

libertke, hello and welcome !!


i pulled up the october calendar and saw the dates for October 18th, Tuesday.



you have been told by other posters to park hop in order to see all the sites in both parks.
very good idea but there is a catch.

for the date you plan to be in the parks, the studio side will close at 6:00 pm and IOA will close at 7:00.

if you start at IOA and hop to the studio side around 4-5:00, you will not be able to catch everything you want.


ps..........watch the show, Horror Make Up Show at the studios side.
it is very cute and entertaining.....


by the way, i love Belgium.

 

[macraven]

We too are going to US/IOA in October, however we have a 3 day pass, but I do have smaller children (6 &8). We will be there Oct 24-26 so my current plan is US on Monday, IOA on Tuesday and probably a bit of both on Wednesday.

do not miss Seussland.........i am an adult and spend a long time there.
i see lots of families and littles in that section all having fun.

We hate lining up for long periods of time. We are not roller coaster people either, but would do the Hippogrith if the kids wanted. if you are staying onsite, you can use your hotel card for the express line.

For our IOA day I thought we would arrive for park opening, but instead of rushing to WWOHP we would head left to Marvel and start with Spider Man, then work our way around. My second thought was to go straight to Jurassic Park (kids are big fans) and then work towards Marvel and then Seuss, etc. What do you think?

good plan if you are staying off site.
if onsite, only the parry hotter section will be open the hour prior to the official opening time of the park.
go with the plan you have listed.
that way seuss land will not be as congested with people walking through it later in the morning to heat to potter.

check the opening time for Jurassic Park when you arrive at the hotel.
park guide maps will be in your room. I don't know if JP opens at 9:00 when the park does, not sure if it has a delay opening.

I figure if we didn't get a chance to do WWOHP on the Tuesday we could do the mad dash on Wednesday morning.

My only problem with doing Marvel first thing is we would want to do Popeye and Dudley, however a late October morning may not be the best time to do water rides with the little ones. What do you think?

take a set of dry clothes with you if you decide to do the water rides.

this is one thing you will have to wait and see in order to make a decision on your plan.

it will be based on weather on what you do.

What would you change? Does anyone know if they still have the boat taxi to take you from Port of Entry to Jurassic Park?
water taxis travel from the hotels to city walk only.
Thanks!!!

try to work in some of the shows for the littles.
it is something the entire family can enjoy and take pictures of the shows.

don't laugh but the barney show is cute.
do the woodpecker play area.
do the animal planet show, live animals and cute.
do the ET ride.
these are at the studio side.

take in sinbad show at ioa.
it is an acrobatic show with a story line.

those are my thoughts on your questions.

hopefully others will post so you have a better idea of making your choices.

be sure to get new park maps when you enter the parks.
they change each week.

you can find information on character meet and greets, when the fantastic four arrive in the spidey area each day, show times, etc.

 

[purple hippo]

Thanks for your help macraven! It's been 10 (long) years since I have been to US/IOA and certainly didn't have kiddies then. Thanks again!!!

 

[macraven]

 

[jillymom8]

Does any have any suggestions? we are surprising my daughter for her 10th bday . She really wants to go to WWOHP we are staying off site. Plan to get there for what ever time they open 10-7 & 10-8. If there are really long lines my only concern is my 5 yr son is diabetic and needs to eat meals & snacks at certain times. Does anyone have a plan that could get her on the Harry rides with out waiting hours? or any other Universal tips. Last time I was there was 1997 for our honeymoon. things have changed so much.

 

[mesaboy2]

Does any have any suggestions? we are surprising my daughter for her 10th bday . She really wants to go to WWOHP we are staying off site. Plan to get there for what ever time they open 10-7 & 10-8. If there are really long lines my only concern is my 5 yr son is diabetic and needs to eat meals & snacks at certain times. Does anyone have a plan that could get her on the Harry rides with out waiting hours? or any other Universal tips. Last time I was there was 1997 for our honeymoon. things have changed so much.

Your best chance is to go to WWoHP very first thing or late in the day. The middle of the day is the worst. That said, the first week of October should really be pretty manageable crowd-wise.

 

[macraven]

Does any have any suggestions? we are surprising my daughter for her 10th bday . She really wants to go to WWOHP we are staying off site. Plan to get there for what ever time they open 10-7 & 10-8. If there are really long lines my only concern is my 5 yr son is diabetic and needs to eat meals & snacks at certain times. Does anyone have a plan that could get her on the Harry rides with out waiting hours? or any other Universal tips. Last time I was there was 1997 for our honeymoon. things have changed so much.

the park will open before 10 in the morning.
i was gonna piggyback on mesa boys answer as he is right on target but wanted to reply to a few other questions you posed.

carry snacks with you in your pockets.
look at the park map online so you know what food stands are nearby.
you might have a situation of needing something fast if you don't have snacks with you.
if you buy snacks/meals, are you aware of the foods at the park he would not be able to tolerate with his diabetic diet?
if not, check with guest services for help with that. they will give you a number to call to talk to the person in charge of food services.

i would suggest going on a weekday of m-th.
ioa closes at 7
the studios close at 5 on hhn nights.