Planning one day at Universal

[JasmineClermont]

So my boyfriend and I are going at universal on august 12(monday), we are staying at port orleans riverside in Disney and we will be taking mears transport to and from universal.

We are planning to go there for the wizardong world of jarry potter.

I'd like to know, is one day too much to visit WWoHP? How should we plan our day? The park opens at 9, is it important to be there at ropde drop?

As for eating, is the meal deal worth it considering there is no counter in WWoHP? Otherwise, how much should I budget for eating?

Also do you have any other tips to make the most out of our day? I've never been there

Jasmine

 

[momto3pirates]

So my boyfriend and I are going at universal on august 12(monday), we are staying at port orleans riverside in Disney and we will be taking mears transport to and from universal.

We are planning to go there for the wizardong world of jarry potter.

I'd like to know, is one day too much to visit WWoHP? How should we plan our day? The park opens at 9, is it important to be there at ropde drop?

As for eating, is the meal deal worth it considering there is no counter in WWoHP? Otherwise, how much should I budget for eating?

Also do you have any other tips to make the most out of our day? I've never been there

Jasmine

Are you only going to be visiting WWoHP or do you want to see the rest of the park? WW is only a very small part of IOA. There are a lot of other amazing rides and shows. If you get there at opening you can get through WW and still have plenty of time to check out the rest of the park. WWoHP gets crowded early so I would plan on coming early. I would not get the meal deal as it is very limited to where you can eat.

 

[JasmineClermont]

Are you only going to be visiting WWoHP or do you want to see the rest of the park? WW is only a very small part of IOA. There are a lot of other amazing rides and shows. If you get there at opening you can get through WW and still have plenty of time to check out the rest of the park. WWoHP gets crowded early so I would plan on coming early. I would not get the meal deal as it is very limited to where you can eat.

We are going to universal mainly for WWoHP because we are huge fans of HP, and I don't know hoe big it os, if you say it will tale only part of the day, how much time do you think we should plan in the park if we wantto see everything in the world?

As for eating, we will need to eat breakfast (or at least a snack) lunch and dinner, if you say the meal deal is not worth it, we would then consider having breakfast( or snack) and lunch at IoA and dinner at citywalk after park clisure ( 9) that way we could get most of our day and end it with a relaxing sit down restaurant. Do you habe any places to recommend for our 3 meals? We are kind of on a budget so we won't be splurging too much.

Oh and thanks for the post!

 

[ginnygi]

Just some friendly information. We took a cab to IoA. It was $30 each way. I found it very convenient and inexpensive. Cabs are always available at the front of the hotel lobby.

IoA has lots of fun stuff other than WWoHP. I think your boyfriend would like Spiderman ride! We went in February and only spent 6 hours and did everything in park, but that was with MUCH smaller crowds so I couldnt say about August.

 

[JasmineClermont]

Just some friendly information. We took a cab to IoA. It was $30 each way. I found it very convenient and inexpensive. Cabs are always available at the front of the hotel lobby.

IoA has lots of fun stuff other than WWoHP. I think your boyfriend would like Spiderman ride! We went in February and only spent 6 hours and did everything in park, but that was with MUCH smaller crowds so I couldnt say about August.

For the transport i found about mears transport who charges $19/p roundtrip, all i have to do is call the evening before. The schedule is from 7 to 10 to go to uni and hourly from 3:15 pm to 2:15 am

As for the crowds, it'll be on a monday so hopefully less people. Do you have any clue about the crowd level in august? You're scraring me a little bit!

The 6h it took you is for IoA or only WWoHP?

 

[momto3pirates]

WWoHP is actually very small. It only has 3 rides. There are a lot of shops and tons of stuff to look at. If you get there early you will only need a couple of hours. The wait for FJ will get long quickly so get it done first. I recommend trying the Butterbeer (frozen) and Pumpkin Juice.

My family always grabs breakfast in the room, so I'm no help with that. Mythos is one of the top rated theme park restaurants and it is in IOA near WWoHP. We usually eat a small lunch, then head over to CityWalk for dinner. There are some great restaurants there as well.

If you are thrill ride types, definitely check out the rest of IOA. Watch out for Dudley Do-right though. I have never been so drenched on a ride as I was on that one. We looked like we had jumped in a pool.
Have fun!!

 

[macraven]

For the transport i found about mears transport who charges $19/p roundtrip, all i have to do is call the evening before. The schedule is from 7 to 10 to go to uni and hourly from 3:15 pm to 2:15 am

As for the crowds, it'll be on a monday so hopefully less people. Do you have any clue about the crowd level in august? You're scraring me a little bit!

The 6h it took you is for IoA or only WWoHP?

it will be crowded.
you are going during the summer vacation period.

be at ioa before it opens to the public at 9:00.

there will already be others in the parry hotter section as hotel guests recieve early entry to potter one hour prior to official park opening.

the meal deal is not your best way to go.
the eateries open for lunch at 11:00, no breakfast is included..

no beverages included, that is a separate promo or single charge.


use the single rider line for FJ if lines are long.

check out the www.universalorlando.com website for more info regarding the park.

read some of the threads in the forum for more info of what others have said about that section and time in the park.

hth!

 

[TheAviator]

Hmmm yeah there is a whole gigantic tremendous epic great park that surrounds Harry Potter called Islands of Adventure. Its not just Harry Potter. Harry POtter is just one in a ton of great things to do there. Its like going to Disney just to check out PIrates of the Caribbean, you will be pleasantly surprised there is so much to do. They have 2 parks, so normally you would want 2 days to check out the 2 parks, but 1 day will work for IOA.

 

[ChrisFL]

Hmmm yeah there is a whole gigantic tremendous epic great park that surrounds Harry Potter called Islands of Adventure. Its not just Harry Potter. Harry POtter is just one in a ton of great things to do there. Its like going to Disney just to check out PIrates of the Caribbean, you will be pleasantly surprised there is so much to do. They have 2 parks, so normally you would want 2 days to check out the 2 parks, but 1 day will work for IOA.

This!

 

[JasmineClermont]

Were should we go for breakfast then? 3 broomsticks? Or should we use use up some snack credit at disney to snack n and just eat lunch and dinner there? Dining at city walk sounds like a good idea. For lunch then we would probably eat at three broomsticks or somewhere else. way time would be better.

I was afraid that with only ne day we wouldn't have time to explore all IoA, but if you tell me we have time, then I am more than happy!

 

[MommaBearof4]

We've had breakfast and lunch at The Three Broomsticks. Well worth the money, just for the experience, plus we enjoyed the food. Frozen butterbeer is better than liquid, but you my want to try both anyway. Cauldron cakes at Honeydukes are delicious. The all day dining is a good deal if you are going to eat a few times (more than 2 and i dont think any of the restaurants that except it serve breakfast) and you don't mind the fast food type food that comes with it. There is a bakery on the road just inside the gates called The Croissant Moon; Great pastries, breakfast sandwiches, sandwiches and desserts. We eat there a lot. Lighter fare than the burgers and chicken strips at most places.

Don't know if you plan to get the express pass, but you can't use it on Forbidden Journey or at Ollivander's. You can use it at Dragon Challenge, but the regular line has all kinds of interesting Potter things to look at. The express line does not. You can't take anything on Dragon Challenge, not cameras not drinks, but when we went the guy checking express passes told me to walk thru the regular line to get more pictures and then I just walked back out. Forbidden Journey is a walk thru as well. If your camera is small there is a little compartment in your seat that you can store it in, but nothing else can go on the ride. Both rides have free lockers you can use to store your backpack, etc. The Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddie ride, but you get a great view of The Wizarding World. You can use the express pass here, too.

There are several stores with awesome stuff. Ollivander's for the wand choosing is fabulous. Owl post, where you can buy stationary and have letters or postcards postmarked from Hogsmeade. Honeydukes and Zonkos.

There will be crowds, but if you are patient you can see it all and more of the park besides.

If it were me and I only had one day there, I would focus on the Wizarding World.

I would:

Eat at least 1 meal at The Three Broomsticks (preferably 2)
Get a drink at The Hog's Head in the souvenir mug
Get frozen butterbeer in the souvenir mug
Get a small glass of regular butterbeer, maybe with my meal
Get pumpkin juice
Get cauldron cakes
Get chocolate frogs
Go on the Forbidden Journey ride
Do the walk thru of Forbidden Journey and see how it changes
Do both sides of Dragon Challenge
Ride Flight of the Hippogriff
Go see the wand choosing at Ollivanders
Send a postcard via owl post(bring stamps. They only had souvenir stamps when we were there)
Check out the shops and buy loads of souvenirs( they have racing brooms for sale. $375 to ship to Canada)
Watch the durmstrang and beauxbatons dancers.
Take lots of pics

 

[TheAviator]

Were should we go for breakfast then? 3 broomsticks? Or should we use use up some snack credit at disney to snack n and just eat lunch and dinner there? Dining at city walk sounds like a good idea. For lunch then we would probably eat at three broomsticks or somewhere else. way time would be better.

I was afraid that with only ne day we wouldn't have time to explore all IoA, but if you tell me we have time, then I am more than happy!

Just so you know, Universal/IOA and City Walk have some of the best restaurants around. Mythos in IOA just outside of Harry Potter was voted the best theme park restaurant in the world I think several times by the theme park magazine, sorry I don't remember details. There are many choices you will have around the whole park and City Walk. There are also 3 hotels right there with great restaurants, that are just a walk away from IOA or a boat ride. You can take a boat from the parks to the 3 hotels that are right there, boat rides are like 5-10 minutes.

 

[JasmineClermont]

We've had breakfast and lunch at The Three Broomsticks. Well worth the money, just for the experience, plus we enjoyed the food. Frozen butterbeer is better than liquid, but you my want to try both anyway. Cauldron cakes at Honeydukes are delicious. The all day dining is a good deal if you are going to eat a few times (more than 2 and i dont think any of the restaurants that except it serve breakfast) and you don't mind the fast food type food that comes with it. There is a bakery on the road just inside the gates called The Croissant Moon; Great pastries, breakfast sandwiches, sandwiches and desserts. We eat there a lot. Lighter fare than the burgers and chicken strips at most places.

Don't know if you plan to get the express pass, but you can't use it on Forbidden Journey or at Ollivander's. You can use it at Dragon Challenge, but the regular line has all kinds of interesting Potter things to look at. The express line does not. You can't take anything on Dragon Challenge, not cameras not drinks, but when we went the guy checking express passes told me to walk thru the regular line to get more pictures and then I just walked back out. Forbidden Journey is a walk thru as well. If your camera is small there is a little compartment in your seat that you can store it in, but nothing else can go on the ride. Both rides have free lockers you can use to store your backpack, etc. The Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddie ride, but you get a great view of The Wizarding World. You can use the express pass here, too.

There are several stores with awesome stuff. Ollivander's for the wand choosing is fabulous. Owl post, where you can buy stationary and have letters or postcards postmarked from Hogsmeade. Honeydukes and Zonkos.

There will be crowds, but if you are patient you can see it all and more of the park besides.

If it were me and I only had one day there, I would focus on the Wizarding World.

I would:

Eat at least 1 meal at The Three Broomsticks (preferably 2)
Get a drink at The Hog's Head in the souvenir mug
Get frozen butterbeer in the souvenir mug
Get a small glass of regular butterbeer, maybe with my meal
Get pumpkin juice
Get cauldron cakes
Get chocolate frogs
Go on the Forbidden Journey ride
Do the walk thru of Forbidden Journey and see how it changes
Do both sides of Dragon Challenge
Ride Flight of the Hippogriff
Go see the wand choosing at Ollivanders
Send a postcard via owl post(bring stamps. They only had souvenir stamps when we were there)
Check out the shops and buy loads of souvenirs( they have racing brooms for sale. $375 to ship to Canada)
Watch the durmstrang and beauxbatons dancers.
Take lots of pics

Wow! so much info thanks! I will surely do a couple things on the list, and also after all your recommendation, I made a reservation a Mythos t 6:30, with I could've got it later though.

 

[RMulieri]

Mythos often closes well before the park does, so you did very well with a 630pm ressie

 

[JasmineClermont]

is there another good restaurant in IoA or city walk that closes later?

 

[RMulieri]

is there another good restaurant in IoA or city walk that closes later?

IOA restaurants often close well before the park does.Citywalk dining is open later..Margaritaville is good on Citywalk( they take ressies) .Bubba Gumps is good too(they don't take ressies though)

 

[paradesintherain]

I'm trying to plan a day there August 8! I'm prepared for it to be busy, but I can manage. Is it best to visit WWoHP during the morning, or does it calm down later in the evening?

Any other ride strategies I should know? I'm definitely interested in riding Jurassic Park and Spiderman.

 

[MommaBearof4]

is there another good restaurant in IoA or city walk that closes later?

Loads of restaurants on Citywalk. We booked reservations in advance our first visit, but the funny thing is the reservations desk kinda laughed at us. They said it wasn't necessary because there is rarely a wait. Most of the restaurants have their menus outside so you can walk around and decide what you want. The Hard Rock Cafe is a favourite of mine and my husband loves Bubba Gump. Both open late. Loads of other restaurants as well, but these are our 2 must dos

 

[Metro West]

I'm trying to plan a day there August 8! I'm prepared for it to be busy, but I can manage. Is it best to visit WWoHP during the morning, or does it calm down later in the evening?

Any other ride strategies I should know? I'm definitely interested in riding Jurassic Park and Spiderman.

Personally I think visiting HP in the evening is the way to go. It will still be busy but lots of early morning people will be gone by then and HP is incredible at night. If you go to other attractions first thing, there should be no lines...or lines that are very short. You can do Spiderman and JPRA w/o much issue. Then check on the HP lines throughout the day and if it's doable, you can jump over the hit HP too.

 

[TheAviator]

is there another good restaurant in IoA or city walk that closes later?

Help me out everybody, but doesn't the Jurassic Park restaurant stay open until the park closes? Its a good counter service, not Mythos, but its pretty good, much better than typical park food. And there is also Confisco Grill in Port of Entry, but I am not sure when it closes.

As someone else said, City Walk is just right there outside IOA, so you will have a ton of choices there, Margaritavilles is one of my favorites, although it is more casual dining, but great nachos and burgers.