Please help me plan a day at universal

[slickpoetry]

I am in the midst of planning a week at WDW, and all of a sudden my wife wants us to go to Universal for a day. This is like throwing a wrench in my plans


Our party consists of me, my wife, 5 year old boy, 2 year old girl, and my mother and father-in-law. To fit things in around my Disney itinerary, I figure we have to go to Universal on Friday, October 17. The bad thing about this is we are doing Disney's Halloween Party the night before, so getting up too early will be difficult.

How busy are Fridays in October? How long are the lines? I don't want to pay the extra for express passes, so we will be in the regular lines.

We're not interested in the Harry Potter area. We are hoping to hit the following rides:

Original Park, to be done in the morning: Despicable Me, Simpsons Ride, Twirl and Hurl, E.T., and the kiddie rides in the Woody Woodpecker Zone

Islands of Adventure, to be done in afternoon/evening:all the kiddie rides in Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Pteranodon Flyers, Ripsaw Falls, Bilge-rat barges. If there's time, the adults would like to go on the Hulk coaster.


Will this be possible, given line conditions?


Also, is there a smartphone app to monitor wait times for Universal?

 

[kierstenindisney]

Wait times generally for Universal are shorter than disney. Your plan sounds fine to me, and universal is definitely doable in a day if you know what you want to do and where to go. I'd recommend going to despicable me first thing in the morning as that ride usually has long wait times. I have the universal orlando wait times app and it is accurate and easy to maneuver.

 

[Metro West]

How busy are Fridays in October? How long are the lines? I don't want to pay the extra for express passes, so we will be in the regular lines.

We're not interested in the Harry Potter area. We are hoping to hit the following rides:

Original Park, to be done in the morning: Despicable Me, Simpsons Ride, Twirl and Hurl, E.T., and the kiddie rides in the Woody Woodpecker Zone

Islands of Adventure, to be done in afternoon/evening:all the kiddie rides in Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Pteranodon Flyers, Ripsaw Falls, Bilge-rat barges. If there's time, the adults would like to go on the Hulk coaster.


Will this be possible, given line conditions?

October lines have been pretty short in the past but Diagon Alley will be open by then and crowds should increase. I don't think it will be unmanageable but the park will be more crowded than in years past. Plus it's a good thing you are doing the Studios first...Halloween Horror Nights forces a 5pm close at the Studios so you won't be affected. I don't think you will have any issues doing all those attractions...avoiding the HP sections will be the key.

You will want to do Despicable Me first thing...the line stays long all day and if you wait, you could have a 60+ minute wait on your hands.

I don't use a smartphone so I can't help you with an app.

 

[slickpoetry]

Thanks for replying!

 

[missangelalexis]

I did both parks in one day this past October with no problem. Given the rides you want to do, you should have no problem either

However you really should try your best to get there at park opening, specifically for Despicable Me. The wait time for that ride increases really fast because it's such a slow loader. We got there right at park opening and headed straight there and it still took about 15 minutes to get on, and that wait time only increased throughout the day.

 

[rowan555]

While you're near Pteranadon Flyers, check the wait time for the Dragon coasters - the lines are generally MUCH shorter than the lines for Hulk, so you could easily add this to your itinerary, and then if the Hulk lines are too long, you got to at least ride one really great coaster (or two if you do both of the Dragon tracks).

There's an app for Universal Wait Times in the google play store - I'm sure it's available for iOS as well. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it's cool to check every now and then as I await our trip!

 

[slickpoetry]

While you're near Pteranadon Flyers, check the wait time for the Dragon coasters - the lines are generally MUCH shorter than the lines for Hulk, so you could easily add this to your itinerary, and then if the Hulk lines are too long, you got to at least ride one really great coaster (or two if you do both of the Dragon tracks).

There's an app for Universal Wait Times in the google play store - I'm sure it's available for iOS as well. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it's cool to check every now and then as I await our trip!

great tips, thanks!