Reasonable to cover all of this in one day?

[ladybugx]

My sister and I cannot afford to spring for two days at this time, but we wanted to do something fun we'd both really enjoy before we start back at school. We originally were just going to do one park since we've already seen Hogsmeade, but the Hogwarts Express sounds too awesome to pass up. Plus, I never really experienced Forbidden Journey because I felt sick and closed my eyes most of the ride last time.

We're going this Saturday (the 10th). Crowd calenders show the expected levels to be somewhere between slow and moderate depending on the calendar. These are the attractions we absolutely want to be able to hit:

Escape from Gringotts
Hogwarts Express (both ways)
Lunch or dinner, depending on when we get hungry, at Three Broomsticks
Forbidden Journey
Dragon Challenge
E.T.
Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls
Jurassic Park River Adventure
Men in Black
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Revenge of the Mummy (I might wander off and do something else. I could strongly do without...she can't).

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (She really wants to do this but has said that if we absolutely *have* to pass it up due to the consistent long waits the app is showing, she'll survive).

We'd also love to see one or two of the shows in WWoHP plus a Beetlejuice show, if they're even doing them at this time of year, but we recognize we likely have to skip the shows in the interest of time.

 

[mhake01]

Could definitely be possible. You might have to sacrifice a few things due to FJ, despicable me and Gringotts all probably being over hour wait times depending on when you decide to ride the rides, but as long as you get there at rope drop and stay till close it could be done.

 

[ladybugx]

Could definitely be possible. You might have to sacrifice a few things due to FJ, despicable me and Gringotts all probably being over hour wait times depending on when you decide to ride the rides, but as long as you get there at rope drop and stay till close it could be done.

Thanks! Our plan is to head over to Gringotts first thing once the park opens (to non-early-admissioners) to hopefully get the shortest possible wait.

 

[damo]

I think you might be pushing it a bit. Be prepared to leave off a few things. Saturdays are pretty busy and this will be the first Saturday that the black out is lifted for Power Pass holders since the Christmas break.

 

[Pembo]

Plan to use the single rider line at MIB, Mummy, Gringotts and FJ - that will help your time!

 

[ladybugx]

Plan to use the single rider line at MIB, Mummy, Gringotts and FJ - that will help your time!

I will have to remember this! I think Gringotts we strongly want to do together and FJ if we can find a time when the wait isn't too long, but everything else, I at least couldn't care less. *I* don't even really want to do Mummy or MIB. She swears MIB is a must-do (I've never been on it), and I'm scared of Mummy haha.

 

[damo]

I will have to remember this! I think Gringotts we strongly want to do together and FJ if we can find a time when the wait isn't too long, but everything else, I at least couldn't care less. *I* don't even really want to do Mummy or MIB. She swears MIB is a must-do (I've never been on it), and I'm scared of Mummy haha.

The Mummy is actually quite mild. If you can do Big Thunder Mountain, you can do the Mummy.

 

[ladybugx]

The Mummy is actually quite mild. If you can do Big Thunder Mountain, you can do the Mummy.

It's moreso the theme of the ride than the roller coaster aspect that I don't like. I don't like things designed to spook me. I'll survive it if I go on, though.

 

[starousse]

My sister and I cannot afford to spring for two days at this time, but we wanted to do something fun we'd both really enjoy before we start back at school. We originally were just going to do one park since we've already seen Hogsmeade, but the Hogwarts Express sounds too awesome to pass up. Plus, I never really experienced Forbidden Journey because I felt sick and closed my eyes most of the ride last time.

We're going this Saturday (the 10th). Crowd calenders show the expected levels to be somewhere between slow and moderate depending on the calendar. These are the attractions we absolutely want to be able to hit:

Escape from Gringotts
Hogwarts Express (both ways)
Lunch or dinner, depending on when we get hungry, at Three Broomsticks
Forbidden Journey
Dragon Challenge
E.T.
Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls
Jurassic Park River Adventure
Men in Black
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Revenge of the Mummy (I might wander off and do something else. I could strongly do without...she can't).

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (She really wants to do this but has said that if we absolutely *have* to pass it up due to the consistent long waits the app is showing, she'll survive).

We'd also love to see one or two of the shows in WWoHP plus a Beetlejuice show, if they're even doing them at this time of year, but we recognize we likely have to skip the shows in the interest of time.

So funny, my family wants to branch out and do one day at Universal/IOA when we go to Disney in August. I just wrote a list of what I'd like to hit in that day and you're list is identical to mine. I'm hoping if we get there early enough and stay till closing, it can be done. Good luck!!!!

 

[starousse]

.

 

[Momw/aplan]

I don't know if you've done Dudley Dooright or Jurasic Park before, but one thing to keep in mind is that you will likely get completely drenched on them. So you might want to either skip those or at least time them so you're not soaked right before you want to eat in a restaurant. Might make for an uncomfortable meal. We usually save the water rides for one afternoon when we'll plan on being wet. If I were going for only one day, hoping to eat in restaurants, I'd probably skip them.

 

[ladybugx]

We brought ponchos for the water rides. However, we bought them at Dollar Tree, and they wound up being kind of...inadequate. They worked out alright for Jurassic Park, but we opted to skip Dudley Do Rights. The ponchos wound up being pretty small and short, so there wasn't any space to slip my bag underneath mine. I was able to keep my camera safe by slipping it under my jacket on Jurassic Park, but I have ridden Dudley Do Rights in the past and am aware you get MUCH wetter on that ride. We didn't want to rent a locker for that one ride. Plus, IoA closed before US, so we couldn't time it to make it our last ride before we left the park and take turns holding one another's stuff. I didn't want to walk around with soaking wet pants for an hour once IoA closed (my poncho only reached to about my knees, and I'm 5 feet tall! I'm not thin, but I'm not that large around either. Beware of Dollar Tree ponchos lol). I'll bring a better poncho next time!

As for our plan, we pretty much hit everything, some things multiple times, except for Despicable Me and the Beetlejuice Show. Our plans got a little messed up because of Gringotts being down half of the day and a nightmare with the scheduling of our hotel's shuttle, though. If it weren't for those two things, we probably would have gotten DM in too. That said, we rode single rider for a lot of things.

 

[johde]

I happened to be there that day. Gringotts I don't think opened until between 1:00 - 2:00. I didn't park hop I started at 8:45 at Despicable Me (I had early entry but slept in some) and was able to hit HRRR, ROTM, Transformers, and MIB in short order before finding out the Gringotts was still closed.

 

[ladybugx]

When the park opened for regular entry, I remember seeing that DM had something like a 10-minute wait. Had we known Gringotts was down and that the line for DM would grow rapidly from that point on, it would have made most sense to hit DM first. Not sure if things normally play out like that, but it might be wise for anyone who wants to hit DM to try to get to it first. Maybe. It's hard for me to say because I haven't experienced what the crowd distribution looks like when Gringotts is operating normally in the morning.

Gringotts being down for so many hours was SUCH a bummer! I overheard a TM tell a group of guests that the ride might not open at all that day, and I was really upset considering I came primarily for HP.

 

[johde]

Yes, Despicable Me, is the "Peter Pan" of Universal. Capacity is low enough that lines build quickly even on the slowest of days. It is not uncommon for it to have the longest wait in the park surpassing several of the headliners. Even the express line can take some time.

I was at Universal for parts of 6 days between January 2nd and the 11th and that Saturday was the only day with significant downtime for Gringotts. So, the ride is getting better reliability wise. But, it's still not perfect. That's a risk anyone planning a single day has.

 

[bumbershoot]

We brought ponchos for the water rides. However, we bought them at Dollar Tree, and they wound up being kind of...inadequate.

FWIW we have fancy ponchos and Dudley and the Rafts make it as though we weren't wearing them at all.

For the water rides at Uni, even if we wear ponchos, we make sure we're wearing flip flops, clothes that are either quick dry (including unders!) or that we are changing out of. Even if it's the last set of rides for the day, the walk out of the park and to the resort (or to the boat) or to the parking garage is a long, chafey walk.

 

[ladybugx]

FWIW we have fancy ponchos and Dudley and the Rafts make it as though we weren't wearing them at all.

For the water rides at Uni, even if we wear ponchos, we make sure we're wearing flip flops, clothes that are either quick dry (including unders!) or that we are changing out of. Even if it's the last set of rides for the day, the walk out of the park and to the resort (or to the boat) or to the parking garage is a long, chafey walk.

Yikes! The last time I rode Dudley Do Rights, I was wearing a maxi dress that dried remarkably quickly, so despite getting soaked and it being a chilly January night, it never seemed that terrible to me. I will keep that in mind and plan my next ride accordingly.