September advice

[MyThreeKids123]

We are going for our first visit to Orlando the week of Sept. 18. We are planning to stay onsite at Disney since they have the free dining promo, but we will visit universal for a day or two. My kids aren't tall enough for any of the major attractions, but we really want to visit the WWOHP. Is it worth it to stay onsite at universal during this time, or will we be ok offsite? I would love all the benefits of staying onsite at universal, but the thought of having to pack up and move with three kids seems like a headache. Any advice?

Thanks

 

[mesaboy2]

I don't think you need to stay onsite. Crowds in mid-September should be very manageable.

 

[Dobbee69]

We stayed at WDW last September and took a taxi over to Universal and did both parks in one day. Crowds were not bad at all. The busy place was Harry Potter. I would not stay on sight

 

[macraven]

for the times i went in september, i never had issues with crowds.

you'll cover a lot of park in that month.

 

[tinkerbell555]

I am so glad you asked this question our situation is very similar. We are thinking of doing the same thing. We have 4 children with us and we are doing the free dining at disney. First trip to universal mainly for harry. We really can' t afford to do 2 rooms onsite at universal, so hopefully it wont be too busy. How far away is universal from pop century?

 

[mesaboy2]

I am so glad you asked this question our situation is very similar. We are thinking of doing the same thing. We have 4 children with us and we are doing the free dining at disney. First trip to universal mainly for harry. We really can' t afford to do 2 rooms onsite at universal, so hopefully it wont be too busy. How far away is universal from pop century?

A 10- to 15-minute drive up I-4 with no traffic.

 

[snoope]

We stayed at WDW last September and took a taxi over to Universal and did both parks in one day. Crowds were not bad at all. The busy place was Harry Potter. I would not stay on sight

We did the exact same thing last September.

 

[snoope]

A 10- to 15-minute drive up I-4 with no traffic.

Which equals about $35 from Pop each way. Also the added value of being dropped off right in front of the main entrance without going through the parking garage. The taxi drop off/pick up is very conveniently located.

 

[Disneybound!!]

Jumping in to ask another question: If you want to take a taxi back to Disney property, are they waiting for you at IOA/Universal or would I need to call one? Thanks!

 

[macraven]

they are waiting...


if you end the day by dining at one of the three hotels, valet can call a cab for you from there to be picked up.

but it is cheaper to catch the cab at the taxi stand.
drop off section to the park.

 

[Disneybound!!]

they are waiting...


if you end the day by dining at one of the three hotels, valet can call a cab for you from there to be picked up.

but it is cheaper to catch the cab at the taxi stand.
drop off section to the park.

Thanks Macraven! I really appreciate all of your tips and help!

 

[macraven]

thanx, i'm glad i can help.


btw, i like your cat siggie.......

 

[doggydoc]

Resurrecting this thread.
DD and I will be @ WDW Sept. 10-20th and planning on at least 3 days at US. DD is a serious thrill seeker and will no doubt insist on riding the headliners (esp. Hulk, Dragon Challenge etc.). Because our time at US will be limited I had considered the VIP passes however the the new 3 park unlimited pass seems like such a great deal. Unfortunately by the time we bought Express passes for 3-4 days the cost approaches the level of VIP so I thinking of passing on those as well. My question is about specific estimates on wait times for the BIG rides. She is not a Potter fan so FJ is not an issue but she's sure to want to ride the others multiple times. What kind of wait times are we looking at in the afternoons on these rides? For the $250 difference in price for VIP I'm thinking it would have to be longer than 30-45 minutes to make it worthwhile.

 

[macraven]

Resurrecting this thread.
DD and I will be @ WDW Sept. 10-20th and planning on at least 3 days at US. DD is a serious thrill seeker and will no doubt insist on riding the headliners (esp. Hulk, Dragon Challenge etc.). Because our time at US will be limited I had considered the VIP passes however the the new 3 park unlimited pass seems like such a great deal. Unfortunately by the time we bought Express passes for 3-4 days the cost approaches the level of VIP so I thinking of passing on those as well. My question is about specific estimates on wait times for the BIG rides. She is not a Potter fan so FJ is not an issue but she's sure to want to ride the others multiple times. What kind of wait times are we looking at in the afternoons on these rides? For the $250 difference in price for VIP I'm thinking it would have to be longer than 30-45 minutes to make it worthwhile.

if you do a VIP tour, which is different from what you asked, your tour guide will take you to the front of lines for ride.
that is how it is for rides but for parry hotter, i don't know if it works the same way for FJ.


i'm not sure if i am following your question correctly but i think you are asking also about the wait times for rides.

if you buy the express passes, you can use the express lines.
(FJ does not have an express line at all.)

if you buy the other vip passes, you still use the express lines over and over.

the time period you are going is not usually a crowded time period.
potter will always have its crowds.
the rest of ioa will be very easy to do.

wait to buy the express passes once you are at the park.
if you find the waits are about 10-5 minutes, you won't necessarily need them.

the express passes are non refundable.
if the crowds are low, which weekdays usually are, you won't need the epp.
if it rains, the park thins out quickly.

buy the epp when you are in the park at guest services if you encounter long lines of 30 minutes for the big rides. spidey, hulk, etc.

dragon challenge, which i still refer to dueling dragons , has not had long waits at all.
homies have reported on threads recently only about a 5 - 10 minutes wait to get on the ride.

 

[doggydoc]

Sorry if my rambling didn't make sense. Your answer was very informative despite this, thank you. I think we will go with the 3-day unlimited and if things get too crowded we'll get the express passes for one day only. The VIP tickets sound really cool but I just can't justify them if crowds are going to be that low.

I'm not sure if the news about Dragon Challenge is good or bad. I'm not a big coaster person and if the lines are that short I imagine we'll be riding it over and over again.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Most major rides, with the exception of Forbidden Journey and Rockit, will rarely be more than 30 min at any given time of any day in mid-Sept.