Some last minute US/IOA questions

[mackeymouse4eva]

I am leaving next week and am a IOA newbie ( and its been a long time for US also )...I have a few random questions ( Im sure Ill think of more also !! ) :


1- Does the "haystack" dryers by the Bilge Rat Barges really work? Does it fit a small family of three? Any idea of cost? I would love to do the water rides and dont mind a little dampness but we will be at the parks from 8a-11pm and that could make for too many soggy hours! Of course we can bring changes of clothes also but we are TRYING to travel lighter than normal .


2- We are not overly prone to motion sickness but it appears that we will be on many rides manipulating us in multiple directions!!!! Is it a good idea to take a motion sickness tablet as a precaution?? Any parents with occassionally quesy kids that have been on these rides? If not overly sensitive - do they fair well? We do fine at Disney but Universal's simulator rides are better.

3- I think someone posted that some of the Christmas decorations are up already...Is Suess Landing decorated? Will the Grinch be out for a character interaction?

4- I previously also asked this question - but it doesnt hurt to ask for your opinions again.... We will be there on the VERY busy Thanksgiving weekend. Are we better off being there very early and then heading to US to do as much as possible prior to immense crowds and then heading to WWoHP later in the evening? Or going straight to WWoHP in the am and then tackling the rest of the parks. We will have Express passes. just trying to head off as many people as possible.



THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

 

[Tinkmom75]

I am leaving next week and am a IOA newbie ( and its been a long time for US also )...I have a few random questions ( Im sure Ill think of more also !! ) :


1- Does the "haystack" dryers by the Bilge Rat Barges really work? Does it fit a small family of three? Any idea of cost? I would love to do the water rides and dont mind a little dampness but we will be at the parks from 8a-11pm and that could make for too many soggy hours! Of course we can bring changes of clothes also but we are TRYING to travel lighter than normal .I do not know.


2- We are not overly prone to motion sickness but it appears that we will be on many rides manipulating us in multiple directions!!!! Is it a good idea to take a motion sickness tablet as a precaution?? Any parents with occassionally quesy kids that have been on these rides? If not overly sensitive - do they fair well? We do fine at Disney but Universal's simulator rides are better.I took motion sickness tablets at night and was fine. I also was just off a cruise. My friend did not take them and could only ride a couple rides. I have been in the past and have not taken motion sickness pills and had more problems. There are a ton of motion simulators at Universal and Islands.

3- I think someone posted that some of the Christmas decorations are up already...Is Suess Landing decorated? Will the Grinch be out for a character interaction? We were there on the 12th and 13th and a lot of decorations were up. Yes Suess Landing was decorated.

4- I previously also asked this question - but it doesnt hurt to ask for your opinions again.... We will be there on the VERY busy Thanksgiving weekend. Are we better off being there very early and then heading to US to do as much as possible prior to immense crowds and then heading to WWoHP later in the evening? Or going straight to WWoHP in the am and then tackling the rest of the parks. We will have Express passes. just trying to head off as many people as possible. Are you staying onsite with early entry? We stayed onsite and 80% or more of the hotel guests were in Harry potter at 8:00am. By 9:00am when the none hotel guests were let in the place was a mad house with over and hour wait to get into some stores. At 9:00am I just wanted out of that land. The rest of the park was pretty much dead. People were definitely there to see Harry Potter. If you are not staying onsite I think the end of the day would be best.



THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I hope you have fun. Harry Potter land is amazing.

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

Thank you soo much!!!! We are staying off-site and I'm starting to think that WWoHP is a bad idea first thing in the morning - between the resort early entry and the hoardes of people on Thanksgiving break, it would probably be best to hit as many non WWoHP attractions before the whole park is packed!

 

[Bradsdadg]

I can just tell you that we saw the full body dryers at Busch Gardens in Virginia. They were $5 per use. Not sure if they work that well or not, but there was a family in there trying it out.

I would take a motion pill just in case, especially if you are sensitive to that sort of thing.

I would do Harry Potter very first thing. The day we went it started getting very crowded around 10 and didn't let up until we left around 4.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[phamton]

The Grinch (the one that stars in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") won't be out until Dec. 4th which Grinchmas starts. The regular grinch will be around until then. The regular Grinch is one who wears fullbody costume (including the face and head) while the other Grinch is a "face" character.

I'm sorry that i don't know about the dryers.

Bonine or non-drowsy formula Dramamine is a great idea for adults and kids. Take it the night before.

I'd hit the Harry Potter area first. On a busy weekend like Thanksgiving, the crowds will never die down even in the evening.

 

[xApril]

Unless they raised the prices, the last time I looked at the dryers (sometime this summer) they were $5. I'm not sure if they work well, but I imagine they're nice and warm when you're cold. I'll be over there on Saturday, so I will try to make a mental note to confirm the $5 price.

I hope you have a great time!

 

[damo]

The dryers don't work very well. You aren't in there very long. Even if you put your wet clothing in the dryer at home for that length of time, they wouldn't dry.

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

Thank you all for your help and insight. I greatly appreciate it!!! I know we will have an amazing time no matter what happens crowd wise!!!

 

[Metro West]

I know we will have an amazing time no matter what happens crowd wise!!!

 

[coaster_addict]

The dryers can definitely fit 4-5 average sized people/kids, I'm not sure about the price. Most people leaving look as wet as when they went in lol!

Honestly as dorky as it may be if you want to go on the bilge barge and the other water rides in the cartoon area buy some cheap ponchos before the trip! Bilge barge is a fun ride, but you might as well have been swimming after you're done!

As for the motion sickness the spider man ride always gets me, but unless you're really sensitive Dramamine is probably not necessary though it couldn't hurt to have an emergency tablet on hand.

As of today Seuss landing was adorably decorated for x-mas though I did not see the grinch so I cannot speak to that.

Of the four times I have been to IOA this fall WWHOP has been just as crowded at 9am as it has been at 7pm. Others may disagree with this, but I would say go there whenever it fits your schedule of what your family wants to do. There is pretty much always an obscene line for Ollivander's and a longish, but tolerable line for Honeydukes and Zonkos.

Note: If all you want from honeydukes are bertie beans or choco frogs or or a few other candies you can get those from the main shop at the front of the park. I would recommend taking a peak in there first to see if they have what you're looking for as there usually isn't a line in there. IMHO the outside of Honeydukes is way cuter than the inside, it pretty much looks like any candy store packed wall to wall with people.

Hope this helps a bit and have a fabulous trip!

 

[magicaldisney]

We are leaving Tuesday night for our first non WDW Thanksgiving trip. I am so excited to go to US/IOA I can hardly stand it. Thanks to the OP for asking these questions. I was also going to ask about the Dramamine. Why do those of you that have responded say to take it the night before? Is that better than the morning?

 

[phamton]

Regular Dramamine only lasts a few hours but non-drowsy formula is the ingredient that is in Bonine. It works for 24 hours and you only take it once a day. I take it at night because it can cause drowsiness in the first few hours after taking it. So I use it at night so any drowsiness will be worn off. If will work if you take it one hour before riding the attractions but I just don't want to chance getting tired. It definitely does not make you as tired as regular Dramamine and usually doesn't make me tired at all. I just don't want to take that chance.