Staying onsite at Royal Pacific for 3 nights in 2 weeks. Do I need a touring plan?

[disney4us2002]

I belong to touring plans and I can make Univ & IoA touring plans but I'm wondering if that's even necessary with express passes. I've been trying to read up on the huge Hagrid thread but it seems that it is closed as much as it's open and no express passes for that anyway. What is the current thinking? Go early, go midday, just wait in any line and take my chances? Is there a single rider for this because I'm not sure about hubby riding it anyway. That might be my best bet.

 

[bchbetha]

TP is totally unnecessary with Express Passes. Enjoy the freedom!

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

I belong to touring plans and I can make Univ & IoA touring plans but I'm wondering if that's even necessary with express passes. I've been trying to read up on the huge Hagrid thread but it seems that it is closed as much as it's open and no express passes for that anyway. What is the current thinking? Go early, go midday, just wait in any line and take my chances? Is there a single rider for this because I'm not sure about hubby riding it anyway. That might be my best bet.

I’d go early! We rode it twice on our recent trip and loved it, very cool ride.

 

[cschaaf]

No touring plan needed with EP. You can choose rides as you walk past them. You'll love it.

Go early, you'll be there during Horror Nights, so the Studios park will close early on those nights.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

No, it isn't necessary to have a TP. That said, I've done it. One thing I find at universal with EP is that we turn into that family that stands around and says, 'well, what do you want to do next.' One person's freedom is another person's indecision. I hate being the one trying to keep people moving and our three kids all have different theme park interests. The first couple times we went to Uni I found it very helpful to have a plan that everyone had agreed to beforehand. We did not stick to it religiously (or even maybe at all past the first few rides). I liked seeing where everything was on the map and it helped us to not missing shows. Again, not necessary but to me that was worth the $5 above the Disney subscription I already had.

 

[schumigirl]

Never used a touring plan ever.....

Familiarise yourself with the parks and have a general idea of which direction you want to go....and just wander.

Best way to do the parks with EP. Do whatever takes your fancy and then do your favourites over and over again if you desire...….that's how we go......

Hope you do get on Hagrids ride.....it is amazing!!!

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We were at UOR for seven nights in September. We rode Harris’s four times. Maybe we were lucky but we left HRH at 7.30 and we were always first at one of the turnstiles. We walked with purpose (there were some sprinters) and even on a day when my finger denied me and had to be reset we didn’t wait for more than 10 minutes. You will find a lot of ‘queue jumpers’ at the turnstiles; one or two people arrive early and another batch of family members arrive 10 minutes before the park is due to open, which I didn’t notice at WDW. Also, the lockers at Hagrids are actually in the queue, so again groups separate and people try to catch up.
I use a touring plan just to make sure that we don’t miss anything but I agree that with EP you don’t need one. Be aware that the wet rides are ‘I just stepped out of the shower’ wet, maybe wetter, if that is possible. Have fun.

 

[Disxuni]

It seems OP that most of your post you seem to focus on questions related to Hagrid's rather than whether you should have a plan as a whole for the trip.

That being said, if your focus is on Hagrid's all I can think of is just keep an eye on the Universal app for the wait times, as well as keep checking the thread, specifically a week, or so prior to you arriving for your vacation to get a more accurate representation of what is more currently going on with the ride at the time.

I say this, because if people have been checking the thread, it seems that Hagrid had a good streak and then things have drastically changed within the last week. That being said, we can see how quickly things can change and how process can go forward, then backward, and repeat. Since I do not know when you plan on going that's all I can think of doing is checking the app, as well as keep an eye on the thread a week, or so, prior to your trip to see where Hagrid is at the time.

As for planning, no, I do not feel you need it. The minimum I would do is research the rides, find out what you want, and go for it.