Teach me oh wise ones. Going next week. I'm clueless and a bit worried about it

[boiledpeanut]

Is it going to be awfully crowded?
we have park to park passes w/ EP. Staying at PBH.
have TH FR SAT at parks and half day SUN.
I'm clueless and don't know what to expect. We love Disney but the kids are thrilled to come here and experience the Harry Potter attractions.
How short are EP lines? like half as long? I'm looking at these wait times on the app and starting to worry a bit.
Have two reservations. Lunch at the under sea themed place and a dinner at Italian place at our hotel.
HELP!!!!
Teach me oh wise ones!!

 

[SgtTibbs]

Just click you're heels together three times and you will find what you need.

Once

Twice

Three Times.

 

[Artygal90]

Hi!

Well, I'm not a "wise one", just someone who planned our Disney days to the hilt and then did zero planning for Universal and it all worked out fine! Do check out the links other people posted above as they'll have more information about wait times with EP. It shouldn't be too awful though.

With unlimited express passes and 3 1/2 days in the parks you'll be fine, even with the crowds. Next week will be the week after Easter and spring break is still going on, so probably there will be lots of people. Like at Disney, the recommended strategy is to get up early for park opening and hit popular attractions, take a mid-day break to avoid crowds, and return at night once the crowds have eased a bit. I'd recommend doing one Harry Potter area first thing in the morning, and the other Harry Potter area at night (or on two consecutive mornings) to avoid fighting through the mobs of spring breakers. Keep in mind that there is NO express line for the Ollivander's wand-choosing show, so I would aim to do that in the first hour or two of park open to avoid a terribly long wait. Fair warning that the lines for food and drink in the Harry Potter areas can also get very, very long.

It sounds like you're staying on site. You don't say when exactly you're going, so check this page for Early Park Admission hours for your visit. You'll be able to get into one park an hour before official opening that day and ride a few very popular rides with minimal waits. Take advantage of this perk, it's well worth getting up early, and then you'll be an hour ahead of the regular crowds when moving on from Harry Potter attractions.

 

[prairiesarah]

We stayed at PBH for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it. Sals has great pizza and is a quick serve type restaurant so great option for an easy lunch or dinner one night. We sat outside on the Piazza and ate our supper our first night there and it was wonderful. Depending on if your kids are into swimming you may want to request close to the beach pool. I requested West Wing and it was a great location close to the beach pool and close to the boat launch and walking path. DH and DS enjoyed the gelato at the Gellateria. Definitely suggest taking advantage of the early entry hour - the parks definitely pick up by late morning. Express pass - one example while we were there - Flight of the Hippogriff wait time was 45 minutes in regular line. Express Pass was 5 to 10 minutes. DS rose 3 times in a row one day in less than 30 minutes.

 

[bumbershoot]

we have park to park passes w/ EP. Staying at PBH.

I want to make sure of something. When you say you have passes with EP, did you buy EP with your tickets? If so, call them.

You get EP (unlimited) simply from staying at PBH and don’t need it on your ticket. (You need the ticket just not with EP)

Wanted to make sure!!!

 

[Robo56]

I’am with bumbershoot make sure you only purchased the park to park tickets for your stay as your Unlimited Express Pass is included for each family member in your stay at PBH. Each person in your families hotel room key is theirUnlimited Express Pass.

PBH is one of my favorite Resorts at Universal Orlando. You will love it there. They have 3 pools. BEACH POOL has a slide..........LOL....I have gone down that slide a time or two and it’s fun. They have fun activities for the kiddos there also. There is the VILLA POOL it is more laid back and quiet. Then there is the HILLSIDE POOL.....honestly I have never ventured over there. I have heard it is much smaller.

Ok here goes I will help with some Potter stuff

1. First you need a park to park ticket so you can ride the Hogwarts Express back and forth between the Potter parks.

2. if you are Potter fans let the kiddos pick an interactive wand of their favorite Potter Character so they can do the spells in both Potter parks (the spell spots are marked with metal medallions on the ground in front of the specific spell areas in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley)........there is a map included in the wand box directing you to the spell spots and the wand movement needed. There are usually TM’s located at spell areas to help.

3. There is a Ollivander wand show in Hogsmeade, but I like the one in Diagon Alley better. I think it is easier to get into. Someone in your party might be lucky enough to get chosen for the show.

4. Have a frozen Butterbeer at the Hog’s Head pub (right next to Three Broomsticks). Watch for the Hog’s Head behind the bar to move and grunt.

5. Have lunch at Three Broomsticks. The family feast is delicious and a bargain for the price. After you are done with lunch there. Have the kiddos look for the actual Three Broomsticks on the Wall.

6. Both the male and female bathrooms at Hogsmeade have moaning Myrtle voice inside.

7. Look for the window that has the Howling letter talking on the side window of Dervish and Banges.

8. Buy some post cards at a Dervish and Banges and get them stamped at the Owl Post.

9. Ride the Flight of Hippogrif and look at Hagrids Hut while walking up to the coaster.

10. Enjoy the fantastic things to see as you make your way through Hogwarts Castle on your way to ride the Forbidden Journey.

11. Make sure to get a sweet at HoneyDukes. Even if you do not purchase anything it’s fun to walk through and look at all the fun goodies.

12. If you are staying on site your purchases can be sent to your room for you for no extra charge. I think you have to be There at least 3 days for this option.

For folks who are not there within the time limit to have packages delivered to your room. You can have them delivered to the front of the park to pick up. I Think 3 hour time window on this.

13. Check to see if the NIGHTIME LIGHTS display will be playing on Hogwarts Castle while you are there. This is a light show displayed on Hogwarts Castle of all the houses at Hogwarts, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. A must see for Potter fans.

14. Ride Hogwarts Express both ways as the scene is different.

15. Make sure and try and catch the the performances of the Frog Choir and Triwizard Rally on the stage in Hogsmeade.

Now lets take the Hogwarts Express over to Diagon Alley.

1. Once you get outside of Kings Cross Station. Make your way to the Red Phone Box and dial 62442 (magic). This will connect you to the Ministry of Magic.

2. Go to the Knight Bus and talk to the Conducter and Dre the Shrunken Head. Have a walk around the back of the bus and step up and look inside.

3. Stand facing 12 Grimmauld Place (the Black residence) and watch for Kreacher to peak out of the window. This happens every few minutes.

4. Now walk thru the brick wall and listen for the bricks moving and behold Diagon Alley (something to behold).

5. Watch for Dragon on Gringotts bank to breath fire every 10- 15 minutes.

6. Do Ollivanders wand show here.

Wander through all the shops. I will point out a few things to look for.

7. Go over to the magical Mirror at Madam Malkin's Robes and stand in front of the mirror and hear a comment.

8. if you are standing in front of the Magical Menagerie go to the left side window and you will see the Parseltongue snake.

9. Try and catch The Tales of Beetle the Bard puppet show and Celestina Warbeck presentation.

10. Go into the Gringotts money exchange and ask the Goblin a question.

11. Wonder into the dark Knockturn Alley and enjoy a cool respite from heat. Go into Borgin & Burkes and look for the Hand of Glory in the case on your right. Walk the very back right of store and you will find the Vanishing Cabinet (get close and listen for the chirping bird).

12. Go to back left of store and look for Mad- Eye Moody's magical trunk on the floor shaking.

13. Look for the shrunken heads singing on the wall in Knockturn Alley.

14. There is a skeleton trick to be done with your wand in Knockturn Alley and other tricks to be done towards the back.

15. There is more than one way to enter and leave Knockturn Alley. Try leaving out the back door of Borgin & Burkes.

16. Have a great time taking pictures of all the awesome sights of the bank inside Escape form Gringotts. This is a awesome ride.

This will get you started with the Potter Parks. Others will come in with other info.

Mama Della's at PBH is very good.

Sal's Pizza at PBH is very good.

Mytho's at IOA is a very nice meal. You can get reservations for this on Universal Orlando website.

As busy as its going to be over Spring break I would get reservations for any Citywalk restaurant you want to eat at near park closing. The restaurants will be mobbed after park closing.

You have priority seating at restaurants on CityWalk with your onsite hotel stay.

Make sure and stop and get a donut at VooDoo Donuts that just opened Saturday at CityWalk.

Now go have fun and don't worry.

 

[damo]

Try all the types of butterbeer! Hot, cold, frozen, ice cream and fudge! The hot is our current favourite.

 

[gotomu212]

Hopping between parks is SO easy. If it starts to feel overly crowded and even the EP lines are backing up, check the app to see if the other Park is less crowded. We find weird surges sometimes and just by hopping over find some relief (you can use Hogwarts Expree or walk ou the front gate and walk about 3 minutes to the other gate).

You can also pool hop at Universal so if mid day is too crowded take a break and check out the other pools. You can take the water taxi from your hotel to city walk and then transfer to another water taxi (bus for Cabanas) or just walk along the path to Hard Rock.

Save Potter areas for first thing in the morning or later in the day. In the evenings the areas seem to clear out a lot.

Let us know what you think!

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Try to head back to Diagon Alley at least once after dinner when it's dark. It's so magical with the shop windows lit up, the dragon breathing fire every 15 minutes or so. It's cooler and less crowded, so you can ride Gringott's, get an ice cream, wander around Knockturn Alley, and get plenty of time to do the spells without it being wall to wall people with the sun blazing down on you. Unfortunately for me this coming trip, it looks like US will be closing at 7pm, so no nighttime touring for me.

 

[boiledpeanut]

Yes. Y'all are correct. We have park to park tix and our hotel gets us the EP.
These are such helpful replies!
We have a reservation at Mythos.
Also, what is your favorite CityWalk thing to do or place to eat?

 

[bobbie68]

Yes. Y'all are correct. We have park to park tix and our hotel gets us the EP.
These are such helpful replies!
We have a reservation at Mythos.
Also, what is your favorite CityWalk thing to do or place to eat?

Hi we love Bubba Gump, Toohthsome for City Walk and inside we enjoy Leaky Cauldron followed by the Three Broomsticks. If you are looking for a quick service type Thunder Falls Terrace in the Jurassic World area is great!

 

[schumigirl]

Yes. Y'all are correct. We have park to park tix and our hotel gets us the EP.
These are such helpful replies!
We have a reservation at Mythos.
Also, what is your favorite CityWalk thing to do or place to eat?

In Citywalk for us, the best 3 places are NBC, Cowfish and Hard Rock Café..........the latter is very loud though......or I`m just getting older....... Margaritaville is a hit and miss for us.......burgers and nachos are excellent.......and we enjoyed the crab cake sandwich this time.......cocktails are exceptional....

Mini golf is fun there........2 sides, The Alien Encounter and the Haunted side.........the haunted side is fantastic at night.......

BreadBox gets good reviews for counter service in Citywalk and of course there is Voodoo Donut now.........

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We really enjoyed eating dinner at the 3 Broomsticks. I think most people go there for lunch so dinner at about 7 it was really empty with a lot of freedom to just enjoy the ambiance. We then did spells around Hogsmeade after dinner with very few people around even though it was the week of Thanksgiving.

 

[agavegirl1]

I haven't been to CityWalk in 3 1/2 years so haven't been to many of the restaurants. I like Hard Rock Cafe' and we go to Margaritaville for a grouper sandwich. It is the classic Florida style sandwich and is not available at Margaritaville restaurants that are not in Florida. We've looked as we love road trips. I am looking forward to NBC and Voodoo Doughnut. Not much of a sweet tooth but DH is excited about the shakes at Toothsome.

In the parks, we like Finnigans. Mythos has been mixed for us. But we love Three Broomsticks. We are not "shoppers" so for us, Citywalk is for food and beverages. It is very visual at night and we enjoy grabbing a snack and just enjoying the sights.

You will have so much fun!

 

[CPanther95]

How short are EP lines? like half as long? I'm looking at these wait times on the app and starting to worry a bit.

If you're thinking the EP lines are probably about half of whatever the normal lines are, you are in for an extremely pleasant surprise.

In the time it takes for someone to ride 3 different rides that have a 90 minute wait, you'll probably be able to ride them each twice, have lunch at City Walk, then head back to the PBH and get a couple hours of swimming in.