Thoughts on my one-day attack plan

[kristenabelle]

Hi all!

Went to US/IOA for one day in late May 2015, and absolutely loved WWOHP. I'm also a big sucker for ET, Ripsaw Falls, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park River Adventure. I'm not a massive fan of riding simulators one right after the other, but I can appreciate most of the other attractions (and bring my Bonine and sea bands with me ). Other than that, I love thrill rides and had a great time at both parks.

With that said, I want to spend another day at UOR as part of my birthday WDW trip in October. I'm a DVC member, so I've booked a split stay at the Poly/BWV on points. To further complicate things, my friend wants to come along on the majority of the trip, but doesn't want to visit UOR. That means I have either 10/20 or 10/21 (Thurs - Fri) to go, after she leaves. I know this means I'll be visiting on an HHN night, and US closes at 5. I also know that my other friend accompanying me won't want to go to HHN (even though I'm seriously curious and will probably make a special trip for it in 2017).

Even though I'm bound by all those restrictions, I planned on visiting on Thursday, lining up way before park open, and purchasing one-time Express Pass. Do you think that's necessary on an HHN date? Crowd calendars look medium, but I don't have enough experience at UOR to know how lines build. Separately, when I visited last May IOA had early entry. That worked out really well for us, letting us sprint to Diagon Alley at park open for minimum wait on Gringotts. If US has early entry, should we start at IOA instead? My concern is that IOA is open longer (8 PM), and I want to maximize our time at the studios. That's why I'm leaning towards one-and-done Express Pass.

Any thoughts?

 

[johde]

I've never gone during that time of the year. But, off the top of my head you potentially have conflicting priorities. USF opens earlier that time of the year (8 a.m.) so it makes sense to start there then hop over to IOA later in the day. On the other hand, as a HP fan you'll probably want to ride Hogwarts Express both directions for the different experiences. That would say start at IOA hop to USF then hop back to IOA.

My gut reaction is to start at US. If US has Early Entry hit a few of the non HP rides first before heading to Diagon Alley. Early entry people + the rope drop people can lead to long lines at a 9:00 opening. I'm not sure how the earlier opening affects it. With a 9:00 opening, I've had good luck hitting Despicable Me, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers real quick before heading towards Diagon Alley. I get through those rides with minimal wait and I let the initial rush calm down a little bit. Sometimes I'll even add MIB and/or Simpson and go the long way around the lake to Diagon Alley.

 

[damo]

We generally recommend that you wait until you get into the park to see if you actually need the express pass. It is expensive and a waste of money if the lines aren't high. Make use of the single rider lines and it will make a huge difference.

 

[keishashadow]

My thought would be to 'do' universal on whatever day you make the move to new DVC unit. Better yet, have you considered a split stay and staying onsite @ one of the loews proprties onsite that affords you FOTL perc/EE into parks for a jump start on HP?

It's nice to be considerate of your friends who will coming along for 'the ride', but imo: she who pays for the room gets to decide what she wants to do lol.

 

[kristenabelle]

I've never gone during that time of the year. But, off the top of my head you potentially have conflicting priorities. USF opens earlier that time of the year (8 a.m.) so it makes sense to start there then hop over to IOA later in the day. On the other hand, as a HP fan you'll probably want to ride Hogwarts Express both directions for the different experiences. That would say start at IOA hop to USF then hop back to IOA.

My gut reaction is to start at US. If US has Early Entry hit a few of the non HP rides first before heading to Diagon Alley. Early entry people + the rope drop people can lead to long lines at a 9:00 opening. I'm not sure how the earlier opening affects it. With a 9:00 opening, I've had good luck hitting Despicable Me, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers real quick before heading towards Diagon Alley. I get through those rides with minimal wait and I let the initial rush calm down a little bit. Sometimes I'll even add MIB and/or Simpson and go the long way around the lake to Diagon Alley.

Thanks! I think that's great feedback. Re: the long way, that's how we initially got to Diagon Alley at park open last year. Is there a more direct way? I'm a Universal noob so I appreciate the help!

We generally recommend that you wait until you get into the park to see if you actually need the express pass. It is expensive and a waste of money if the lines aren't high. Make use of the single rider lines and it will make a huge difference.

Great tip, thanks! Is it lame if my friend and I avoid SR lines because we like to ride together? I love hitting them up solo, but part of the fun for me is experiencing attractions with friends when we're together. That said, I'm not above jumping in the SR queue if a line is horrendous.

My thought would be to 'do' universal on whatever day you make the move to new DVC unit. Better yet, have you considered a split stay and staying onsite @ one of the loews proprties onsite that affords you FOTL perc/EE into parks for a jump start on HP?

It's nice to be considerate of your friends who will coming along for 'the ride', but imo: she who pays for the room gets to decide what she wants to do lol.

Haha that's a very fair point. I did consider making a triple split, bookending one night at UOR with my DVC reservations. On the other hand, I'm okay with getting one-time express since we'll only have one day and we typically like to do every attraction once, instead of repeating things. I'm planning on having dinner with both friends this weekend and hoping to hammer this out before ADR day. Maybe I can convince them to go on Wednesday, my actual birthday, or earlier in the week for longer park hours. Thank you!

 

[johde]

Thanks! I think that's great feedback. Re: the long way, that's how we initially got to Diagon Alley at park open last year. Is there a more direct way? I'm a Universal noob so I appreciate the help!

From Transformers/ ROTM you can either hang left and go by where Disaster used to be (which is a little bit closer) and enter London on the Hogwarts Express side or hang right and go by Monster Makeup, Enterance to Kids Zone, Simpsons, Men in Black and Fear Factor Stage, you enter London on the side where Kreacher pops out.

 

[kristenabelle]

From Transformers/ ROTM you can either hang left and go by where Disaster used to be (which is a little bit closer) and enter London on the Hogwarts Express side or hang right and go by Monster Makeup, Enterance to Kids Zone, Simpsons, Men in Black and Fear Factor Stage, you enter London on the side where Kreacher pops out.

Awesome. Intently studying maps (and unfortunately ignoring any actual work I have to do today)