Universal 2nd timers need some advice

[ajh88]

Hi all!

We are returning to Universal for 2 nights in a few weeks and I'd love some advice/tips on my plans.

Some background: Our first time to UO was 6 years ago. One night at RPR. We went mainly for WWoHP (shocking!). We spent one evening at the park, had dinner at Margaritaville, then did early entry the next day for the same park (IOA, right?). Since we were mainly focused on Potter things, we felt pretty satisfied with what we accomplished. We were 2 adults, 1 tween.

Now, we are 2 adults, 2 teens, 1 toddler. We are planning 2 nights at RPR and I bought 2 day park to park tickets. We will be there May 20-22. The teens aren't much into thrill rides - DD likes mild coasters (think Big Thunder Mountain) and I'm not sure about her BFF who is joining us. DH and I are up for most rides but will sacrifice for the kids sake.

I'm short and round, which makes me super self concious at Universal. I didn't do FJ last time because I also get motion sickness. DH says I must do it but I'm also concerned about not fitting.

We will again be focused on Harry Potter but are open to doing more. The plan is:

May 20 - arrive RPR ~2 pm (driving in) - check in and settle - head to park (thinking Diagon Alley) for a couple of hours - not sure what to do for dinner? Maybe in the park or CityWalk?

May 21 - whichever park has EE (haven't checked lately) - take Hogwarts Express to opposite park (we will probably do it the night before too). Last time we did a late breakfast at Three Broomsticks. Open to something similar or is there a better plan? We will just go until we are tired. We may take a break and head back - just depends on what we accomplish. No solid plans for meals at all.

At this point, I'm most interested in figuring out our best dining options and seeing what there is to do that might interest our 3 year old. He's ok on rides but is just a hair over 36 inches tall, so I wasn't sure about height restrictions. I'm also curious if the dining plan is valuable or not. I wasn't planning on getting it, but I could.

Sorry for the length - any and all input is welcome! Thank you!

 

[wagman67]

So, it sounds like you have no plans to visit the parks on the 22nd, so you may want to save some money and stay offsite the night of the 21st. If you do that, your one night stay at RPR still gets you Express Passes for both days you will be in the parks.

The adults don't have to sacrifice not riding because of the kids...you guys can do child swap which is pretty easy...been there, done that, plenty in the past. There is still plenty for the little guy to do, just look on the Universal site for heights restrictions...but he will have a good time.

It should be crowded that weekend, so your Express Passes will come in handy.

I don't find the Dining Plans to be worth it, but look at all of the requirements and you may find it works for you. I would bet, with your eclectic mix of ages, that you don't find it to save you much, if any.

Haven't been yet, but Toothsome is now open, but getting mixed reviews. That might be fun for your group. If it has been 6 years, you will find plenty of new things to explore...in the parks and at City Walk.

BTW, we will be ships passing in the night...we arrive in Orlando on the 21st for two nights offsite and then staying at HRH for 4 days.

Hope you have fun.

 

[janicept]

Most coasters at Universal are more intense than Big Thunder Mountain. I'm sure you can watch youtube clips to check them out. FJ has seats out front that you can try for fit. It use to make me motion sick but it was fixed a few months ago and is 100 times better. I will actually ride it now. There are not a huge amount of rides so just go through them with the kids and see what everyone wants to ride. Some rides like FJ, Gringott's, and Hogwart's Express don't take EP so try to do them early. With your EPs you can see most things without the normal wait. Sometimes even EP lines get long. I've waited in the EP line for RRR an hour before on a Saturday night.

I would recommend having dinner at CityWalk after the parks close both nights unless they close super late. I do love Toothsome but they don't do reservations and I don't know that it's worth standing around forever just to get in. You can order the desserts in the lobby area for a much shorter wait. I would grab some food for breakfast to eat on your way to the park or before they open at Cinnabon or Starbucks in CityWalk. Then catch an early lunch (maybe 11 am) in the parks since the lines get long closer to noon. When we were there a couple weeks ago and they let us make next day reservations at Margaritaville but not same day even though they had openings. They do reservations for Hard Rock. You can likely check with the concierge at RPR at any time to get some reservations. Maybe even call ahead. Reservations will get you in with much less of a wait.

 

[HairyChest]

I always make it a point to eat at mythos in islands of adventure (I'm usually there for lunch). the flourless chcolate cake with ice cream is to die for and the food is soo good ( I get the salmon). Décor is beautiful.
For dinner I usually end up eating at citywalk. vivo Italian kitchen and hard rock are the 2 that I tend to return to. I do want to try some resort restaurants like mama dellas at Portofino bay and emirals tchop chop at royal pacific.

 

[tinkerbell1112]

Hi. I found the dining plan to be worth it for a couple meals...specially the two hp restaurants. We actually had a wonderful cashier on our first meal who told us we'd save money if we bought it and then broke it out for us.

We were there this past August. We found hp to not be as crowded in the evening or early mornings. We were happy we went over around 5 after checking in. Kids got their wands with no wait or crowd. The next morning we couldn't even fit into the store it was so busy.

As for motion sickness I'll tell you I was extremely concerned after all the reading I did. I have multiple sclerosis and suffer from extreme dizziness often. I was surprised I didn't get dizzy or sick at all. Of all things the minion ride made feel feel yucky but I think we might have just bee yin bad seats for my depth perception

 

[Robo56]

I would recommend having dinner at CityWalk after the parks close both nights unless they close super late. I do love Toothsome but they don't do reservations and I don't know that it's worth standing around forever just to get in

Last two weeks of May have become very popular. I go at this time every year with grandchildren and last two years have been very busy. I would not wait till park closing to go to CityWalk for a meal. Everyone will be heading to CityWalk restaurants after park closing. Make a ressie at one of the restaurants If you can if that is your plan to do that so you will not have a terrible wait for a table.

I always make it a point to eat at mythos in islands of adventure (I'm usually there for lunch)

We also love Mythos and always have a couple of meals there. We only have lunch there. They are not open for dinner meal. If I'am not mistaken they closed at 5 or 6 pm when we were there last year at end of May. We have always had great meal and service there.

 

[janicept]

Last two weeks of May have become very popular. I go at this time every year with grandchildren and last two years have been very busy. I would not wait till park closing to go to CityWalk for a meal. Everyone will be heading to CityWalk restaurants after park closing. Make a ressie at one of the restaurants If you can if that is your plan to do that so you will not have a terrible wait for a table.

I was thinking more about the short duration of the visit(a couple hours one day then one full day). Of course if you see everything in the park before they close it would be better to leave early and eat dinner. CityWalk is open until 2 am. When I was there recently Hard Rock and Margaritaville were open until midnight. We left at closing one Saturday a few weeks ago and waited an hour at valet to get our car - might as well have gone to a movie.

 

[ajh88]

Thanks for the tips and insights! All are much appreciated.