Universal Christmas Activities and Nighttime Shows?

[kizmet311]

I don't think you've mentioned to composition of your travel party. That might sway my response at little bit.

But in general, the Orlando Informer calendar has that Friday through Sunday as busy and Monday and Tuesday as moderate. What does that mean? It's hard to tell. It probably won't be as crazy busy as the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are going to be crowds and lines. You are going to want a plan of attack and use things like early entry hours and single rider lanes (if you can) to your advantage. You may want to plan on eating at off times - or getting reservations in advance - if you want to eat at some of the more popular sit-down restaurants. Be a smart park-goer (and maybe spend some time looking through old threads to park touring tips) and you should probably be okay.

One thing to remember is that Universal doesn't require the same level of planning as Disney. So you will do well to have your short list of "must do" things, but you can also look out for random cool experiences that might not happen when you are rushing from ride to ride. For me, if the parks get to be too much, I love to head back to the hotel and get food there (we stay at Cabana Bay and the food court there is really good) or head to the pool. Cabana Bay, which is right across the street from Sapphire Falls, has a bowling alley and a lazy river (you can pool hop if you stay at SF).

Will you get to see everything? Maybe, maybe not. Will you have a good time? I think that you would.

Our travel party will definitely include my DH (44), myself (43) and our DD (11). We have invited my SD (21), but if she can't come the dates we are planning, we are considering inviting a friend along for our DD.

DH and SD will ride almost anything except she didn't want to do Tower of Terror last time we were at Disney. They prefer rollercoasters over simulation rides, although DH likes rides like Avatar FOP and the original HP ride at Hogwarts. He hated Star Tours because it was rough on him and he had a headache the rest of the day. DD is still relatively new to thrill rides. She has been to King's Island once last September with a friend and rode the Stunt Coaster, Mystic Timbers, etc, but opted out of some of the bigger coasters like Diamondback, Banshee and Orion. At that time she didn't want to ride anything that went upside down. So, she will absolutely have to ride with someone in our party - single rider won't be an option for her. As for me, I ride very little (think Jungle Cruise and the safari ride at AK) and prefer shows and such, but I may not get to do as much of that as I did in 2017 when DD was 5. However, I did go to HP World for one day with DH, SD, and SS in 2011 and enjoyed walking through the queue for the HP ride (but instead of getting on the ride I took the exit to the gift shop!).

Our ultimate goal is to fully immerse ourselves in HP World for at least a couple days, but DD also likes the Jurassic Park movies and I am most definitely interested in the Christmas shows.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Make sure to see the Bourne Stuntacular (very good integration between the live actors & the nifty technology/sets). I would consider it a must-do.

I also suggest the Horror Makeup Show (it is not actually scary).

You might consider spending time in the Seuss areas while the thrill-ride crew is riding Velocicoaster. Cat in the Hat is cute & generally minimal waits. Or exploring the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, or doing the Raptor Encounter (that is fun for the whole family - is it worth the time on a limited time trip?).

 

[zavandor]

I like the idea of starting at Diagon Alley then riding the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade/Hogwarts so that would be the day to have the ExpressPass for sure.

Not sure if this is a good idea.
The beauty of Diagon Alley is explore all the details, get an interactive wand and go around casting spells and watching the effects. If you focus one day on HP, you're going to do fewer rides and one (Hagrid) doesn't even accept the pass. Neither does Olivander, I think. If you have it only for one Express pass, save it for a ride filled day, it'll be much more effective.

 

[kizmet311]

Not sure if this is a good idea.
The beauty of Diagon Alley is explore all the details, get an interactive wand and go around casting spells and watching the effects. If you focus one day on HP, you're going to do fewer rides and one (Hagrid) doesn't even accept the pass. Neither does Olivander, I think. If you have it only for one Express pass, save it for a ride filled day, it'll be much more effective.

Thanks for the tip! We do plan to have two full days at the parks and two half days. So, it sounds like our day of "following Harry's journey" should be less ride focused and more about soaking in the experience and riding Hogwarts Express. We would still have another day and a half to dedicate to all the rides, whether they be HP or something else.

One of our half days will probably be an evening trip to Islands so we can see Hogwarts at night. Plus now I'm toying with the idea of staying at Royal Pacific. If I'm going to spend money on Sapphire Falls, it seems like I might as well spend a little more and get ExpressPass included with the hotel.

 

[kbelle8995]

I have a few things that I do when I'm there during the holidays. Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, they perform in Diagon Alley and during the holidays perform Wizard World Holiday songs.

Also I will be there this year I'm will be by myself for the day, so I plan to do the Christmas Tree hunt. They do charge for this but you get a nice ornament at the end. I have always wanted to do this. So I will be doing that. I really love the decoration at Universal and they really theme it to the area.

The whole parks are really decorated. But Suess Landings and New York just go above and beyond. So if you have time you could hang out there.

 

[kizmet311]

I have a few things that I do when I'm there during the holidays. Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, they perform in Diagon Alley and during the holidays perform Wizard World Holiday songs.

Also I will be there this year I'm will be by myself for the day, so I plan to do the Christmas Tree hunt. They do charge for this but you get a nice ornament at the end. I have always wanted to do this. So I will be doing that. I really love the decoration at Universal and they really theme it to the area.

The whole parks are really decorated. But Suess Landings and New York just go above and beyond. So if you have time you could hang out there.

Thank you! The Christmas Tree hunt and New York sound perfect for me since I don't ride rides. I could amuse myself while the rest of my crew is riding.

 

[kbelle8995]

Thank you! The Christmas Tree hunt and New York sound perfect for me since I don't ride rides. I could amuse myself while the rest of my crew is riding.

If you love just soaking up the atmosphere in the park, I'm here for you. I love hanging out at Suess Landing with the Citizens of Whoville coming out at singing Christmas Music. There's a lot going on. Also The Tribute Store during the Holidays is always worth a visit.

There are so many good performers at Universal you will find lots to occupy your time while others are riding the rides