Universal help and tips

[UKDisneyJoe]

Hi all
I am going to Orlando at the start of December and have organised alot when it comes to Disney but not much for our 2/3 days at Universal. We are spending a day with the 2 HP sites but are there any tips or advice that anyone can give for what to see and do during the holiday period at Universal.
Also whats your favourite ride / event / thing to do

Thanks

 

[nkereina]

Hi all
I am going to Orlando at the start of December and have organised alot when it comes to Disney but not much for our 2/3 days at Universal. We are spending a day with the 2 HP sites but are there any tips or advice that anyone can give for what to see and do during the holiday period at Universal.
Also whats your favourite ride / event / thing to do

Thanks

Just as an FYI, Diagon Alley is in Universal Studios whereas Hogsmeade is in Islands of Adventure. To spend one day at both, you'd need to purchase park-to-park tickets. To ride the Hogwarts Express, you also need park-to-park tickets.

We were there last week and found it best to visit US and Diagon Alley at rope drop (utilize early entry if you are staying at a Universal resort), and then do the same with IOA/Hogsmeade on day two. To do one in the morning and one in the afternoon means whichever one you visit in the afternoon will be very crowded with long waits for the rides. We did ride Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade the afternoon of our first day, but just to experience the train ride. We came back to do the rides and see the area the next morning when it was much less crowded.

Other than the Potter areas, we enjoyed US more than we did IoA. We spent more time at US. Loved the Mummy ride and the Simpsons area. IoA we got done in about a half day, but we were able to skip most of the Seuss area since we don't have kids. We also skipped the Lost Continent area as it didn't appeal to us. Also, I'd recommend doing Jurassic Park and Ripsaw Falls late in the day before you head back to your hotel (or bring a change of clothes). Fun rides worth doing but we were drenched!

We stayed onsite so we had express pass which we did utilize, and we weren't even there during a busy week. If you'll be there over the holidays and NOT staying at a Universal resort, I would highly recommend purchasing express pass. Won't work for Gringotts or Forbidden Journey (which is why you want to get there early) but it will be important for the rest of the parks.

 

[johde]

Universal doesn't do as much as Disney for the holidays. There are 4 big things that happen in the parks in addition general decorations.

First, The regular afternoon parade at Universal Studios Florida is transformed into the Macy's holiday parade complete with some of the "smaller" balloons from the parade. Some of the BIG balloons are set around the park as static displays (they are too big to travel through the park).

Second, Seuss Landing in Islands of adventure hosts Grinchmas complete with a stage show of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the live action version).

Third, the Blues Brothers show in Universal Studio get's a holiday theme.

Forth, on select nights (December 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 & 21), Mannheim Steamroller performs a free concert at Universal Studios Florida.

Since you're going early in December, unlike the previous poster, I'd hold off on purchasing Express Passes until you get there and see the crowds. The huge crowds will be in Orlando from Dec 21st till Jan 3rd.

 

[nkereina]

Sorry! Read too fast and missed you'd be there at the START of December. Assumed you'd be there over the holidays. You know what happens when you assume....

In that case, I agree with PP to hold off on express pass and see when you get there. We found it helpful but of course, we were staying on site and it was included. If we didn't have it, I probably would have decided to forego some of the rides with long lines in lieu of spending the money on the pass.

 

[UKDisneyJoe]

Thanks both. I have been a couple of years ago and loved Jurassic. Saw Hogsmeade so done alot there already but Diagon Alley is gonna be huge pull for us. Mf wife also loves the Grinch so looking forward to that also.
Didnt know about the free concert which we may have to shuffle days around for.
Also I have seen somewhere about a firework display in the evenings. Is that still going ahead or was it just a speacial occasion thing.

 

[nkereina]

Thanks both. I have been a couple of years ago and loved Jurassic. Saw Hogsmeade so done alot there already but Diagon Alley is gonna be huge pull for us. Mf wife also loves the Grinch so looking forward to that also.
Didnt know about the free concert which we may have to shuffle days around for.
Also I have seen somewhere about a firework display in the evenings. Is that still going ahead or was it just a speacial occasion thing.

If Diagon Alley will be your main focus, express pass is probably not necessary. Hogwarts Express and Gringotts don't have Express Pass. Jurassic Park does but I don't believe the lines get bad for it, especially if the weather is cooler.

We saw the Cinematic Spectacular at Universal which had some fireworks. Not sure if something different is offered for the holidays. The show we saw was around closing time, and they showed popular movie clips projected onto screens over the water between Diagon Alley and Simpson's land. It seemed disjointed at times - clip after clip, some fireworks, more clips. We watched a few minutes of it and then headed out. Not worth going out of your way to see, IMO. You can see some of the fireworks from City Walk as well.