USO: three days in early October without Express Pass?

[Neo Fender]

Last trip to USO was >25 years ago so basically newbies; middle-aged couple, willing to do basic due diligence (plan, arrive early, be flexible, forego less interesting attractions, etc.)

Staying onsite - possibly CBBR (EPA)
Park-to-Park passes (unless deemed unnecessary)
No HHN

Monday 3-Wednesday 5 October, tentatively:
Mon: IoA
Tue: USF
Wed: VB (no USF due to HHN night)

Fine w/ passing on:
Doctor Doom's Fearfall
Most if not all of Seuss Landing
Many stage shows

Thanks!

 

[georgina]

The only thing no park-to-park tickets will cause you to miss is the Hogwarts Express train.

Early entry at IOA - most people head to Hagrid's, and if you are not near the front of the pack they will probably tell you the line is 180 minutes when you get there. So maybe do the other EE rides like Velocicoaster, Flight of the Hippogriff, and Forbidden Journey, and try for Hagrid's when the wait time goes down later in the day. Lines for other rides should stay on the shorter side in the morning - I enjoy Jurassic river adventure, Kong, and Spiderman. I have been on Hulk, but like Velocicoaster so much better that I usually skip it these days. The other 2 water rides in Toon Lagoon will get you quite wet. I like the Seuss trolley ride, and that line gets very long too, so I try to do that in the morning.

US opens at 8 in Oct. If you want to ride Minions, do it first thing because that line gets crazy long also. Gringotts is very popular so I would ride it early. The single rider line is usually much faster if you don't want to wait but you miss the preshow. Men in Black has a SR line also which is almost always a walk-on. Mummy may be busy because it has been closed for refurbishment (also has a quick SR line). The line for Rip Ride Rockit was pretty low much of the time I was there. I wouldn't wait in a long line for Jimmy Fallon ride (it's cute) or Fast & Furious (unless you are interested in all the car stuff in the queue). Transformers is very similar to Spiderman, ET is a nice little ride, the Simpsons is also fun but makes some motion sick.

Walk over to VB for EE and ride the aqua coaster with no line, also Ike Moana and Honu.

Take time to enjoy the little things that happen as you walk around the parks. Concerts, performances, characters, the attention to detail in each section of IOA is interesting, as well as in the Harry Potter areas. The shrunken heads in Knockturn Alley sing and tell jokes, until someone waves a wand at them to make them stop. I enjoy listening to Kang & Kodo of the Twirl & Hurl but usually don't bother riding it.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

For me, VB while awesome is not a full day park. Thus I would opt for park-to-park to get another half day in the "dry" parks.

But I don't think you need Express. Stay through the end of the day & you should be able to hit everything - as an adult party, hop in the single rider lines for quick re-rides (or first rides on rides that have no real back story - ie Hulk). Exception to that is Rip Ride Rocket (single rider line is painfully slow).

Be aware that Toon Lagoon rides will get you soaked, and make sure you have planned accordingly (change of clothes, break to hotel afterwards, or general acceptance of walking around sopping wet for a few hours).

 

[ClapYourHands]

Be aware that Toon Lagoon rides will get you soaked, and make sure you have planned accordingly (change of clothes, break to hotel afterwards, or general acceptance of walking around sopping wet for a few hours).

This is a really important warning! There are places on the rides where a waterfall will pour over you, and you can’t see those areas from the front, so it’s easy to underestimate how wet you get. It’s a drenched-down-through-your-underwear kind of wet. At the very least, make sure you have a change of shoes, and a plastic bag for your electronics. The rides are both really fun, but not if you aren’t prepared to be completely soaked.