What to do first.....?

[Ragman]

Looking to stay on site, party of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids all 9 and over), visiting parks saturday the 13th of Feb thru Monday the 15th. So 3 days, wont be going to the park until after we check in at hotel on Saturday so that will be a late start. What rides and attractions should we save for Sunday, as it will be the one day we can definitely be there as early as possible?

3 days seems like alot but I've found with poor planning you can spend a lot of time waiting in lines whereas if we knew what would get busy and when, we could be sure not to miss anything.

Last time we went to Universal was the year after Harry Potter opened and we had early entry and rushed straight to the Forbidden adventure ride. While we walked quickly thru the "town" there were about 50 other people walking around us so there was plenty of room. There was no express pass for this ride so we got in line and still were in line for a good 40 minutes. After the ride by the time we got out it was elbow to elbow all thru the "town" We didnt get to do much else in there the lines were so long and the crowds were crazy.


Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[damo]

The ride with the longest line is Despicable Me.

Most other lines go quite quickly now.

 

[HM]

First thing I'd do is set up the Universal Wait App on my phone (I assume someone in your group has a smartphone) and check to see what the lines look like as you enter the park. I'd go the direction of the ones showing the shortest waits. I'd do Hogsmeade at the end of the day.

I'd definitely hit Despicable ME first thing on Sunday (get there for opening or early opening if it's available) and then go to Diagon Alley and then work my way to MIB, and Simpsons after that....

 

[hdnwaters]

We did 2 full days at IOA/US 2 weeks ago. We did a Wednesday, headed straight to Forbidden Journey (15 min wait) ....the longest wait we had on Wed. was Gringotts at 30 mins. Our other day was a Saturday. Most everyone stops at the Minions on the way in. Wait times ranged from 40 to 60 minutes. We got there about 9:15 and went to the back of US....did MIB as a walk on, Gringotts (for a second time) 15 mins and then Mummy (a second time) 10 mins. By 10:30 the park was starting to fill up. Our longest wait was Transformers about 40 mins. I watched Minions on the Universal App til it dropped to about 35 mins. We did single rider to ride Transformers and Forbidden Journey a second time. We also did a table service lunch both days and watched the Beetlejuice and Animal show. Nice downtime....we even rode Cat n the Hat! The Harry Potter areas in the parks were definitely the most crowed. I would try to hit them early. Fun parks....we had a ball. Be sure to experience a visit with a "live" raptor in Jurassic Park! There was also a long wait both days for the Hogwarts Express.....we only rode it from IOA to US...like a 40 minute wait to ride it in the other direction on Saturday.

 

[Ragman]

OMG so many rides, so many decisions...

So I thought that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was only at Islands of Adventure? Are there Harry Potter rides and attractions in both parks?

 

[angierae]

OMG so many rides, so many decisions...

So I thought that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was only at Islands of Adventure? Are there Harry Potter rides and attractions in both parks?

Diagon Alley opened up in USF last summer.

 

[Ragman]

Well it looks like Despicable Me is the ride to hit on Sunday. So we will hit that first.

Thank you everyone.

 

[PantherPete]

When you say you are staying "on site", will it include the Express Pass? If so, I wouldn't be too concerned about a touring plan. I'd ride the HP rides (no Express pass) early and then plan to go back late in the day to ride again and explore. In between, I'd guess you won't have to wait more than 10 minutes for anything with EP, except for Despicable Me, which could be anywhere between a 5 min and 30 min wait.

 

[Robo56]

Ragman you say your planning on staying on site. If you stay at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay you get express pass included in your stay at any of these three resorts as well as early entry as a guest. Cabana Bay Universals budget resort gives early entry as the others do but, no express pass. So with your express pass I don't think your going to have as big a problem getting on rides. The Forbidden Journey in Hogsmeade and Escape from Gringotts in Diagon Alley you cannot use express pass on.

As damo said above Dispicable Me (the minions ride) is very popular.

Yes, there are two different Wizarding World of Harry Potter Parks Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley at Universal. You need park to park tickets to ride the Hogwarts Express between the two Potter parks.

Example: If Islands of adventure opens on Sunday early to resort guest at 8 am be there to enter the park at 7:45. The park will not open others who are not staying onsite until 9. Head straight to Forbidden Journey then Flight of Hippogriff then dueling dragons. Take in the shops in Hogsmeade then be in line to get on Hogwarts Express as soon as it Starts to run to Diagon Alley. Then go to Escape from Gringotts and you have completed the Potter rides. You can find out which park opens early when you check in or call ahead to ask.

When we were there in May it was IOA that opened early.

See the wand show at Ollivanders and wonder around Diagon Alley. Have lunch at Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley or Theee broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

Have a good time. Universal is a stress free experience. Not a lot of hyper planning.
Hope this helps