Over or under-thinking Universal

[litebright]

We are headed to Orlando in mid-July for a week, staying at Universal. I feel a little disconnected from it -- DH has booked everything so far. We're staying at Portofino Bay, have two HP breakfasts booked, multi-park tickets and whatever Universal's fast-passes are called. I ordered wands for the girls and those have already arrived. 

We've done WDW twice and I did SO much more planning -- what rides to prioritize at what times of day, reservations for X or Y meal, character meet-and-greets. My kids were way younger, though -- they're 12 and 14 now, interested in HP, super heroes & Jurassic Park but not particularly wild about rollercoasters. Everything just feels more like we're winging it and that that's ... probably okay? 

We won't be at Universal all week, I expect it'll be two or three days and we'll do a side trip to the Kennedy space center and maybe a last-minute day at Animal Kingdom or Epcot if we get bored. The only other thing I really want to book before we go is a couple of sit-down dinner reservations so we're not stuck waiting at the end of a long, hot day. 

I haven't been to Universal since college (a loooong time ago). Do you think it just sort of naturally lends itself to less planning or am I missing something? 

[CurlyQ284]

I think there is a lot less planning. You don't have to do a park reservation. You can buy line jump passes but you don't have to do the ride reservations like Disney. You just get in a seperate line at the ride, kind of like the fast line at TSA at the airport.

[mrsslocombe]

You’re fine with less planning, especially if you bought the fast pass thing.

A few things to think about:
1. Velocicoaster and Hagrids are not available on Express Pass, so if you want to ride those you should have a plan of attack. When I was there Velocicoaster had a shorter line first thing in the morning but EVERYONE went to Hagrids first, so it was actually longest in the morning. By about 12/1 the ride time dropped. It was still long but not as bad. Also Velocicoaster is awesome at night, I recommend riding in daylight and night time. We did wait for the front of the line once and it was terrifying so if you are into being scared shitless…it’s worth the extra 20 minutes.
2. I’d look at the show times and decide if there’s anything you MUST see just to be aware so you can be in that area.
3. If you guys are into Harry Potter, go to Diagon Alley first thing one day and enjoy before it gets too crowded, it’s a lot easier to do the spells and see all the details.

[mrsslocombe]

I just saw that your kids aren’t big on coasters. I’d skip Velocicoaster. But I think Hagrids has enough other stuff going on that it’s worth it, there’s a lot of “surprises” but no loops or going upside down or anything like that.

[Zoly]

Yes, so much less planning and I kind of love it. It's so much easier to get to the parks and to park hop. And I love having Express Pass when staying at the "deluxe" hotels. I still love Disney, but enjoy how easy it is at Universal.

[picksthemusic]

Do you all recommend getting wands first? I'm sure the kids will want to do the wands thing (me too! haha), but not sure if we should save getting them for Ollivander's or if we should order them ahead.

[mrsslocombe]

Jun 28, 2022 10:48:28 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

Do you all recommend getting wands first? I'm sure the kids will want to do the wands thing (me too! haha), but not sure if we should save getting them for Ollivander's or if we should order them ahead.

Do you have more than 1 day at Universal planned? As long as you have 2 days, and if your kids want the Ollivander's experience, I would get them there.

[momin2013]

I have been to Universal several times and have literally never done planning other than buying tickets in advance. We got the express passes once and I didn't find it made a huge difference, but I'd say that depends how busy your park days end up being (I've never been on a day that I'd consider to be crazy busy) and which rides you want to go on. I'm sure for the very popular rides it would help.

We went most recently in March with DS (9) - it was our first time taking him. We did one day park-to-park tickets, and we basically did everything we wanted to do in both parks in one day. I personally think two days for Universal and IOA is plenty (not sure if you're planning for Volcano Bay too).

DS and I are not rollercoaster lovers. Gentler rides and simulators I'm generally o.k. with, but not actual coasters. The very first ride we went on was Hagrid's Motorbike and DS and I found it way too fast and we both hated it. LOL. If you are not coaster lovers, I would not recommend Velocicoaster, Rip Ride Rockit, or Incredible Hulk. Hagrid's would be a maybe, but I'd check it out from the sidelines before waiting in line for it.

I have never found food inside the parks to be great, so we have always just grabbed something quick during the day when we got hungry where we were at the time rather than trying to plan to be in a certain part of the park at a certain time to eat. I think that takes a lot of stress out of it, as you never really know how long waits will be so it can be hard to predict where you'll be at mealtimes. The restaurants on Citywalk are MUCH better that what's inside the parks IMO, so we always do dinner there when we're done for the day instead of eating dinner in the park.

I think the best part of Universal by far is HP World - Diagon Alley is amazing. I would definitely recommend doing the HP areas first thing each morning (go there first if you get early admission), as those areas get pretty busy.

[momin2013]

Jun 28, 2022 10:48:28 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

Do you all recommend getting wands first? I'm sure the kids will want to do the wands thing (me too! haha), but not sure if we should save getting them for Ollivander's or if we should order them ahead.

I would recommend getting them at Ollivander's - it's such a cool store inside and I think it would be fun to pick one out there. They're all lined up on shelves to the ceiling, reminiscent of the movie, and it's pretty neat.

[picksthemusic]

Jun 28, 2022 11:32:47 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Jun 28, 2022 10:48:28 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

Do you all recommend getting wands first? I'm sure the kids will want to do the wands thing (me too! haha), but not sure if we should save getting them for Ollivander's or if we should order them ahead.

Do you have more than 1 day at Universal planned? As long as you have 2 days, and if your kids want the Ollivander's experience, I would get them there.

Yes, we'll be there about 3 days. Good to know!

[jaycee]

I recommend downloading the app and familiarizing yourself with the maps. Understand where the lands are in relation to each other. Get an idea about where landmarks are, which areas you want to see/skip. If you have the express pass, you'll wait for almost nothing. You'll love it!

[momin2013]

Yes, I second the app - it was VERY useful to have!

[CurlyQ284]

Also Pumpkin Juice is better than Butterbeer.
I SAID WHAT I SAID.
Its like fall in a drink.

[dinnerfor2]

Lurker here...just got back from this exact trip with kids ages 12, 10 and 6. Portofino Bay was lovely with an awesome pool. We also went to the Hard Rock and Royal Pacific pools for a change of scenery. They were awesome too! We took the water shuttle to the parks most days. The HP rides were incredible, and a total hit. We spent a lot of time in Diagon Alley, it is absolutely magical after dark. Line was not too long at Ollivander's if you go in the morning during the early entry hour. Leaky Cauldron was great for lunch, and we did restaurants in City Walk for dinner (highly recommend Cowfish and Antojitos if you can get a reservation). Your kids will want to do Voodoo Donut (order online and pickup at the kiosk so you don't have to wait in line). We ended up waking early and doing parks in the mornings with the early entry hour, pool in the afternoon, then back to the park at night. It was a perfect plan for our kids' ages. And no need to plan out ride itineraries as you do at Disney, we did not wait longer than 30 minutes with the express pass. There are a quite a few water rides at IA, bring flip flops...if you go in sneakers, they won't dry and will be wet for the rest of the trip. We saved the water rides for one evening and did them all at once. 

Rides we loved: all HP rides, Poseidon's Fury in IA, ET, Despicable Me, Jurassic River 

Could have skipped: Simpson's ride, Jimmy Fallon

Oh, and don't rule out Volcano Bay. We had free passes with our reservation (which was a surprise, our original paperwork said VB was not included). It is enormous and awesome--my kids' favorite day. We ended up doing this instead of going to Disney as planned. 

Have a great trip, Universal is so easy and accessible!