Help with 3 day universal itinerary

[westminster]

I'm planning our family's first trip to Universal, arriving late on 2/13 (Thursday) before moving on to Disney on 2/17 (Monday) for another 5 days. We already have three day park-to-park tickets and are staying at Loews Pacific so will have UEP. This will be Presidents Day/Valentines Day/Mardi Gras weekend so heavy crowds! The crowd calendars show early admission at USF and VB (but not IOA) on each day we're there though these haven't been announced yet - is it likely this will change? It looks like our first day (2/14) will be least crowded but not by much. Our main interest is Harry Potter but would love to see as many other attractions as we can fit in that are appropriate for a 7 year old and 9 year old.

Day 1: we're getting in late the night before so plan to have a leisurely breakfast, maybe hit the pool, then head to the parks in the afternoon and stay until close; I’m thinking maybe we start with non-HP rides in the afternoon (not sure which park?) and then spend late afternoon/evening doing HP (Diagon, Hogsmeade or both?)

Day 2: plan to get an early start, take advantage of early admission at USF to enjoy Diagon with low crowds, then move on to non-HP rides at whichever park we didn’t do the day before; then check out one or both HP worlds in evening?

Day 3: maybe RD Hagrid; hit whatever we didn’t get to or anything we want to ride a second time and/or fit in VB; also plan to take an afternoon break from the parks this day and come back in evening

I could use help coming up with a general plan of attack including which park to visit on which day, how to approach HP world (do it all at once, split it up over mornings/evenings etc), when to fit in rides with long waits (Hagrid, Minions, etc), as well as the parades and light shows, and maybe VB (it came free with our park pass but it's not a priority). I’ve read a lot of posts and touring plans but seem to be getting more and more confused! I know we don’t have to sweat it too much since we’ll have express pass but would at least like to have a general sense of which parks to visit in which order and how to tackle HP. Any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated!

 

[ELSA711]

Having UEP you will be able to use the express lane at Minions. And I aways recommend doing the HP experience all together so you can experience the Hogwarts Express both directions. I just like to stay in theme/character. Then we tackle the other areas later.

 

[f1gm3nt]

You shouldn't have much of a problem doing everything with the Express Passes. I'd agree with the previous poster that you should try and do all of the Harry Potter activities together (skipping Hagrid's to keep it simple) in one go to stay in character.

The slowest Express Pass might be Gringott's and Minions (lots of preshows). Hulk was also kind of a slow loader with an express pass, but certainly not horrible.

February weather might be hot enough for the water rides at IOA, if you wanted to pick the warmest day to do those.

Universal is just so much....easier....than Disney World. You can basically do what you want, when you want.

I'd suggest taking the time to watch the Animal Actors on Location show if you get a chance.

 

[westminster]

Thanks. I like the idea of doing all the HP activities together. If you were in our shoes and showing up at the parks around 1 PM on on a high crowd day, where would you start and how would you sequence the HP attractions?

Or would you just wait for day 2 and start with Diagon during early park admission and make it an all-HP day? I liked the idea of starting our HP adventures hitting Ollivanders first thing and then roaming Diagon casting spells while the streets were still quiet...

I also like the idea of keeping an eye on the weather as you suggest and then trying to fit in IOA whenever it seems like it will be the sunniest. And definitely plan to check out Animal Actors!

 

[westminster]

Just to be clear, my concern was whether showing up mid-day at Diagon/Hogsmeade for our first HP experience would be unpleasant due to crowds in the stores, streets, etc? As opposed to waiting until evening of first day or EPA on second morning?

 

[ELSA711]

I always recommend starting in Diagon Alley and taking the train to Hogsmeade. If you love HP the way we do, there was something to be said about the experience Harry must have felt. Getting off the train and seeing Hogwarts Castle for the first time. Experience it as the students would have. Our first time there was the same. Mid day, but summer hot crowds !! Nothing can take away that first time experience no matter the crowd level IMO. My kids were somewhat little too and we all love Harry Potter. Leading up to the trip we read the books together one at a time followed by the respective movie.

 

[bchbetha]

I’d let your kids choose and I’d be ok with spontaneous changes. That’s the best part of EP. crowds also might be a non issue for the kids and they’ll want to see HP no matter what. I know I did and there was no way I’d wait!

 

[cfoxga]

Minions will be open for EE at US, and you'll likely walk by it going to Diagon Alley. So you might want do that on day 2 before starting the HP journey.

 

[Kellydelly]

Minions is weak (IMHO, Jimmy Neutron was better), don't plan your day around that ride. Simpsons is more fun.

 

[westminster]

Thanks, great advice - talked to my son and he definitely wants to head to Diagon Alley first thing, so that makes things easy. So we will arrive at Diagon around 2:00 on Friday afternoon (crowd levels 7), on a day when USF is open until 8 and IOA until 7. I’m thinking of two options:

Option 1:
Day 1: Spend afternoon and evening doing a thorough tour of Diagon including dinner at Leaky Cauldron, buy wands, ride Gringotts, ride Hogwarts back and forth (I don’t think there would be time to do much at Hogsmeade by this point since it’s closing at 7)
Day 2: RD Hagrid at IOA (normal 9:00 opening) then fully explore Hogsmeade, ride FJ and Hippogriff, lunch at Three Broomsticks, then move on to non-HP rides

Option 2:
Day 1: Spend couple of hours getting lay of land at Diagon, ride Hogwarts, explore Hogsmeade, have dinner at Three Broomsticks, ride FJ and Hippogriff, take Hogwarts back, spend closing hour at Diagon
Day 2: use early admission at Diagon (maybe quick stop at Minions), ride Gringotts, buy wands, fully explore Diagon, lunch at Leaky Cauldron, then move on to HP rides (leave Hagrid for morning of Day 3)

Which would you do?

 

[westminster]

Sorry, just to add crowd levels for days 2 and 3 are predicted to be 8-10 depending who you ask...

 

[ELSA711]

We were there in the dead of summer arriving same time of day you are planning. We picked option 2, high crowds and Diagon Alley was way worse at 2:00 then Hogsmeade so we started there and did exactly what you said. Take in the experience of Diagon Alley, visiting the stores. Robes, Wands, Quidditch gear. Knockturn Alley, I believe they had a magical creature store. So fun but we didn’t ride Gringotts until the next day. We explored and then went to IOA for a tour there. We just couldn’t wait to see Hogwarts! It was actually perfect for us. Then hit the ground running the next day. We had purchased the wands so EE next day we were in Diagon Alley casting spells

 

[westminster]

Cool, thanks. I also just realized one flaw with option 1 is we wouldn't be able to ride Hogwarts both ways at end of night since IOA will already be closed at 7. I'm wondering when exactly does the last Hogwarts train leaves the station - and when do you have to be on line by to catch it?

.

 

[ELSA711]

I remember getting on a few minutes to close as we always used the train to get back to USF since they always closed later and our hotel was on that side of city walk

 

[starlionblue]

I'm planning our family's first trip to Universal, arriving late on 2/13 (Thursday) before moving on to Disney on 2/17 (Monday) for another 5 days. We already have three day park-to-park tickets and are staying at Loews Pacific so will have UEP. This will be Presidents Day/Valentines Day/Mardi Gras weekend so heavy crowds! The crowd calendars show early admission at USF and VB (but not IOA) on each day we're there though these haven't been announced yet - is it likely this will change? It looks like our first day (2/14) will be least crowded but not by much. Our main interest is Harry Potter but would love to see as many other attractions as we can fit in that are appropriate for a 7 year old and 9 year old.

Day 1: we're getting in late the night before so plan to have a leisurely breakfast, maybe hit the pool, then head to the parks in the afternoon and stay until close; I’m thinking maybe we start with non-HP rides in the afternoon (not sure which park?) and then spend late afternoon/evening doing HP (Diagon, Hogsmeade or both?)

Day 2: plan to get an early start, take advantage of early admission at USF to enjoy Diagon with low crowds, then move on to non-HP rides at whichever park we didn’t do the day before; then check out one or both HP worlds in evening?

Day 3: maybe RD Hagrid; hit whatever we didn’t get to or anything we want to ride a second time and/or fit in VB; also plan to take an afternoon break from the parks this day and come back in evening

I could use help coming up with a general plan of attack including which park to visit on which day, how to approach HP world (do it all at once, split it up over mornings/evenings etc), when to fit in rides with long waits (Hagrid, Minions, etc), as well as the parades and light shows, and maybe VB (it came free with our park pass but it's not a priority). I’ve read a lot of posts and touring plans but seem to be getting more and more confused! I know we don’t have to sweat it too much since we’ll have express pass but would at least like to have a general sense of which parks to visit in which order and how to tackle HP. Any advice you can offer is greatly appreciated!

I just went and trust me, you do NOT want to go to islands of Adventure on a Monday. It will be impossible. True, Univ St will be crowded but it won't be as bad. Try Is of A on a Tuesday. I don't know if it's worth waiting for Hagrid's. The ride broke down so many times that I and almost 100 others gave up after shivering in the cold for a little under 2 hours. Shame on Universal. They need to get rid of it. It has been having these problems for five MONTHS. I might go to Universal in the future but I will never go to Is of Adv again unless they completely redo Hagrid's or get rid of it. I went twice and they were having problems both times. In the end, I didn't get to ride it. They should give free Express passes for that screwup or something. Meanwhile, they charge Disney-steep prices on everything. $120 for house robes?! Nope, won't spend more than $75 for them. Souvenir keychains? $13-18 each! T-shirts? A whopping $34.99. I only bought one keychain and the paint chips off easily! I might visit in the future but they won't get me to buy any merchandise ever again.

 

[cfoxga]

The key to Hagrids is to get to the IoA entrance a little more than an hour before opening and head straight to Hagrids. So instead of a 2 hour wait in the Hagrids queue, you have an hour before the park opens (you can bring food/drinks to help pass the time), and a 30-45 minute queue for Hagrids. Since you are riding early, there is a better chance of getting on before any shutdowns occur.

We were late the the first day and got in a 2 hour queue. Then the ride had problems, so we bailed. Next day we went early and got to ride it. We really enjoyed the ride and all agreed that it was worth getting up an hour early for.

Unfortunately, problems for new coasters is not unique to Hagrids. Lightning Rod at Dollywood had issues for the first 2 years. I had 6 days over two trips where I was unable to ride it. But on the 3rd trip I did, and now it is one of my favorite rides. I'm sure Universal will get the kinks out at some point...

 

[westminster]

The more I read about it, the more I feel inclined to skip Hagrids this trip. This will be our family’s first theme park trip and we will be blown away by so many of the other experiences that I don’t think it’s really a orth waiting two hours on line even though I’m sure the ride is great. We could fit so much other stuff in that two hours plus we will have plenty of waiting on lines once we get to Disney! By the time we come back again in five years or so they should have all the kinks worked out?!

 

[starlionblue]

The key to Hagrids is to get to the IoA entrance a little more than an hour before opening and head straight to Hagrids. So instead of a 2 hour wait in the Hagrids queue, you have an hour before the park opens (you can bring food/drinks to help pass the time), and a 30-45 minute queue for Hagrids. Since you are riding early, there is a better chance of getting on before any shutdowns occur.

We were late the the first day and got in a 2 hour queue. Then the ride had problems, so we bailed. Next day we went early and got to ride it. We really enjoyed the ride and all agreed that it was worth getting up an hour early for.

Unfortunately, problems for new coasters is not unique to Hagrids. Lightning Rod at Dollywood had issues for the first 2 years. I had 6 days over two trips where I was unable to ride it. But on the 3rd trip I did, and now it is one of my favorite rides. I'm sure Universal will get the kinks out at some point...

Um, this is hardly a brand new coaster. They have had over seven months and they STILL can't work out the kinks. Unfortunately, they also picked Intamin Gmbh to build the coaster. I've been to a rollercoaster website where the reviewers went all over Europe and he was able to find out the brands of every single coaster. Intamin was easily the all time worst. Guess who built Hagrids? Intamin.

 

[schumigirl]

The more I read about it, the more I feel inclined to skip Hagrids this trip. This will be our family’s first theme park trip and we will be blown away by so many of the other experiences that I don’t think it’s really a orth waiting two hours on line even though I’m sure the ride is great. We could fit so much other stuff in that two hours plus we will have plenty of waiting on lines once we get to Disney! By the time we come back again in five years or so they should have all the kinks worked out?!

If there`s not too long a wait, it is completely worth waiting for!!! Lots of coasters have issues when they first go up....RRR took a long time before it was reliable for very long periods of time.

Amazing ride that really is a fabulous addition to the parks. We haven't seen anyone who hasn`t been impressed with the ride. I must admit, it`s one of the things we are most looking forward to riding again.

But, if you don't do it, and I can understand not wanting to wait, there`ll be plenty more for you and your family to do in the Potter areas and around the parks.....I`m sure you`ll absolutely love it.....

 

[cfoxga]

Um, this is hardly a brand new coaster. They have had over seven months and they STILL can't work out the kinks. Unfortunately, they also picked Intamin Gmbh to build the coaster. I've been to a rollercoaster website where the reviewers went all over Europe and he was able to find out the brands of every single coaster. Intamin was easily the all time worst. Guess who built Hagrids? Intamin.

Seven months is not a very long time, especially when the park is open every day (until recently). Hopefully, they'll take this opportunity to make proper changes, instead of overnight band-aids.

Lightning Rod over at Dollywood would be down days at a time even after 2 years, so I've seen it much worse that Hagrid's. Then again, that launch system is the first of its kind and it was the fastest wooden coaster. Not saying that it is a fair comparison, but there are some parts on Hagrid's that are not found on other coasters...