Universal Christmas Activities and Nighttime Shows?

[kizmet311]

Hello! I am returning to Disboards after a six year hiatus after our one and only Disney trip in October 2017. This time we are eyeing a trip from December 15-20 of this year (quick planning!) mainly to Universal because of Harry Potter World. With the ticket deal, we would have 5 days of tickets for Universal, but wouldn't plan to use them all, because we want to do Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party one day and then probably one day at Hollywood Studios. So, for Universal, we would focus on Harry Potter World and maybe Jurassic Park. I definitely want to do the Universal Islands side one night to see Hogsmead and Hogwarts at nighttime, then we would do another day or two to spend between Harry Potter World and Jurassic.

With that said - does Harry Potter World or Universal have any particular Christmas activities or nighttime shows (even shows that aren't Christmas themed, but maybe HP related)? Just wondering what we might want to think about doing other than just the normal HP attractions.

 

[Skippyboo]

They do Christmas projections on the Hogwarts Castle at night. It becomes pretty crowded with people since it’s not a large area.

The big holiday stuff at Universal is Grinchmas with a show retelling How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Macy style holiday parade at Studio side

 

[kizmet311]

They do Christmas projections on the Hogwarts Castle at night. It becomes pretty crowded with people since it’s not a large area.

The big holiday stuff at Universal is Grinchmas with a show retelling How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Macy style holiday parade at Studio side

Thanks! Does anything require any special reservations or additional tickets/costs?

I think the Christmas projections on Hogwarts would be a must see, so are there any "best" viewing spots or best time to stake out spots for that?

 

[Skippyboo]

No all the holidays stuff is included in your Universal tickets nothing is a separate ticket like Halloween Horror is.

There’s a forecourt in front of the castle with a stage where they have Frog Choir and Triwizard show during the day. That’s where you have to go so you can see the castle.

It’s from dusk to park close probably 15 minute show that they repeat

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Generally with the Hogwarts light shows, the later shows are much less busy than the early shows. They may stop allowing people to enter the area if it becomes too crowded. However, people wander out after the show & you will be able to move up/in to see the next one. If you wait for one of the last shows, it is generally quite nice with good breathing room between groups.

If it is wicked busy, you can also see pretty well from a section of the Hagrids queue and will have lots of space around you.

 

[kizmet311]

No all the holidays stuff is included in your Universal tickets nothing is a separate ticket like Halloween Horror is.

There’s a forecourt in front of the castle with a stage where they have Frog Choir and Triwizard show during the day. That’s where you have to go so you can see the castle.

It’s from dusk to park close probably 15 minute show that they repeat

Thank you! That seems a little better than with the Disney shows that are just once a night. Hopefully more of a chance to see it then if we just wait around until park close lol.

 

[kizmet311]

Generally with the Hogwarts light shows, the later shows are much less busy than the early shows. They may stop allowing people to enter the area if it becomes too crowded. However, people wander out after the show & you will be able to move up/in to see the next one. If you wait for one of the last shows, it is generally quite nice with good breathing room between groups.

If it is wicked busy, you can also see pretty well from a section of the Hagrids queue and will have lots of space around you.

Perfect! That's why I want to have one park day where we are either arriving in to Orlando or spend time at the resort and just go to Islands of Adventure that night and stay until park close. Then we will still have at least two days to experience both sides of HP World in addition to that. Do you think Friday the 15th or Tuesday the 19th would be less busy for that? Since we would arrive on the 15th, I either want to do the Christmas party on the 15th or do Islands of Adventure on the 15th.

 

[Skippyboo]

I would do the Christmas party on a Tuesday. Do you have park to park tickets? You need park to park for the Hogwarts Express. It’s different each way.

Keep in mind Universal closes earlier than Disney parks around 7 pm maybe 8 pm. Check the park hours.

 

[kizmet311]

I would do the Christmas party on a Tuesday. Do you have park to park tickets? You need park to park for the Hogwarts Express. It’s different each way.

Keep in mind Universal closes earlier than Disney parks around 7 pm maybe 8 pm. Check the park hours.

We will be buying park to park for Universal with the ticket deal they have going on right now just so they can ride Hogwarts Express.

Based on what you are recommending, we would go to Islands of Adventure on Friday the 15th after we arrive in Orlando and stay until park closing to see the Hogwarts projection show and do the Disney Christmas party on the 19th.

 

[sandam1]

I'm not sure if you've bought tickets or how far you are in your planning, but here's a few suggestions:

1. Assuming that you have park-to-park passes (which I would highly encourage), try to think about both parks as one entity. They are that close. And if you are staying onsite at Universal, it is very easy to pop over to the park for a few hours, head back to your hotel for a little bit and then head back. Proximity and transportation logistics are VERY different than at Disney.

2. Since you are going to be at Universal over the weekend, note that Universal usually has a free Mannheim Steamroller concert on Saturdays and Sundays around park close on the Studios side. Nothing has been announced (that I can find) so far for this year.

3. Make sure you see the parade (Studios side) at least once. The live action Grinchmas (Islands side) is an absolute must do. These are "plan your day around them" things and I've been known to do both more than once.

4. If you have kids (or really like the Grinch/Christmas things), there is also usually a breakfast with the Grinch on the Islands side. Reservations aren't available yet and go fast.

5. You might want to consider upgrading one of your tickets to an annual pass for the hotel discounts (assuming that you are staying onsite). Seasonal passes are blocked out on concert days (so you couldn't do the Studios side) and you would need to double check blackout dates, but sometimes the costs work out.

Christmas is my favorite time of year at Universal (narrowly edging out Mardi Gras) and there are so many wonderful things to explore.

 

[kizmet311]

I'm not sure if you've bought tickets or how far you are in your planning, but here's a few suggestions:

1. Assuming that you have park-to-park passes (which I would highly encourage), try to think about both parks as one entity. They are that close. And if you are staying onsite at Universal, it is very easy to pop over to the park for a few hours, head back to your hotel for a little bit and then head back. Proximity and transportation logistics are VERY different than at Disney.

2. Since you are going to be at Universal over the weekend, note that Universal usually has a free Mannheim Steamroller concert on Saturdays and Sundays around park close on the Studios side. Nothing has been announced (that I can find) so far for this year.

3. Make sure you see the parade (Studios side) at least once. The live action Grinchmas (Islands side) is an absolute must do. These are "plan your day around them" things and I've been known to do both more than once.

4. If you have kids (or really like the Grinch/Christmas things), there is also usually a breakfast with the Grinch on the Islands side. Reservations aren't available yet and go fast.

5. You might want to consider upgrading one of your tickets to an annual pass for the hotel discounts (assuming that you are staying onsite). Seasonal passes are blocked out on concert days (so you couldn't do the Studios side) and you would need to double check blackout dates, but sometimes the costs work out.

Christmas is my favorite time of year at Universal (narrowly edging out Mardi Gras) and there are so many wonderful things to explore.

Thank you for all of the tips! We are very early in our planning stages. I have a friend who is a planner for Disney and Universal, although she is certainly more familiar with Disney. I am waiting on a cost from her so I can get my husband to agree to the trip and then hope to be making a deposit this week on a hotel/ticket package for Universal. We do plan on staying onsite - most likely at Sapphire Falls as I can't quite stomach the cost of the Express Pass hotels. Well, I could, but it will be easier to get my husband to agree to the lower price lol.

1. Would you recommend doing both sides of HP world in one day or do you think it matters? We will have plenty of park days to do them separately or together - I was just wondering if the "experience" was better doing them both in one day or stretching out the experience to two days.

2. That sounds AMAZING! I love concerts and Christmas music, so that will be a must do for me.

3. I'm not usually a huge parade person (although I love Boo to You), but what characters are typically in the parade? I do love live action shows, though, so I would want to do Grinchmas!

4. How much does the breakfast cost and when do reservations typically open?

 

[Skippyboo]

There is only one ride on Diagon Alley side (Studios) and 3 rides on Hogsmeade side (IoA) with the Hogwarts Express that connects 2 areas. Hagrid’s motorbike is going to have the longest wait since there is no express. So it’s doable in one day but I would recommend spreading it out so you can take in the various shows, eat at leaky cauldron or 3 broomsticks. You can buy interactive wand and do various spell windows in both sections or just chill w a butter beer and hang.

 

[sandam1]

We do plan on staying onsite - most likely at Sapphire Falls as I can't quite stomach the cost of the Express Pass hotels. Well, I could, but it will be easier to get my husband to agree to the lower price lol.

Again, you can take a look at the passholder rates here. Sometimes they will help. Or if you do a split stay, you get EPs for both the check in and check out days. I go at "off peak" times and have done fine without EPs, but the timing of your trip is likely to be BUSY!

1. Would you recommend doing both sides of HP world in one day or do you think it matters? We will have plenty of park days to do them separately or together - I was just wondering if the "experience" was better doing them both in one day or stretching out the experience to two days.

My best friend loves doing a HP day where we start on the Studios side and "follow Harry's journey." I don't find it as necessary after our first - second - tenth trip, but there is an argument for it. I prefer to have the flexibility to zig when the crowds zag. Particularly with Hagrid's because that always has, by far, the longest lines. But it is soooo worth it.

3. I'm not usually a huge parade person (although I love Boo to You), but what characters are typically in the parade?

The parade is primarily made up of Macy's balloons with Universal and other Christmas themed characters. There are also floats and some really, really good dancers and performers (I think Universal blows Disney out of the water with their live performers). Universal parades aren't as big of a deal as Disney. You don't need to grab a spot hours in advance. The only area that gets crowded is around the Christmas tree where Santa stops to light it up at the end of the parade.

4. How much does the breakfast cost and when do reservations typically open?

This has information from last year. No one knows when the reservations will open.

 

[kizmet311]

You have both been SO helpful and I have one other question...contemplating starting a thread just for this question.

I want to go to Universal in December for multiple reasons - cooler weather, Christmas activities/parties, and we have an earlier than usual Christmas break with school. Last time we went was 2017 and we did the first week of October. Am I getting in way over my head with the crowds between December 15-20 or will we be ok? Most of our time will be spent at Universal with hopefully one day at HS and one Mickey's Christmas party.

I am a HUGE planner, so I will not go in without a plan and a priority list of things to do in case we can't do it all. Since this is in the Universal section of the forum, maybe you all can give me the perspective on Universal since we will have multiple days there (I'm thinking two full days and two half days).

 

[Skippyboo]

It might be crowded especially on the weekend but it’s shouldn’t be crazy level Christmas to NYE level. Universal really doesn’t require battle plan level of planning like Disney does. I would download the Universal app and familiarize yourself with the rides and various restaurants at Citywalk. The rides at Universal have more screens and coaster are more intense than WDW.

 

[kizmet311]

It might be crowded especially on the weekend but it’s shouldn’t be crazy level Christmas to NYE level. Universal really doesn’t require battle plan level of planning like Disney does. I would download the Universal app and familiarize yourself with the rides and various restaurants at Citywalk. The rides at Universal have more screens and coaster are more intense than WDW.

Thank you! My planner did say that with Universal it may be possible to add ExpressPass to just one day's worth of tickets so we could consider doing that. I like the idea of starting at Diagon Alley then riding the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade/Hogwarts so that would be the day to have the ExpressPass for sure.

Also, I noticed that Hogwarts Express is scheduled for maintenance through December 16th. What is the likelihood that a planned maintenance goes beyond schedule?

 

[sandam1]

Since this is in the Universal section of the forum, maybe you all can give me the perspective on Universal since we will have multiple days there (I'm thinking two full days and two half days).

I don't think you've mentioned to composition of your travel party. That might sway my response at little bit.

But in general, the Orlando Informer calendar has that Friday through Sunday as busy and Monday and Tuesday as moderate. What does that mean? It's hard to tell. It probably won't be as crazy busy as the week between Christmas and New Years, but there are going to be crowds and lines. You are going to want a plan of attack and use things like early entry hours and single rider lanes (if you can) to your advantage. You may want to plan on eating at off times - or getting reservations in advance - if you want to eat at some of the more popular sit-down restaurants. Be a smart park-goer (and maybe spend some time looking through old threads to park touring tips) and you should probably be okay.

One thing to remember is that Universal doesn't require the same level of planning as Disney. So you will do well to have your short list of "must do" things, but you can also look out for random cool experiences that might not happen when you are rushing from ride to ride. For me, if the parks get to be too much, I love to head back to the hotel and get food there (we stay at Cabana Bay and the food court there is really good) or head to the pool. Cabana Bay, which is right across the street from Sapphire Falls, has a bowling alley and a lazy river (you can pool hop if you stay at SF).

Will you get to see everything? Maybe, maybe not. Will you have a good time? I think that you would.

 

[sandam1]

My planner did say that with Universal it may be possible to add ExpressPass to just one day's worth of tickets so we could consider doing that.

Be sure to check the math on this. A lot of times (particularly with multiple people), it is cheaper to get an EP hotel room than to buy them individually.

I know that your planner is a friend, but many travel agents who aren't familiar with Universal can and do give out just plain wrong information. I would always run the numbers myself. Everything is available on the Universal website.

 

[M23F5]

I 100% agree with the above poster. I have a family of 5 and always stay at the EP hotels. 1 night at the hotel is less expensive than 1 day of express passes for our family and with one night, you get 2 days of unlimited express passes. Christmas is so much fun at both Universal and Disney! You are going to have a blast.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. Would you recommend doing both sides of HP world in one day or do you think it matters?

I would suggest starting out & seeing how the day progresses. You might decide you are immersed & invested in checking out the rest of the HP areas all at once. Or you might decide you want to do a loop of other things & come back to HP in a few hours or the next day. The HP areas get especially busy mid-day, so if you finish up with one it may behoove you to do something else for a bit & resume the HP exploration at a less busy time.