Quick Trip to Universal Review

asumom

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 23, 2011
My husband and I just returned from a quick trip to Universal. We drove from Northern California. We hadn't been to Universal for about 18 years. We visited the park on Monday and Tuesday, March 18 and 19.

Lodging: stayed for 3 nights at Nite Inn. It is the only budget motel within walking distance. We were hesitant to book, but it has been getting good reviews so we gave it a try. The rooms are small, but updated and clean (the pictures on their website do represent the rooms well). The staff is friendly, parking is free (but can be an issue if you come in late; they will take your key and double park for you in their lot), and breakfast is included from 7:30am to 9:30am (coffee/tea, cereal, toast, waffles, danish...enough to get you going). The free universal shuttle is a 5 minute walk from the motel. It is not a resort, there is no pool, but if you want a budget friendly place to sleep close to Universal, this might work for you.

Tickets: purchased 2 day tickets from Undercover Tourist, through the MouseSavers link; they were the least expensive I could find ($233.38 for 2, no tax or fees charged). They did not include early entry. Regarding early entry, each morning Universal opened all gates between 9:40 and 9:45 (early entry was at 9:30am).

Touring tips: since we had 2 days, we weren't worried about missing anything. Check the app or website for wait times as they go up and down often. Simpsons and Despicable Me stayed constantly busy both days (60 to 70 minutes). Harry Potter will sometime go under 30 minutes. You can skip some of the wait using the single rider line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,The Mummy and Transformers. If you have a backpack, bag or purse larger than a small crossbody, you must store them in the free lockers at Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and The Mummy (we saw people being pulled out of line and directed to the lockers when we were almost at the boarding area). There are test seats outside of Harry Potter (larger, taller visitors might want to check to make sure they fit before waiting in line.) My husband, 5'10" 250 pounds, fit no problem, but it depends how you carry your weight. For the studio tour, if you want to be closest to Jaws, board first. If you want to be closest to the flood in the Mexican village, board last.

What we did Day 1 (park open 10am-7pm) Harry Potter Forbidden Journey (we were just going to check the test seats for my husband and come back later, but the staff member randomly gave us an express pass so we rode that without a wait!), Simpsons, Mummy, Transformers, early lunch, Studio Tour, butter beer and relax at Hogs Head, Kung Fu Panda, Walking Dead, Water World, Animal Actors, Flight of the Hippogriff. We left the park around 5:30pm.

What we did Day 2 (park open 10am-6pm, stayed all day) Simpsons, Walking Dead, Despicable Me, Special Effects Show, Studio Tour, later lunch, Harry Potter (regular queue, long line....forgot about single rider! But, if you do single rider or express pass, you miss most of the inside of the castle), Transformers (single rider), Mummy (single rider), Harry Potter (single rider).

Food: food and drinks are expensive, so make your decisions wisely. Of course, we had to try butter beer, but it was $7.50! You can ask for a cup of water at the restaurants. The portions at 3 Broomsticks are huge and the food was very good. My husband had the bangers and mash (14.49). I actually went with the kids roasted chicken($8.99). It was a quarter chicken (large breast with wing) and came with potatoes (I substituted mixed vegetables) and grapes. The french bistro didn't have a large selection but the chocolate croissant and lemon poppy bundt cake were very good (both $3.59).
 
Thanks for this report. Do you recall how long you waited in the single rider line for Harry Potter?
 
Thanks for the reports. I can't find a decent USH forum anywhere, and this is the first recent review. Sounds like I made a good choice with doing two days in June. And with Jurassic World opening up, that'll be even more for us to do!

Sounds like for food, the park is pretty blah. Maybe we'll just walk out to the CityWalk and grab some Bubba Gumps or something.

How early before opening would you show up at the gate?
 


Gator Chris......you tube has some, not many, reviews, including food reviews. I would eat at 3 Broomsticks again. I have heard good reviews of Gru's Lab, but it wasn't open when we visited. As far as getting to the gate in the morning. The security lines can get long, I would think to be there around 45 minutes early, like Disneyland. If you have early entry tickets, they open them on time, not earlier. If you have general tickets, they might open the gate early (like in our case, they opened early entry at 9:30 and once that line started thinning, around 9:45, they opened up to everyone, instead of waiting until 10am.
 
Than
Gator Chris......you tube has some, not many, reviews, including food reviews. I would eat at 3 Broomsticks again. I have heard good reviews of Gru's Lab, but it wasn't open when we visited. As far as getting to the gate in the morning. The security lines can get long, I would think to be there around 45 minutes early, like Disneyland. If you have early entry tickets, they open them on time, not earlier. If you have general tickets, they might open the gate early (like in our case, they opened early entry at 9:30 and once that line started thinning, around 9:45, they opened up to everyone, instead of waiting until 10am.
Thank you for this helpful review! Would you say it’s worth it for early entry based on what you saw? My kids are new Harry Potter fans so it would be advantageous but being a thrifty mom, I always want to save a couple bucks. We would be there on Monday and Tuesday on September.
 


Than

Thank you for this helpful review! Would you say it’s worth it for early entry based on what you saw? My kids are new Harry Potter fans so it would be advantageous but being a thrifty mom, I always want to save a couple bucks. We would be there on Monday and Tuesday on September.
I think you will be fine doing 2 days in September without early admission, if it saves you some money.
 

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