UOR newbie... so many questions - HELP

[N5girl]

Hi

I have done WDW more times than I can remember, however this will be my first UOR trip with DS7. He seems to have become an HP-obsessive overnight. We have a short trip coming up from 17-21 Feb (park days 18-20 Feb) and it was originally going to be a WDW trip. He is not that interested in scary rides and is not interested in Marvel.

1. Can we get all the HP-stuff done in one day if I buy a park-to-park ticket, rope drop, buy the wand before we get to the park, eat a quick-service lunch, have a plan and walk with purpose all day?!

2. We are staying offsite. Given it is President's Day week and UK half-term, should I get an UEP? Lots of people are saying that the queue is the best part. How much time would a UEP realistically save us during a busy week? Will most people have UEPs as well? I am just wondering whether we would use it enough if we are concentrating mostly doing HP activities. I have got very used to FPPs at WDW and realistically we will probably not stand in a queue for more than 40 mins.

3. Can I buy a UEP in the park if we change our minds?

4. If I buy a one-day ticket in advance, do I have to select the day in advance or can it be used on any day? Can you upgrade the ticket in the park (i.e. from 1 day to 2 day)?

5. Is there anything else that people have as a 'must do' ride, that is not particularly scary (i.e. not upside down) and will not make me puke?

6. What would you do - one day park-to-park with EP or two days park-to-park without EP?

All advice greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

 

[Rinzler84]

-- as far as Harry Potter stuff goes depending on the line queues you should be able to get it all done if you're talking about just Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, The Hogwarts Express(both ways), and Escape from Gringotts. I don't consider the flight of the hippogriff a ride unless you have children. And well riding Hagrids Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is only feasible if you get over to IOA when it opens. I've been several times and have done all of those rides including this last time in which I waited for about an hour to ride the Hagrid ride. Definitely get the park to park as you'll need it to ride the Hogwarts express unless you plan on getting a annual or seasonal pass...
--I'm not even sure racing for rope drop and running around the parks all day is even needed as long as you look at crowd calendars to get an idea of what it may be like and plan your decision on getting fast passes based off of that.
-- The queues for The Forbidden Journey, Gringotts and Hagrid are pretty amazing for first timers or even for people who have been 100 times. I felt like the Dragon Challenge queue was better but that's another story for another time.
-- I would check Universal crowd calendars online to see what the past crowds have been like on those days.
you can purchase express passes in the park if you get there and the line queues are longer than what you want to wait for (on average)
now the must do ride for me every time is Revenge of the Mummy. Its not "scary" per se depending on your level of scary and or what makes you puke. It doesn't go upside down but the it is an indoor launch coaster and its fast but its my favorite ride in all of Universal.

--If it were me after checking crowd calendars to get an idea of what the crowds may be like I would do two days park to park and make the decision on buying express pass after you've gotten into the park to see what the crowds are like.

--If you choose to do one day which I do not recommend then you do have to select the day and you only get to choose one park.

Hope that helps.
(please excuse the fast pass and express pass confusion as I may have used them interchangeably throughout this post)

 

[N5girl]

Thanks for all the advice. We will be on UK time, so rope dropping is not a problem as we will be up by then anyway. I was planning on checking on the progress with the Hagrid ride to see if it was more reliable in 6 weeks' time. It is not a must do for us. The crowd calendars on UnderCover tourist are red for the first three days of the week - probably because it is President's Day/Spring Break.

--If you choose to do one day which I do not recommend then you do have to select the day and you only get to choose one park.

I am a bit confused - the UOR website says you can get a one day 2 park-to-park ticket - so don't we just have to choose the date but not the park? I am not too worried about that because we don't have to book any rides in advance. I assume we can just get the tickets the week before.

 

[tweak89]

On the subject of Express Pass. When you add up the cost it is usually CHEAPER to get a room at Royal Pacific (even if you don't stay) as it gives you the Unlimited Express pass for the day of arrival and the day you check out. Also (if you do stay) it's a short walk or boat ride to the parks.

 

[N5girl]

Unfortunately it is an expensive week - a night is about $600 for our dates. Thank you for the tip though - I will consider a throwaway room for our next trip.

 

[Rinzler84]

Okay to clarify:
You can do a (one day) park to park ticket(which I do not recommend because there is so much to do in each park and considering the potential waits in line queues etc etc in my opinion it would not be worth it(unless you consider the express pass option.) You would still have to choose the day on that option which could be a problem if you choose a day and get there and the park is full or line wait times are high.
Park to park would give you the option to ride the Hogwarts express which is pretty cool and it saves you time going from park to park.

If you have any thoughts about spending more than one day at Universal I would say go with the 2 day - Park to Park and make the decision on the express pass when you get to the park. That way you can go between both parks on two days and not be rushed to get everything done in one day. And if you go to Islands of Adventure on day one and its busy you can go over to the Studios side if its less busy and vice versa on day 2. It really is a better option. That is if you have any inclination of putting in two days at Universal which again I fully recommend.

Don't forget the Mardi Gras festivities start on Feb 1st and happen every night until April 2nd. The music, food, and parade alone is worth an extra day.

Hope that helps.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Hi

I have done WDW more times than I can remember, however this will be my first UOR trip with DS7. He seems to have become an HP-obsessive overnight. We have a short trip coming up from 17-21 Feb (park days 18-20 Feb) and it was originally going to be a WDW trip. He is not that interested in scary rides and is not interested in Marvel.

1. Can we get all the HP-stuff done in one day if I buy a park-to-park ticket, rope drop, buy the wand before we get to the park, eat a quick-service lunch, have a plan and walk with purpose all day?!

2. We are staying offsite. Given it is President's Day week and UK half-term, should I get an UEP? Lots of people are saying that the queue is the best part. How much time would a UEP realistically save us during a busy week? Will most people have UEPs as well? I am just wondering whether we would use it enough if we are concentrating mostly doing HP activities. I have got very used to FPPs at WDW and realistically we will probably not stand in a queue for more than 40 mins.

3. Can I buy a UEP in the park if we change our minds?

4. If I buy a one-day ticket in advance, do I have to select the day in advance or can it be used on any day? Can you upgrade the ticket in the park (i.e. from 1 day to 2 day)?

5. Is there anything else that people have as a 'must do' ride, that is not particularly scary (i.e. not upside down) and will not make me puke?

6. What would you do - one day park-to-park with EP or two days park-to-park without EP?

All advice greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

I'm not sure which rides you would consider too intense, so I would recommend researching the HP rides first. Hogwarts Express is obviously very tame and a different ride each direction, and Forbidden Journey is very cool to walk through even if you decide not to ride. Basically, if you don't have an EP, you'll want to do the rides first thing and if you do have it, you can either head straight for Hagrid's (which does not take EP) or skip that and do spells with the wand before it gets crowded. For a HP fan, there's a lot of joy in just exploring and not walking with purpose all day. Three Broomsticks has pretty kid-friendly food, and it's best to eat early to avoid the crowds. The beauty of the EP is that you can relax and not be on a WDW-style touring plan all day yet still get on the rides, but it really depends on your budget. It's difficult to say whether you should choose an EP over a second day in the parks, but I would choose more time in the parks, especially with a kid who loves HP and is not as interested in rides. Do spells, explore the shops and details, watch the shows, get treats.

As for non-HP rides, it really depends on what you like. My must-dos range on the scale from totally tame and some would say boring (Dr. Seuss trolley) to doesn't-go-upside-down but is an intense coaster (Mummy). Minions is usually considered more of a must-do, but we've found that Jimmy Fallon is the tamest in terms of the puke factor and still fun. Spider-Man is just a fun ride, even for people who don't care about the characters. My kid has an ET phobia, but that's generally considered a classic family-friendly ride. King Kong isn't really a must-do, but it is tame enough in terms of movement for almost everyone. Woody Woodpecker is a very basic kiddie coaster, but my kid could ride it all day. The water rides are fun -- but you get drenched. Men in Black has some pretty intense spinning that bothers some people.

 

[got2sammies]

Hi! We have been going to Disney but this year we are going both- unfortunately in order to do so we gotta go in August since we are doing 12 days.. this will prob be the only tiMe we do universal.. we book royal pacific for the express pass and also dining plan- is the dining plan with it? We like to experience different foods and such? Is it worth the higher hotel rate for the express pass? We def want to do all rides multiple times (again this will prob be our one time here). We are doing 3 day two at parks and one at volcano bay... any other tips? Tricks?

 

[bchbetha]

Hi! We have been going to Disney but this year we are going both- unfortunately in order to do so we gotta go in August since we are doing 12 days.. this will prob be the only tiMe we do universal.. we book royal pacific for the express pass and also dining plan- is the dining plan with it? We like to experience different foods and such? Is it worth the higher hotel rate for the express pass? We def want to do all rides multiple times (again this will prob be our one time here). We are doing 3 day two at parks and one at volcano bay... any other tips? Tricks?

You can decide on the dining plan once you’re there. You can purchase at a register after you see if it makes sense for how you order/ eat.
If you want the ability to reride, you’ll love the unlimited Express Passes that come with the hotel stay.