Alicia64 Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 We're visiting Harry Potter for the first time in Nov. Any advice -- especially hotel advice -- is very appreciated. I'd like to stay in one of the Universal hotels that's connected to Harry Potter and have early access to the park etc. At the same time, I'm interested in economy hotels super near the park. (We can't quite decide and want suggestions for both.) Also, great food suggestions, how to best navigate the park suggestions -- all welcome!! Thanks, Alley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Following :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 No advice, but we're going in November, too :) We're staying at a 50's style hotel in the park (not sure what it's called) and DH was able to add to the package breakfast at one of the Hogsmeade places (again, which one escapes me, but he added it to either the theme park package or the hotel package). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimseycat Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 I made a blog post about visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Island of Adventure Park. Hope it helps a little! Happy to answer additional questions if I can! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted August 27, 2016 Author Share Posted August 27, 2016 I made a blog post about visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Island of Adventure Park. Hope it helps a little! Happy to answer additional questions if I can! Your post is AWESOME! Thank you so much! Can you suggest both the very best hotel next to Harry Potter and the best economical hotel? Thank you so much! Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 We stayed about 10 min. away. We wanted a full condo. We stayed in Windsor Hills last time we went. In Nov. you won't need early park entrance. We went in November and then again the following Aug and Oct (annual passes last year) and never had an issue with crowds. One thing I will recommend. Your boys are old enough to do the single rider lines. You can wait in line together but ride separately and get right on most rides. Little to no wait. Not all rides have it, but utilize it when you can. Eat at the Harry Potter themed restaurants. We wished we had done it every day instead of just the last 2. I am assuming you will be getting park hoppers to allow entrance to both parks and allow you to ride the Hogwarts Express. Buy a popcorn bucket and a refillable drink container. Refills are .99 cents from now until eternity, and we utilize it well. We take them back every trip. Get a donut at Lard Lad's at least once. It is HUGE and all 5 of us ate it for almost a whole lunch! Take disposable rain ponchos if you don't want to get drenched on water rides. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 We stayed at cabana bay. It was fantastic! Fun, economical, clean and just a few minute walk to the park- no dealing with parking. There was also a bus if you needed it. It was also nice to be able to go back and hit the pool while it was really hot mid day and then walk back to the park later. They also had a fun bowling alley that was reasonably priced and very well air conditioned. Seriously my kids loved this resort. We did get early admission which helped us get on some of the popular rides faster. But we also went at spring break so it was crowded. If you are going at a less impacted time then you might not need it. Fyi- butterbeer and frozen butterbeer- soooooo sweet. Ugh. None of us liked it. But friends said it was great. I recommend only getting one at a time. Lol! We loved all the rides and the food. Only thing that we didn't care for was the wand choosing at ollivanders. Thankfully we didn't have a long wait. It was just kinda boring. Bring water bottles and snacks. Universal lets you bring snacks in! Huge for this mom of three hungry boys. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Loved Cabana Bay. We went one year ago this week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 No advice, but we're going in November, too :) As are we! I'll just keep an eye out for all the other unsocialized homeschoolers. ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 As are we! I'll just keep an eye out for all the other unsocialized homeschoolers. ;) Maybe we should plan a meet-up? We still haven't picked a date. Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 We're going in late January for the Celebration of Harry Potter weekend. We just booked it yesterday. My kids are so excited. We are staying at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Has anyone gone during the Celebration days? How crowded does it get? I had planned on doing the trip that week since it wouldn't be crowded in January before I found out it was the Celebration weekend, but the kids said they wanted to do it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 One year we purchased one annual pass to the park. It brought down the price of the room at Portofino considerably. Just type in APH , Annual Pass Holder, to see the rates. It was nice to get in early and only have the fast short lines for rides. The other time we were there it was a third or fourth night free at the hotel. Check around and call about specials. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 One more thing. Check the Annual Pass rates. We found that the 3 day pass was almost the price of an AP (we got the one with blackout dates, lowest price) so we got the APs and went back 2 more times on those! We were thrilled. And if you go in November and go back the following October, it is still almost a full year, but you don't need to pay again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Great that you are going to Universal Orlando in November. Hopefully, NOT close to Thanksgiving. We were there on April 25th. You need to buy the tickets that permit you to go to both parks, so you can ride the Train and so you can see everything. We were only there one day and regret that. Two days in UO would have been much better. One day less in WDW would have been much better for us. We spent 4 days in WDW on Park to Park tickets. Get to the parks early, before they open! That is a good rule, wherever you are going. Study about the parks, before you go. We have the Unofficial book for WDW, which, fortunately, includes a lot of information about UO. We stayed in a 2 BR 2 BA Timeshare with a Full Kitchen (7 nights for $400, including everything, Booked on eBay) and we took their Free Shuttle bus to UO and back. We did not take their Free buses to the WDW parks, because we did not like the schedules, so we drove the rental car each day to WDW. It was not near to UO or WDW, but it was perfect for us, in every other way. Villas at Summer Bay Orlando Go to the Universal Orlando web site and sign up for their email newsletter. You might get an offer that you like. If so, grab it immediately. When we were in the parking lot, waiting for the Shuttle Bus to take us back to the Timeshare, about every 2 or 3 minutes, there were buses for a UO property. As I write this, I can't remember what the name of that property is. Again, I suggest that you sign up for the UO email newsletter and that you STUDY. Have a great time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremmy Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 So jealous and I don't even know you! ;-) following to get ideas because I want to visit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlktwins Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 As are we! I'll just keep an eye out for all the other unsocialized homeschoolers. ;) Maybe we should wear a special WTM pin or something we can keep an eye out for :) . We are going between Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving week, but we aren't sure yet which days we are doing at which parks (going to Disney and LEGOLAND too). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 The lines for Single Riders, when they are open, can save a lot of time. Some of the lines we waited in, if my memory is OK, were at least one hour. We were in WDW for 4 days, so I have more memories of lines in WDW than in UO. One ride DD and I went on, in the regular (not FastPass+ ride) in WDW, the waiting time was 45 or 50 minutes. In the Single Rider line, it was about 5 minutes. When DD and I got to the head of the line, the person told us, "we will need to split you up" and I said, "fine, split us up" and we rode in separate cars. The free bus from Summer Bay Orlando got us to UO way before the parks opened. By the time we walked from the bus to the Park Entrance, there were a lot of people ahead of us, waiting in line, for the gates to open. Be in that first group and then head for your highest priority attractions, before the park starts to fill up. We were in UO on April 25th and I cannot imagine what it is like on Thanksgiving. There were lots of people there on April 25th. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I met up with Lynne from these boards during my last trip! It was nice to meet her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Loved Cabana Bay. We went one year ago this week. I think that's the one we're staying at :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Maybe we should wear a special WTM pin or something we can keep an eye out for :) . We are going between Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving week, but we aren't sure yet which days we are doing at which parks (going to Disney and LEGOLAND too). We're there from the 2nd to the 17th. The only days we have definite plans for are the 3rd and 7th at Disney, so we're in the same boat; everything is still so up in the air that it's hard to plan anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimseycat Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Your post is AWESOME! Thank you so much! Can you suggest both the very best hotel next to Harry Potter and the best economical hotel? Thank you so much! Alley I wish I could, but we chose to rent a home because there were 6 of us and it seemed cheaper than getting multiple hotel rooms. I am not sure on the cost comparison now, but I think we ended up saving some money doing it that way and buying groceries. We had a grocery store close by that was very convenient. We really liked coming home and being able to make "real food" while the kids played in the pool. The only meal we ate out was lunch every day at the parks and by the end of the week we were all pretty sick of park food. Initially we intended to eat at Emeril's at Universal Studio but nobody wanted to. Haha I have read that breakfast at the Three Broomsticks is supposed to be pretty good. So that might be an experience worth trying. If I did it again and had fewer people with me, I might consider staying at one of the hotel's that gives you some Harry Potter benefits like Loews Portofino. The Hard Rock looks a little loud and obnoxious to me. I am just waiting until they let me hunker down in Hogwarts Castle or maybe a little room above the shops on Diagon Alley. Is that too much to ask? Lol Seriously though I can't imagine there won't be a Harry Potter themed hotel SOON! Could you imagine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrittanyM Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 We stayed at the Holiday Inn near the parks in a suite in February and it was very nice. The hotel was decent, but older. It was quite far for our kids to walk so we ended up taking the free shuttle most of the time, which dropped off at our hotel first but picked up first as well (so you had to ride around to the other hotels on the loop before you got to the parks). We had to get tickets the day before to ensure a spot. Our kids are young though (they were 7, 5 & 1) so walking that extra distance was hard for them. I wish we had stayed at a Universal hotel. I didn't want to pay for it but they are so much closer and seems like they have awesome and fun emenities (like the boats, pools). The option to have a front of the line pass if you stayed at Royal Pacific would have been a plus as well. We definitely didn't need it as most of the lines were very reasonable and we had to do child swap most of the time anyway but it would have been easier to get through more rides. We did 3 full days (and took breaks for naps each day) and didn't ride anywhere near all the rides! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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