Universal Studios and Island of Adventure -- Harry Potter

[mlktwins]

I just booked our trip to Universal Studios -- specifically the Harry Potter attractions.  We are not staying on-site, but are going in the low season.  Any tips or must do's I should know about :-)?  We've been to the area twice with the focus on Disney.  We will spend a couple of days at Disney too, but our focus is Universal.  We are big Harry Potter fans.  We are getting 3 day tickets.  Thanks much!

[BrittanyM]

We went in February for 3 days and it was amazing! We stayed at the Holiday Inn outside the park and had a suite, which was really nice. The hotel offered a shuttle that ran around to a few hotels and dropped you off. We took that most of the time or DH would go back and get the car and pick us up. We had to get tickets from the desk in the hotel lobby ahead of time to catch a ride though! It was a pretty long walk for our 7 and 5 year olds, especially after we'd been on our feet all day.

 

Hot butterbeer is the BEST! You can only get it in The Three Broomsticks. It is a never ending disappointment to me that they made it seasonal at Universal Hollywood. There are some cool drinks at The Leaky Cauldron too. We bought dining plans at the counter and got the most expensive plates to split and it worked out cheaper that way.

 

Child swap is amazing if your kids are young, we used it all the time. Make sure to ride the Hogwarts express both ways if you got park to park tickets.

 

If you have any specific questions I would be happy to try to answer them. We spent the vast majority of our time in the Harry Potter sections as DH and I are big HP fans and we just dragged the kids along. [emoji12]

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited August 3, 2016 by BrittanyM

[DawnM]

How old are your kids?  Ages 7 and up can do the single rider line.  If you take advantage of the single rider line, you can bypass the larger lines usually.  We waited no more than 10 min. for Forbidden Journey for example.

 

However, I would recommend you at least once walk all the way through the regular line for Forbidden Journey, as the single rider line bypasses much of the line and you will miss the really cool recreations of scenes from the movie.

 

You must eat at the HP restaurants (Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron) as they are awesome.

 

One thing to consider.  You can turn your 3 day pass in by the last day and get full credit for an annual pass.  We did that and spaced our trips out to be almost a year later, but not having to pay again.

 

Current pass with block out dates is $260.  

[Lanny]

I just booked our trip to Universal Studios -- specifically the Harry Potter attractions.  We are not staying on-site, but are going in the low season.  Any tips or must do's I should know about :-)?  We've been to the area twice with the focus on Disney.  We will spend a couple of days at Disney too, but our focus is Universal.  We are big Harry Potter fans.  We are getting 3 day tickets.  Thanks much!

 

We were in Universal Orlando on 25 April 2016.  DD is "into" Harry Potter.  You need to purchase the Park to Park tickets, so you can ride the train between both parks and see everything.  

 

The Harry Potter stuff was outstanding, IMO.  

 

We wish that we had spent two (2) days in Universal Orlando, instead of just one day.

 

We bought 4 day "Park Hopper" tickets for WDW.  We wish that had been 3 day tickets...

 

We rate Universal Orlando as 5/5 and WDW as 4/5.  

 

Epcot was a disappointment for us (my wife and I had been there in May 2000 and enjoyed it), and we left there early and went to other parks, to ride the train and to shop for something DD hadn't purchased the first time she saw it.

 

We did not stay "on site" in either park. We were in a TImeshare, in Villas at Summer Bay Orlando, in Clermont.   We paid $400 on eBay, for 7 nights there, which included all taxes, free parking, WiFi, etc.  We would love to  go back to that Timeshare if we can...  2 BR 2 BA, fully equipped kitchen, etc. 

 

Have a good time!  STUDY before you go, so that you can go on the maximum number of attractions that you want to  see, during the hours you have available. 

[mlktwins]

How old are your kids?  Ages 7 and up can do the single rider line.  If you take advantage of the single rider line, you can bypass the larger lines usually.  We waited no more than 10 min. for Forbidden Journey for example.

 

However, I would recommend you at least once walk all the way through the regular line for Forbidden Journey, as the single rider line bypasses much of the line and you will miss the really cool recreations of scenes from the movie.

 

You must eat at the HP restaurants (Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron) as they are awesome.

 

One thing to consider.  You can turn your 3 day pass in by the last day and get full credit for an annual pass.  We did that and spaced our trips out to be almost a year later, but not having to pay again.

 

Current pass with block out dates is $260.  

 

My boys are 11 year old twins.  Does that mean don't use the 3rd day and turn it in for an annual pass or does that mean turn it in when we are done with our 3rd day?  This is gonna an expensive trip!!!

[DawnM]

My boys are 11 year old twins.  Does that mean don't use the 3rd day and turn it in for an annual pass or does that mean turn it in when we are done with our 3rd day?  This is gonna an expensive trip!!!

 

you can go up to the ticket booth anytime between your 1st and 3rd days, just don't leave the 3rd day and come back the next day (not sure if it won't work, but that is what I was told.

 

We went up to the ticket booth at the end of our 3rd day.

[mlktwins]

We were in Universal Orlando on 25 April 2016.  DD is "into" Harry Potter.  You need to purchase the Park to Park tickets, so you can ride the train between both parks and see everything.  

 

The Harry Potter stuff was outstanding, IMO.  

 

We wish that we had spent two (2) days in Universal Orlando, instead of just one day.

 

We bought 4 day "Park Hopper" tickets for WDW.  We wish that had been 3 day tickets...

 

We rate Universal Orlando as 5/5 and WDW as 4/5.  

 

Epcot was a disappointment for us (my wife and I had been there in May 2000 and enjoyed it), and we left there early and went to other parks, to ride the train and to shop for something DD hadn't purchased the first time she saw it.

 

We did not stay "on site" in either park. We were in a TImeshare, in Villas at Summer Bay Orlando, in Clermont.   We paid $400 on eBay, for 7 nights there, which included all taxes, free parking, WiFi, etc.  We would love to  go back to that Timeshare if we can...  2 BR 2 BA, fully equipped kitchen, etc. 

 

Have a good time!  STUDY before you go, so that you can go on the maximum number of attractions that you want to  see, during the hours you have available. 

 

Thanks for this Lanny!!!  We've been 2 Disney twice and I'm a huge planner.  There are a only few things we want to do at each Disney park (this is probably our last trip to Orlando for a good while) and we'll do 3 days there (there is a buy 3 days get 1 free going on right now).  We plan to spend 3 days at Universal.  Epcot is my least favorite, but we will go back for Test Track and the new Soarin ride.  This trip is mostly about Harry Potter!!!

[wimseycat]

I just booked our trip to Universal Studios -- specifically the Harry Potter attractions.  We are not staying on-site, but are going in the low season.  Any tips or must do's I should know about :-)?  We've been to the area twice with the focus on Disney.  We will spend a couple of days at Disney too, but our focus is Universal.  We are big Harry Potter fans.  We are getting 3 day tickets.  Thanks much!

HI,

 

I just wrote a blog post about this! Here is a link if you are interested. Also feel free to ask me any questions.

 

Annika

[Pegasus]

My biggest tip for Universal Studios, especially for Harry Potter fans, is to try to swing one night at one of the premium Universal hotels.  It is expensive, although less so in the off season, but the perks are worth it.  One hour earlier than park entry to one of the Harry Potter areas, and included front-of-the-line privileges for BOTH your check-in day and your check-out day.  Even off season, the Harry Potter areas get crowded, very crowded. It is absolutely amazing to be there before the park opens, enjoy that area for the full hour, and be on the first train to the other park as soon as the parks open to the general public.

[Lady Florida.]

As others said, get tickets for both parks so you can do both Harry Potter Worlds. Ride the Hogwarts Express from park to park, and ride it both directions. What you see "outside the window" of your train car is different each way (same thing each time but what you see depends on if you're going to Hogsmeade or London).

 

Get to the parks as early as you can and head straight for HP. See all you want in both HP parks, then do the other stuff. Unless you have roller coaster fans - if you do, make sure they get to Rip Ride Rocket. 

[Lanny]

The best suggestions I can give you are to STUDY before your trip and to get to the parks EARLY each day.  In WDW they have the FastPass things scattered around and I would head for one of those, as soon as entering the parks. I was not expecting to ride Roller Coasters and to my astonishment, the first thing DD took us to ride in Universal was a Coaster. We ended up riding a number of them in UO and WDW.  We rode the free shuttle from/to our Timeshare to Universal Orlando, but their schedules to the WDW parks were not to our liking, so we drove the rental car each day and paid $15 each day for parking. The day we left Epcot early, we left our car there and took the WDW buses to other parks and then went back to Epcot for our car. I think that was the day we got lucky and got a parking space very close to the entrance of Epcot.  One day, we went from one WDW park to another WDW park and we drove the car over there and did not need to pay for parking again, since we had the receipt for when we paid to park in the first WDW park.  The last day, we went to Kennedy Space Center, which is a special place for our family. Your family might enjoy spending a day there. Much less expensive than UO and WDW and that includes the restaurant and the gift shop.

 

HINT:  Take photos in the parking lot, of the nearby signs, so you will know which parking lot your car is in and what section of the parking lot it is in...

 

OT: We are going to attend a reunion (my wife is helping plan that event) and I just read about this new Roller Coaster. It says in Spanish, that it has 360 degree turns and 180 degree turns and drops of more than 90 degrees.  That, I believe, is much more extreme, than any of the Coasters we rode in Orlando at the end of April. This is in Colombia. I think I will go on their original Coaster, but not on this one. 

http://www.parquedelcafearmenia.com/krater.php

[SproutMamaK]

 

 

One thing to consider.  You can turn your 3 day pass in by the last day and get full credit for an annual pass.  We did that and spaced our trips out to be almost a year later, but not having to pay again.

 

Current pass with block out dates is $260.  

Wow, thank you so much for posting this! We're also going for 3 days (in November) and I had no idea this was an option. I highly doubt we'll make use of it, being from Canada, but... I could picture DH and I finding sitters for a weekend and taking a spontaneous trip down if we could find cheap flights. Oooooh now you've got me planning....

 

Edit: does anyone know if there's a similar option at Disney?

Edited August 6, 2016 by SproutMamaK

[AHASRADA]

We went during Labor Day week last year. The ticket counter staff at the hotel told us it is the quietest week, so I would highly recommend going then (not on Labor Day itself, obviously). We were going to pay the extra $$ to have priority in the lines for rides, but he suggested we not bother. I'm so glad we listened, as many rides at both Universal and Disney only had a 5-10 min wait, with the most popular at 30-40 min max. I can't vouche for any other week of low season, but it worked out great for us.

 

Absolutely get Park to Park passes. My DC were 18, 15 and 4, and they all loved Universal. Great family park for everyone!

[Starr]

We stayed onsite with very good rates. If you are checking put APH, (Annual Pass Holder), in the code section online. Staying at the Portofino we were able to enter an hour earlier and have their system of fast passes on rides. The boat ride to the parks was part of the fun. 

[Luckymama]

Edit: does anyone know if there's a similar option at Disney?

Yes, you can apply the value of your existing ticket (any length) when upgrading to an annual pass. Dh and I just did this the other day.

[DawnM]

Wow, thank you so much for posting this! We're also going for 3 days (in November) and I had no idea this was an option. I highly doubt we'll make use of it, being from Canada, but... I could picture DH and I finding sitters for a weekend and taking a spontaneous trip down if we could find cheap flights. Oooooh now you've got me planning....

 

Edit: does anyone know if there's a similar option at Disney?

 

Maybe.

 

If you get discounted tickets (like the homeschool passes, or school discount passes) you can't.  Disney is a bit more rigid about what they allow.

 

If you buy regularly priced tickets like you get at the booth, yes, you can do that, but be forewarned, Disney APs are MUCH more expensive.

[MeghansMom]

Like others have said, get passes for both parks.

 

Get there EARLY or HP will be SWAMPED.

 

We went for a day to MK then three days to US and then a night at MNSSHP.

 

We stayed off property on the day of arrival and day of MK, then checked in to Cabana Bay. It is fabulous! Well worth the money. You get in an hour early and the hotels at US are much nicer than Disney. We also did a night at Blue Man Group, it was awesome.

 

Harry Potter, wow, I have so much to say! It is breathtakingly themed. The rides are exciting and well detailed on par with Disney. We had the butter beer frozen and hot, both are good but the hot butter beer was the best. Eating at the Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron was great. If it is in the budget go for it. Meg was picked for a wand and she was so excited. On one side they have a shop with the mystic creatures and she bought a pink pygmy....she adopted it actually and they do a little show for it, really cute. They have scheduled mini-shows on both sides and they are very good too. The ice cream shop is the bomb. She loved riding the griffin roller-coaster, we were to scared to ride the Gringott's bank ride. The train ride is cool, be sure to do it both ways. We had our picture taken at the double-decker bus with the talking shrunken head, haha. We walked around the rest and did the ET ride, MIB, etc and some of the shows. The ones with the retired animal actors is great. We also liked the battle between Poseidon and the fire guy. Loved the easy pace and not having to rush to places although Disney is number one in my heart. Oh, she also grabbed Bernie's Botts, a chocolate frog and some kind of love potion, :p It was quite magical and we were so happy to get to go.

 

My husband travels still just not as much so the nights not at Cabana Bay were free with hotel points. Those days we stayed at Comfort Inn with a free full, hot breakfast which kept us satisfied until an early dinner/late lunch. 

 

it had been awhile since we had been to Disney and Meg felt it would be too immature plus we are both HP fans. She loved HP but she told me she is a Disney girl. So next October we are going to Disney for the whole trip and doing MNSSHP, it was the best celebration, better than MVMCP. The parade with the headless horseman, the candy TONS and GOOD STUFF, the decor, the fireworks, the shows. Her faves are AK and Epcot and ours are MK and Epcot. We will probably go back the year after to ride the new Kong ride when lines have died down some. Also a trip to Washington DC, still saving up hotel points for that one. 

 

You will have a fantabulous time! I am so excited for your family.  :001_wub:

Edited August 8, 2016 by MeghansMom

[mlktwins]

HI,

 

I just wrote a blog post about this! Here is a link if you are interested. Also feel free to ask me any questions.

 

Annika

 

Thanks for this link!  What fun :-)!!!!  I am getting our school year started and then focusing my free time on researching Universal.  I am sure I will have questions.  Thank you so much!