Need for touringplans plans if we have EP?

[martikus]

No plan needed with EP. truly. It is our most favorite thing now that Disney has become so advance planning. And if you love a ride.....get back in line and do it again with minimal wait. We went in July this summer peak and waited 10 min or less for most things. I think longest wait was 20 min forbidden journey when regular line 90 min plus.

we have now been twice in 2 years and LOVE how casual it is. We did each park walking all way around so not back tracking and then after that picked and chose our favorites often time hopping over to other park by hogwarts express.

we actually don’t even go for early hours. With express you don’t need it so we love not having to rush over and would instead aim to be there when entire park opened.

our tips...don’t rush off to other things. If your kids want to ride again and again let them. We did find kong line could move slow so we wouldn’t get in if EP was more than 15 min.

surprise hit was posiden fury show. My 10 year old loved it so much we did it again this year when he was 12. It doesn’t get much love on this board, but he really enjoyed it.

we chose not to do hagrids as it was still the 2-3 hour line in July.

have fun!

 

[ninafeliz]

OP - keep it simple...unlike the direction of this thread. Lol. Have a general idea of what the parks offer. With your unlimited express, that’s all you really need. And I personally wouldn’t skip Ollivanders, it’s short but cute and worth doing once. Diagon Alley location moves people through a bit faster than Hogsmeade.

Go to Ollivanders!!! Do the show!! There is ZERO rhyme or reason to who gets chosen- being dressed up etc. just doesn’t matter. And, it’s still just magical and fun. I wouldn’t want to skip buying interactive wands from Ollivanders. Best souvenir we bought. We’ve actually lent them out a few times to friends heading to Universal too.
I’d do Harris’s first. Ollivanders in Diagon Alley moves pretty well.

That's great advice for someone who's been there and done that but OP stated "I haven't been to Universal in years and am not familiar with all of the rides."

No plan needed with EP. truly. It is our most favorite thing now that Disney has become so advance planning. And if you love a ride.....get back in line and do it again with minimal wait. We went in July this summer peak and waited 10 min or less for most things. I think longest wait was 20 min forbidden journey when regular line 90 min plus.

we have now been twice in 2 years and LOVE how casual it is. We did each park walking all way around so not back tracking and then after that picked and chose our favorites often time hopping over to other park by hogwarts express.

we actually don’t even go for early hours. With express you don’t need it so we love not having to rush over and would instead aim to be there when entire park opened.

our tips...don’t rush off to other things. If your kids want to ride again and again let them. We did find kong line could move slow so we wouldn’t get in if EP was more than 15 min.

surprise hit was posiden fury show. My 10 year old loved it so much we did it again this year when he was 12. It doesn’t get much love on this board, but he really enjoyed it.

we chose not to do hagrids as it was still the 2-3 hour line in July.

have fun!

Thank you all so much, this is so helpful! I just got back on and caught up on all of the great advice. I am not sure yet if we’ll do the early entry or not, I might play it by ear and only do it once, but it’s good to know that all is not lost if we don’t do it lol. Also, I now want to do the Ollivander’s show- you convinced me!! I admit I hope my boys want wands, or I’ll have to admit I want to get one regardless. I also realized that the Mannheim Sreamroller concert that is there one of our days is included in park admission (I think), so I’m trying to decide if I want to give up the time to watch it or just ride more. Since I’m planning Candlelight Processional lunch and JBJB dessert party for our Disney Day and mostly Christmas stuff for our MVMCP instead of rides, maybe I should just let the kids run the show for the Universal days. I want to both squeeze all of Christmas from both places into a 5 night trip and have time to relax and see Universal- and the two don’t go together!

Any thoughts on the Grinchmas Breakfast? Worth it or don’t bother? keep in mind I’m all about Holiday Extras haha!

 

[glocon]

The parks are least crowded during the ee hour- great time to do spells if you end up buying a wand....

 

[ninafeliz]

The parks are least crowded during the ee hour- great time to do spells if you end up buying a wand....

Good thought! Seems like it would be mentally hard to not get on the ride first, kind of like when we did EMM for TSL and always planned to not do SDD first, and always ended up doing it first because that was the big thing everyone rushed to and it was hard to differ haha!

 

[christophfam]

Woof! I'm not recommending a minute by minute itinerary, chill buddy!

Guess you missed the LOL in my post? No need to take offense really. Was just trying to take it down a notch with some humor. Sorry you read it the wrong way or felt I was directing something specifically at you.

That's great advice for someone who's been there and done that but OP stated "I haven't been to Universal in years and am not familiar with all of the rides."

I did read the entire thread and still stand by my advice. Keep it simple, have a general idea what the parks offer and just relax and enjoy with unlimited express.

 

[christophfam]

Good thought! Seems like it would be mentally hard to not get on the ride first, kind of like when we did EMM for TSL and always planned to not do SDD first, and always ended up doing it first because that was the big thing everyone rushed to and it was hard to differ haha!

Awe, but that’s the joy of having unlimited express. You never have to rush anywhere! I agree if you do buy a wand early entry is a great time to do the spells!

 

[bchbetha]

I think most who have been there many times don't feel the need to make a plan but I for one am still new to Universal so for us having a plan to prevent back tracking in my book is very important. To each their own

That’s the thing- the TPs I’ve seen recommended (via the official paid TP site) have a lot of backtracking. They’ve just been illogical. I’m still relatively new to visiting the parks too but I can definitely find a lot of flaws. I wouldn’t want to I follow the itineraries they spit out. Like others have said, the parks are small. You just don’t need to plan much. Review maps, make your list of must rides and must sees. We’re all trying to say it’s easy because it just is.

 

[justKim]

Go to Ollivanders!!! Do the show!! There is ZERO rhyme or reason to who gets chosen- being dressed up etc. just doesn’t matter. And, it’s still just magical and fun. I wouldn’t want to skip buying interactive wands from Ollivanders. Best souvenir we bought. We’ve actually lent them out a few times to friends heading to Universal too.
I’d do Harris’s first. Ollivanders in Diagon Alley moves pretty well.

Just to add about Ollivanders...we went with another family and ahead of time we stressed with the 4 kids that only ONE person is chosen in the show. They chose all four of our kids. No HP costumes - one was wearing a Disney shirt. The kids were thrilled, but it was expensive!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

You don’t need TP or a good plan unless it’s busy. We go the weekend before Thanksgiving. Last year the Sat and Sun were TP crowd level 6 or 7 and the Mon and Tues were crowd level 10. It was noticeably busy that M and T. We had unlimited EP. the only line that was 30 mins was Minions and we’ve seen that line long before and just shipped it and come back (which you can do on EP - the line lengths ebb and flow in ways that are different than just building all day). There were 20ish min waits for Hulk and Gringotts.

If you are a commando type personality and want to make sure you get the absolute maximum efficiency out of your day, it might be worth the $5. If you are a mess about organization and every time you ask the fam what’s next the 3 kids all point different directions and a fight ensues it’s worth the $5 (which is why I can tell you the crowd levels from last year). If 20 min waits for headliners bother you,it might be worth it.

If none of those apply you’ll be just fine with a plan for Hagrid’s and just checking out the line for Ollivander’s (afternoon can be a good, short wait time to go) and hit everything else as the mood strikes. It’s really much more relaxed than Disney (where I always use a touring plan).

 

[Splat10]

How did your trip go?

 

[ninafeliz]

How did your trip go?

It was amazing! We had no plan ahead of time for our 3 days, other than the Grinch Breakfast one morning and the sights and sounds dessert party that same night. We did end up going to the early hours at US all 3 days, the first time to do Ollivanders without a wait (we did it 3 times in a row the first morning, and one of my sons was chosen the 2nd time. My other son never got chosen, but he didn't seem bothered by it) and the second 2 times to do Ollivander's again since they really liked it and to do the interactive wands and enjoy the land without crowds. It was great to just walk over every morning, and since we weren't riding we didn't have to worry about being early, so if we were a few minutes after the gates opened we didn't care.

We bounced between parks a couple of times a day, usually on the HE but once or twice the line was too long and we were impatient so we walked. With the unlimited express pass we never waited more than maybe 5-10 min for anything (except had we used the HE those times we walked), and usually we pretty much just walked on, it was unbelievable! The regular lines didn't look awful, but for the big rides they did get up to the 40-60 min time (and sometimes more) at least the few times I would check. We more of less did rides in the order we came to them, but not always. We didn't end up doing any shows, the kids didn't want to give up the time to get there ahead of time to get a seat and plan to be anywhere at a specific time, and I didn't really care that much. We did every attraction/ride except Shrek (we could have done it, just always did something else), and did our favorites multiple times (FJ, EFG, MIB, Mummy, Spiderman to name a few). We did pretty much stay from park open to close, but it closed at 7 every day so it wasn't really that long of a day. We even did the Raptor encounter and the Pteradon Flyers (twice) that didn't have EP - RE just didn't have too long of a wait and PF was early one day so we did it before the wait built up (the first time walk on , second time maybe 10 min. We had to go twice because of their height requirements, and for whatever reason I wanted to try it and not just let the kids go alone haha. We actually enjoyed it, but wouldn't wait more than 15 min and would skip it if we only had a day at the parks).

We got to ride hagrid's once, and it is now my favorite ride anywhere! We should have tried our first day, but we just waited. The second day we got on with a 54 min wait when it said 90 min, and the third day we waited in line almost 90 min with 2 breakdowns, finally decided to leave since it was our last afternoon and we didn't want to waste it all, and the ride reopened as soon as we got to the lockers! My poor son was almost in tears, and I have to admit I kind of wanted to join him! Such a bummer! If only there had been some way to know they were testing the trains and it was likely to start soon, instead of just the extended downtime announcements! I was kind of annoyed, but that's just how it goes I guess.

All in all we LOVED it, and as much as I love Disney I was super impressed with Universal and want to try to get back sooner rather than later. What I'm not sure of is how much I love Universal for itself, and how much I loved it for the Unlimited Express pass! had we not had it I honestly don't know, I would have still liked it but probably not to this extent. No lines sure jumps an experience up! I don't think I want to go again without it (and I know my kids don't), we'll either make that work by resort room or pay, or not go. I guess we are spoiled.

To answer my own question after the fact - no, you don't need a plan at all with unlimited express pass. At least the dates we went in early December. It was awesome!

 

[Tormania]

Based on these posts and other things I have read the only thing that requires any "planning" is that if you want to ride Hagrids with minimal wait then you Rope Drop that one ride and then the rest of your day is a leisurely pace of what you want to do. We are going to USO on the Wed-Fri of Thanksgiving week so while the crowds should be high during those 3 days, we will have EP AND 3 FULL DAYS so we'll have more than enough time to ride all we want I feel and then we can repeat our favorites.

 

[ninafeliz]

Based on these posts and other things I have read the only thing that requires any "planning" is that if you want to ride Hagrids with minimal wait then you Rope Drop that one ride and then the rest of your day is a leisurely pace of what you want to do. We are going to USO on the Wed-Fri of Thanksgiving week so while the crowds should be high during those 3 days, we will have EP AND 3 FULL DAYS so we'll have more than enough time to ride all we want I feel and then we can repeat our favorites.

I think you are right, I would guess that even with higher crowds than we had you would be able to do what you want when you wanted with UEP. You just might have more short waits instead of no waits, which would be good given the crowds.

Also, as far as Hagrids, I noticed on our 3 days that late morning/early afternoon seemed to be when the waits were no longer than 90 min on the app. I personally wouldn’t do rope drop, one of our mornings I happened to notice it didn’t open up until very late morning so had we chosen to rope drop them it would have been a complete waste, and as I’ve followed that doesn’t seem to be that uncommon. I know on the thread here the prevailing thought is still that RD is the best way to go, but it just sounds too stressful and the risk of delayed opening too high for me. However, even getting in line with a posted 90 min wait twice we only got to ride once, so clearly it isn’t fool proof. We also weren’t willing to cut our losses and get back in line after it restarted, we had already wasted too much time waiting. Turns out we could have ridden if we’d either waited 5 more min in line or gotten back in when it reopened.

 

[Lashed34]

I think that having an EP or UEP just gives you that extra time to enjoy everything to the fullest.

Instead of queuing all day for all the rides and attractions it gives you the opportunity to take time out, have something to eat or drink, do a bit of shopping, pop out to Citywalk for a break or back to your hotel for a siesta.

When we were there in early December we really didn't need it as all the queues (except Hagrids) were 20minutes and under, but it really opened everything up for us, there was no panic, no..."but we have to get in line for.....", we just took our time, relaxed and really relished both parks and came home knowing we had done everything we wanted to.

I'm so pleased that @ninafeliz had such a wonderful time and really enjoyed the experience.

When we return (in 2021) we absolutely plan to stay in HRH hotel again and enjoy that UEP - we really cannot wait. AND...if things change and the UEP is not available in the hotels by then, (you never know!), we would absolutely buy one anyway because once you've had one you really don't want to not have that amazing option.

 

[Tormania]

I think you are right, I would guess that even with higher crowds than we had you would be able to do what you want when you wanted with UEP. You just might have more short waits instead of no waits, which would be good given the crowds.

Also, as far as Hagrids, I noticed on our 3 days that late morning/early afternoon seemed to be when the waits were no longer than 90 min on the app. I personally wouldn’t do rope drop, one of our mornings I happened to notice it didn’t open up until very late morning so had we chosen to rope drop them it would have been a complete waste, and as I’ve followed that doesn’t seem to be that uncommon. I know on the thread here the prevailing thought is still that RD is the best way to go, but it just sounds too stressful and the risk of delayed opening too high for me. However, even getting in line with a posted 90 min wait twice we only got to ride once, so clearly it isn’t fool proof. We also weren’t willing to cut our losses and get back in line after it restarted, we had already wasted too much time waiting. Turns out we could have ridden if we’d either waited 5 more min in line or gotten back in when it reopened.

I'm hoping that in the next 10 MONTHS they will have those gremlins ironed out. I know that it's been open for months already and they still are having issues though. But they really should have things fixed by Thanksgiving so at least max capacity can be achieved. Really no excuse to open a top tier attraction and continue to have such big problems for months like they have been having.

 

[mdsouth]

I just read through the entire thread. I will be at Universal for the first time this July 3rd and 4th. I will be staying at Royal Pacific so we will have the unlimited express pass. I really hope it will make our wait time minimal but since it is the 4th of July and the 4th is on a Saturday this year, I am expecting we will be there with huge crowds.

My DD is a big Potter fan and I enjoyed the books too. We are primarily going to see and experience the Potter stuff. Anything else will just be a bonus for us.
I really do not even know what all the rides are - so I have a lot of reading and research to do before our trip. Thankfully, I have until July. I am planning on surprising my daughter with the trip and will not be telling her about it until her birthday in March. But I want to tell her before we go so she can help plan and have the fun of anticipation.

From this thread and others, it looks like we should start our Potter adventure with the wand shop. Ollivander's. At this time, I don't even know which of the two parks it is in. But gather it is the best one to go to for the show and to pick a wand.

Thanks! I'm already a TP member, but I don't typically use their actual touring plans at Disney and had been wondering if I should use the 2 day 2 park plan at Universal or just kind of make my own loose one. By that, I mean mainly plan when we would try for Hagrids, which i still don't have a handle on but am following that thread, and figure out when to fit in the Ollivander's show. But I also thought you didn't have to se the show to get a wand for the kids, so I was wondering if I should even worry about that. If TPs plans don't take into account having UEP, it seems like they could actually be a hindrance rather than a help (for example, crossing the park when it wouldn't matter since we have UEP, etc).

It's an odd feeling to not have to plan, I kind of like it but also don't want to miss out because i didn't plan something .

This is my feelings right now, excited that I do not have to worry about planning ahead but also don't want to miss something because I was to laxed about it.

We are huge HP fans but are steering clear of the expensive merch - as much as we'd love to have robes, wands etc just being in these areas and on the rides will be thrilling enough for us.

Us too, but I do think my DD would enjoy picking a wand and doing the spells.

I don't think we'll be tempted (much) by robes, etc but I won't be surprised if we end up with wands. based on our history, me in particular, that's the kind of things we get the kids. Honestly, I guess I kind of want one but will get it through them lol.

I was wondering if my DD and I would feel a bit weird doing spells since she will be 17 and I in my fifties but then I saw your post and Lashed34's and feel better.

I did consider getting cheap wands from Amazon, just to point around in the park. but yeah, I'll probably be the same once I'm there - and we don't even have kids, just us 50+ year olds being big kids again.

Tee hee! I get you! And yes, the budget minded person in me says to just bring our own wand that my daughter made out of a tree branch from our own backyard but I really think she might enjoy the experience of selecting her own wand and getting to do magic tricks. After all, isn't that why WDW and Universal appeals to so many people of all ages - we get to have fun and feel like a kid again doing and experiencing all the magic!

 

[ninafeliz]

I don't think we'll be tempted (much) by robes, etc but I won't be surprised if we end up with wands. based on our history, me in particular, that's the kind of things we get the kids. Honestly, I guess I kind of want one but will get it through them lol.

I forgot I had written this! Well, here’s a picture of my 2 boys in the park:


(Sorry I don’t know how to flip that)
So, as you can see, not being tempted by robes went out the door fairly quickly haha! They each got robes, hats, ties, and wands and wore them the entire 3 days!

As far as feeling silly or out of place as an adult, tons of adults of all ages were using the interactive wands in the parks, and a fair number were wearing robes. So I wouldn’t worry about that at all! Heck, I was tempted to get my own wand but decided I didn’t need it, plus this way if we ever (when we ever!) go back and one of them gets chosen at Ollivanders they can get that one also and I’ll use one of their spares