Belated 50th (for me, not just for WDW)

[Witchy Chick]

Soooooo last year, I turned 50 and had planned on a solo WDW (and Universal) trip to celebrate. Annnnnnd Covid turned everyone's worlds upside-down.

I rescheduled my trip for this year (still technically 50 years old ) over Labor Day weekend. (I have some childcare constraints, and Labor Day weekend works best for me as my kiddos are not in school Labor Day Mon nor Tues Sept 7). How crowded is Labor Day weekend at Universal and at Disney?

The upcoming 50th trip is Sep 3 to Sep 7. I'm at Universal Sep 3 and 4, staying one night in Royal Pacific (to get Express Pass for my two park days ). My previous trip to Universal, Harry Potterwas only in one park. LOL So, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts Express are top priority for me. I think there are some things (just Hagrid's Motorbike?) that I can't use Express Pass on.

For the Disney portion of the trip, I am so up in the air. I tried making a loose schedule yesterday so I can make park reservations, but am struggling. Priority is Galaxy's Edge (yeah, yeah, I'm both a Potter and a Star Wars nerd ).

I think the 7am Rise of the Resistance BG can be attempted/booked without being in DHS. The 1pm attempt, I do need to be in DHS? I'm trying to figure out the best way to balance this with having to make park reservations and also not being able to park-hop until 2pm (I have a park hopper ticket). Can park reservations be changed the day of? How easy might it be to switch? For ex. say I plan to rope drop AK on Sun Sept 5, but I manage to score a 7am Rise BG while waiting for the AK bus. Can I just dump my AK reservation/plans and switch to DHS for the morning (provided there is availability at DHS)?

Most of my solo trips, I try to rope drop (or at least get to the park within half-hour of opening), use FP judiciously (I never minded being on my phone while in one line to book a FP for the next thing) and just go-go-go park commando style. With FP out of the picture for this trip , I'm considering a mid-day/afternoon break back at the hotel for nap/swimming/rest. But also playing this by ear depending on the crowds.

I also thoroughly enjoy the food/beverages at Food and Wine Festival. So my tentative plan is to park-hop to Epcot maybe each evening for gnoshing and drinks , and some rides thrown in there too.


I have a very loose list of "must dos" at each WDW park, but feel like I may to have to bail out on a lot of stuff with the crazy lines. I've been looking at the app pretty regularly, and 55 mins for Haunted Mansion is alas going to be a no go for me. I don't typically visit AK, but have not yet been to Pandora. IDK how I'm possibly getting on FoP without a FP. Really hoping things calm down a bit wrt wait times now that FL/GA kids are back in school.


Any advice/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Specific questions I had (up post):

• How crowded is Labor Day weekend at Universal and at Disney?
• At Universal, what (besides Hagrid's?) can I not use Express Pass for?
• At Disney, for 7am Rise BG, I do not have to be in the park correct?
• At Disney, for 1pm Rise BG, I do have to be in the park correct?
• Can park reservations be changed the day of? How easy might it be to switch?

Thanks!!

 

[Tuvalu]

You MUST have a park reservation for DHS to try for a Boarding Group, whether at 7 am or 1 pm. You don’t need to be in the park to try for a BG at 1 pm, but you must have tapped into the park earlier that day.

Park reservations can be changed day-of, assuming availability. DHS is the hardest park to book and same day reservations are difficult.

 

[yensid67]

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