Need pointers for a UO trip

[flynnibus]

Will be taking the family to UO for the first time (for them) after we finish our Disney Cruise next week. I'll have the afternoon of one day, and a full day the second day. We will have express pass (staying onsite). Family has kids from 8-13 years old. The youngest is tall enough for everything but dragon challenge. The older two are into coasters, so those should mostly be on the agenda.

It will be the 28th (Thurs) and 29th (Fri). US is only only till 5pm each day, with IOA being 7 and 8pm. HHN will be happening both nights after.

So that sets the stage of opportunity.. so my questions are..

1) What attractions would you bypass?
2) What shows are worth seeing?
3) anyone know where a refurb/closed list is for UO?
4) Any touring tips outside of things related to WWOHP? Any good web references?
5) Thoughts on the meal deal? Seems lame that drinks aren't included and must buy the cup seperate if want unlimited drinks. Do you need to carry a cup around or is it just the wristband?

Any other tips people have? I'm not used to dealing with the short park hours and not sure how much planning is required to get what I want in.

TIA!

 

[maxairmike]

Right now, don't count on Rockit being open consistently if at all. They've been having a lot of issues as of late, and they are constantly recurring. I've done the meal deal, and it all depends on how you tend to eat in the parks. I probably won't do it again just because if I'm really hungry, I'll pop out to Panda Express for a filling, reasonably priced meal.

Thursday afternoon I'd just figure out what you want to get on right away and do whatever you can at one of the parks. Friday morning head to Potter first thing and you can get multiple rides on Forbidden Journey and Dragons within a 2 hour time frame. If you feel like paying for it, breakfast at the Three Broomsticks was pretty decent when I ate there during one of the first soft openings, but it is a bit expensive, even by park food prices standards. The Butterbeer is a must have! I prefer the regular, but a lot of people seem to prefer the frozen. One thing about the regular is the "magical" unending foam. It seriously makes more the more you drink, it can be kind of fun the first time. Olivander's is a cool show, but the line can get long. You may want to do that first, even before Forbidden Journey. Forbidden Journey has an excellent capacity (and excellent crew), so the line shouldn't build up too much if you do Olivander's first.

I personally was not a fan of the Sinbad show, at all. It is on my "never again" list, with Poseidon's Fury on my "hardly ever unless I need something to kill a lot of time" list, although the water tunnel is really cool if you've never seen it before (and its working, which it has been consistently lately). In terms of shows, you may want to try and do Terminator and the makeup show on Thursday afternoon if you can fit one or the other in. Despite being a "main" attraction, Terminator seems to run a very low number of shows each day, and the makeup show seems to be infrequent as well.

 

[NowInc]

Just a SMALL side note...as those are REALLY close to halloween the parks during the day SHOULD be incredibly empty...as most people will be attending HHN and thus won't spend twice the money to go during the day as well. So that being the case, you may not have to skip anything. I was there last weekend and did both parks (almost all rights and shows), I was DONE by 3pm..and didn't even get to the parks until 10 AM, and that was on a saturday.

 

[GLaDOS]

1) What attractions would you bypass?

You can probably skip the entire KidZone in USF save for ET(which in my opinion is a can't miss classic attraction). Also, I think Shrek 4-D is terrible, and if you don't have the time, skip it. On the flip side of that, Terminator 2: 3-D is the best 3-D show in Orlando, IMO, and shouldn't be missed.

With Express, though, you really shouldn't have a problem catching everything.

In IoA, Sinbad is probably the worst show on the face of the Earth. Don't see it.

2) What shows are worth seeing?

I really can't speak highly of the live shows Universal does. It's the one thing Disney really outclasses them on attractions-wise.

3) anyone know where a refurb/closed list is for UO?

The only think I know will be closed is Triceratops Encounter, which is a seasonal attraction.

4) Any touring tips outside of things related to WWOHP? Any good web references?

The place is almost always crowded. There's really nothing you can do to get around it. But at this point of the year the crowds won't be unbearable and you shouldn't really have to plan your day around them.

That being said, I'd set aside at least 2 hours to explore the area. It really is a visual treat.

5) Thoughts on the meal deal? Seems lame that drinks aren't included and must buy the cup seperate if want unlimited drinks. Do you need to carry a cup around or is it just the wristband?

Honestly, the Meal Deal is great if you don't mind eating a lot of quick service. But personally, I love eating at Mythos at IoA, which isn't included, so I've never used it.

 

[flynnibus]

Right now, don't count on Rockit being open consistently if at all. They've been having a lot of issues as of late, and they are constantly recurring[...]

Olivander's is a cool show, but the line can get long. You may want to do that first, even before Forbidden Journey. Forbidden Journey has an excellent capacity (and excellent crew), so the line shouldn't build up too much if you do Olivander's first.

Yeah, that's the plan on the early entry.. hit Olivanders first as that has the lower throughput. And then move to Forbidden Journey. I'm hoping we can get multiple rides in on the most popular things through the trip. My parents had a pretty bad experience at UO back around August, including spending 3-4hrs of the day trying to get on FJ due to breakdowns, etc. Left a pretty sour taste in their mouth, but I have pretty high expectations for UO. It's been a long time since I've been. Really looking forward to MIB, SM, Mummy, etc.

I thought most of the Rip Rock'it issues were hammered out and it was running more reliably now? Is it really still having a lot of downtime?

I personally was not a fan of the Sinbad show, at all. It is on my "never again" list, with Poseidon's Fury on my "hardly ever unless I need something to kill a lot of time" list, although the water tunnel is really cool if you've never seen it before (and its working, which it has been consistently lately)

What's the run time on these shows? That's info that is glaringly missing from most of Uni's online materials.

We've been to UO with children the same age as yours (8 to 13). Our kids are into thrill rides. Having the Express Pass will be a huge help, well worth the price of staying onsite. With that said, lines may be short when you go (October 28-29). I suspect your biggest challenge will be dealing with your smallest child's reaction to not being able to ride all the attractions. This might force you to split your group at times.

She's just shy of 54" so the only ones she might be excluded from are dueling dragons and the hulk. She hasn't ridden any top tier coasters like that before, so I don't think she'll mind. Who knows tho, she might get the bug.. the others were really hesitant, and then snap, one ride and they were hooked and now they seek them all out. She really likes the junior coasters tho, and I see they have at least one of those, and then the one in WWOHP should be right up her alley too.

Our "must do" list at IOA includes:
- Hulk (54 inches) - at least twice
- Doctor Doom's Fearfall (52 inches)
- Spiderman - at least twice
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (48 inches) - at least twice
- Dragon Challenge (54 inches) - each side at least once

Our "must do" list at US includes:
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket (51 inches)
- Shrek 4-D
- Revenge of the Mummy (48 inches) - at least twice
- Men In Black Alien Attack - at least twice
- Simpsons Ride

In US, we also like (but are not "must dos"):
- Jaws (can be either scary or corny, depending on your kids' reaction)
- E.T. Adventure
- Terminator 2: 3-D

Great list... thanks for putting it down. Seems like some of the shows are really toss ups. I wish I just had a better feel for the pace of the park. Might have to do a pass of 'gotta dos' and then come back to fill in the nice to dos.

If your children have not seen these movies, then they won't mean anything to them. Do these 3 only if you have time. Twister and Disaster! are just OK and eat up a lot of time. Since you only have 1 1/2 days, you might be better off skipping these.

Are the twister effects good? that one looked interesting and the kids like the environmental stuff.

We tend to skip the water rides unless it's the summer; you can get absolutely soaked on these! We always bring a change of clothes if we plan to do these rides. Given your limited schedule and the weather you likely will have, I suggest skipping these, with the exception of the Jurassic Park River Adventure. You can get wet on this as well but not as bad. If at all possible, save this for the warmest part of the day. In general, skip the shows. Most aren't bad but if your kids want thrills, you have better things to do with your limited time

Yeah, the water ones are the wild card for me.. hate to skip 'em (supposed to be in the 80s for temperature) as I've heard decent things about them, but managing the clothes/etc is a hassle for only 2-3 attractions. We do the raft ride every time at our local park which soaks you without much complaints.. so if they can dry out after wards I'm hoping to maybe get by without extra clothes.

Anyone know what the time it takes to get from the parks to the pacific hotel and back is like? 20mins each way? more?

Last time we went, we had to purchase large "sipper" mugs with the Meal Deals. I really disliked having to carry these around and hope they've devised a better system since then. Unless your family likes to guzzle, I'd just pay for drinks as you go. You might end up spending more but I prefer this to carrying those things.

I was afraid of that.. really don't want to lug cups around. The food deal sounds attractive till the drink issue and limited participating locations. Still torn on that one.. especially since you can put Mythos in the mix too which isn't included and I think that one will have to be a must stop for us if we can get in on short term ressies.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[flynnibus]

Just a SMALL side note...as those are REALLY close to halloween the parks during the day SHOULD be incredibly empty...as most people will be attending HHN and thus won't spend twice the money to go during the day as well. So that being the case, you may not have to skip anything. I was there last weekend and did both parks (almost all rights and shows), I was DONE by 3pm..and didn't even get to the parks until 10 AM, and that was on a saturday.

You give me hope! The whole HHN wildcard really irk'd me at first.. thinking it was cutting back on my hours.. but the studios hours really short almost all year long! So it doesn't impact you so much. But I really would prefer a 8/9 - midnight possibility like I have at WDW. Its still a really expensive trip.. just showing up is going to be nearly a 1k expense added onto my cruise. That's a ton of money for less then 2 days and an experience that closes at before 9pm!

You can probably skip the entire KidZone in USF save for ET(which in my opinion is a can't miss classic attraction). Also, I think Shrek 4-D is terrible, and if you don't have the time, skip it. On the flip side of that, Terminator 2: 3-D is the best 3-D show in Orlando, IMO, and shouldn't be missed.

Yeah ET and Terminator are going to be must dos. ET is probably the only attraction (besides BTTF) that I really remember of UniS.

How would people place Shrek vs Honey I Shrunk the Audience?

The place is almost always crowded. There's really nothing you can do to get around it. But at this point of the year the crowds won't be unbearable and you shouldn't really have to plan your day around them.

Yeah I know HP area is going to be swamped, but didn't know if people had strategies for the rest of the areas.. or just take it as it comes.

Honestly, the Meal Deal is great if you don't mind eating a lot of quick service. But personally, I love eating at Mythos at IoA, which isn't included, so I've never used it.

That's a great point and may be reason enough to skip the meal deal on that day. It's unclear if Mythos is going to be open for dinner or just lunch at this time. Opentable stops at 4pm on those days. Might just have to call and find out..

 

[maxairmike]

I thought Rockit's issues had been hammered out as well, but evidently something cropped up in the system. It sounds like the ride system freaks and shuts itself down when a train re-enters the station because for some reason the tracking system doesn't recognize it having cleared the previous block, or something like that. It has been happening a fair bit recently from what I understand. I don't know a whole lot about Rockit from an "inside" mechanical standpoint like I do a lot of other rides/ride systems, so its all kind of Greek to me.

I can't really help you out on the run times for the shows, unfortunately. I think T2 was about a 25min. experience from pre-theater through to the exit. Well worth it though, a very cool show.

 

[timeman]

I would have to say that since you have the Express pass because you are staying on property you should be able to do almost everything. I did a VIP Tour a couple of years ago in the middle of summer before Harry Potter and with the tour we were able to a lot done between both parks in 7 hours which included 1 hour for lunch.

I would skip Universal Studios on Thursday since you will be arriving that afternoon and they close at 5pm. I would go ahead and head over to IOA that evening. The Express Pass will allow you to get a lot of rides done in IOA that evening, so the next evening you can go back and ride the ones you liked over again. Friday I would head to IOA for the Wizarding World first thing and like a lot of people said do Olivanders first and than Forbidden Journey. Make sure you get the Butter Beer while there and the best place with the shortest line is Hog's Head Pub. I would say that since you are getting in an hour before the park opens for normal guests enjoy the Wizarding World until 10am.

I would do Universal Studios after that until 5pm and then head back over to IOA for the rest of the evening. The Express Pass will allow you to do most of the rides & shows with little wait. I would definitely check out the Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue & the Horror Make-Up Show if you get a chance, both of these are great shows. The Terminator 2 3-D show is also good. The shows all have the Express pass option, but the only one worth using the Express Pass for is the Horror Make-Up Show as you will be able to sit right up front. I would also say do Shrek 4-D if you like the Shrek movies. Most of the shows last between 20 & 25 minutes.

The rides not to be missed at Universal are E.T., Men In Black, the Simpsons, Jaws, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Revenge of the Mummy. At IOA the rides not to be missed are the Hulk Coaster, Doctor Doom's Fearfall, Spider-Man, the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge,the Seuss Trolley Ride and The Cat in the Hat.

Here is a list of the rides and shows that offer the Express Pass option in each park.
Universal Studios
Shrek 4-D
Twister
Revenge of the Mummy (48")
Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue
Disaster!
Jaws
Men In Black (42")
Simpsons Ride
Animal Actors on Location
A Day in the Park with Barney
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster (36")
E.T. (34")
Horror Make-Up Show
Terminator 2 3-D

IOA
Incredible Hulk Coaster (54")
Storm Force Accelatron
Doctor Doom's Fearfall (52")
Spider-Man (40")
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges (42")
Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (44")
Jurassic Park River Adventure (42")
Flight of the Hippogriff (36")
Dragon Challenge (54")
Sinbad Stunt Show
Poseidon's Fury
High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride
Caro-Seuss-el
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
The Cat in the Hat

 

[GLaDOS]

I thought most of the Rip Rock'it issues were hammered out and it was running more reliably now? Is it really still having a lot of downtime?

Still a lot of downtime. I wouldn't be surprised to see legal action taken at some point against the manufacturer.

Are the twister effects good? that one looked interesting and the kids like the environmental stuff.

Twister is pretty lame in my opinion. But try it if it catches you interest.

Yeah, the water ones are the wild card for me.. hate to skip 'em (supposed to be in the 80s for temperature) as I've heard decent things about them, but managing the clothes/etc is a hassle for only 2-3 attractions.

You do get soaked on Dudley and Pop-eye. Jurassic Park it depends where you sit. But Pop-eye and JP are not to be missed, IMO.

Anyone know what the time it takes to get from the parks to the pacific hotel and back is like? 20mins each way? more?

10 from IoA, probably close to 15 from USF.

How would people place Shrek vs Honey I Shrunk the Audience?

They're about equal on my scale. Neither was a very good show, IMO.

Yeah I know HP area is going to be swamped, but didn't know if people had strategies for the rest of the areas.. or just take it as it comes.

What time are you getting to Universal on your first day?

 

[NowInc]

I can say that the majority live shows at the parks are a MUST SKIP. You will feel really bad if you waste the time (30 minutes or so) to see them. The only one thats SLIGHTLY acceptable is Beetlejuice..but even that gets boring fast. There is also the horror makeup show, which can be fun depending on whos "hosting" it, but its prob not worth the risk of getting a bad one.

Rip Ride...welll..I go to universal a lot. I have only seen it closed once. So I guess its a "your mileage may vary" type of deal. HOWEVER, more than once the "sound" on the ride was wocky...so it did sort of distract from the whole thing.

 

[flynnibus]

Great input guys!

The time we get there on Thursday will be entirely based on what it takes to get off the boat and out of the port. I think the itinerary is 7:30am arrival, but unknown what time we actually will clear the place. I'm hoping to be in Orlando by noon-1pm is my desire. If not, I'll be a bit bummed.

I think WWOHP is going to be a must for Friday early entry.. I have three die hard HP fans in the group.

The roundtrip to the hotel doesn't sound bad. Might have to make the water rides a game-time decision based on how much we've gotten done. Getting soaked and then heading back for clothes swap or drop may not be too bad if crowds are thin.

RipRockit is a wildcard... I know the older two will be into it, but that might be a good excuse to send them off on their own to wait in line

I had back surgery this summer which I'm still struggling with pretty bad so the intense stuff is probably out of the question for myself. I'm just hoping it holds up enough to do the medium-intense stuff like FJ without nuking my back

 

[JillC LI]

Yeah, the water ones are the wild card for me.. hate to skip 'em (supposed to be in the 80s for temperature) as I've heard decent things about them, but managing the clothes/etc is a hassle for only 2-3 attractions. We do the raft ride every time at our local park which soaks you without much complaints.. so if they can dry out after wards I'm hoping to maybe get by without extra clothes.

I'm not a big fan of water rides, but I do recall that theyhave these full body-walk in dryers that you can use for $5 ("People Dryers" I believe they were called) if you don't want to lug around changes of clothes for everyone.

I would be prepared to do alot of walking back and forth between the parks because we found that the shows were sprinkled throughout the day so we'd go back and forth between US and IoA several times to get to everything.