Gregandmel
07-19-2015, 10:25 AM
We visited Universal Studios the week of June 27th this year….leading into a holiday weekend. Our family likes to visit the parks (Disney or Universal) in the Spring/Fall to avoid the heavy crowds and intense heat. But due to 2 teachers in the family (my husband who teaches year round and only has quarterly break weeks and our recent college grad) that has become impossible. So we did the unthinkable which was to try and visit in the summer. Ever since I booked the trip I was second guessing whether or not this would be a good trip for us. ALL of us don't do well with too much heat and too many people. It's amazing how in sync we all are with that. But we decided to give it a chance since this may be the only week going forward that we can coordinate this type of trip. It's either give it a try….or don't go at all!
We stayed at Royal Pacific so we were on site and had the unlimited express passes (for everything other than Harry Potter). I was pleasantly surprised that when we arrived Saturday the lobby wasn't overfilled with incoming guests and the pool area where we ate lunch had plenty of seats and fast service. So far so good. We were there for 5 days (Saturday - Wednesday) and added an extra day of passes so we had a 4 day park to park (it was only about $45 more for all of us (total) to add a day). This would allow us flexibility to come and go and not have to be there all day to experience everything we wanted. Doing the parks in small chunks is the best for us.
We went to Universal Saturday night for 3 hours and did Rip Ride Rocket, the Mummy and then had a blast experiencing the new Diagon Alley. I had downloaded the wait time apps and Gringotts only had a 30 minute wait so we decided to go ahead and do it. It was amazing and what a fun way to start our trip. We were thrilled to be able to get that part done and it's true that it's not nearly as bad at night the crowds/weather the last couple of hours of the day.
Sunday and Tuesday we were at the park gates 45 minutes before EPA began. Huge point that you need to do. Even though the park opened at 7am beginning Monday - it was worth it to us to be in the front of the line when it opened. Walked right onto Despicable Me - Minion Mayhem which would later see a 120 minute wait several hours later. Sunday we stayed till lunchtime and came back later that night and did everything we wanted to do. Tuesday we focused on the water rides and did them over and over and left around 2pm and came back around 7pm that night. Monday was a down day for us and the kids slept till noon (it's important for a recharge day) and we spent the day at the pool, seeing a movie at the Cineplex on CIty Walk and having dinner at Pat O'Briens. Wednesday we had to leave at 2;30pm and we were able to get a late check out at 2pm so we went back to Islands of Adventure around 10am and shopped (which we don't typically do as we are racing trying to do the rides) and then lunch at Mythos.
The key is knowing your style and how you best tour together. For us, it was getting there at the crack of dawn, leaving before it got too hot, going back at night for several hours, having a down day in between to take it slow and easy and end it with a great lunch. I know everyone is different, but for those who are nervous about the heat and crowds during the summer - I found it very easy to manage and would go this week any time. I just kept waiting for that surge of people but it never happened, but part of it was the planning of doing the big ticket items wayyyyy before the regular guests came in. We zigged when they zagged. And we never got overheated due to not being in the parks at the heat of the day. I still can't believe how smooth it all went, and trust me….I get anxious and overwhelmed somewhat easily.
Nothing will ever come close to my feelings for Disney (my true love) but I will say that Universal was a much more relaxed trip for us with the unlimited express passes and the ease of walking to and from the parks. There wasn't nearly the planning I had to do (Fast Passes for Disney and only 3 up front per day) so for the years we can't manage a trip to Disney in the Spring/Fall……I can honestly say our experience was so much better than I thought it would be.
We stayed at Royal Pacific so we were on site and had the unlimited express passes (for everything other than Harry Potter). I was pleasantly surprised that when we arrived Saturday the lobby wasn't overfilled with incoming guests and the pool area where we ate lunch had plenty of seats and fast service. So far so good. We were there for 5 days (Saturday - Wednesday) and added an extra day of passes so we had a 4 day park to park (it was only about $45 more for all of us (total) to add a day). This would allow us flexibility to come and go and not have to be there all day to experience everything we wanted. Doing the parks in small chunks is the best for us.
We went to Universal Saturday night for 3 hours and did Rip Ride Rocket, the Mummy and then had a blast experiencing the new Diagon Alley. I had downloaded the wait time apps and Gringotts only had a 30 minute wait so we decided to go ahead and do it. It was amazing and what a fun way to start our trip. We were thrilled to be able to get that part done and it's true that it's not nearly as bad at night the crowds/weather the last couple of hours of the day.
Sunday and Tuesday we were at the park gates 45 minutes before EPA began. Huge point that you need to do. Even though the park opened at 7am beginning Monday - it was worth it to us to be in the front of the line when it opened. Walked right onto Despicable Me - Minion Mayhem which would later see a 120 minute wait several hours later. Sunday we stayed till lunchtime and came back later that night and did everything we wanted to do. Tuesday we focused on the water rides and did them over and over and left around 2pm and came back around 7pm that night. Monday was a down day for us and the kids slept till noon (it's important for a recharge day) and we spent the day at the pool, seeing a movie at the Cineplex on CIty Walk and having dinner at Pat O'Briens. Wednesday we had to leave at 2;30pm and we were able to get a late check out at 2pm so we went back to Islands of Adventure around 10am and shopped (which we don't typically do as we are racing trying to do the rides) and then lunch at Mythos.
The key is knowing your style and how you best tour together. For us, it was getting there at the crack of dawn, leaving before it got too hot, going back at night for several hours, having a down day in between to take it slow and easy and end it with a great lunch. I know everyone is different, but for those who are nervous about the heat and crowds during the summer - I found it very easy to manage and would go this week any time. I just kept waiting for that surge of people but it never happened, but part of it was the planning of doing the big ticket items wayyyyy before the regular guests came in. We zigged when they zagged. And we never got overheated due to not being in the parks at the heat of the day. I still can't believe how smooth it all went, and trust me….I get anxious and overwhelmed somewhat easily.
Nothing will ever come close to my feelings for Disney (my true love) but I will say that Universal was a much more relaxed trip for us with the unlimited express passes and the ease of walking to and from the parks. There wasn't nearly the planning I had to do (Fast Passes for Disney and only 3 up front per day) so for the years we can't manage a trip to Disney in the Spring/Fall……I can honestly say our experience was so much better than I thought it would be.