Disney to Universal help

We are planning a trip to Orlando at the beginning of Jan 2018. I have worked it out and it is cheaper to add nights to our Disney Hotel even when we are visiting Universal. I have a few questions that I need help with.

  1. How long do I need to give to get from All Star Movies to Universal?
  2. We have 2 days at Universal Parks. I am a HP nerd and want one of the days to be strictly P2P doing HP stuff and the 2nd day to do other US/IOA stuff. Is this doable?

First lets answer your questions

1 - I would give about an hour door to door
2 - Yes you can certainly do it that way - but you may not want to

Now for opinion
I would HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend staying ON SITE if you can. The convenience etc is so much worth it. Just like WDW there is a bubble over US and you will enjoy it over there as much (possibly more) than WDW.
If it is in your budget I also recommend staying DELUXE for the simple extension of being able to get FREE Express Passes - these are CRAZY WORTH it - so if you have the ability to splurge on one thing - this is what I would splurge on. Regardless - I would stay on site - you will save a lot of time and a lot on frustration

Yes you can do HP the first day and then everything else. However I think you will get a bit of overload and will welcome stepping back into the muggle world for a bit. You will need a Park Hopper regardless if you want to ride Hogwart’s Express - which is a pretty cool ride.

Regardless get to HP FIRST. Send someone to a locker to ditch your bag and then meet up in line. FYI - there are several rides where you will need to get rid of everything (EVERYTHING) so don’t fight it - just do it. Lockers are free and pretty convenient. Make sure you remember the locker # exactly - not just “where it was” as you will forget.

Save some money by getting tickets at Undercover Tourist

US is awesome!!

Hope this helps.

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Hi, we just returned staying on Disney in the CBR .

Journey time to Universal depends on two things:- The route and the time of day.

Shortest route is the I4 and during low traffic is about 25 minutes, we hit traffic on the I4 and it took us 40 minutes.

The longer route is up International Drive, we used this in low traffic and it too about 30 Minutes.

As for P2P. We booked one night in Universal which gave us two days in both Parks and included Ultimate Express (Fastpass) on all rides. This allowed us to quickly move between parks on the Hogwarts Express, it also gave us many rides in HP land.

Doing all of the HP stuff in one day is certainly doable IMHO, but there are many shops and many spells to be cast once you have purchased a wand, depends on how long you spend in each shop. But Doable for sure.

Your plan will work

I totally recommend going deluxe and getting universal express pass plus this gives you an early hour in one of the HP lands each day

If I were you though I would spend morning and evenings both days in HP world - that will give you double the fix but also allow you to ride other rides on the way in and on the way out that are on your must do list

Both HP world’s are at the back of the parks at some stage you have to leave them to get back to your hotels but also if you go back to HP world’s in the evening You have to walk back to them

All these times back and forth you will pass your other must do rides and with an express pass there will be virtually no queueing and you may as well do the rides as you walk past them

IMO

With universal express pass and 2 full days you will be able to do every Harry Potter rider 2 or 3 times and every other must do ride 2 or 3 times and feel relaxed whilst you do it

In HP land one morning first thing go to one of the olivanders and get in without a queue and maybe almost to yourself for the show

You might get the wand to pick you if you do!

Don’t miss the ice cream in HP world either!

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YES the ice cream. The butter beer icecream is fantastic

US knocked it out of the park with Harry Potter. WDW totally had to up their game after HP opened.

I am a frugal traveler, but if time is money then staying at a premium resort for one night which gets you a two day Unlimited Express Pass is worth every penny… as others have suggested. If you do Club Level, you will also save on food.

There are other perks too like early entry which is key for HP. Diagon Alley (where most of the interactive wand stations are) gets really crowded by 9AM and is truly magical between 7-8.

Also, the ability to change after wet rides was a big perk as I described in my trip report (October UOR Trip Report with Tween/Teen Boys)

Have fun.

YES - we planned the wet rides at the end of one day and it was so nice to be able to get back to the hotel and change!! Excellent point. The wet rides at US are not a little spritz or the chance of getting wet. YOU GET SOAKED

WHAT??? What is this madness of which you speak? I would have slept on a cot in Diagon Alley if they would have let me! But I may be a bit obsessive… :laughing:

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Every trip I take, my first day is dedicated to nothing but Harry Potter. I love getting absorbed in the details and forgetting about the muggle world. My first trip my sister and I took together, we literally spent six hours in Diagon Alley, riding the ride, watching the shows, doing the spells, eating the food, just taking it all in. If you are HP obsessed, I say stick to your full day doing only HP, even if it means you miss out on some of the other rides and shows. And be sure to ride the Hogwarts Express both ways!

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This is so true… there are wet rides, and then there is Bilge Rat Barges. We bring swim trunks and flip flops to change into before we do BRB, Ripsaw Falls, and Jurassic.

Sorry sorry sorry. I thought the theaming and then the way the “cast” acted was just awesome. I loved Diagon Alley and couldn’t believe how good the ice cream wasy (and I am MOST picky). US did an awesome job!!

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We were lucky enough to get out to the WB Studios in England this summer. The regular tour is 2 1/2 hours - we stayed for 5. It was weird - the US parks were really cool as you were immersed - at the WB Studios - you just got to look at things. Really cool but in a different way. Think I like the US parks better though

I hope to someday make it out to England to take that tour!

It is well worth your time!!

It’s really good, we were there about 6 hours earlier this year and I could have stayed longer. I agree with @Tigger613 though that WWoHP is better. They are very different experiences. It does have butterbeer and butterbeer ice cream. And it is much closer and cheaper for us than a trip to the US!

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UUOP talks about this very thing on their most recent pod and said the UK butterbeer is crap compared to WWoHP. Didn’t make it up there on our trip to London, so can’t say anything myself.

It’s very tiny but it tastes the same to me, and I’ve drunk a lot of butterbeer in my time!

They also said that the WWoHP butterbeer taste has changed as well… watered-down. Looking forward to seeing whether that’s accurate in January.

Really hope that’s not true! I can’t imagine why they would do that.