Oh! you guys! Change of plans, maybe.
I just noticed. My Harry Potter morning has zero rides. You can’t use EP for Ollivanders, right? We were just going to do that, explore Diagon Alley and eat at the Leaky Cauldron.
So, we could EE USF for that first morning, go back to CBBR and transfer our luggage at lunch time.
That generates a new set of questions for me.
can we do late check-out at CBBR? (normal checkout is 11?)
If not, what is the bag-check like, there? Will it be crazy in the morning when we want to get to the park?
How likely is it for us to have a room to rest at RPR if we’re checking in midday?
We were planning to ride Hogwarts Express that morning, over to IOA. I’m not sure, now, how to fit that in. Go BACK to USF just to ride HE to IOA? That seems a bit weird.
This gives us 3 EE days. It’s all-around better this way. Right?
Yes, but not guaranteed. It would only be until 12pm unless they are slow.
I use bag check frequently. It’s really only super busy around mid-morning / early afternoon when people start arriving from their flights. I rarely wait more than 5 minutes.
I haven’t stayed at a Lowe’s Première Hotel yet. I have heard they can be hit or miss about early check-in. Whenever I do stay on-site I typically get an e-mail a few days before departure. This is the early mobile check-in. I always do this to save time. Plus, you’ll get a survey asking for any special requests like a late check-out / early check-in.
Yes. That is weird and very inefficient. The WWOHP is in the back of each park. The hike there would not be fun just for that.
I’m really unclear why you are doing that though. Couldn’t you ride it before you leave the parks and just exit from IOA? Make it the last thing you do that morning at USF and then go get your stuff done. (Unless DD wouldn’t be able to control their excitement at seeing the other park & Hogsmeade)
Anytime you can go to Early Park Admission (EPA) it’s better! You’ll get so much more done (as you probably already know as a Liner!)
Yeah, I’m not sure why I was thinking this, last night. Long day, I guess. I was probably trying to skip ANY rides without EP. I just re-evaluated my TP without EP and it’s only a 20 minute wait for HE. So, that seems like this is an excellent plan.
How long should I allocate for meals at 3 Broomsticks (6pm-ish) and Leaky Cauldron (11am-ish)? Spring break timeframe, we’re happy to mobile-order. You can’t do that ahead of time, though. Right? (Like at Disney, I can MO in the morning for dinner-time)
It all depends on the queues to get in the door. The actual meal service will be quick service speed and only takes about 5 minutes or so to get your food.
6pm is the tail end of the dinner rush. I’d expect about a 20+ minute wait to get to the counter to place your order if you see a queue out the door. Less time if there’s no queue.
11am is the start of lunch. If you really get there a little before or right at 11am you shouldn’t queue for too long or at all.
IME - Three Broomsticks is always busier than Leaky Cauldron. 3B has less “exotic” food and more chicken & ribs stuff. The Seafood / Sheppard pies & etc… at LC are often too “exotic” for many park goers that are too timid to try new things.
You can mobile order ahead of time and then do the “I’m Here” button so they actually start making your food. You will still have to stand in the majority of the same lines though. You’ll be in standby to enter the building, but you’ll skip the counter to pay. Then you’ll go to the queue to get your food. It’s still faster, but I didn’t want you to think there was a special “mobile order” queue so you could skip past the main queue.
Recently, it was basically wait in line to get a table. (Place mobile order while in line). A TM seats you at a table. Then you enter/scan your table number in the app. TM’s deliver your order to the table?
It’s been hit & miss with them bringing out the food versus you getting it yourself at the “second station” after you pay. (Does that make sense??)
IME - They bring it to you more often at LC than at 3B. They will almost always assign you a table. I have had a “sit anywhere” when I’m just popping in for a hot Butterbeer
I’m not sure why’d you do this. I’d never pick EE over EP and you could actually do both if you check in early enough. You say no rides that morning but the magic of express is walking by something and if the mood hits, you ride! You’d also have express for Hex.
Yeah, I just don’t want to make that extra stop, that morning. It’s early enough as-is, to get to EE.
We’ll have 4 full days to do the 3 parks, so I’m not worried about getting to everything. We’ll enjoy a “quiet” morning in Diagon Alley. Us and our 30,000 friends.
How early do we have to be for shows? I see the Make-up Show and Animal Actors offer EP, but Bourne does not. Seating location doesn’t really matter to us, but I’d hate to be turned away from anything because we showed up too late.
Bourne has EP, but if you’re at the front of the line you can’t see the preshow screens which I really enjoy. They do cut off the EP line at some point. We showed up about 8 minutes before last time we were there (in December) and we went into the regular line, had a good spot for preshow and once we entered the theater.
Showing up 10 minutes ahead is usually fine for all three shows. I’m one to show up early just because, usually 15 minutes.
Being extra early to the Make-up Show will get you in the front row and more likely to be involved/interacted with. (It’s really fun, like a comedy show)
You don’t have to get to the shows really early. However, I suggest getting to the Make-Up Show at least 10 - 15 minutes early. There are neat make-up exhibits in the theatre lobby I recommend. Plus, Beetlejuice is often outside meeting guests before shows!
In July, on our transfer day, our room at RPR was not ready until 5. We had intended on swimming in the afternoon until our room was ready, but thanks to a thunderstorm, the pool was closed. We sat for a long long time in the lobby just waiting (in hindsight, that was a stupid move on our part - idle minds turn cranky on vacation in my house). If we were to do it again, I would plan a full service lunch somewhere & stay in the parks until we get our room ready text.
I could be because I’m exhausted but I don’t see when you’re going. We just wrapped up 4 days - myself and my DD10. You should be able to find my trip report still.
Do yourself a big favor - the walk from the back of the park to the other other or through citywalk to parking/uber is 25-30 min. So everytime you leave / come back / change parks, it’s a long walk. We hated the walk through citywalk at the end of the night but that’s also cause we go hard. So think about your touring plan flow and if you can minimize walking or going back - do that. Also I’m fairly certain VB is what destroyed me. All that walking barefoot and doing stairs exhausted me when I was counting on that day as being more relaxed.
We never got to the shows early and it was fine but we were also attended low crowd dates. They make for great breaks and are super well done. Do all of them. They last 20-30 minutes though so best to pair them with something else if you need a longer break.
We generally ate breakfast around 7:30, got to parks around 8:45 (we didn’t have EA) and then lunch around 11 is. That worked well. They have some of the same dishes at Leaky Cauldron and 3B so you can find things at both. 3B feels less like a dinning hall than LC. We usually shared one adult dish which left room for a snack later. 12-2 was always pretty packed.
Just went and read your report! Looks like so much fun. Your DD and mine sound like they’d be buds. Rides, rides, rides, all day long!
We’re headed there over spring break. I think it’s the end of the weekend of Orlando’s week off. I’m hoping it’s not too terribly crowded.
New VB question that kept me up last night. Because something that happens in 50+ days is definitely worth losing sleep over!
What do you do with your tickets/lanyards/phones? Whatever media you need to get into the park? Does everyone rent a locker? I assume you can leave towels on your chair, but are there places to secure things?
Also, is there any benefit to linking hotels and tickets to your Universal account? My TA said nothing gets linked beforehand, but we could link tickets once we get there. It’s so different from Disney, I’m just struggling to wrap my head around it. It’s worth putting your credit card into that account for charging to Tapu Tapu, right?
At VB, you could put everything in a locker. They have 3 different sizes. You could also bring something like this:
The same ticket you use for the other parks.
Yes, and if you’re brave, other personal items. I let my glasses lay with my towel too.
Linking your tickets to the app allows you to scan into an entrance with your phone.
Yes, doing this ahead of time is a big time saver. You’ll need to set a 4 digit PIN. Your other family members should know it. You can even set $ limits if desired. It’s nice to use the Tapu to rent towels, rent locker, buy food & drinks so the wallet can stay put away.
You can also use Universal Pay throughout the resort. You set it up on the app and when you make a purchase anywhere in Universal, you bring up the QR on your phone and they scan it.
It’s still nice to have physical tickets, especially if you go on attractions that don’t allow any loose items, like phones. You can use any bar/QR code to use the lockers though.
Thanks! It was a great trip and I wish DD10 had someone else to ride and reride rides with besides me. I can understand why my parents used to love having me take a friend to amusement parks - so they didn’t have to ride!
For VB, I already had my phone linked to my CC. When I got to the lockers, I asked the friendly attendant for help but I ended up already being good to go. Paying for lunches, ice cream etc was super easy with Tapu Tapu and very similar to Magic Band. I highly recommend it.
We left a water bottle, towels, and my very cheap sunglasses and shoes at our seats. Phone etc was in the locker. I don’t see how you get around the locker issue. If you want your phone with you then a portable locker or waterproof holder would be good. We saw lots of people with the waterproof phone holder but I don’t think those are allowed on the rides though. We didn’t bother with having stuff. Everything went into the locker and that was that.
For the rest of the parks, I didn’t get a lanyard though I saw a lot of people with them. I have a hip pack (fanny pack) that I always use at the parks and kept a printed copy of our tickets in there. Eventually you can get a TM to give you a locker ticket too as our printed copies got a bit worn. I could wear that on everyride except RRR, VC, Hulk (though I didn’t ride this) or any other inversion ride. So I would put our backpack into the lockers and keep my waist pack with my phone and our tickets in there. I really didn’t want to buy anything more for the trip.
Rides, rides, rides, all day long!