So I did a plan in TP for IOA EE and I have express Pass but is this actually realistic for 28th December?
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure-7:16am
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey-7:30am
Jurassic World VelociCoaster-7:44am
Jurassic World VelociCoaster-7:49am riding it twice
Jurassic Park River Adventure-7:56am
Skull Island: Reign of Kong-8:14am
The Incredible Hulk Coaster-8:36am
The Incredible Hulk Coaste-8:46am TWICE
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man-8:58am
Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges-9:15am
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls-9:30am
Perhaps. With early entry, and Express pass, it can go quick…but…do you want it to? You will be rushing from ride to ride without time to take in the views, or eat something, or use the restroom even? You will also be missing out on some the things to see in the queues.
Also, is your walking pace set correctly?
That being said, we usually find, even without express pass, that a half day is enough to get most things done at each park. Then you can spend more time for all the extras to see, do, and taste!
Hagrid’s & VelociCoaster do not offer Express Pass. They are the only two rides in all of Universal that don’t have it. So… you’re TP is definitely off in that regard.
But… if you really do rope drop and only use the express pass (UXP) that early in the morning the queues really are pretty quick.
I’ve seen too many “perfect” plans that go from ride-to-ride nonstop. You really need to put a 10 – 15 minute break in your plan every 70 - 80 minutes or after two attractions. I’ve had more than one person tell me, “I’m on vacation. I don’t need to schedule when I pee.”
These breaks are a buffer for unexpected street shows / toilet / gift shops / drinks / etc.…
When putting in these breaks make sure to account for the walking time to your next attraction. Any time you insert a “rest” into a plan, the walking times after the rest are wrong due to a bug in TP software. For example, you are at Jimmy Fallon, then rest, and then plan to go to Men In Black it only allocates a one minute walk time, instead of what should have been like 10-15 minutes.
If your next attraction is nearby this isn’t a big deal, but it is something to consider.
It’s always IMHO better to have the break & not need it than get behind.
Its not really about what I want yet… we do tour pretty full on and then take breaks but I just wanted to get a first feel for how busy it will be and use TP to see what it suggests.
So as a first step I just set walking speed at average, wait vs walk at balanced and put in what we want to do and wanted to see what TP said. I was expecting a half day at LEAST time for getting all that done not 2.5 hours.
so My question is… is that at all close? because to me right now I feel like that seems so wrong especially for 28th Dec
Hagrid, Forbidden Journey and velocicoaster x 2 in less than 1 hour!?
When we were there in May, Hagrid’s had about a 45 minute wait with a 60+ minute posted time. But we weren’t there for early entry. Having early entry means you get ahead of most guests. Velocicoaster’s line also moves fairly quickly, so with early entry, you can probably get through that pretty fast. Not sure if it will be as fast as listed.
I should add…the TP UOR app does not do nearly as good of job as the TP WDW app at getting wait times correctly. So, as @darkmite2 suggested, build in plenty if wait time, and use a slower walking speed due to crowds, to get a more realistic estimate.
For early entry, it’ll be a very low wait. Most people are headed to WWOHP / Hagrid’s. I’m excited to ride JWV too, but remember a lot of people are TERRIFIED of it. If you wait more than 5 minutes for it at that time of day, Early Entry, I’d be so surprised - even during Christmas.
UXP is vastly superior than Disney’s FastPass / Genie +!! UXP actually does what it’s intended to do because it’s so expense to purchase. You have to stay on-site at a Deluxe hotel or pay $362 (tax included) per person on 12/28/21. That’s very cost prohibitive for a lot of people. (Unlike WDW’s $15 per person G+)
You should only wait about 1/3 the posted wait time, maybe 1/2 at the most, for each attraction.
in my experience the first couple of hours go very fast. Also, though in my experience that accounts for no locker time. If you have to get a locker you will take longer than touring plans says. And Dudley Do Rights always has a horrendous line even in Express (but that’s been warmer months so it might go that fast in Dec). I would honestly account for an extra hour on top of that for lockers at the very least and if you’ve never been you’ll have some time figuring out where everything is as well.
im planning to go in without needing a locker just for the morning. Bank card and room card is all I will carry. you cant take phone even in zipped pocket can you?
Not on Hulk, Velocicoaster or RRR. You can sneak in a phone onto Hagrids. But no bags of any kind. If you get a lanyard for your cards they’ll ask you to tuck it into your shirt.
*you aren’t sneaking in the phone…they are allowed on Hagrids to be clear…I was just teasing. But the three major outdoor roller coaster have metal detectors and phones will set them off so plan for locker time at Velocicoaster (which this is the best setup with the lockers being part of the line and going thru the wall so you load them on one side and empty them on the other…it’s genius!) and at Hulk for your phone. There is no EP line for the lockers…here everyone is equal LOL
Around 11am or so the park will feel crowded and even in Express with lockers I was using about 45 min per attraction on a holiday weekend in October. So for example, to get all the way through The Mummy from walking in to the locker area to store my backpack to walking out of the locker area with my backpack took about 45 min with EP.
Using the lockers for the rides that require them (where they are free) is pretty easy and fast. Still, I prefer cargo pockets if possible. On the other hand, a small backpack or other bag can be useful, such as bringing a change of clothes for the water rides, etc. Just don’t bring a large bag.
By the way, the rides such as Hulk where you go through metal detectors, even keys are not allowed. My insulin pump is not allowed. So even if you don’t have a phone, you may end up needing to use the lockers for other items in your pockets. Empty EVERYTHING from your pockets, including wallets, etc., ahead of time to save yourself the headache of being sent back to the lockers.
Thinking about phones. What I use mine for at Universal is mobile ordering and finding my family. If the plan was to go to the parks and commando-ride attractions and then go back to your room before you are hungry, no phone could work. And also if your family (DH) doesn’t wander off.
With Express Passes, you don’t even need a map. Plus, I prefer paper maps. We just picked a direction and did everything we saw as often as we wanted and then moved in.
Although, it has been 6 months since I’ve been, but I remember FJ being not good for EA. They only run very limited cars during EA so the line moved super slow. Kong always had a relatively long line. For example, you could ride Spider-Man 5X with EP in the time it took to ride once on Kong with EP. On the other hand, if you arrive 14 minutes after open, it is probably very short.
It’s just the three rides and velocicoaster does it right but for rrr and hulk there is a queue just for the lockers and it can be long (by long 15-20 min), it depends the crowd level and when you ride those two rides. I bring a lanyard that can hold my phone and is water proof and on most rides I am allowed to just tuck that into my shirt. Is it even possible to go somewhere without a phone? Lol. Like it’s 1985 or something? Ha ha. How would I function?
Here’s the lanyard I wear that’ll hold my phone and my room key, tickets etc. and also pro tip EP goes barcode out on one side and ticket barcode out on the other.
I typically use a running belt that is neoprene and holds my phone, you cant tell I have it on if i pop my tshirt over the top.
Because we start early and then head back to hotel for lunch and change of clothes if needed we usually manage without a bag. so if we do the coaster with metal detectors in the AM then we can manage without phones and grab them at lunch for rest of day
Man, I just don’t understand…no phones all morning??? How do you know where to go, what time it is, if anyone important wants to adopt your foster dog, what everyone is doing on this forum?!?