OMG! How gorgeous 
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Noted thanks. Gonna move my plan from lunch to dinner then!
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I’ll bet that’s quite a popular time, or will be when the masses catch up. I might try that, too!
After hearing back from special diets at Universal, we will probably not eat at QS. Seems the TS restaurants will be safer for us (very complex dietary restrictions). May as well try this one.
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Just made an 8:30 pm reservation for our Epic day. 
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That’s typically the best option!
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Initially I opted for 4 nights in early December at Grand Helios. Giving myself 1 full day per land at a pace that allows time to see and experience it all. From the videos I have seen much of the park really needs to be seen after dark for the beautiful ascetics- stardust racers, the windmills & Paris.
…but I have the patience of a gnat.
So I planned 2 trips- added a single Saturday in August.
This summer 1 big EPIC day kid in a candy store style day.
I have set my priorities set to realistic- absolutely ignore the Battle of the ministry, and skipping much of Nintendo ( anything we rode or did in Hollywood) focusing on Donkey Kong.
After that it’s anything goes!
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Getting slightly anxious about my trip. Apparently yesterday was a complete car crash: too many people and too many rides / attractions down.
That being said, I think I am looking at my trip in a different way to the people whose posts I’m reading on social media.
Take EPA, for example. It seems like madness to me to get in line for EPA up to an hour early. And then, once you’re let in, to run to SNW in a frantic hope of being one of the first in line for MKM, especially when the ride often seems to be down at open. Or to rush to one of the portals that doesn’t open during EPA and standing there staring at my phone (for another hour) waiting for it to open. Indeed, I’m even wondering if EPA is actually worth it. Or, at least, whether it’s better to arrive after it starts (when the lines have died down) and just head for SR, and then to one of the QS restaurants to have some breakfast.
What I’m taking from a lot of vlogs is that Epic is like a fine wine, to be delicately sipped, rather than chugged like a frat house beer. I don’t want to be rushing from ride to ride.
And it seems to me that the two most desirable rides — and the ones that don’t have XP — may not be all that desirable anyway. As cool as the line for MOM looks, the ride itself doesn’t appear to be getting rave reviews — certainly not compared with MU, which often appears to have quite short lines. Same goes for HWG. And, of course, SR. And the MOM line is basically a walk-through attraction not wholly dissimilar from the Warner Bros Studio Tour in the UK.
I’m fully intent on buying a Power-Up band and second-generation interactive wand, and spending some time playing with them and using them as a way to explore their respective worlds in detail.
I don’t actually want to stand in fast-moving lines — at least not for those attractions with really detailed and immersive lines.
I am concerned about the weather. I’ve visited Orlando many times in June, so I know what it can be like. But being there from EPA to close is a 12 hour marathon with limited options for shade. I’ll be taking my UV umbrella.
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This sounds like how I approach AK. I arrive right when it opens and then ride EE 2 times then head to KS for open. It is a nice way to start the day without a lot of waiting. Highly recommend.
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This post reads to me like a mad lib where you just wrote the longest thing you could in an attempt to use all the acronyms we just voted on. 
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I think this sounds like a wonderful plan. I’m tempted to do the band because it looks like so much fun, but we’re totally going to do the wand activities. We watched a Paging Mr Morrow video last night and it was, dare I say it, magical!
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We did the power-up bands in Hollywood they are a lot of fun…but a very big time suck if you’re attempting the Bowser JR show down. Admittedly I am not video game fan, but DS (27) is and he was definitely misty-eyed collecting keys.
I haven’t seen it on the vlogs here but in California those games definitely generated some serious lines and we definitely strategically worked it into our plans.
Honestly I will probably skip Bowser, it was very physical and at the just over my limitations for balance.
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That’s a good analogy. It can also be true for other places where a person wants to slow down and take in the details, which just happens to be our current mode (as two retirees with plenty of time and old knees/hips).
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I found this YT that confirms what you are saying!
My favorite vloggers have said this pretty true. The people that rave about MoM are the ones that are major HP fans. If you adore HP and the WWOHP then this is your favorite.
I’m pretty spoiler-free, but glimpsed the bots at MU in a video. OMG!! WOW!!
I’m still undecided on the Power-Up band. I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts.
At some point I’ll have to upgrade my wand, but want more choices. I still haven’t found out if my old one will even work at Epic.
I fully understand that! When I was as Fan Fest Nights I spent 20 minutes in the Secret Life of Pets queue watching all the small “preshows” and playing with all the buttons!
Don’t forget the sunblock! I use SPF100! I burn so easily!!
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I can renew my 2-Park Seasonal AP for $339, which would give me the option of visiting the old (ha) parks. I’ve just been watching a YouTube video about second-generation wands and now I want to do a WWOHP-only side-trip to IOA and USF. I could even do this on arrival day when I have no Epic access (IOA closes at 10pm, my flight arrives at 3.15pm).
That would be wrong, right? But WWOHP is my happy place. And, you know, I’m going for sad reasons.
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How does one answer that? Wrong, that would be right. It would not be wrong.
I agree; you should go for it.
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It would be wrong to say that that would be wrong.
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There is literally nothing you cannot justify for these reasons. Nothing.
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I remember the day my dad died I said to myself “I can do whatever I want today and absolutely no-one can have anything to say about it.”
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I’ve been obsessionally checking the AP discounted rates at SN and TL. I am currently booked at SN (because of the ease of walking directly to Epic) at a rate of $789.75, all-in, for three nights.
Well, I was. TL has now dropped to $637.88, a saving of $151.87. I actually prefer the theming of TL, and it can’t be worth $50 a day for the slightly easier walk to the park. That’s also a pretty decent rate for three nights: $189 a night, plus tax.
Indeed, that saving nearly pays for a one-day, park-to-park ticket for IOA/USF, or nearly half of the cost of renewing my AP.
Talking of which, my current feeling is that I should decide on the day. I can renew my AP up to 20th June, and I arrive on the 19th, so I could literally renew it when I arrive if I’m still in the mood to visit WWOHP and if the weather is good.
I’ve watched a few YouTube videos of people trying out the new spells and the new second-generation interactive wands and they do look like a lot of fun. I need to make some difficult choices as to how I’ll spend my time. USF closes at 9pm and IOA at 10pm. So start at Diagon Alley. Gringott’s may have a reasonable wait time, and then I can take the train to Hogsmeade, once I’ve done some spells and visited Florian Fortescue. It looks like Hagrid will be out because SB wait times have ballooned crazily since XP was added. Could finish the night with VC if I can handle leaving the WWOHP bubble. Of course I absolutely adore CineSational, but that would mess up all my timings, and this is supposed to be a HP mission.
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