We are a large family group traveling together in July with three children 9 years old and under. We come from Texas so everyone can deal with some heat. We will have up to 4 days in the parks. Here is the plan I have devised:
Day 1 - Universal Islands of Adventure - Spiderman is a big favorite so we’ll start with that. I took the standard touring plan for families with small children and removed everything Harry Potter because we’ll be doing the Marvel Character Meal for dinner and leaving the park for around 2 hours during the heat of the day to rest. I’m not seeing anything we have to stay in the park late similar to the Magic Kingdom show at the castle so some of us will take the little kids back to the hotel after dinner and some will go ride some adult rides.
Day 2 - Universal Studios - Also took the touring plan for families with small children and removed Harry Potter on this day so we could have a longer rest during the heat of the day and a comfortable dinner somewhere air conditioned. We will stick around for the Epic Cinema Under the Stars at 8:45 pm this day.
Day 3 - All Things Harry Potter - I realize this may be a bit of overkill but with 3 Harry Potter crazed adults and 2 kids who also enjoyed the movies I wanted to have time to let everyone explore as leisurely as possible when crammed in with all the other Harry Potter crazed folks. We will have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and dinner at the Three Broomsticks. I’ve got my fingers crossed we can get everything done in a day in both parks before closing but if not we can finish up on Day 4.
Day 4 Grandparents (That would be my spouse and I) will run the grandkids back through a few favorites then head out early afternoon to enjoy the pools and hopefully some quiet time at our hotel. Some of us have very early flights the next day.
Lastly could someone please point me to information on acquiring a Virtual Line? We aren’t planning to purchase Universal Express for everyone though some of our group may buy it for themselves if they wish.
I think you’ve nailed it. But just a few comments:
WWOHP really needs to be done on a lovely, dry day. So take the first chance you can. I don’t know if you literally mean your third day will be WWOHP, but I would do it as soon as you get a good day.
There is one night-time event at IOA — the Nighttime Lights at Hogwart’s Castle. This runs repeatedly after dusk on most nights. It’s a logical end to your Harry Potter day.
I don’t really know about the virtual lines as I always get an Express Pass. I think you can use the app to secure a place in line, or you can physically show up to the ride and be given a physical pass and come back later.
I hadn’t heard WWOHP needed a dry day so good to know. We will actually have 9 days in Orlando so hopefully one of the days will work out for that. I also hadn’t started gathering information on the Universal app just yet. I’ve spent the last couple of days getting everyone set up with logins for Disney so I can use the app to make everyone’s fast passes and dining reservations. Guess I had better get that rolling as well.
The virtual line works at two rides Jimmy Fallon and Fast and Furious. Download the universal app and make sure you have a profile (it’s a very handy app similar to disney with a map and wait times but can be confusing so play with it some before). Click on the ride and you’ll see the virtual line you click on it and you can select number of people and time (if it is left. It does run out so try early. Also if there is little wait time they dont always open the virtual line). The time frame will be an hour long. At your time go to the ride we with your app out. Click back to the virtual line and there is a place they scan.
You don’t need to have a dry day. One of my best times in Diagon Alley was when it was raining. People cleared out, so we threw on ponchos and wandered around, doing spells and looking in all the shops. I am constantly amazed at how many people will run away once the rain starts!
Thank you for your insight. We will keep this in mind. I just bought a big box of those cheap rain ponchos as soon as we started planning this trip. All my previous trips to central Florida it rained at some point every day.