One day, two parks with EE and Express Pass

[MoreSpreadsheets]

Hi, have read a lot of threads on one day two park strategies, but thought I’d start my own and ask for opinions. We will have exactly one Universal day in December with a crowd level 3 forecast. Will be in the middle of a longer WDW trip, but with a break/resort day before and after, so we are looking to make the most of it! Staying at Hard Rock, getting the two park tickets, and expecting EE at IoA at 8am with both parks closing at 7PM. We’re a party of 4, me, wife and kiddos 9 and 14. First trip to UoR, but have done some WDW trips with lots of detailed planning.

14yo loves coasters, so Hagrids, Velocicoaster and Hulk are on the for-sure list. 8yo is into Harry Potter, so would like to do HE both ways if we can manage it, plus Gringots, Forbidden Journey and just generally exploring Diagon/Hogsmeade. Probably will make a point to ride Spider Man and The Mummy if we can, plus dad would like to have a Duff Beer. After that, rides and shows are all gravy.

Since we have the express pass, I was considering making a plan to minimize walking and just go from one ride to the next starting in IoA at early entry, work back to Hogsmeade and explore there, hop to UA via HE, explore Daigon Alley some, stroll to front of UA, back to hotel for a quick early afternoon break, then maybe go back into UA and traverse both parks again in reverse order and wind up at IoA in the evening for the Hogwarts light show. Does that sounds reasonable, or am I underestimating the size of the parks or counting too much on express pass for short lines?

Also, might we regret not rope dropping and hustling to Hagrid’s first thing? I’ve read about the lunchtime lull strategy or getting in line right before park close. Would hate to risk missing it entirely, but also wouldn’t mind avoiding a frantic walk to the back of the park at rope drop and starting the morning with a tired-legged family. We have successfully rope dropped most of the headliners at WDW in the past, so I know we can do a rope drop, just a question of if we should in this situation.

Thanks in advance, always appreciate the info and advice on this forum!

[paulasc]

If you’re going for Early Entry, the only rides open are the ones in Hogsmeade plus Velocicoaster so you can’t work your way through the rest of the park until official opening time.

[MoreSpreadsheets]

Oh wow, thanks, I somehow missed that detail! Alright, then we are hustling to the back of the park for sure! I guess then our options are whether or not to arrive extra early and try to be towards the front of the pack for Hagrids, or take it easy and go for the other rides first and Hagrids later.

[paulasc]

If you can be near the front of the pack and Hagrid’s is running, you can pretty easily get through it and go to Velocicoaster right after for another short wait.

If Hippogryph is something that you’ll want to do, Early Entry is a good time for it as well. Its line tends to get long surprisingly quickly and it’s one of the few rides that I don’t find Express Pass is a huge timesaver for! But you could still do it after both Hagrid’s and Velocicoaster. We did all four rides during Early Entry the week after Christmas and were eating breakfast in Three Broomsticks before regular park open!

[Shmebulock]

EP lines won’t open until EE is finished, so use that EE time wisely.

Absolutely be at the front of the RD crowd. You’re only there for one day - make the most of it!!

The security gates along the garden path open at 7am, or a few minutes after. Be there for it opening and try and get an empty tapstyle.

If you do that you will not have to run. Just walk with purpose and Hagrid is going to be a super easy start to your day. You might even love it so much that you’ll want to ride again at park close.

The only fly in the ointment is if Hagrid isn’t up and running first thing. That would have the potential of eating up your EE time while you wait it out, or you might not ride at all.
If you bail, bail towards Velocicoaster.
You’ll easily get two or three rides on that with minimal wait before the line builds up.
Then you could jump back around to Hogsmeade for FJ and Buckbeak before the rest of the park opens.
After which, either hit up HE and explore the studios first, or continue back through Islands and have all the fun with your EPs.

When that park opens, your EP is going to make your day fantastic!! Especially with that low crowd prediction. Just ride what you want to ride whenever you want to ride it

There are a few places where EP doesn’t actually help you that much (ie the merge point is really early, so the predicted wait is pretty much the actual wait). We’ve found that being the case at the Kings Cross (studios to islands direction) HE and the Simpson’s ride. On those rides, be aware of the wait times and check on the lines app when the line might drop to an acceptable wait time.
Some rides allow EP filtering pretty much right up until boarding. That’s where the true VIP feeling kicks in

Hope you have a blast!!

[bebe80]

Great planning and advice so far. This should work out smoothly. The kicker is where you want to eat meals based on your location. In any case, make sure to visit Three Broomsticks in IOA or Leaky Cauldron in USF, or both! Also, if IOA closes at 7:00pm, try to get on the HE in London by 4:00pm.

1. IOA to Hogsmeade to Jurassic Park to the Hogwarts Express.
2. USF London/Diagon Alley to New York, see a show if time before your afternoon break.
3. USF to Simpsons, etc. to London Hogwarts Express.
4. IOA thru Jurassic Park/Kong Island to Super Hero Island to Hogsmeade.

(Old USF map, it’s now Minion Land, not Production Central)

[MoreSpreadsheets]

Thanks so much! This is exactly the info I needed and it helped me set up four “mini touring plans” that should work out great.

[bebe80]

Let us know if there’s anything else you need!