I’m doing a short trip to Disney as a surprise for my daughter (13) for three days btw Christmas and NYE. We are arriving in Orlando at around noon on the 26th and checking in onsite at Disney. Disney park tix don’t start until the next day. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it to try for an afternoon visit to Universal on the 26th. We’ve been before and we both love the combo of roller coasters and Hogsmeade in IOA especially and I feel like it’s unlikely we’d do a holiday trip again so I’m tempted by the chance to see the Harry Potter holiday theming.
Questions are:
Are there any discounted ticket options if we arrived after 3 or 4? We probably would just focus on IOA
Will the crowds make it impossible to do anything without express pass? We’d be focused on Harry Potter rides, Velocicoaster and Hulk. Doesn’t seem worth it to pay peak prices for both tix and express pass for a few hours but open to thoughts/tips here too.
We were at Universal around that time last year. We had Express Pass. By mid-afternoon it was insanely crowded in the parks. Hard to move in areas like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Standby lines for everything were long. I would not have wanted to be there without Express Pass.
I absolutely LOVE Universal. However, you’ll only see “big / impactful” theming at:
IOA - Seuss Landing and Grinch Show
USF - Big Tree by The Mummy, Diagon Alley, Macy’s Parade
It enhances my experience, but not all of it is “must-do”. I have planned visits around The Grinch and Seuss Landing, but it’s one of my all-time favorite Christmas stories.
I’d consider going to Disney Springs for food, Grand Floridian for Gingerbread Houses and/or Hoop-Dee-Doo review. (I recently went to HDD review. It was sold out, but I checked everyday. Eventually, I got a table about a 5 - 7 days before my trip)
Hogsmeade is unpleasantly busy in the afternoon/evening during less busy times of the year. I don’t even wanna know what it’s like on actual high crowd level days.
Thanks, everyone!! Always appreciate experienced feedback. I have a habit of “magical thinking” around the idea that 1) I can do it all in one trip and 2) that someone out there in this forum has a hack that would make it all work. You just took another layer of crazy planning off my plate.
The way to do it all in one trip (or just about all) is the Orlando Informer event. But sadly, it’s not going on when you are there. But it really is a fun experience with very low crowds, food galore and low wait times.
I felt like a salmon struggling to swim upstream at times. And Diagon Alley is worse!
