Oh that’s a shame. I love paper maps as souvenirs. And I find the map on the app to be utterly useless. Though that may be user error.
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I didn’t have problems with the app. And they have been improving some things on it the last year.
The map seemed ok. I mean, it had the blue dot at your location.
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I think I’m just old and don’t get on with apps.
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The removal of paper maps seemed inevitable. Still, seems kind of sad.
Then again, we rarely use paper maps for anything, including amusement parks, any longer!
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I don’t think I even picked one up at any point on my last trip 
Would need one for when Epic opens though and I expect I will miss the paper copy then.
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I did forget to pick one up at Universal last year, though I got all my Disney ones.
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I don’t think I have ever picked up a paper map but I think the app is useless for maps. There have been improvements in the app but it still frustrating to use.
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We only use them … after the trip. It is fun to look back at the old maps.
I actually have a 1982 MK map sitting out on my desk right now. No Splash Mountain … so someone might mix it up with the 2023 map.
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I think I will.miss having paper for my first visit 
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I’d prefer if they moved them to just at Guest Relations since I think there is still a use for them.
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Back from our trip - mission accomplished - we rode Hagrid’s 5 times over 2.5 days 
FYI we also rode Tron the day after UOR - boy what a let-down that was, after riding Hagrid’s.
On our EPA day, we walked from RPR at 7am and were probably 10th in the line at the tapstyles (?) by around 7:15am. The line built up after that, snaking all the way to the bridge to CityWalk - likely when the first boats and buses started arriving I’m guessing.
There were a few runners, but mostly power walkers in an orderly fashion.
On our last night we actually had time to ride it again, so here are our timings. Mostly about 40-50 mins wait each time.
- Dec 23 - night - entered line at 6:30pm ish, posted wait was 80 mins - took about 55 mins until we got off the ride
- Dec 24 - daytime - EPA at 8am - walked onto the ride, off-ride by 8:15am
- Dec 24 - night - entered line 8:10pm, off ride at 8:56pm
- Dec 25 - night - entered line 7:51pm, off ride at 8:31pm
- Dec 25 - night - entered line 8:41pm, off ride at 9:24pm
First row at night gives the most immersive experience, in our opinion.
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Absolutely! I’ve been on close to 50 rides and only have had that seat twice! It’s THE BEST!! If I could be guaranteed that seat (at night) I’d wait 90 minutes or maybe longer for it!
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I feel this is fine for 85% of the population. I couldn’t imagine some of my older, less tech inclined family being able to navigate this change easily.
I hope they do keep some sort of paper back up available upon request.
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Universal has released an AP Hotel rates for January - May..
I found $74 rates at Endless Summer & $108 at CBBR and Aventura…
These are for weekday stays starting on Sunday - Thursday. You can extend the dates for more nights and a discount still applies.
When I made the dates Sun. - Sat. the AP rate at Dockside was still only $89!
(I even found $200 roundtrip SW Flights too! If only I had any PTO available!!)
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*Travel select dates Sun – Thurs. Limited availability. Restrictions apply.
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Should I be nervous about how many hotels have no availability during my trip (1/22 - 1/28)?
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I think hotel availability is artificially constrained. They are probably trying to push people toward certain hotels for efficiency. It’s the only explanation I can think of that makes sense, because they were “sold out” of hotel rooms in early December too and it was pretty low crowds.
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That’s reassuring! Thank you!
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This is true. Furthermore they are pushing people towards trips starting on Sundays - Thursdays.
I checked your dates, starting on a Monday, and only CBBR & Surfside had availability.
When I started the trip on Sunday (1/21/24) and ended it on Friday (1/26/24) there was plenty of availability. Plus, there were even great rates! You could get Endless Summer for $74 and CBBR for $108 (Just by adding a Sunday start day!)
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That’s crazy! 