1 day to spend at Universal Orlando dilemma.

[Gwendolyn]

All the advertisements about the Wizarding world of Harry Potter finally got to me. I think visiting the World of Harry Potter is absolutely magical and a dream come true! Hw often did I fantasize livinginthe world of Harry Potter, visiting Honeydukes and the three Broomsticks or picking my wand at Olivanders. And itll be possible soon. I am thrilled and over the moon about it!

So I'm planning to visit Isle of Adventure and maybe Universal studio's (who can resist Beetlejuice and ET, when its just around the corner) during our Disney trip. But looking at the ticket prices on the Universal website, its really really expensive.

If I want to make most of my day at Universal, I need to buy a 1 day-2 parc ticket and add Universal express plus to the ticket, which will make it 135 USD ex VAT and ex transport.
But I am leaning towards the VIP ticket which gives me unlimited use of the Express lines. But it costs 179 USD.
And if I decide to go to the halloween party, I might as well thing about a premium annual pass, which will give me merchandise discount, free access to 1 halloween night, and unlimited express access after 4pm. But that one costs 285 USD ex VAT. And all that for only 1 day at the Universal parcs. Since we cant afford to fly out of Europe next year.

BTW I am planning of cruising the Universal parcs on my own, while DH, DS, DS, DMiL,DFiL will visit Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest.
But my husband will probably want to join me for the halloween night.

How much will the Halloween party aprox cost?
What ticket option would you choose?
And how do I get to Universal without having a drivers liscence?

 

[Metro West]

If I want to make most of my day at Universal, I need to buy a 1 day-2 parc ticket and add Universal express plus to the ticket, which will make it 135 USD ex VAT and ex transport.
But I am leaning towards the VIP ticket which gives me unlimited use of the Express lines. But it costs 179 USD.
And if I decide to go to the halloween party, I might as well thing about a premium annual pass, which will give me merchandise discount, free access to 1 halloween night, and unlimited express access after 4pm. But that one costs 285 USD ex VAT. And all that for only 1 day at the Universal parcs. Since we cant afford to fly out of Europe next year.

BTW I am planning of cruising the Universal parcs on my own, while DH, DS, DS, DMiL,DFiL will visit Typhoon Lagoon and Disney Quest.
But my husband will probably want to join me for the halloween night.

How much will the Halloween party aprox cost?
What ticket option would you choose?
And how do I get to Universal without having a drivers liscence?

OK...let's start with the regular park tickets. You would be better off getting the VIP Express ticket since you would have unlimited Express access but I don't know how much you could really take advantage of that perk since you're going to try and do both parks in a single day. It's not a bad deal for the money but...are you going to ride something over and over and possibly skip other attractions? That's up to you to decide.

Now...for the HHN tickets. Passholders enjoy great discounts on tickets, food and merchandise at all times...not just HHN. The Premier AP probably wouldn't be your best option since there are benefits you would not be able to take advantage of for more than your stay. Those passes are mainly designed for locals who go to the parks a lot. Even though an off peak HHN ticket is included, you should probably stick with the Preferred AP and get the tickets at the passholder rate. The tickets vary in price and since the details have not been released yet, we don't know how much they will be this year. Plus...the renewal rate of the Premier is quite a bit more than the Preferred.

Remember too...HHN is a hard ticket event and the Express access does NOT apply to HHN. You would need to purchase a regular Express Plus pass for HHN and they are not cheap! AND...the Premier AP Express access is no longer unlimited after 4pm...it's only once through the line. The Preferred AP offers discounts on everything the Premier does at a more reasonable rate. Don't forget...having an AP does NOT allow you into hard ticket events. You would still need to purchase your own HHN ticket but you could get it much cheaper with an AP.

For your other questions....

We don't know how much the HHN tickets will be this year but the first two weekends are usually Passholder weekends where the tickets are deeply discounted. To give you an idea...HHN tickets for the general public last year were in the $65.00 range and the price for passholders was anywhere from $25.00 on up depending on the night. The cheapest rate is going to be on the special weekends.

I'm not sure which ticket option you're talking about but if you're talking about the regular park tickets and want to get an AP, I would recommend the Preferred AP. Having park access during HHN is very important because as someone who can go the Studios whenever you want, you can stay in the park at closing at take advantage of Stay & Scream. S & S is when you stay in the park and wait in a holding area. They will release you early and it's very possible to do as many as four houses before the crowds really come in. However...if you're going with your husband, he would need to be in the park with you before closing to do S & S...which means he would need a regular park ticket. I would recommend having him with you to go to the Studios for the day and as long as you already have your HHN tickets, you both can stay in the park. Otherwise, he would have to wait outside in the LONG line with the general public and it takes quite a while to enter and you would not be able to do S & S which save lots of time. Trust me on that!

Mears Transporation would be your best bet to go from Disney to Universal and I don't believe you have to show an ID to use them.

If you have questions, please feel free to ask.

 

[cabarnes55]

I've spent a good part of the evening on the Universal web site and also gave them a call. I have pretty much decided on the 2 Park VIP tickets for our one day visit in August. The only thing I would warn you about is there will be no express entrances to the Harry Potter attractions, so even with the VIP pass, you will have to wait in the regular lines. That's what the person at Universal told me tonight. They don't have any date as to when Harry Potter will add an express entrance. I found that pretty annoying considering the cost of the VIP tickets.

 

[cieslack]

You can't go wrong with the VIP pass...Unless you don't have time to ride multiple times, but I like that option to be there just in case.

 

[Gwendolyn]

Thank you for your answers. You really gave me something to think about.

What if I would get to Universal like an hour for parc opening. Do they have a ropedrop ceremony?
Maybe I could be at WWofHP in time and do the rides before exploring it. Although I would imagine people running like crazy trying to get there in time...

What are the times the parcs usually close? I can imagine that on a Halloween night, they would close early?
Will the Halloween Party take place on every night?
When will more information about the Halloween festivities be released?

Gawd it is kind of scary to go to an unknown (to me) theme parc all by yourself in a foreign country...

What about Mears. How can I order their service? Ive never used them before. I only know about their name since the Epcot crash last week.

 

[Metro West]

Thank you for your answers. You really gave me something to think about.

What if I would get to Universal like an hour for parc opening. Do they have a ropedrop ceremony?
Maybe I could be at WWofHP in time and do the rides before exploring it. Although I would imagine people running like crazy trying to get there in time...

What are the times the parcs usually close? I can imagine that on a Halloween night, they would close early?
Will the Halloween Party take place on every night?
When will more information about the Halloween festivities be released?

Gawd it is kind of scary to go to an unknown (to me) theme parc all by yourself in a foreign country...

What about Mears. How can I order their service? Ive never used them before. I only know about their name since the Epcot crash last week.

No rope drop ceremony...that's a Disney thing.

During the time you'll be here the parks are usually open 9-6 or 9-7 but on the nights HHN is staged, the Studios will close at 5pm. HHN is only staged on Thursday - Sunday with a Wednesday night thrown in there. HHN details will be released over the summer.

www.mearstransportation.com is the website you would need to check. Arrangements must made 24 hours in advance.