Universal for One Day

[StantonHyde]

I don't want to hijack the other thread, so here is my question. We are going to St Augustine Florida for Spring Break. We get in late at night on Saturday. The plan is to stay one night near Universal in a Marriott and then go to the park to really see Harry Potter World and then leave by 5 at the very latest to get to St. Augustine. We will be coming from Utah, so we are not interested in the early park entry idea--we will be 2 hours behind, so 9am is like 7 am to us.

Reading Twin Foxes thread about the Express passes. We will be there on a Sunday in the middle of March--prime spring break time. Would it be worth it to stay one night at one of the Loews hotels so we could get the Express passes with our room? Do they give you an express pass for the day you check out? (because that's the only day we will be in the park) The Express pass is really the only reason for us to stay at that hotel. Otherwise we would just stay at the Marriott. I am used to Disney where anybody can put in for a fast pass. Is the idea that the only way to get an Express pass is if you pay for it? Can you pay for certain rides and not others?

Is there anyway in one day that we would do both Universal and IOA? What does the Park 2 Park pass get you?

Sorry for all of these questions. We have been to Universal in California and we just went to the gate, paid our money and bee lined back to Harry Potter and really enjoyed it. The other stuff wasn't so great. We did like the studio tour though.

TIA for any ideas/advice you can give!

[SnuggleBuggles]

You need a park to park ticket to ride the train and see both parts of HP. The IOA section is Hogsmeade, which CA has (though I don’t know if there’s more to do in FL- there will be in the summer when the new ride opens). I would get the park to parks so you can really do the visit completely.
Staying onsite would be really wise. 1 day during spring on a weekend? You’ll want Express Passes.
1 night equals two days of EPs (check in through check out day).
It’ll be very convenient too- no schlepping around parking in the AM and you can just swoop back for your bags (store with bell hop or in your car) then be on your way.
It’s a heck of a lot cheaper for a family of 4 to go the hotel route vs buying the passes out of pocket. You can look at the prices online but they start at $70/ person (per day) and that’s the ride only once option. The hotel gives you the ride as many times as you want Passes, which will be $100+.


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[StantonHyde]

Thanks so much!!

[nfceagles]

Last I was there, the big HP rides, Forbidden Journey and Gringotts, weren’t eligible for Express Pass. Does anyone know if that’s changed? Might affect your decision if you intend to stick to the HP sections.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Yes the HP rides take EPs now


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[mmsmom]

A couple things to think about... in Universal HP section (called Diagon Alley) there are only 2 things to use Express Passes for: main ride and Hogwarts Express (takes you to Islands of Adventure HP section called Hogwarts). At Hogwarts there are only 3 things that take EP: ride, Hogwarts Express in other direction and a kiddie roller coaster. So if you truly only want to do the HP stuff you could do it in a day without EP but could spend a few hours in lines.

Another thing is you may not be able to get a hotel that gives free EP for 1 night. My experience with MLK weekend was that they had a 3 night minimum. It wasn’t stated as a 3 night minimum but at two hotels I could book 3 nights but not 2 and at the other 2 nights was twice the price of 3.

If you get tickets on your own you definitely need park to park in order to do both HP parts and take Hogwarts Express between the parks.

[mmsmom]

A couple things to think about... in Universal HP section (called Diagon Alley) there are only 2 things to use Express Passes for: main ride and Hogwarts Express (takes you to Islands of Adventure HP section called Hogwarts). At Hogwarts there are only 3 things that take EP: ride, Hogwarts Express in other direction and a kiddie roller coaster. So if you truly only want to do the HP stuff you could do it in a day without EP but could spend a few hours in lines.

Another thing is you may not be able to get a hotel that gives free EP for 1 night. My experience with MLK weekend was that they had a 3 night minimum. It wasn’t stated as a 3 night minimum but at two hotels I could book 3 nights but not 2 and at the other 2 nights was twice the price of 3.

If you get tickets on your own you definitely need park to park in order to do both HP parts and take Hogwarts Express between the parks.

[StantonHyde]

I would do anything not to wait in line for hours!!!! I will have to check out the hotels.

[TwinFoxes]

I think staying for one night is a fabulous idea. Express passes are totally worth it. Everyone in your room gets an EP, and like snuggle said, it's good from check-in day through check-out. Also, the walk to the park from Royal Pacific is 10 minutes. There's also a boat. DH raced us once, and he walked to the park way faster than the boat got us there.

Even though there aren't lots of rides in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, there's lots of cool stuff. If you're not interested in the other parts of Universal, you can definitely do it in a day. And, you'll probably won't to ride the two main rides more than once, they both have lots of detail that you'll probably want to see again. The small roller coaster in Hogsmeade, Flight of the Hippogriff, is fun, but not as spectacular Forbidden Journey and Gringotts. If you're really only interested in HP stuff, one day is fine.

I don't know how old your kids are, but IMO the coolest ride that's not HP related is Pteranadon Flyers. Adults have to go with a kid, and the maximum height for kids is 56". It's not far from Hogsmeade. It is more fun that it looks from the ground. It felt like we were flying.

[anonomom]

Another vote for staying at a Universal hotel. Not only are they really pleasant, but the express pass is a great boon. And as PPs noted, it's very nice to be able to walk to the parks. I've stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and at the Portofino Bay and really liked both.

I'd also suggest you see if there are any annual pass discounts available the night you want to stay. It may seem silly to buy an annual pass if you just have one day in the parks, but you might find that it offers a discount greater than the prince difference between the ticket types. For both times we've gone to Universal, I ended up buying one and saving money (you only need one AP to get discounts; everyone else can have a normal ticket).