Universal Trip- Yes or No?

I would say yes but it definitely depends on you and your boyfriend. I LOVE thrill rides and Universal definitely has a lot in this department that makes it worth the trip for me. Plus I'm a big Harry Potter fan and haven't gotten a chance to go to WWHP yet. But if you think you and your boyfriend will more enjoy atmosphere, food, and shows, then it's absolutely not worth leaving Disney for!

I would say yes to visiting Universal. Although Disney is the bulk of our trips, we also reserve a day for Universal Studios. My advice would be if you go there with the intention of going to the Harry Potter attraction, get there early and make that your first stop for a day. We did that exact thing and still had to wait for an hour and a half to ride the simulator. But, it's definitely worth it

I'd vote yes to Universal, HP is totally worth it! Traffic to the park for opening shouldn't too bad, it's a straight run down the I4

I did HP/UniStu once...took a cab from PORFQ it was about $40 one way. Got there bright and early did all the major rides in UniStu before going over to islands of adventure. I loved the hogwarts ride and butter beer. DW and I went a few days later and had fun wandering around the HP area we didn't go over to the marvel rides. Been there did those.
We actually took 3 buses back to the TTC (saved us about $34) we weren't in a hurry and then took the monorail over to MK and caught a Disney bus back to PORFQ. I recommend taking the taxi over and if you aren't pressed for time take the buses back. It was very simple and I think allears has which buses to take.
If you don't have kids it was very easy to do...with kids I'd say just taxi back and save the hassle of corralling the kids.
Dee

I would say yes!Last year we went to IOA/Universal and did both parks in one day. We had my son though so we did skip a lot and did single rider lines for my husband and I which made stuff go faster. We actually started at IOA for park opening and it was empty. By the time we got to Universal that afternoon and to Harry Potter, it was packed. We did the single rider line though and didn't have to wait.

If I had to do it again, I'd go to Universal first and head straight to HP!

The whole park should open at 8am. An hour will be plenty of time if you're using a cab to get there. HPW is in Islands of Adventure, near the back of the park, so go there first.

They will often let people through the gates before time, but then hold everyone just inside the park until they are ready.

We're doing HP for the first time this year and I can't wait! I'm a Disney fan through and through, but I've gotta get my hands on some of that butterbeer!

Hi AJ!

We've done this several times using mears transportation. You have to schedule in advance but it's less exp. than a cab. We paid $15 ppn round trip. When you get there you tell the driver when you want to be picked up and they bring you back to the hotel. Very easy. You can also get the city bus at DTD (way at the far end past Quest etc). Folks who work at DTD use it. It took 3 changes to get there and was not fun - definitely not WDW. But if you're going to seaworld it's worth it. Next stop. We stay at SSR so DTD is close for us.

Hi Meg! A friend and I took a taxi. We chose not to do Mears because of of the "herd" aspect. We've done shuttles before and simply like space of our own. It is MUCH pricier but then we got to pick our departure time on the fly and we decided to go to Downtown Disney after, not back to the resort. We debated going to one of the parks because it was time for dinner and we were on the meal plan, but DTD won out. (Wolfgang Puck Express!). It was even cheaper back to to DTD than from AKL to Universal - shorter ride!

We budgeted for the expense and couldn't have been happier. Just another thought.

They'll let folks who are staying on Universal Property in an hour early to HPW, which means that a lot of folks will already be in the back by the time y'all get there, so I'd def be there right at 8 when the gates open and head straight back to the Castle! It's a really cool experience. The rest of Universal was meh to me, but worth it if you dig thrill rides!

I too thank you for all the info! My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan so we thought we would go to Universal this trip as well. Since we're all adults, I think we'll do the bus thing back and take the cab in the morning.

If you do the two parks in one day thing, I suggest that you do one in the morning, eat lunch at Citywalk, then go to the other in the afternoon. Universal's CS options aren't the greatest and they're just as expensive as Disney's. Also, they have fewer restaurants in the parks so they tend to get a little too crowded for my taste. There's tons of places to eat on Citywalk!

The butter beer is delicious

Speaking of butter beer...my friend made me some butter beer cupcakes for my birthday and they were delicious

Oooooh----Jess!! Did she share the recipe with you??

I went on a 7 day WDW trip for Spring Break back in March and we took a day and did Universal just for Harry Potter World! I am a Disney fanatic but love HP and it was WONDERFUL! However, once you exit Harry Potter land I was in for a HUGE Disappointment. They didn't have some of the new rides at the time so nothing was really open, the park look outdated and it just wasnt very special. Go for HP but have no expectations of the rest of Universal.

Just a tip...get there as soon as HP world opens and go straight to the Wand Shop! If not you will have to what FOREVER. So make that your first stop. Don't ooooo and awwwwwhhhh head straight there...you wont be disappointed!

I didn't ask her but I'm sure I can get it from her

I always reserve a day or two to hit the other parks. I enjoy Universal, but when we checked out Harry Potter this time last year it was packed,.. literally. There were lines for rides, in stores, at food stands. I think there were even lines to get into the shade. I would hope some of the novelty has worn off by now,.. but who knows?

I don't know if this is the exact recipe she used but here's one...all the recipe's should be similar

http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2011/04/butterbeer-cupcakes.html

Thanks, Jess!! I've got a kiddo turning 6 who will LOVE these for his birthday!!

UNVERSAL is worth a trip went last year HP was very busy send at least 2days