1st time Universal Trip booked! I have questions

[Jimmy Mouse]

So we (Me, The wife and our 2 girls 6 & 8) booked for October (fall break) for 6 nights at Hard Rock. I booked Club Level and have park tickets for 5 days. We plan on 3 park days, 2 volcano bay days plus City Walk on arrival night. First of all, the web site sucks! It took me over an hour to find where I booked our package so I could make another payment. I had to actually google it to find the link. I think I figured out everything Express Pass and will purchase lanyards before our trip (unless they sell them at the resort or park) but what I cannot find is a list of restaurants that accept priority seating with EP. Last thing, should we try to go bag less? and can I keep things in my pocket or will we have to locker up all lose items? Any info that will make our first UO stay will be appreciated!

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

So you get Express Passes ‘free’ because you are staying at the HRH, so don’t buy them. They do not come with lanyards, but lanyards are sold in the parks, hotels and along Citywalk. The best choice is in the parks. I find that the lanyard pocket holds my AP, roomkey which acts as your EP, a credit card, Driving licence, small copy of my passport and a folded note/money (is it called a bill?) So put the ticket showing one way and the EP the other and sandwich everything else in between. You can put bits and pieces in your pockets but you will be asked to take your mobile ‘phones out going through security and to put everything in lockers for two of the rides.
The wet rides at UOR are ‘just got out of the swimming pool’ wet, so have some ziplocks in your pockets. Try to go bagless if you can, especially as HRH is so close to the parks, but still save the wet rides until last.
Don’t expect too much of HRH CL as it is not on a par with WDW CL.
HRH and Citywalk ‘free pours’ of alcohol are very generous. Be warned.
I have never found that the priority access works that well. However, the Landreys (sp?) one does, if you are planning to eat at Bubba Gump.
There is loads of knowledge on this site so just ask questions.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Oh and have fun!

 

[Kivara]

The two rides where you have to take everything out of your pockets are both large coasters (Hulk in Islands and Rip Ride Rocket in Studios) For every other ride, you will only need a locker if it isn't secured in a pocket (bag, purse, refill cup, wand, etc)
I personally like the lockers, as I prefer to carry a few things, like sunscreen, asthma inhaler, ponchos, etc. And we always have our refill cups and wands, so we need a locker regardless
There are a few rides, where lockers are not mandatory if it fits in your pocket, but be sure they are secure. Lots of pockets get emptied especially on Men In Black (whipping) and Forbidden Journey (HP castle, tips you around a bit)

You can buy lanyards anywhere, hotel, CityWalk, parks, online, shops near home; however, I like to get the ones with the Ziplock style closure, because you do get soaked on the water rides (you can buy these pouches seperate, online, if you buy lanyards before going. The ones sold around the parks/hotels have these pouches.)

We eat at off times, and have never waited too long for a restaurant. Though, you are going during HHN (Halloween Horror Nights) so evenings might get busy. If they say the wait is long, we ask if they offer preferred seating for hotel guests and flash a room key. If not, then we decide if we stay or try somewhere else.

More on HHN, during the day, the intense decor items are covered. If you want to attend, it is a separate ticket. It is in Studios only. Studios will close early on the nights it is there (not every night, but I don't know which ones) but Islands will stay open later.

 

[macraven]

Bubba Gumps is open and taking reservations

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I didn’t know that. Do you know when it is closing?

 

[macraven]

I didn’t know that. Do you know when it is closing?

I read it from a news site I subscribe to and after I checked it a few minutes ago, it seemed odd

I just called Bubba Gumps in City Walk an they confirmed they are NOT closing

To prevent anyone reading wrong info in this thread. I will edit my above post

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I read it from a news site I subscribe to and after I checked it a few minutes ago, it seemed odd

I just called Bubba Gumps in City Walk an they confirmed they are NOT closing

To prevent anyone reading wrong info in this thread. I will edit my above post

Thank you, that is really very kind of you to go to the trouble of checking.

 

[AJA]

I also find the Universal Site horrible to navigate!

You might want to invest in a cheap 3 prong fanny pack. A lot of rides (especially that the 6 year old can ride) allow you to have a fanny pack (3 prong lol). You can always purchase one at Universal and have it as a souvenir. Although the lockers are really not as much of a pain as you might think, we find them easy to use and accessible. The coasters that wont allow anything in your pockets (phones etc) would have a height requirement and you'll need child swap anyway.

You are going to have an amazing time. The front of the line pass really makes it easy to manage crowds.

Remember in October Horror Nights will be in full swing so the Studios will be closing early.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I also find the Universal Site horrible to navigate!

You might want to invest in a cheap 3 prong fanny pack. A lot of rides (especially that the 6 year old can ride) allow you to have a fanny pack (3 prong lol). You can always purchase one at Universal and have it as a souvenir. Although the lockers are really not as much of a pain as you might think, we find them easy to use and accessible. The coasters that wont allow anything in your pockets (phones etc) would have a height requirement and you'll need child swap anyway.

You are going to have an amazing time. The front of the line pass really makes it easy to manage crowds.

Remember in October Horror Nights will be in full swing so the Studios will be closing early.

I think both my girls will meet the height requirements for all the rides. DD8 will be 9 when we go and she is 62" tall. DD6 will be turning 7 in December and she is 50" with shoes and we still have 7 months so she should be able to ride everything …. maybe Hulk will be close but she does well when she can't ride something.

 

[GoingSince1990]

You don't need to worry too much about making dining reservations (much more relaxed than Disney) but if you want to eat at Mythos I would make a reservation. Most of the time they accept walk-ins (but we were once turned away when we didn't have a reservation) but the wait can be quite long and having a reservation can save you quite a bit of time.

 

[Renaissancerocks]

Priority seating is always after reservations but before walk ups. Since you are staying at Hard Rock, you get priority seating at Hard Rock Cafe and many other city walk restaurants...but not all...I know bubba gump’s just does Landry’s card and I do not think NBC bar grill grill participates. You also get priority seating at both sit down restaurants in each park, Confisco’s, Mythos, Lombards, and Finnegan’s. However, I suggest reservations if you can. And, you can usually make reservations just a couple days in advance unless it is HHN.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Priority seating is always after reservations but before walk ups. Since you are staying at Hard Rock, you get priority seating at Hard Rock Cafe and many other city walk restaurants...but not all...I know bubba gump’s just does Landry’s card and I do not think NBC bar grill grill participates. You also get priority seating at both sit down restaurants in each park, Confisco’s, Mythos, Lombards, and Finnegan’s. However, I suggest reservations if you can. And, you can usually make reservations just a couple days in advance unless it is HHN.

I didn't know Bubba Gump was a Landry's Restaurant. That's good to know! We always eat at Yak and Yeti with our Landry's card and never wait more than 10 minutes. So is Finnegan's like Raglin' Road?

 

[Renaissancerocks]

I didn't know Bubba Gump was a Landry's Restaurant. That's good to know! We always eat at Yak and Yeti with our Landry's card and never wait more than 10 minutes.

Bubba Gump’s usually seats even faster than Yak and Yeti...even on nights with a 90 minute wait. Finnegan’s is sort of like raglan road but not...they have entertainment sometimes but not necessarily Irish.

 

[cschaaf]

Priority seating used to be a nice perk. The last 3 trips we've tried it and it was worthless. Some places told us they don't accept priority seating unless the wait is an hour or more and that it would cut the wait by 50%. We didn't often see any restaurant waits that long... except...

One night, we went to Toothsome and they quoted a 90 minute wait. Great, we thought, we can cut that to 45, right? Nope. They said it would drop our wait to 85 minutes. We went somewhere else for dinner that night (where the wait was less than an hour, so no priority seating).

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Priority seating used to be a nice perk. The last 3 trips we've tried it and it was worthless. Some places told us they don't accept priority seating unless the wait is an hour or more and that it would cut the wait by 50%. We didn't often see any restaurant waits that long... except...

One night, we went to Toothsome and they quoted a 90 minute wait. Great, we thought, we can cut that to 45, right? Nope. They said it would drop our wait to 85 minutes. We went somewhere else for dinner that night (where the wait was less than an hour, so no priority seating).

As long as they have a bar, I don't mind waiting

 

[ScooterScott44]

Chiming in since we had almost the same itinerary as the OP last month. We were Hard Rock Hotel for 4 nights club level so a couple of thoughts.

- club level was nice but for us it was really only breakfast and a snack so not much tangible but definitely helped
- related to that we had just enough food from the club we really only did one bigger meal, at lunch, most days. Because of that we didn’t find much use for the priority seating.
- you mentioned first night at city walk so just making sure you know, the express pass is valid once you check in. If you want to go into the parks that first day with express pass you can get a few things done pretty easily. And the earlier you get to property then there is even more value to heading to the park.
- if you are not planning on heading over that first day it may be due to the timing of your arrival or park tickets. If it is the second one and you are doing five days of park tickets have you considered an annual pass? Cost may not be too different and may get perks that might also be helpful.
- lanyards were helpful for the kids but not something for the adults in our party. Also we had a string backpack as it made it easier to toss a few things into and put the whole thing in a locker. The lockers are pretty easy for the most part and the small bag made it even faster, even if someone stayed behind (my wife skipped a couple of big rides and it made it easy for her to have everything in one bag, especially wands.)

Have a great trip!

 

[nkereina]

will purchase lanyards before our trip (unless they sell them at the resort or park)

Since you are doing City Walk on your first night, I would recommend just purchasing the lanyards in the Universal store at City Walk. They have a decent selection and everyone can pick out their own. They will also replace the plastic pouch on ones purchased at Universal if it rips.

a list of restaurants that accept priority seating with EP

We've used priority seating at Cowfish, Vivo, and NBC Sports. Not sure if anything has changed, its been a couple of years. I do not believe Toothsome accepts it. But on all of our trips, we've never made reservations or had terribly long waits. I think its the worst on weekends and around park closing time.

should we try to go bag less? and can I keep things in my pocket or will we have to locker up all lose items?

I will caution that some lockers (Mummy for sure) are small and will not fit a backpack - only a fanny pack or small purse would fit. I personally would rather carry a purse/fanny pack than have to shove everything in my pockets, but I think carrying anything larger than that will result in challenges at some locker rides. I'd also add that bag check coming from HRH is very fast and simple - much better than WDW.

As mentioned, Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit will not allow anything in your pockets. You will have to go through a metal detector. The only thing you can keep on your person for these two rides is your lanyard, everything else goes in the locker. There are also some rides that permit a three prong fanny pack/waist pack - I've had success wearing mine on Mummy and Gringott's. I've also heard Forbidden Journey now permits cross-body bags, but I can't confirm. Regardless, we never find the bag storing to be that big of a deal. It adds maybe 5 minutes to the overall ride experience at the start and end. The lockers are simple to use, especially now that you just scan your park ticket for many of them.

 

[Robo56]

So you get Express Passes ‘free’ because you are staying at the HRH, so don’t buy them

A lot of newbies get thrown off with the general express pass reference. There are two Express passes. You will have the Unlimited Express Pass included in your stay at HRH for everyone in your family. It’s your room key. Unlimited Express allows you to ride all the rides as many times as you wish during your whole stay. It is good the day you check in until the day you check out until the parks close.

Express Pass allows you one express ride per ride. Both Unlimited Express and Express Pass can be purchased online or in the parks.

Of course the ultimate perk of staying at HRH, PBH and RPR Is the inclusion of the Unlimited Express Pass.

When you check in ask the person at the desk to show your children the card options. They have different characters on the room keys like Harry Potter, Kong, Jurassic Park, Minion etc. and let them choose the character they want. Makes it kinda special.

Universal Studios closes early at 6 pm on nights HHN is held and IOA is open later on those nights typically.

CityWalk restaurants are very busy at park closing.

You have a delicious steak restaurant at HRH called the Palm. It’s a bit pricey, but very good.

If you think of anymore questions come back and ask someone will jump in and help.

Have a great trip to Universal. You and your family will have a wonderful time.

 

[macraven]

The studios closes at 5 on hhn dates and it takes at least 35+ minutes to clear the day visitors out of the park
(Gate admission into the park for hhn will vary to as early at 5:45 )