Universal mid October

abelkrista

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
We will be vacationing the 17 through the 23 of October. 5 days will be at DL, and 1 day at Universal (1 day of downtime-maybe a beach). We will be staying in Anaheim the whole trip so will have to commute to USH, planning on trying Uber/Lyft for the first time ever. HP is the main attraction at USH for my DD but the kids are excited about a few other things there also, mainly rides and food oriented though.

Really want to maximize our time for our 1 day and will do the early entry to HP, HOWEVER I see they have changed this to only 30 minutes vs 1 hour before parks open so I am unsure how this changes our ability to experience HP to its fullest. If need be we will buy the Front of line Passes when we get there but $80 x4 means we will have to cut something else out.

Originally looking Sunday the 21st to head up to USH, but now wondering if Friday or Monday might be a better option? Monday opening is later at 10 so might miss rush hour? But we will also have 1 less hour so thinking maybe not. Friday and Sunday are 9am openings but not sure if rush hour friday makes this less attractive as we would want to be there by 8 or 815 for an 830 opening. ? I assume we would need to give it 1.5 hours vs 1 hour to travel?

Any thoughts on how to maximize our 1 day? We have never been and want to get the most out of it. Just not sure how the change in early entry is going to impact us.
 
Note that Jurassic Park is closed now while they refurb it to add Jurassic World. So that's one less ride to try to pack in.
 
I think which day you go depends what your priorities are. October is not crazy busy during the day so you should be able to get everything you want to do done. If you decide to buy express passes you'll be done quickly with extra time to explore/repeat. If you want to miss rush hour (which will make your drive more like 2 hours, there and back if you leave at park closing), go on the weekend. You'll have less traffic an extra hour of park time, but slightly bigger crowds. Monday will have less people because you won't have the passholders or HHN people. The thing about USH is the passes are cheap, so everyone like us who goes at least once a year has one and goes for a few hours to see the Halloween decor or before HHN.
 


Sunday is usually the right option. Lighter morning traffic, too.
Really want to maximize our time for our 1 day and will do the early entry to HP, HOWEVER I see they have changed this to only 30 minutes vs 1 hour before parks open so I am unsure how this changes our ability to experience HP to its fullest.
To enjoy WWoHP to the fullest will take about an hour for most people - not counting the wait time for Forbidden Journey. So 30 minutes early entry will get you access to the rides (maybe even twice) and then another 30 minutes to explore Hogsmeade as the non-early entry folks head for the ride. Since Sunday is typically slow in the morning you can easily get a full 90 minutes to experience HP before 10AM. You could even get the delicious breakfast in Three Broomsticks.

No need to buy the Express Pass in order to see everything you want to see. My personal tip: ask an employee when the last tram of the day is scheduled and arrive at the tram tour about 10 minutes before that time. There will be almost no line at all and it's a great way to end your day.
 

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