Our trip is almost here...and I'm NERVOUS!!

[rsjj]

hi disboards family!! So after obsessively planning our trip to the dark side, doing "research" and reading all there is to read, and asking gazillion questions...our trip is finally here! And I am so nervous!!!

I'm not sure why...b/c you've all helped me answer all my questions..and you've all posted various things that I've read...so I should be well prepared!

The one thing I feel like I "messed up" is on not booking our accommodations on site..

The crowd, the heat, no early entry, no express pass privileges...

But it'll be ok, right? I know my family will totally have a blast...it will be the best vacay ever...right?

Thanx for listening/reading!

 

[macraven]

you'll be with your family for a great vacation and that time will be perfect no matter what.

many go in the summer and do make plans for the days so they can avoid long lines and be prepared.
not everyone stays on site.


just plan to be in line early, if you are driving, give yourself plenty of time to park the car in the garage.
if you take a taxi, allow travel time.
do a shuttle from an offsite hotel, take the earliest shuttle available.

parks will already have a lot of guests in them due to the early entry that is allowed for the onsite and some package hotels.

do what you can in the morning, use the single rider lines when available and take your food breaks and rest in the heat of the day.
get free cups of water to stay hydrated.

you'll find the end of the park day will be a good time to hit the headline rides at pottsville lands....

you'll be with your family.
of course that is going to make days in the park the best.

take tons of pictures
you'll enjoy looking at them when winter comes around..

 

[rsjj]

you'll be with your family for a great vacation and that time will be perfect no matter what.

many go in the summer and do make plans for the days so they can avoid long lines and be prepared.
not everyone stays on site.


just plan to be in line early, if you are driving, give yourself plenty of time to park the car in the garage.
if you take a taxi, allow travel time.
do a shuttle from an offsite hotel, take the earliest shuttle available.

parks will already have a lot of guests in them due to the early entry that is allowed for the onsite and some package hotels.

do what you can in the morning, use the single rider lines when available and take your food breaks and rest in the heat of the day.
get free cups of water to stay hydrated.

you'll find the end of the park day will be a good time to hit the headline rides at pottsville lands....

you'll be with your family.
of course that is going to make days in the park the best.

take tons of pictures
you'll enjoy looking at them when winter comes around..

Thank you SO much!!! Appreciate all your kind words. And tips!! And yes, you are right...I will be w/my family, and we will all have the best time ever! Crowd...so be it. Heat...we have water mister fan things. No early entry...we'll just go w/the flow. Being w/my family...priceless!

Thank you!

 

[schumigirl]

Have a wonderful trip....enjoy every minute

 

[rsjj]

Thank you!

 

[RocketCityMama]

Have a great trip! We didn't stay onsite nor have EE and still had a wonderful time with midday breaks. Just know you might not get it all done, but there is always another time to do the rest. Go to the park early just like EE, you can check out the stores and what not and be ready to enter as soon as they open the rest of the park. That is what we did and it worked out great.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Like you, I am a planner, and personally, I stress when the plan doesn't hold up. Let me tell you, any plan will not hold up. The rides will break down, the lines suck, and the heat is always hotter than you remember. It's OK, planning is still best...or at least my therapist tells me so, lol. Make sure you are comfortable with the park map and try to go with the flow.

There is a great thread about people's best memories of Universal, very few are about the major attractions. Things happen at Universal...great things, out of left field things. That is what you will look back on. Even with my OCD, I have never looked back on a vacation and said my best memory was how well I planned it.

I would love to say don't sweat the small stuff, but for me, that would be hypocrisy. Again, know the map, know the options, know something will go wrong. But, I am sure there will be a lot more things that go right that were never planned.

Have a great time!!!

 

[rsjj]

Have a great trip! We didn't stay onsite nor have EE and still had a wonderful time with midday breaks. Just know you might not get it all done, but there is always another time to do the rest. Go to the park early just like EE, you can check out the stores and what not and be ready to enter as soon as they open the rest of the park. That is what we did and it worked out great.

Thank you! You mentioned visiting the stores before the park opens..are you referring to the stores at city walk? Or the stores w/in the park..?

Like you, I am a planner, and personally, I stress when the plan doesn't hold up. Let me tell you, any plan will not hold up. The rides will break down, the lines suck, and the heat is always hotter than you remember. It's OK, planning is still best...or at least my therapist tells me so, lol. Make sure you are comfortable with the park map and try to go with the flow.

There is a great thread about people's best memories of Universal, very few are about the major attractions. Things happen at Universal...great things, out of left field things. That is what you will look back on. Even with my OCD, I have never looked back on a vacation and said my best memory was how well I planned it.

I would love to say don't sweat the small stuff, but for me, that would be hypocrisy. Again, know the map, know the options, know something will go wrong. But, I am sure there will be a lot more things that go right that were never planned.

Have a great time!!!

Thank you!! Know the map...got it! Glad to know that you can relate...

I know we'll have a fantastic time...and I know there's always a kink to every best plan there is...

 

[johde]

Have a great trip. You can definitely have a great trip without EE or Express passes. It just take a little bit of planning. 1) I would hit the non HP headliners first thing in the morning. HP and Minions are the only things open during EE so the rest of the parks your on equal footing at rope drop. 2) Hit the HP area mid to late morning or late in the evening. Gringotts gets backed up at RD then drops off mid morning before picking up again for the afternoon then drops again in the evening. 3) in the afternoon, enjoy the shows and large capacity rides.

 

[RocketCityMama]

Thank you! You mentioned visiting the stores before the park opens..are you referring to the stores at city walk? Or the stores w/in the park..?

.

We went to IOA on an EE day (not intentionally) and got in to the parks, they had a separate entrance inside IOA to funnel everyone with EE passes to HP area. We went over to Seussland and looked around the stores and took pics. Shortly after that the TM came and told us the rest of the park was open

 

[DISNEYNV]

Early ENtry and FP were nice, but totally utilize the Single Rider Lines if you can!!!!! We (myself, hubby, and kids 7 and 11) and had early entry and fast pass because we stayed at Royal Pacific in June, but not every ride is a FP ride. We basically got on fast using Single Rider and just had the kids wait for us when they got off. Most of the time we rode together (or got off right after each other) anyway. This allowed us to ride the HP rides many times! YEs, it was hot and crowded (we are used to going in September or Novemeber), but it was still a great trip and Im sure you will have fun too. Great tips here on how to plan. Make sure you get dinning reservations or plan to eat early (like by 4pm) or popular places fill up fast and you will have to wait or do a counter service.

 

[rsjj]

Thank you everyone!!! For all your thoughts, tips and suggestions, and words of confidence!

We are actually here...just did the parks today! We all had a blast...just as you all said!

Just an fyi...we got into the park (ioa) at 7:30...and walked into the waiting area for hp by 7:40. They let us in around 7:50!! And we walked all the way into the forbidden journey ride...done by 8:30!!! And got on dragon challenge for a 5 min line!! It was great! And the rest of the day...we just picked and choose what we wanted to ride...

Went on the hp express going to usf...

We were all happy campers!!

On our next visit to the park 2 days from today...we are heading into usf, and going to ride that other ride..gringotts?

Again...thank you all!!!

 

[macraven]

rsjj, great to hear you are having fun!
enjoy your stay there and hit all the rides and shows in the parks.

i'm sure most of what you read from the threads before you left, make more sense now.
keep us posted on how you are doing at the darkside.

 

[schumigirl]

Glad to hear you are having a blast!!

 

[rsjj]

rsjj, great to hear you are having fun!
enjoy your stay there and hit all the rides and shows in the parks.

i'm sure most of what you read from the threads before you left, make more sense now.
keep us posted on how you are doing at the darkside.

Glad to hear you are having a blast!!

Thank you! I felt like I worried for nothing!! Lol...

For anyone else reading...I can totally answer some questions "live"...

 

[rsjj]

Finished our 3 days at the dark side! It was so much fun! Thank you all for calming my nerves! And for all your tips and suggestions!! They were so very helpful!!!