**Winter OI Meetups ** November & December 2024

[nouvellefleur]

I haven't seen a discussion thread for the 2024 November & December Orlando Informer Meetups, so I copied the format of previous threads and started one! We're only 45 days away from the next OI Meetup - who's planning on going?

The Orlando Informer Meetup​

On Friday and Saturday, November 15-16, 22-23, December 6-7, and 13-14, 2024, Orlando Informer is taking over Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. Beginning at 5:00 pm, you'll have access to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ - Hogsmeade™ and Diagon Alley™, Marvel Super Hero Island®, Jurassic Park, and more.

Enjoy access to over 25 rides and attractions​

You'll have access to popular attractions, including Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, E.T. Adventure, and much more.

Mouthwatering food and beverage included​

Unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages are included with your OI Meetup ticket. From vegetable pasta to slow-roasted pork bowls, come find out why our guests at the past OI Meetup rated the food 4.4 out of 5 stars. Cap off the night with unlimited delectable treats (including Butterbeer™).

Less crowds and more breathtaking, unique entertainment​

We're rolling out the red carpet for you at this private party. Just like our 18 previous Orlando Informer Meetups, we have a limited number of tickets on sale to ensure you spend more time on the rides and less time waiting for them! You'll experience the parks in an intimate, exclusive environment with holiday décor throughout.

Experiences​

Our Orlando Informer Meetup takes place in Orlando, Florida at Universal Orlando Resort on November 15-16, 22-23, December 6-7, and 13-14, 2024.

Highlights of our winter 2024 OI Meetup:
+ Jurassic World VelociCoaster
Speeding through the jungle and rising high above the terrain is Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Board your vehicle for a high-speed dash through the park’s Raptor Paddock. You’ll feel the rush of the hunt as you race alongside these nimble predators, twisting and soaring above the land and water.
+ NEW: start sampling earlier
Our unlimited food service will kick off as the parks close to daytime guests at select venues.
+ And more!
No two Orlando Informer Meetups are the same. Stay tuned for more details on what makes our winter OI Meetup a can't-miss experience.

Orlando Informer Meetup hours:
You can enter and enjoy the attractions beginning at 5:00 pm on the date(s) you select.

Friday, November 15, 22, December 6, and 13: Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure will close to the public at 7:00 pm. Our Orlando Informer Meetup will conclude at 12:30 am.

Saturday, November 16, 23, December 7, and 14: Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure will close to the public at 8:00 pm. Our Orlando Informer Meetup will conclude at 1:30 am.

Universal Islands of Adventure
Take advantage of park access beginning at 5:00 pm. Later on, enjoy exclusive access to the following attractions.

• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Hogsmeade™ (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™, Flight of the Hippogriff™, Frog Choir, Triwizard Spirit Rally, Ollivanders™, Hogwarts™ Express: Hogsmeade™ Station)
• Marvel Super Hero Island® (The Incredible Hulk Coaster®, Doctor Doom's Fearfall®, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man®, Storm Force Accelatron®)
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong
• Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park River Adventure, Raptor Encounter, Camp Jurassic, Jurassic World VelociCoaster)
• Seuss Landing™ (The Cat in the Hat™, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!™, Caro-Seuss-el™, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish™)

Universal Studios Florida
Take advantage of park access beginning at 5:00 pm. Later on, enjoy exclusive access to the following attractions.

• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ – Diagon Alley™ (Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™, Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, Ollivanders™, Hogwarts™ Express: King's Cross Station)
• Minion Land on Illumination Avenue (Villain-Con Minion Blast, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem)
• New York (Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride-3D, Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, Revenge of the Mummy, The Blues Brothers® Show)
• San Francisco (Fast & Furious – Supercharged)
• Springfield, U.S.A.™ (The Simpsons Ride™, Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl)
• DreamWorks Land (Trolls Trollercoaster)
• Woody Woodpecker's KidZone (E.T. Adventure)

Food and Beverage

Our highly rated menu from past Orlando Informer Meetups is returning once again. It's important to us that everybody has something they're able to eat, so several vegan options are also returning. As always, unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages are included with your ticket.

Some of the offerings will include pork, chicken, or vegan chorizo tacos, steak & cheese sliders, salads, turkey wraps, spaghetti and meatballs, slow-roasted pork bowls, and much more. Theme-park staples such as cheeseburgers, pizza, and more will also be available. Indulge in delectable desserts, including warm churros, pineapple sorbet, Cinnabon®, ice cream sundaes, miniature cannoli, and more.

Butterbeer™, other unique non-alcoholic drinks, and ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour are also included in your ticket.

 

[WildGrits]

We, 4 adults, will be going to the Dec 7th night. Two of us have never been to Universal (or WDW so this is their first visit to both) and hubby and I who went to Universal once in 94.

So excited for a fun night. We dont like shows so we are really looking at riding the rides and munching some fun snacks.

 

[nouvellefleur]

We, 4 adults, will be going to the Dec 7th night. Two of us have never been to Universal (or WDW so this is their first visit to both) and hubby and I who went to Universal once in 94.

So excited for a fun night. We dont like shows so we are really looking at riding the rides and munching some fun snacks.

Oh, I never actually said but my sister and I will be there for the November 15-16 meetup! It's our first meetup but not our first UO trip. So many people recommend seeing the shows and parades in the 5-7pm hours, but while I love the Bourne show I think we'll be riding rides and shopping instead.

And honestly I'm not a parade person at all so I'm a little relieved the holiday parade won't have started for the first Meetup weekend.

 

[georgina]

And honestly I'm not a parade person at all so I'm a little relieved the holiday parade won't have started for the first Meetup weekend.

I wandered into US a few days ago around 5:00 and was surprised there was a movie themed parade happening, I had never seen it before. It does block foot traffic and makes it hard to get to the back of the park!

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

I wandered into US a few days ago around 5:00 and was surprised there was a movie themed parade happening, I had never seen it before. It does block foot traffic and makes it hard to get to the back of the park!

Any new attendees should be aware that if you don't get to the back of the park you may find yourself locked down by the parade. If parades aren't your thing I would recommend heading back to Diagon Alley or Springfield so you can do other things as soon as they start blocking off the parade route.

Or go to the other park.To be clear not the OTHER other park but IoA.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

December 13th and 14th for me, staying at the CB for an entire week this time with day(?) trips to St. Augustine and Ft. Lauderdale and a quick stop at the Mickey's Christmas thing at the end.

 

[dez1978]

We will be there on 11/22&23! My bday is the 23rd so I'm excited. Then we are going to the other park lol

 

[pinkxray]

We will be there Nov 16 after a 6 night cruise. I have been two events before, one with DD19 and one with DH. This is the first time bringing the kids, 10 and 7. I think the 10 year old will have a blast and stay the whole time with me. Dd7 might not last the whole time so DH might take her back early. I loved the other events so I can’t wait . Ds wants to try all the Harry Potter drinks and ice cream. And churros.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Ds wants to try all the Harry Potter drinks and ice cream.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the fishy green ale.

 

[Kailunkat]

I'll be there Nov 15th!
Question for those who have done it before: is it feasible to do Lyft/Uber pickup and drop off from Hard Rock Cafe? I would love to cut out the whole walk from the garage if possible. Any other step saving advice is welcome (spending the morning at EPCOT and will already be at a high step count I think).

 

[tony67]

I'll be there Nov 15th!
Question for those who have done it before: is it feasible to do Lyft/Uber pickup and drop off from Hard Rock Cafe? I would love to cut out the whole walk from the garage if possible. Any other step saving advice is welcome (spending the morning at EPCOT and will already be at a high step count I think).

You mean hard rock hotel? I have done that and no issue at all.

Hard Rock Cafe would be the same City walk entrance as far as I know.

 

[PPFlight75]

First Meet up for us including my family of 4 plus BIL family of 6. We will be there November 23rd.
A Few questions:
Do we check in at City Walk at 5 or at a park?
Any advice on which park or rides to start with?
Our prioritize are: Hagrids, Mummy, Forbidden Journey, Velocicoaster, Gringotts, Hulk, MIB, Spiderman, and ET
TIA!

 

[Kailunkat]

You mean hard rock hotel? I have done that and no issue at all.

Hard Rock Cafe would be the same City walk entrance as far as I know.

Check in is in front of Hard Rock Cafe on city walk - so I thinking that getting dropped off at Hard Rock Cafe would be the least amount of walking. Does that sound right?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You can't be dropped off "at" Hard Rock Cafe. It is in CityWalk between the 2 parks. There is no car access anywhere near it.

You can be dropped off at Hard Rock Hotel which is adjacent to Studios & is a shorter walk than walking through CityWalk.

 

[GhostHost24]

Check in is in front of Hard Rock Cafe on city walk - so I thinking that getting dropped off at Hard Rock Cafe would be the least amount of walking. Does that sound right?

Check in is in one of the production buildings behind hard rock cafe.

You cant be dropped off there. It's either city walk or the hotel, and it's prob close to same distance

 

[nouvellefleur]

First Meet up for us including my family of 4 plus BIL family of 6. We will be there November 23rd.
A Few questions:
Do we check in at City Walk at 5 or at a park?
Any advice on which park or rides to start with?
Our prioritize are: Hagrids, Mummy, Forbidden Journey, Velocicoaster, Gringotts, Hulk, MIB, Spiderman, and ET
TIA!

About 2 weeks before your Meetup, you'll receive an email from OI with a lot of the logistics details. Check-in begins at 3pm and takes place in a production building next to Hard Rock Cafe on CityWalk (there's a little path on the right-hand side of the restaurant, aka to the north, I think it used to be the Blue Man Group building?). There will be plenty of big signs/flags and staff members directing you to the exact spot. If you have daytime admission, you can check in at the US park next to the Minion Mayhem ride (there will be signs and staff there as well to help guide you).

You have the choice to begin with whatever park you want - if you want to watch the Holiday Parade, start with Universal Studios. Some people recommend starting with watching the shows like the Bourne Stuntacular or the Horror Makeup, which don't run during the Meetup.

We're going the 15th-16th which won't have the parade, so we're probably going to check the ride times on the app at 5pm and decide from there whether to hit US or IOA first. We're probably going to grab a snack from the check-in bites and hit a few lower wait rides in that 5-7pm timeframe. A lot of people in the FB group recommend doing one park per night, but I think we're going to play it by ear a bit - our top priorities are Hagrid's, Velocicoaster, Gringotts, and Mummy. Everything should be a walk on (or close to it) after 7pm, except Hagrid's, so I'm trying to chill and not overplan (despite my anxiety dreams where I somehow don't have time to ride a single ride haha... ha...).

 

[georgina]

Got an email today offering to let me pay off meetup tickets gradually at 0% interest with affirm. Wonder if this means ticket sales are slow?

 

[nouvellefleur]

Got an email today offering to let me pay off meetup tickets gradually at 0% interest with affirm. Wonder if this means ticket sales are slow?

I've been wondering the same thing. All four weekends still have the Friday & Saturday ticket bundle available, and I think in previous years the weekend ticket bundles have sold out, at least for the December dates.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

I've been wondering the same thing. All four weekends still have the Friday & Saturday ticket bundle available, and I think in previous years the weekend ticket bundles have sold out, at least for the December dates.

They may have overestimated demand, 4 weekends, even around the holidays, is a lot. Hopefully the crowds will be even smaller than usual but I do want them to do well as I would hate for the Meetups to go away as I do it every year.

 

[GhostHost24]

I've done both thr Dec one and the Feb one.... The Feb one was way more crowded than the Dec one. Think many just wait til actual holidays to come down to uo so they don't do this and also with it spread over 4 weekends