Day Universal Orlando Trip Questions

My family and I (Dh, me and DD-2) are heading over to IoA for a daytrip while at WDW. We plan on going on Thurs 5/31 and arrive at Rope Drop until DD can't handle it anymore - we are hoping she will sleep in her stroller since we can't just "pop" over to our resort for a break.

I had some questions....and was hoping some experts would weigh in:

1. I realize it will be crowded, but is it feasible to do the following in half a day before lunch?
-FJ and see some shops (No Ollivanders, FotH or DD)
-Spiderman
-Seuss' Landing

2. When using child swap, do we have to put our bag in a locker with an adult being left behind to hold it?

3. In our situation, only one adult will be riding at a time with the help of child swap. Is it possible to use the single rider line AND child swap?

4. If we can do the swap AND singles at FJ, would it be faster to do that and then take the castle tour after? Is it true you miss a lot if you go Single on FJ?

4. If we finish up IoA early (we don't care for coasters really) and want to visit UA, can we upgrade our base ticket to a hopper? I currently plan to buy a base because I would hate to waste the money if IoA took too long or DD wasn't doing well.

Thanks for any advice - I could use it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

My family and I (Dh, me and DD-2) are heading over to IoA for a daytrip while at WDW. We plan on going on Thurs 5/31 and arrive at Rope Drop until DD can't handle it anymore - we are hoping she will sleep in her stroller since we can't just "pop" over to our resort for a break.

I had some questions....and was hoping some experts would weigh in:

I'll answer as best I could... Others I am sure will follow with their opinions and advice..

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

1. I realize it will be crowded, but is it feasible to do the following in half a day before lunch?
-FJ and see some shops (No Ollivanders, FotH or DD)
-Spiderman
-Seuss' Landing

Spider-man, you may encounter a 90 minute wait... FJ could get up to 2 hours... and Seuss' Landing, waits are usually very minimal...

If you get there at park open, head straight toward Wizarding World... Go right once you enter the park... You'll walk straight through Seuss' Landing, so you may actually be able to hit that part of the park first, and honestly, you'll blow right through it... Beginning of the day, I cannot picture Seuss' Landing being hugely packed...

Then hit Wizarding World... Walking through the couple of shops won't won't take too long... The stores are rather small, and tend to get very crowded due to size... FJ will be your longest wait probably, but early in the day, may not be too too bad... Afternoons is when the line really backs up...

End the day with Spider-Man... Only a 5 minute walk (if you are taking your time, then 10 minutes) from Wizarding World...

I honestly think you'll be able to get what you want done by early afternoon...

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

2. When using child swap, do we have to put our bag in a locker with an adult being left behind to hold it?

No kid so I never had to child swap...

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

3. In our situation, only one adult will be riding at a time with the help of child swap. Is it possible to use the single rider line AND child swap?

Again, never had a need for child swap... Single rider is always faster... What you can do is, instead of both of you going through the queue together holding your daughter, one can go through the single rider line while the other waits in the entrance area, maybe taking in the sites (have a butter beer!!!)...

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

4. If we can do the swap AND singles at FJ, would it be faster to do that and then take the castle tour after? Is it true you miss a lot if you go Single on FJ?

The FJ queue is excellent... I went through the regular queue in october and was amazed... I believe the single rider queue goes through the important and large show scene in the queue... You just bypass everything else, like stairwells and empty halls... But, my memory may be a little fuzzy too...

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellyia

4. If we finish up IoA early (we don't care for coasters really) and want to visit UA, can we upgrade our base ticket to a hopper? I currently plan to buy a base because I would hate to waste the money if IoA took too long or DD wasn't doing well.

Upgrading has to be done before you enter the park... Once your ticket is used, it's used... You'll have to upgrade at Guest Services before entering...

I always say play it safe rather than be sorry... Also, i'd even say take a second day out and instead of park hopping, take one day at IOA and one at Uni... If your DD tires out and needs a nap or needs to go back to the resort, and you didn't get to go to Universal after IOA then upgrading to a park hopper may not be worth it... But then again, if she is a ball of energy that day, and you don't upgrade, but finish IOA early enough, you'll lose out on seeing Universal and their new parade and night time show...

When I went in October, my plan was to spend the entire day at each park so I didn't get a park hopper... I took my time exploring IOA and Universal... I saw everything, and I do mean everything, in IOA and was done by 3:00... That included lunch at Three Broomsticks, riding Spider-Man twice, riding FJ twice, even FotH... You only want to see a handful of things, so I think you'll do just fine...

Just a word of warning: Cat in the Hat is a great dark ride, but there are parts of the ride than your vehicle spins... The spinning caught me off guard... I don't know how your daughter would handle a spinning car... They don't spin wildly, but they spin enough... Other than that, Seuss' Landing is honestly one of my favorite lands in a theme park...

I hope you enjoy IOA, and if you get there UNI...

Thanks so much for the input...I'll take it all into account.

Anyone have experience with the single rider & child swap situation?

With Child Swap, you can have the adult wait with the bag(s) and the child...so no need for the locker. Just make sure you inform the Team Member(s) that you'll be doing child swap, and they'll direct you to the appropriate area. With Child Swap as well, the switching party goes to whatever part of the Express line you would have left to wait in from there. Child Swap is typically located inside of the attraction, and if you don't have Express Pass or Express access with an on-site resort key, you will have to wait through the Standard Queue.

Single rider - wait time will be significantly reduced, but your party WILL be split to fill empty seats. Good for re-riding a ride or if you don't mind splitting your party.