The other good option on the theme parks is to go in August when the parks stay open practically all night. Doesn’t get dark until very late.
It cools down at night, no crowds and totally pleasant. No rush to get out. Close down the park.
Butterbeer is awful. Especially if it is hot out. It’s very, very sweet and somehow creamy and foamy, ugh.
We bought some butter beer at the local supermarket. It was definitely something we didn’t want to buy more than once (it was expensive and tasted somewhat like a variant of crème soda, to us). Let’s say that for us, it sounded better than it tasted, and we’re Potter fans!
We liked it. 
We did Orlando last August (in combination with a visit to UCF!). We stayed at a Universal property in order to get early admission to the parks, figuring that this was cheaper than buying the Express Passes when all we really cared about was Harry Potter. When we went, there were two problems with this plan:
- Instead of a different park opening early each day, Universal decided to open the same park early for all 3 days we were there. So that only gave us early access to half of the Harry Potter stuff.
- In the early opening, the ONLY open area was the Harry Potter area. So EVERYBODY who went to early opening was in the same exact area. It was just as crowded during early hour as later in the day.
I ended up buying the Express Passes, and was kind of cheesed off about the extra unanticipated expense. I would’ve been better off buying Express Passes and staying off-property.
the frozen butterbeer is great - like a frozen root beer float - we loved them (went back for more our second day in the park)
I’m not a butterbeer fan except for the ice cream.
Late August the parks are not open very late at all as the crowds are down. (8:00/8:30 for the last week) Check the hours before you decide. Express pass is not applicable for the 3 main Harry Potter Rides (Forbidden Journey, Hogwarts Express, Gringotts) but we found early entry to allow for multiple rides with short lines if you get there right at opening. It is correct that only one park will open early for Uni hotel guests for weeks at a time. Lots of folks don’t like to get up early on vacation, so getting there early really helps.
To expand a bit more on the decision of whether to go when the parks are crowded or not, you need to think about the people you are going with. Is there somebody who is a planner and organizer, who will research how to avoid lines, and who will get everybody up early so you can make it to the parks first thing? On the other hand, is there somebody in your group who will thwart these plans by sleeping in, by wanting to have a long leisurely breakfast, who will want to just “play it by ear” and “not be so obsessed with scheduling?” You may find that your party needs to split up, too. I guarantee you that the “play it by ear” group will spend a lot more time in lines.
“We did Orlando last August (in combination with a visit to UCF!).”
I had visits to UCF and Rollins all planned and…the parks kicked my tush so bad that on our day off I mostly slept. I’ll have to make another trip to see those schools.
I was stunned by the length of the walk from the shuttle/taxi area through the mall to either park. Maybe I’m remembering wrong, but isn’t it possible to be dropped off at the front door of Disneyland? I’m healthy and a regular hiker to boot, and I still found it a burden on top of the walks inside the park. There were a lot of older and heavier people dealing with a significant extra distance that didn’t make sense to me.
We loved the Spiderman ride.
Despite being the kind of family that gets moving early, we spent hours in line for Harry Potter.
We spent an insane amount of time waiting to get on the Harry Potter train from one park to the other. It was cute but not worth that wait.
We’ve visited twice between Christmas and New Years – way too busy then.
Some family members still rave about Red Oven Pizza, which is right outside the gates of Universal.
October sounds like a good time to go.
Trip is booked for next week! Timing worked out better for that time and I know it will be super busy. Trying to decide between staying at Cabana Bay vs Royal Pacific. The latter includes the Universal Express pass. Would it be worth it to stay at Royal Pacific? Kids saw YouTube videos for Cabana Bay and like the 50s theme but I think the Universal Express would be worth it. Also, we are planning to spend one day at Epcot - any tips?
Just returned from Universal. Royal Pacific is much better (that is where we stayed) - the express pass is critical (with it we never waited more than a few minutes for any ride) - plus the location is better (you can very easily walk to the parks or take the water ferry). The pool was very active - all hours of the day (and you can use the pools at hard rock or portofino also). The new water park is great - you need a three park pass to get in. Take advantage of the early access for the parks to avoid crowds. At the new Harry Potter area by getting there at 8 am we were able to ride the new gringotts ride 2 times before 9 am. At Volcano Bay we were able to ride about 10 rides before the crowds came at 10 am.
Wanted to add that the only ride we did wait for was the new Harry Potter train - it is a different ride in each direction so we did that once each way.
We stayed at Royal Pacific. There is a water taxi to the park but you can also walk it (15-20 minute walk – a little shorter if fast walkers – though in the heat, walking isn’t always a great way to start a long hot day). Express passes are worth it. I think they also let you into the parks an hour early to ride HP rides (which are not included in Express pass). I think the Express passes are worth it (particularly if you want to ride rides more than once). We also stayed at Cabana Bay a couple years back for a couple days over spring break and paid for the Express passes.
Get to Epcot early. How you ever been there? Do you have tickets? If so, do you have fast passes? If not, you may want to head first to Soarin’ when the park opens. Other big line attraction is Test Track but if you hit the single rider line (you wait in line as a group but ride separately (or possible in pairs together depending on how many single riders they need)). Animal Kingdom with Avatar land is also a big attraction this year (opened a couple weeks ago).
If you like roller coasters, consider spending a day at Busch Gardens Tampa. It isn’t that far and they have lots of rollercoasters and much less people. It is an African theme so there are animals too and I remember a good stage show that was nicely air conditioned.
I think it may have a relationship with Sea World and there may even be shuttles.
We went., we saw and we conquered! Now I can say we can join the HP club based on our Universal visit. What a great time and thanks to all of you for the great tips. The butterbeer was worth it, the exploding bons bons, the chocolate frogs and the wand from Ollivanders - what an experience! We will be returning according to my kids. We did Epcot the last day and they said it was a let down from their Universal days.
Once again thanks to all of you who shared your suggestions. I will leave mine here for future CC viewers. We loved the Royal Pacific and the Universal Express pass was well worth it. Ride the train both ways and enjoy time at both HP locations at Universal Studios and Island of Adventures. Of course, enjoy the butterbeer and watch the historical documentaries if you have not read the books. Apparently, that is what real fans call the HP movies - historical documentaries, learned that at one of the shops.