Is Universal worth it if you've never see or read Harry Potter?

[chmurf]

well it moves ... errr ... I'd say less than despicable me, and in any event far much less than the simulators (transformers, spidy and simpsons)

the only big fail at UNI is the fast&furious ride ... bette stick with kong, same ride, but at least kong looks nice ... FF doesn't and the only thing good about it is the queue ... if you're a car addict, that is.

To get back on the first posts, no, you don't have to be a Harry potter hardcore fan to appreciate the HP lands and the rides inside.

actually, you don't have to be a paleonthologist to do the dinosaur rides at disney, and you don't need to have a degree en egyptology to be able to ride the mummy (this one we'll never do again, as last time we almost knocked our heads together with my DW, the ride is too jerky and I'd even say dangerous ... and that was not our first rodeo on that one)

The question was "is uni worth it" ... well, we've been passholders for 5 years, that will be my answer

[Guest]

I am surprised that so many non-HP fans do not think it impacts their enjoyment. We are big fans so love those areas, but didn't think non-fans would like them quite as much. To us HP is a huge part of Universal.

Having said that, we didn't enjoy the HP area in IoA as much on our recent trip as we did previously, due to the dragons ride closed, Hypogriff absolutely impossible to get on and huge crowds the whole time.

If I wasn't interested in HP, I would go for no more than two days.

[Squidgyness]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I am surprised that so many non-HP fans do not think it impacts their enjoyment. We are big fans so love those areas, but didn't think non-fans would like them quite as much. To us HP is a huge part of Universal.

Having said that, we didn't enjoy the HP area in IoA as much on our recent trip as we did previously, due to the dragons ride closed, Hypogriff absolutely impossible to get on and huge crowds the whole time.

If I wasn't interested in HP, I would go for no more than two days.

See more...

The new coaster should improve things in terms of attractions. Crowds, perhaps not so much.

It's funny I loved the books but wasn't too keen on the movies (I grew up with the books.) That said, the HP areas at Universal were fantastically well detailed.

I think choosing to focus on human-made areas has paid off so far, very interested to see how the new forest focused ride ends up. I'm not wowed by avatar-land (though I don't hate it) as it's a teeny bit fake-plant-like to me so I'm curious to see if I can get away with the new ride.

We visit Universal for 5-6 days per trip, and I would always recommend 3 days for the 2 parks as a starting point (plus an extra if you want to do volcano bay.) You can go up or down from that on future trips. I do feel 2 days or less gives people a bad impression as they rush a lot and miss the street entertainment in universal, characters in the marvel areas etc etc.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I am surprised that so many non-HP fans do not think it impacts their enjoyment. We are big fans so love those areas, but didn't think non-fans would like them quite as much. To us HP is a huge part of Universal.

Having said that, we didn't enjoy the HP area in IoA as much on our recent trip as we did previously, due to the dragons ride closed, Hypogriff absolutely impossible to get on and huge crowds the whole time.

If I wasn't interested in HP, I would go for no more than two days.

See more...

Considering I do like HP, have read all the books and seen all the movies, I wouldn’t go for more than 2 or 3 days myself to US & IOA. Three or four days if you include Volcano Bay, as the OP indicated.

It doesn’t impact non-HP fans because they can always skip the HP stuff and enjoy the rest of the park. The HP part of each park is only one smallish section - there’s plenty of other stuff to see and do.

[JP81]

Originally Posted by Disneylover2000

I love HP so loved the areas in both parks. As you don’t like HP, I would maybe do two days in universal (one in each park) or three if you want Volcano bay too, but not sure there would be enough in the parks you would be interested in that would make the 14 day ticket worth it.

See more...

A 3-day ticket is just as expensive. (More expensive on the gate) So may as well give yourself the option of further visits.

[JP81]

Originally Posted by Melanie2604

14 days is a very long time for Universal - 4 days is more than enough. It's great but nowhere near on the scale of Disney.

See more...

Pricing for 4 days is more than a 14 day ticket, though.
You can do Disney in a week if you want to.

[JP81]

Originally Posted by GaryxG

2 adults, 2 boys aged 11 and 9. Did all the Disney parks 3 years ago and we all loved it.

Returning in late March this year for 2 and a bit weeks.

Looking at a 14 day Universal,IOA, Volcano Bay pass, but are the Universal parks a waste since none of us have read the Harry Potter books or watched the films - none of us have any interest in Harry Potter whatsoever.

So is HP a big part of the parks if we don't do it, or will we still enjoy HP if we do it?

Thanks!

See more...

There is loads to do at Universal.
Also, crowds less and wait times less.
We haven't done Disney in our last 2 trips, but accompanied Universal with SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica.

For us , Disney is hectic. They could limit the guests per day but chose this "fastpass" thing to cram as many in as is legal and hope you spend money while waiting. Creative marketing.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by JP81

For us , Disney is hectic. They could limit the guests per day but chose this "fastpass" thing to cram as many in as is legal and hope you spend money while waiting. Creative marketing.

See more...

They do have a limit on the number of guests. But the limit is only reached on very busy days (such as at Christmas). Not sure what you mean about the “fastpass” thing - it doesn’t cram people in?

The only reason the Universal parks aren’t as crammed is because they don’t get as many visitors. It’s not like Universal would limit the number of guests any more than Disney does.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by JP81

A 3-day ticket is just as expensive. (More expensive on the gate) So may as well give yourself the option of further visits.

See more...

Originally Posted by JP81

Pricing for 4 days is more than a 14 day ticket, though.
You can do Disney in a week if you want to.

See more...

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, you can buy a 4 day ticket for less than a 14 day ticket. UndercoverTourist does a 4-day Base ticket covering the 3 parks for $273 (about £215). Or a 4-day Park Hopper ticket for $314 (about £245). Whereas a 14-day ticket is around £260.

[Lynda__Loo]

I'm a huge HP fan so absolutely love the HP areas of both parks, my other half is not a fan at all and has barely watched an of the films but he was still impressed with the HP areas and rides.

If there wasn't the HP areas we would still be fans of Universal and as a result we go many times throughout our holiday.

There is plenty to entertain everyone imo.