Lesser Known Must-Do's for Orlando Trip

Frist have a great vacation...

I like to hit Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley where I get the Chocolate Chili ice cream...

And don't Skip One Fish, Two Fish, red fish, blue fish... Always puts me in the Theme park mood....

The Bourne Stuntacular is a real sleepernew attraction at Universal Studios Florida. Also Universal has upgraded and expanded their resorts and City Walk. I like to take a break from the parks and eat at CowFish and take the water taxis over to Bar 17 Bistro on the roof of Aventura.

The Orlando Eye and associated attractions are a nice way to spend an evening if you don't eat to use Theme Park tickets. There are some good restaurants near there that are not quite priced like theme parks. My kids love Wonder Works when they were little and the indoor sky diving place all a short distance from Universal

A few tips, more than must do’s …..

Make sure you are logged into the virtual queue app for Hagrid’s, before you get on property as the allocation disappears very quickly. As soon as you arrive on property, try and make a reservation. It’s early admission for all of July, so people will be arriving around 7am. Despite what the app says, Velocicoaster is more times than not, running between 8 & 9. It will be the best time for you to get in a couple of rides without waiting over an hour.

You can ask for VC front or back seat as long as you go thru the main queue line.

If you miss the Hagrid’s virtual queue, they have had the single rider line open. Be prepared for a long wait though.

I thought Bourne Stuntacular was awful ….. but that’s just me.

If you want a break from the mayhem that is Universal right now, take a stroll over to the Portofino hotel and just enjoy the ambiance. The Starbucks is always nice and quiet, unlike those in the parks.

Visit the Jurassic world tribute store in Universal. Really good.

Don’t worry too much if you don’t get a Rise group at 7am, the 1pm slot is a much easier time. Slinky has the longest wait time of anything at DHS.
Blue milk with rum is by far the best.
You can ask for a pilot seat on MFSR.

Have a num num cookie from the market stall behind the Chinese theater.

Have a ‘flight’ on the skyliner

Food and wine will be in almost full swing at Epcot. There is still no monorail between Epcot and MK. Epcot is one big construction zone at the front of the park.

Thanks for the tips/suggestions! I'll be sure to share my trip report on the discussion thread afterwards. If anyone else has any more thoughts, please share! Thanks again.

Man, this trip sounds fun!

Here's just a few tips I keep in my phone-

USO-
American Express cardholders get discounted stuff and if you bought ur ticket with an AE card then you'll have access to the AE lounge at USF. However it's super small and always crowded. I think they still have free water bottles and small snacks.

There's a red phone booth on the opposite side of the walkway before you enter Diagon ally. Dial 62442 for a special message.

not sure if they're still doing it but you can ask for the immigration tour at MIB and you get a sneak peek at backstage stuff. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't, it's all on luck. Mummy also has a little "tour" of the queue but I've heard its more rare and less cool than MIB. Just ask any employee near the front of the attractions and hopefully they're doing them.

WDW-

Not sure how much stuff you've done in the past at the WDW parks but just make sure to do the smaller stuff. Even though they might look stupid, a lot of times they're indoors and aren't crowded. At DHS these include Walt Disney Presents, Vacation Fun, and the Lightning McQueen show. AT Epcot these include the Pixar Short Film Festival, all the small theater shows at the showcase pavilions, The Living with the Seas Aquarium, ImageWorks Lab.

Can't really think of any more "must-dos" other than just the big attractions. Also, if you need help with park strategies then I'm happy to help! Hope this helped.