Many of you already know the benefits of saving time with customizable touring plans. Frequently, we send our teams into the field to test them out. This not only helps assure the efficacy of the system, but also provides real-world data. Our field reporter, Christina Harrison, is no stranger to Disney parks, but is now a proud Universal Orlando passholder. She’s having fun exploring all that Universal has to offer, and what better way to make sure she’s seeing all the sights than with a touring plan.
We sent Christina to Universal Orlando Resort on Tuesday, June 24, 2020, to test a Touring Plan. She arrived at 6:50 a.m., hoping to get into the Virtual Line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, but when no return time was available, she secured a Virtual Line Pass of 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. for Fast & Furious – Supercharged. Christina will try again for a Hagrid’s Virtual Line reservation on Friday.
With her annual pass, Christina gets her early entry to Universal Studios park like Universal hotel guests, so she can start her plan at 8 a.m. in Diagon Alley. Here’s how her plan worked.
Initial Plan:
Arrive | Wait | Duration | Walking | |
1) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts | 8:10 | 12 | 5 | 1 |
2) Diagon Alley | 8:28 | 2 | 30 | 5 |
3) Transformers: The Ride-3D | 9:05 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
4) Fast & Furious – Supercharged Notes: Use the 9:00-9:30 Virtual Line |
9:17 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
5) Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit | 9:36 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
6) Shrek 4-D | 9:47 | 8 | 20 | 4 |
7) Revenge of the Mummy | 10:17 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
8) E.T. Adventure | 10:31 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
9) Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl | 10:48 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
10) The Simpsons Ride | 10:55 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
11) MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack | 11:11 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
12) Knight Bus | 11:25 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
13) Ollivanders | 11:31 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
14) The Tales of Beedle the Bard | 12:15 | 15 | 11 | 1 |
15) Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees | 12:45 | 15 | 13 | 8 |
16) Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show | 1:30 | 9 | 27 | 3 |
17) Animal Actors on Location | 2:15 | 15 | 25 | 6 |
After riding Rip Ride Rocket, the plan was Evaluated to update expected wait times. The results are as follows.
Arrive | Wait | Duration | Walking | |
6) Shrek 4-D | 10:06 | 22 (+14) | 20 | 4 |
7) Revenge of the Mummy | 10:52 | 12 (+7) | 5 | 5 |
8) E.T. Adventure | 11:14 | 6 (-2) | 8 | 3 |
9) Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl | 11:31 | 4 (-2) | 2 | 1 |
10) The Simpsons Ride | 11:38 | 20 (+13) | 8 | 1 |
11) MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack | 12:07 | 14 (+7) | 5 | 2 |
12) Knight Bus | 12:28 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
13) Ollivanders | 12:34 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
14) The Tales of Beedle the Bard | 1:45 | 15 | 11 | 1 |
15) Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees | 2:15 | 15 | 13 | 8 |
16) Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show | 2:51 | 9 | 27 | 3 |
17) Animal Actors on Location | 3:30 | 15 | 25 | 6 |
The expected wait times went up an average of 6.3 minutes. The extra wait time, pushed the shows at the end of the plan to the next show time.
The predicted and observed crowd level was a 4.
Here’s what Christina’s experience was like in her own words.
I arrived at parking for USO at 6:50 a.m. for 8:00 entry (AP early entry). I attempted to get into the Virtual Line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure but when no return time was available, I secured a Virtual line Pass of 9:00 – 9:30am for Fast & Furious – Supercharged. Important note – we are testing the same idea on Friday but using the tips we picked up through the day. Several Team Members gave the following advice:
1) Make sure we are on the Universal Wifi when we try to get in the Virtual Line. (I was not.)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FF-Virtual-Line-323x700.png)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Prime-Meet-and-Greet-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FF-preshow-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Rip-Ride-Rockit-long-shot-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Shrek-seating-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Mummy-stilt-dudes-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Simpsons-preshow-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Simpsons-Ride-entrance-700x525.jpg)
![Universal Studios Touring Plan Test](https://blog-cdn.touringplans.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MIB-700x525.jpg)
It is important to re-Evaluate if not re-Optimize your Touring Plan while you are in the park. The updated plan will use the conditions in the park and give you a more accurate plan. The chart below shows how this worked on the day in question.
Predicted Wait Time | Actual Wait Time | ||
Initial | 10 am | ||
1) Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts | 12 | 9 | |
3) Transformers: The Ride-3D | 4 | 12 | |
4) Fast & Furious – Supercharged | 8 | 10 | |
5) Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit | 6 | 18 | |
6) Shrek 4-D | 8 | 22 | 25 |
7) Revenge of the Mummy | 5 | 12 | 14 |
8) E.T. Adventure | 8 | 6 | 0 |
9) Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl | 6 | 4 | 11 |
10) The Simpsons Ride | 7 | 20 | 14 |
11) MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack | 7 | 14 | 12 |
What are your thoughts about our in-park tests? Feel free to share any questions or comments below.
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Filed Under: Universal Orlando Resort, touring plan