Trip from Port Canaveral to Universal

[gillyd42]

Tried posting on the port of call board but now trying here - thanks

 

We are arriving PC at 1pm in December and are planning on taking the ships shuttle service to Universal Studios. I know that on the day we go, it is open til 9pm and the ship leaves port at 11pm.

 

I understand that because this is in peak period that the parks will be very busy, however this is likely to be a one-off trip for us.

 

Has anyone taken this trip before and how long do you really get in the parks, worried that although the transfer time is approx 1hr that they will herd us back onto coaches and that this takes time.

 

i was also planning to buy my tickets in advance to avoid queing - are there any other tips that you seasoned travellers could offer.

 

Thanks

Gilly

[cruiserking]

Tried posting on the port of call board but now trying here - thanks

 

We are arriving PC at 1pm in December and are planning on taking the ships shuttle service to Universal Studios. I know that on the day we go, it is open til 9pm and the ship leaves port at 11pm.

 

I understand that because this is in peak period that the parks will be very busy, however this is likely to be a one-off trip for us.

 

Has anyone taken this trip before and how long do you really get in the parks, worried that although the transfer time is approx 1hr that they will herd us back onto coaches and that this takes time.

 

i was also planning to buy my tickets in advance to avoid queing - are there any other tips that you seasoned travellers could offer.

 

Thanks

Gilly

 

We did this trip this past February and had a great time at Universal. The Explorer docked at Port Canaveral at 1:30 pm, shuttle left at 2 pm we arrived at Universal at 3 pm. We had a good five and half hours there before return.

 

Definitely a good idea to purchase tickets in advance so you just walk right into the park. Make a game plan of the attractions you are most interested in. If you arrive at the park later in the day as we did, many of the early morning crowds are filing out.

 

Here' a link to a very helpful website that gives estimates on crowds for certain days. They pegged our visit last year perfectly saying it would be light and it was.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/

 

Have a great time.

 

Jonathan

[EmpressofPurple]

Did this with friends and we booked a rental car... in control of our own schedule, and with four people MUCH cheaper than rci bus transfers. Search other parts on this topic for more details :-)

 

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[ttnc4me]

If it's early December you might have a better time of it. If it's mid to late December with only 6 hours in the park, you certainly need to decide on your top 6 attractions to visit & dedicate approximately an hour to each for time waiting in line. I would venture to say that Harry Potter would be equal to at least 3 because it can be a 3 hour wait to enter if not more.

You might get more useful info on tripadvisor as well.

[gillyd42]

We did this trip this past February and had a great time at Universal. The Explorer docked at Port Canaveral at 1:30 pm, shuttle left at 2 pm we arrived at Universal at 3 pm. We had a good five and half hours there before return.

 

Definitely a good idea to purchase tickets in advance so you just walk right into the park. Make a game plan of the attractions you are most interested in. If you arrive at the park later in the day as we did, many of the early morning crowds are filing out.

 

Here' a link to a very helpful website that gives estimates on crowds for certain days. They pegged our visit last year perfectly saying it would be light and it was.

 

Here's the link:

 

https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/

 

Have a great time.

 

Jonathan

 

Thanks for the link - as I thought going to be very busy. It's my sons 18th birthday that day and he would love to spend time in the park. I think (as suggested in posts below) we will plan on visiting a couple of rides and just soak up the atmosphere.

I just want to do the Jurassic ride.

 

Thanks again

Gill

[gillyd42]

If it's early December you might have a better time of it. If it's mid to late December with only 6 hours in the park, you certainly need to decide on your top 6 attractions to visit & dedicate approximately an hour to each for time waiting in line. I would venture to say that Harry Potter would be equal to at least 3 because it can be a 3 hour wait to enter if not more.

You might get more useful info on tripadvisor as well.

 

 

Thanks for the tips - there are a couple of rides we definitely want to do and I think just a little ambitious to be able to do the HP ones. Maybe just take a walk around there.

 

THanks

Gill