Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[mesaboy2]

How is it at closing? When we went in July, he last couple of hours at closing were very bearable- much better than the capacity crowds in the morning.

I've tried this strategy several times and it's been bearable, if not great, every time. YMMV.

 

[Don Pacho]

How is it at closing? When we went in July, he last couple of hours at closing were very bearable- much better than the capacity crowds in the morning.

Yes. About a 30 minute wait for FJ and Ollivanders

 

[Bluer101]

collage of photos taken this morning around 11am. Forbidden Journey was running about 110 minute wait and Olivanders was 90 minutes. Street running between the storefronts was shoulder to shoulder with little if any movement.

WOW!!!

I hope its not like that Memorial Day weekend. I'm glad we are staying onsite like we usually do. We will be in and out of that area quickly.

 

[sbevione]

WOW!!!

I hope its not like that Memorial Day weekend. I'm glad we are staying onsite like we usually do. We will be in and out of that area quickly.

Ugh! This picture scares me. I hope it isn't this crowded when we go in July.

 

[cklinkert]

We just got back from Orlando. We went to IoA on Tuesday. Our plan was to go first thing in the morning. We were not staying on site so we planned to be there at rope drop. Well, it was storming so bad on Tuesday morning. We waited and waited and the sun came out around 1. We headed to the park. We had a 12 year old and a 7 year old. The 7 year old couldnt get past Suess land so we spent about 35 mins there. Maybe longer. We got to WWoHP around 2:15. We saw the wait for Olivander's was not that bad so we waited - appx 20 mins. While in line we saw that FJ wait time was TWENTY minutes...really!! So we got our wands and headed to FJ. Boy oh Boy did we wish there was a wait - we flew right through the queue!!! In and out in no time. My SIL and Ds were the ones who rode the ride and they loved it....the rest of the parkwas the same...very low crowds.

We went back to US on Thursday - when you are walking in CityWalk and you split off to go to US or IoA - 75% of the people headed to IoA. US was NOTHING!!! We rode everything we wanted, some twice, saw what we wanted and were done with the park by 2. We headed back to IoA (thanks to the Costco 3 Day pass)and OMG - what a difference it was!!! WWoHP was INSANE!!! It was soooo crowded - there was a HUGE line to get into even Zonko's and you had to enter through Honeydukes. That was not the case on Tuesday. O's line streched on for forever and the wait for FJ was 75 mins. We were actually in and out in 54 mins and I got to ride with DS this time...WOW! What a fantastic ride!!! And I was soooo nervous about it!!

 

[lovebug33]

I hope this isn't crowded next Sunday!

 

[fhold]

Yes, the photo above is scary and accurate at 11:00 a.m., but we were able to do Forbidden Journey 6 times in the last two days with little wait. Our first two times were Friday morning. We had early entry from staying at the Portofino Bay Hotel and arrived at the park at 7:45. Rode FJ twice with about 15 minute wait the first time and 25 minutes the second.

Went back Friday Evening about 6:30 and the lines were even shorter and the streets much less crowded. Rode twice again in the regular line.

Saturday we were going to Mardis Gras and decided to check out the lines just in case. Time posted was a 45 minute wait at 5:00 p.m., so we decided to try single rider line. Wait was about 10 minutes, went on FJ twice. Ollivanders lines also looked fairly short (probably 40 minutes) but we had to get back over to Universal to ride the Mummy twice before lining up for the parade and concert.'

So, yes, it is crowded and crazy, but by going early and late and using single rider lines you can get your fill of Forbidden Journey. However, note that the single rider line bypasses some of the very cool parts of the castle so this is better done when you've experienced the full tour a few times.

 

[yulilin3]

We went yesterday for the very first time with our AP (Sunday April 10th) arrived around 10:30 and went straight to WWOHP. On our way all the rides we passed were only 5min. The HP asreas was crowded but not super packed. Olivanders had 1 hour wait . FJ was 45minutes we decided to ride it. The line is really great, alot of details and shade and A/C. The ride was awesome!! We then decided to tour the whole area going into all the stores, ate at the 3 Broomsticks around 12 noon, no waiting. Then we went on Flight of the Hippogriff, it was 15 minutes around 1:30pm, the kids did Dragon Challenge around 2pm 5 minutes wait, then we did FJ again using single riders at 2:30, no wait, the standby line was 30 minutes. Around 5pm FJ was 20 minutes and Dragon C. was still 5 minutes. Olivanders was 30 minutes.
Started walking out and all the rides in Toon Lagoon and Marvel were 5 minutes.
In all, from 10:30am to 7:30pm we rode: the Seuss Trolley Train Ride, FJ (3 times), Dragon Challenge (2 times) Flight of the Hippogriff, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Pteranadon Flyers, Poseidon's Fury, Sinbad show, BMX stunt show, Hulk (3 times) Dr. Doom's (2 times) Spiderman, Storm Force Accelatron.

 

[damo]

We went yesterday for the very first time with our AP (Sunday April 10th) arrived around 10:30 and went straight to WWOHP. On our way all the rides we passed were only 5min. The HP asreas was crowded but not super packed. Olivanders had 1 hour wait . FJ was 45minutes we decided to ride it. The line is really great, alot of details and shade and A/C. The ride was awesome!! We then decided to tour the whole area going into all the stores, ate at the 3 Broomsticks around 12 noon, no waiting. Then we went on Flight of the Hippogriff, it was 15 minutes around 1:30pm, the kids did Dragon Challenge around 2pm 5 minutes wait, then we did FJ again using single riders at 2:30, no wait, the standby line was 30 minutes. Around 5pm FJ was 20 minutes and Dragon C. was still 5 minutes. Olivanders was 30 minutes.
Started walking out and all the rides in Toon Lagoon and Marvel were 5 minutes.
In all, from 10:30am to 7:30pm we rode: the Seuss Trolley Train Ride, FJ (3 times), Dragon Challenge (2 times) Flight of the Hippogriff, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Pteranadon Flyers, Poseidon's Fury, Sinbad show, BMX stunt show, Hulk (3 times) Dr. Doom's (2 times) Spiderman, Storm Force Accelatron.

Wow, Sunday crowd levels never cease to amaze me. That sounds wonderful.

 

[KerryLynKing]

I hope this isn't crowded next Sunday!

Though we didn't want to wait, my daughter was just there, and said it was worth every minute of wait time.

 

[mesaboy2]

Wow, Sunday crowd levels never cease to amaze me. That sounds wonderful.

Agreed. It goes against my logic, but there sure seems to be something to it.

 

[ekraxa]

Wow, Sunday crowd levels never cease to amaze me. That sounds wonderful.

We're counting on this come June 5th. We rearranged our entire WDW vacation so we could visit WWOHP on a Sunday. A few years ago we wouldn't have even considered leaving WDW for Universal Studios but in the past few years my DD has decided Harry is cooler than Cinderella. Since it's doubtful we'll be able to swing a trip like this again (at least not until she's done with college) we figured we'd better make sure to see Hogwarts.

Of course that makes us exactly like about a million other families right now...so we're banking on the lower Sunday crowd levels!

 

[bigAWL]

We're going Columbus Day weekend in October. I'd love to hope for light crowds on Sunday, but I'm doubtful since Monday is a holiday.

 

[avic77]

We are going Columbus day week as well. And I am looking at Columbus Day Monday for Universal. I have tours and halloween scedualed at Disney and it loooks like Monday will be the only open day for WWOHP.
I'm very worried about crowds.

 

[flfun]

We are going Columbus day week as well. And I am looking at Columbus Day Monday for Universal. I have tours and halloween scedualed at Disney and it loooks like Monday will be the only open day for WWOHP. I'm very worried about crowds



Monday will be the best day for that holiday weekend, everyone starts to head home from their 3 day weekend. This doesn't hold true for a summer holiday since everyone is on vacation anyway and school is out.

 

[Joanna71985]

I was there a couple of weeks ago, on April 1st. I arrived around 2:30pm, and at that point they were giving out return passes for 4:30 to get into Wizarding World.

 

[MouseEarsForLife]

We went Sunday April 3rd, we arrived around 8:22am, we were let into the park around 8:40, and while we did have to go through the Jurassic Park entrance, we were not walked through each land.

Forbidden Journey had a posted 20 minute wait, which was really a walk-on, followed by a minimum wait at Dragon Challenge (less than 5 min). Crowds were nothing like I've seen pictures of, and while the shops were "cozy" and full of people they weren't too unbearable.
We went without bags, which was a great tip, as the line for the ride increased significantly after we got off (and people with bags got in line).

The rest of IoA wasn't too bad, but it was too crowded for us, so we left in the afternoon (tired, all we wanted to do was WWoHP). It's worth noting that Ellen's show was taping that day, so CityWalk was pretty crowded all day.

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I went this past Sunday (April 10th). Not busy AT ALL. Got to IoA around noon, and to WWoHP around 2pm. No timed entry, not all that crowded. FJ was posted 20 minutes, but was actually around 30 (when we exited, it was posted at 30). Dragon Challenge was a walk-on.

Only store to have a wait to enter was Ollivander's, and it was only about 20 minutes. The other stores weren't even that crowded, and the registers only had maybe a 4-5ish person wait to pay. No wait at Three Broomsticks or any of the Butterbeer carts.

The rest of IoA was pretty dead as well... Only ride that I waited longer than 10 minutes for was Spiderman, and that was only about 25 mintues.

 

[stiffmayo]

THANKS for this discussion board! It help me and my family prepare!

We were there for three days, April 4-6.
The first day we went got to the park around 8:45 and they were already opened. We were held back at two points on the way back to HP land, but no big deal. We decided to skip the big ride at first, to just enjoy the scenery the first day. Got a butterbeer and walked around for a bit. We left after about 2 hours and enjoyed the rest of the park, which was not very crowded because everyone was in HP land!
We wanted to come back later, but in the mid afternoon, it was too crowded and they were passing out return tickets.

The next day it rained in the morning, keeping away a large part of the crowd. We waited only 20 minutes for Forbidden Journey, did olivanders, then the Hippogriff, and enjoyed the HP land with less people. By the time the rain ended around noon, it was perfect! We rode FJ again, strode around and took our time. Then the rest of the park ( as well as the Studios) was AWESOME - not crowded at all! The most we waited for ANYTHING was 10 minutes!

The third day, we went straight to HP land and got in line for FJ. The wait was about 60 minutes already, at 9:00, but we had already done just about everything else in the two parks! We didn't spend much time in HP land this time - it was SUPER crowded, in part because the weather was gorgeous! mid to upper 70s, sunshine.

We had a great time! The butterbeer is delish! The three broomsticks was cool, decent food. Kids rode the Dragon coaster 4 times! Saw the frog choir, the train engineer was super friendly.

We saw a guy that looked JUST LIKE Robert Pattinson, at about the time of HP4! Must have been a character actor, but it was a spitting image!!

ONE piece of advice: bring your own snacks and water, if you can. The food can get pricey if you're eating in the park for 3 days! Stuff it in your backpack or deep pockets!

Thanks to everyone who has posted on here!
You've helped at least one person's family enjoy their trip to HP land!

 

[damo]

THANKS for this discussion board! It help me and my family prepare!

We were there for three days, April 4-6.
The first day we went got to the park around 8:45 and they were already opened. We were held back at two points on the way back to HP land, but no big deal. We decided to skip the big ride at first, to just enjoy the scenery the first day. Got a butterbeer and walked around for a bit. We left after about 2 hours and enjoyed the rest of the park, which was not very crowded because everyone was in HP land!
We wanted to come back later, but in the mid afternoon, it was too crowded and they were passing out return tickets.

The next day it rained in the morning, keeping away a large part of the crowd. We waited only 20 minutes for Forbidden Journey, did olivanders, then the Hippogriff, and enjoyed the HP land with less people. By the time the rain ended around noon, it was perfect! We rode FJ again, strode around and took our time. Then the rest of the park ( as well as the Studios) was AWESOME - not crowded at all! The most we waited for ANYTHING was 10 minutes!

The third day, we went straight to HP land and got in line for FJ. The wait was about 60 minutes already, at 9:00, but we had already done just about everything else in the two parks! We didn't spend much time in HP land this time - it was SUPER crowded, in part because the weather was gorgeous! mid to upper 70s, sunshine.

We had a great time! The butterbeer is delish! The three broomsticks was cool, decent food. Kids rode the Dragon coaster 4 times! Saw the frog choir, the train engineer was super friendly.

We saw a guy that looked JUST LIKE Robert Pattinson, at about the time of HP4! Must have been a character actor, but it was a spitting image!!

ONE piece of advice: bring your own snacks and water, if you can. The food can get pricey if you're eating in the park for 3 days! Stuff it in your backpack or deep pockets!

Thanks to everyone who has posted on here!
You've helped at least one person's family enjoy their trip to HP land!

There are no character actors allowed. There is the train conductor and the shopkeeper in Ollivanders and of course all the TM's but no character actors are there. So maybe you did see Robert Pattinson.