Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[xApril]

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.

There always is the guy from Bill and Ted that played Edward...

 

[elt0307]

Hello all, I will be in Orlando April 27 - May 2 for a conference. The conference is only Thursday - Saturday so I'm trying to fit in a few park visits around those dates. My friend is flying in Friday-Monday to join me and we both really want to see WWOHP and fit in a Disney park if we can manage it. My original idea was to go to IOA Saturday afternoon (right after conference ends) and spend the rest of the day there, mainly focusing on WWOHP and then whatever we had time for in the rest of the park. Then Sunday would be a Disney park today and Monday morning/afternoon since we don't fly out until 7pm. However, with what I am reading on these boards, Sundays are much better days as far as crowds go. Also, looking at park hours, IOA is only open until 6pm on that Saturday?? That wouldn't give me much time in the park. IOA is open until 9pm on Sunday.

So now I'm thinking IOA all day Sunday. Also, anyone have a feel for general crowd levels? It is the weekend AFTER Easter so my way of thinking is that kids are back in school by then, but I don't have any kids so who knows what the school schedules are these days...

And thanks to everyone who's contributed to this thread, it's be very helpful!

 

[phamton]

My vote is IOA on Sunday. Saturday will be very busy there.

 

[Judique]

We are going middle of May. May 17- 25. Can you suggest a week day for Harry Potter? Maybe Wednesday or Thursday? What wait times would we be looking at? Should we stay in a Universal resort for a night to get any priorities? New to Universal and just starting to plan....

Thanks!

 

[VincentR]

Hey there DIS friends, could I get a crowd forecast for next Saturday (4/23)? The fact the park will be open till 11pm gives me a sinking feeling in my gut that it'll be nuts.

 

[CheapMom]

Here in Orlando now. Spring break, one of the heaviest crowd weeks of the year- happy to report - it isn't that bad.

We did IOA yesterday, got a late start and didn't arrive until 11am. Headed straight for WWoHP Forbidden Journey ride. Posted was a 75 minute wait and worried that it might get worse we got in line. It turned out to only be 35-40 and the sign was updated as we exited. Dragon Challenge was walk-on. Hippogriff about 20 minutes. Olivander's was about 1/2 hour, Butterbeer lines were pretty thick. We ate lunch at 3 Broomsticks which was busy but we didn't really have to wait long to order. We were done all of WWOHP, including lunch, by about 2pm.
Minimal wait at other rides- on average about 15 minute lines. Most of the ride signs overstated the wait.

Tonight we went to U.S. after dinner- there were no lines for anything. Place was a ghost town. Lots of fun.

PS: We are not staying at a Universal Resort.

 

[Akwafunk]

I agree. We were there yesterday too, and while there were a ton of people, we were able to get waaaaaaaaaaaay more accomplished than I had hoped. (I set my expectations extremely low )

Thanks to all the threads here, and another site a couple of compete park newbies, on a Sunday in Spring break with single entry, no-frills tickets, we were able to:

*Ride Flight of the Hippogriff coaster twice with 5 minute wait times with the kid (Got to the Park at 8am at rope drop and went straight to WWOHP)

*Each adult in our party, three of us, was able to ride the Forbidden Journey multiple times with a wait that was the amount of time it took to walk through the single rider line and wait 5 minutes to be matched with an odd numbered party. We also did child swap so the 6-year-old could ride it, ut he found it a little scary. (Single Rider, no bags, we also did the castle tour)

*See Olivander do a wand selection with a 20 minute wait (we went at around 6pm)

*Buy Butter Beer with minimal wait times (bypass the street carts)

So yes. There were a lot of people, and we didn't spend as much quality time as we'd have liked going through the village, because, yes, there were a lot of people, but we're fortunate enough to live close enough that another drive down out of season is a possibility.

Thanks again. We really accomplished a ton. I'm still amazed.

 

[julie1218]

I agree. We were there yesterday too, and while there were a ton of people, we were able to get waaaaaaaaaaaay more accomplished than I had hoped. (I set my expectations extremely low )

Thanks to all the threads here, and another site a couple of compete park newbies, on a Sunday in Spring break with single entry, no-frills tickets, we were able to:

*Ride Flight of the Hippogriff coaster twice with 5 minute wait times with the kid (Got to the Park at 8am at rope drop and went straight to WWOHP)

*Each adult in our party, three of us, was able to ride the Forbidden Journey multiple times with a wait that was the amount of time it took to walk through the single rider line and wait 5 minutes to be matched with an odd numbered party. We also did child swap so the 6-year-old could ride it, ut he found it a little scary. (Single Rider, no bags, we also did the castle tour)

*See Olivander do a wand selection with a 20 minute wait (we went at around 6pm)

*Buy Butter Beer with minimal wait times (bypass the street carts)

So yes. There were a lot of people, and we didn't spend as much quality time as we'd have liked going through the village, because, yes, there were a lot of people, but we're fortunate enough to live close enough that another drive down out of season is a possibility.

Thanks again. We really accomplished a ton. I'm still amazed.

where do you buy butterbeer if you bypass the street carts?

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

We were there this Saturday. Walked in the WWOHP at 3:30 p.m. and it was a 45 minute wait to get on FJ. Decided to come back later at 8:30 p.m. and it was literally a walk on. Sat right down in a seat and took off.

Long line outside of the wand shop at both times.

Walked right into 3 Brooksticks both times, ordered and ate immediately.

 

[jeanico2000]

where do you buy butterbeer if you bypass the street carts?

The Hogs Head is a good place, with very little wait. Or the Three Broomsticks too!

 

[Akwafunk]

The Hogs Head is a good place, with very little wait. Or the Three Broomsticks too!

yup.

 

[Donnask8pro]

Hi Guys,

We are going in May. I have DS16 in a wheelchair. I have 2 days planned. Originally 1 was Sat but now reading, I will go for Sunday 5/22 and the other is Wed 5/25. Are these wise choices? I want to make this go as smoothly as possible for him and my younger DS10.

We have not been since HP was added. Any recommendations for us please? Thanks so much

 

[CheapMom]

We are headed back to ioa tonight- according to my universal wait times app crowds are very heavy now. Over 100 minutes for several rides throughout the park. It is 4pm and very hot here so we're hoping people clear out soon. We plan on arriving around 6 when parking drops to $3. I'll report back later.

 

[BAD311]

CheapMom - any idea how long the fast pass lines are? We got them today for US and we're glad we did or we would be finishing US @ 10pm.

 

[CheapMom]

CheapMom - any idea how long the fast pass lines are? We got them today for US and we're glad we did or we would be finishing US @ 10pm.

No idea- sorry. How much does that cost? Was US crowded today? Last night it was empty. It was awesome. We only went on a few things- Simpsons, MIB, Mummy- but there was little to no wait- all under 10 minutes.

We went to IOA tonight at 7pm and throngs of people were leaving. We did the Posideon Tour, then had dinner and by the time we were done (about 8:30pm) The crowds were not bad.
Dragon Challenge and Jurassic River were walk ons. Harry Potter FJ was 20 minutes but we did single rider and there was no wait. Hippogriph said 20 but we skipped that today. We waited a really long time for Pteradon Flyers though. Sign said 30 minutes but ended up being almost an hour. Dudley Do Right was 5 minutes.

at 4:30pm according to the Undercover Tourist App
Every one of these rides was over an hour. Jurassic, Harry Potter, and Dudley all over 100 minutes. Big difference 4 hours makes.

 

[Vowelmommy]

We are going to IOA for one day in August (25th). I know the boys will want to go to Ollivanders and see the show and get wands. We are going to be there at rope drop, but would it be better to go get wands last, so that we don't have to carry (stow) them all day? Does Ollivander's have a horrible wait in the evening?

 

[CheapMom]

We are going to IOA for one day in August (25th). I know the boys will want to go to Ollivanders and see the show and get wands. We are going to be there at rope drop, but would it be better to go get wands last, so that we don't have to carry (stow) them all day? Does Ollivander's have a horrible wait in the evening?

You can have the wands sent to the entrance so you can pick them up on the way out. Spme of the wands are so big they won't fit in lockers which means if you carry them all day you won't be able to get on some rides so sending it to the front of the park for later pickup is probably the best option.

 

[Emjay0074]

Hi we were at Universal today. What a great ride FJ is! We were there for rope drop at 7 20- park opened at 8 am. 7 am for on site people. We stayed off site. Used reg. valet (got our car back within 7 min btw).

We went right to FJ. We did not take any bags in, so we did not have to use the lockers. My teens were making fun of me (in a loving way) when I was explaining all about not using a bag. But they told me I was right when we saw people who were ahead of us at RD far behind us in line.

The wait was 75 minutes when we got to the line. We only waited about 50- the line was moving very fast-don't know if that's normal. When we exited about 9 ish the wait was 120 min! The Ollivanders line was very long by then- not sure how it was on my way in. My kids opted not to do it...we might on Friday.

We then split up- my older kids went to Dueling Dragons..and my younger son and I went to Flight of the Hyppogriff. We did have Express for both. My 9 yo and I walked around Honeydukes and it was very crowded. We opted not to wait in the long line and get some candy. He was upset at that point that he couldn't do the dueling dragons or Hulk...he missed it by 1 in! I felt bad that I didn't research that more and prepare him..anyway...
we got some Butterbeer- that was delish! Like a cross of cream soda and vanilla soft serve. The line was very long, but a waitress came up and said she could get us some..we took her up on it- and she wouldn't take a tip, so it was the same price. We left WWoHP by 10- so happy we had done everything we wanted to. We did not walk around in the other shops because my kids weren't interested. However we are going back Friday evening and if the crowds aren't bad, we might then. They really just wanted to get out to the rest of the park and ride some other things. We ended up going over to US and riding the RRR...because we checked an app on my husband's phone and the wait was only 15 min. and it was not included in the express passes. And we stayed there and did the Simpsons- our favorite after FJ and Hulk...and my kids knew nothing about the Simpsons going in- although dh and I loved it in the 90s- the kids all ended up loving it, even the 13 yo who is afraid of clowns!

another note...I will say this-for us, the express for this busy week ended up being worth it. We live near Six Flags NE and we never get the express. We have had season passes some years, where we go a lot or at least a few times over the summer. Some years, we only go once or twice w/coupons on one of our teens annual passes. And we never get there early- so we either wait, or go later in the day. We lived near Hershey park when we had toddlers and babies, and I never even researched anything, like getting there early...there probably weren't even boards then, so we just always waited.

Today we got to FJ, and RRR all before 11. Then we didn't have to sweat about long waits on any other rides. DD was about 70 min, in the am. Hulk was 100 min, Spiderman was 60-which I don't think is bad.. and I can't remember the rest, but they were all long and it was a hot hot day (at least for someone from New England). By 2 pm, Dudley Do Right was 140 min. WWoHp was a 50 min standby wait to get in that section of the park, and the ticket re-entry thing was 6pm. We were planning on leaving by 4 ish, since we were there since 7 30 am..and knew we were going back a second day, later in the day. So for us, the express was a great option for today, on a very busy week, the only week of the year we could get here.

We ended up staying in US until after lunch and went to Spiderman when we got back to IOA. When we were on Spiderman, we were talking to a family of 4. They heard us talking about FJ. They were so upset because they got to WWoHP at noon and they could not even get into that section the park. They were staying IN THE PARK and they missed the early entry hours-didn't think they would have to get up that early on vacation! They said it was the only reason they came to Universal. They were shocked how crowded it was. They said they learned their lesson and were going to be there at 7 the next morning. As I was telling them not to bring any backpacks (although I admitted, I didn't know if that was an issue for on site guests, but it is a busy week) and some other tips, my 15 yo son said- she knows all about this stuff from this website she goes on- and she's been right every time! Ha ha! respect!

So that is my crowd/trip report. Sorry I got carried away on a few other things..not sure if this is the right place to post it all..but I just sat down with a glass of wine and so loved US (and shhhhh....I think my kids liked it better than you-know-where.maybe because they are older?....will be interesting to hear their insights later on this week) Sorry this is so long... I hope it helps someone

MJ

 

[phamton]

Thanks Emjay for the report---lots of great advice!

 

[Mikelly1221]

That was a great trip report! I'd like to emphasize this part...

When we were on Spiderman, we were talking to a family of 4. They heard us talking about FJ. They were so upset because they got to WWoHP at noon and they could not even get into that section the park. They were staying IN THE PARK and they missed the early entry hours-didn't think they would have to get up that early on vacation! They said it was the only reason they came to Universal. They were shocked how crowded it was. They said they learned their lesson and were going to be there at 7 the next morning.

As we were entering IOA over Spring Break, there was a lady really chewing out the man working the front gate because she had just shown up for early entry and what were all these people (meaning us and the rest of the thousands entering the park) doing here and she paid extra for this! It was about 8:45am, so she had missed almost all of early entry that she paid for. I'm glad the people you were talking to learned that early entry means get up early and get there!