hopemax
Note to Self:
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2000
Went yesterday with my Dad. No EE. We arrived at the parking garage about 7, front of the park about 7:20. They were letting people in, so no line at the gates. Non-EE people are directed to Hollywood, but we knew our first thing of the day was Minion Mayhem so we just checked out the front shop, and then hung out in front of Boulangerie. At 7:50 they removed the EE check, so we scurried over to become a minion.
Very cute show, the pre-show is just as good as a lot of other attractions, very funny. Finished with that, we headed over to Transformers. No wait, but since it was my first time we watched the different screens in the queue line first. Another excellent upgrade to the park. Then we rode the Mummy with no wait. We decided to walk back to London and see if a return time ticket was needed. It wasn't, so we hopped the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. At 9:23 we were standing outside Three Broomsticks, determining if we wanted breakfast. Decided to split an English Breakfast, and afterwards headed for Forbidden Journey, Posted wait was 45 min. But from the time we entered the pre-locker part of the queue, to when we retrieved our stuff from the locker was 40 min. Hopped the train back to London with no wait.
Still no outside queue for Diagon Alley, so in we went. Visited Knockturn Alley first, and so came out back by the bathrooms. At about 11:30 we stuck our head into Florean Fortescue's and the line was extremely short. So we decided to honor our good friend, who loved Harry Potter and ice cream. He passed away last year, but had a motto "dessert first." I bought a sundae with Sticky Toffee and Earl Grey and Lavender. It was good, but the problem was they were so similar in flavor that it was hard to tell them apart. My Dad got the butterbeer and that was wonderful.
Strolled the shops, and then watched Celestina Warbeck. I knew about how they bring a guy from the audience on stage, but I had thought they pre-selected the guy. Which, later in the day, I did see them ask someone. But I guess we were at an early enough show, that there wasn't a pre-selection. My Dad was standing a foot in front of the rest of the audience, by the railing, wearing a Hogwarts shirt, so I knew what would happen. But he didn't. So I recorded a video in one hand with my iPhone, while taking pictures with my camera in the other hand. After the show, we wanted to wait for Tales of Beedle the Bard, but it started raining. Thankfully, not too long, but we decided to head for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron while they were drying off the stage.
Waited probably 15 min to order. I got the Fisherman's Pie, my Dad got the Stew. We also got a Fishy Green Ale, and a chocolate potted cream. They seat you, and bring you your food. We think we liked the feel and decor of the Three Broomsticks better. Being as full as it was, it was hard to look around. So we'll have to see what it's like when things die down. Our entrees were both fabulous. The potted cream has a slightly different texture than what we're used to, so it was different but good. I don't know how to describe the Fishy Green Ale. I liked it, a little sweet, and it was a fairly large cup so I did get tired of it when I got to the end. Tons of "fish eggs" in the bottom. It's one of those things like, butterbeer, that couldn't be anything else that what it is.
While waiting for our food, I noticed that the app said Gringott's wait was down to 90 min. We tried to eat fairly quickly so that we could scurry over there. It was up to 120 by the time we made it, but that was still loads better than the 240 and 220 it was showing when we first arrived in DA, so we got in line. The first 20 min, we moved very quickly. Then the ride needed a reset, so we stopped. It took 1 hour to do the queue before the bag check. One party gets a yellow, WWoHP ticket, leaves the line, puts the bags away, and then gives the TM the ticket and goes in a empty part of the bank lobby so they can spot their party and rejoin the regular line.
After the point where they take your picture, the ride needed resetting again. After that, we were able to move quickly to the boarding area. We were in the front row, of the 2nd car. They were loading both sides of the platform. We had no problems while we were on the ride, everything worked like it was supposed to. The ride is another winner. We did prefer FJ, just because there is so much going on, and the ride mechanism. But this is a solid addition. It's more family friendly. The simulated thrills, are exciting enough for people comfortable with thrill rides, but still tame enough for people or kids who are still "working up" to the bigger stuff. Even with the 2 ride resets, our wait time was 2 hours almost exactly, as posted.
Dumps you into Scribbulus / Wiseacre's Wizarding Supplies. Which was actually where we wanted to be. We didn't want to buy stuff before the ride, so now that was done I bought some parchment, stamp, postcards, and Hogwarts Express ticket. My Dad also bought a Butterbeer shirt. The TM was very knowledgable. We had talked to the woman who checked us out earlier in the day, and she was able to answer the questions my Dad had about the trains for sale (he's a train buff.) Unlike Disney where the CM's selling higher end stuff seem to have no clue about it at all, and can't even tell you the price without looking it up.
We still needed to watch Tales of Beedle the Bard, but I messed up the times, so we ended up doing Ollivanders, and then trying a Fizzy Orange Juice. Loved that. Cinnamon and sugar around the top of the cup, and very refreshing. Tales is fabulous, puppets are wonderful. With that done, we headed out of DA to take pictures of the facade, and with the Knight Bus before heading out of the park. Grabbed some sandwiches at Boulangerie and ate right before we left. That's the thing about Universal food. We find the quality so much better, and not too outrageously priced that even though we knew "home" was only 45 min away, we still choose to eat in the theme park.
So that's our day. Didn't want to be too spoilerish, but give everyone an idea on wait times and what you could accomplish. Get your ice cream early, later there was a much longer queue for Florean's. Otherwise, it's a great area to just hang out.
Very cute show, the pre-show is just as good as a lot of other attractions, very funny. Finished with that, we headed over to Transformers. No wait, but since it was my first time we watched the different screens in the queue line first. Another excellent upgrade to the park. Then we rode the Mummy with no wait. We decided to walk back to London and see if a return time ticket was needed. It wasn't, so we hopped the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. At 9:23 we were standing outside Three Broomsticks, determining if we wanted breakfast. Decided to split an English Breakfast, and afterwards headed for Forbidden Journey, Posted wait was 45 min. But from the time we entered the pre-locker part of the queue, to when we retrieved our stuff from the locker was 40 min. Hopped the train back to London with no wait.
Still no outside queue for Diagon Alley, so in we went. Visited Knockturn Alley first, and so came out back by the bathrooms. At about 11:30 we stuck our head into Florean Fortescue's and the line was extremely short. So we decided to honor our good friend, who loved Harry Potter and ice cream. He passed away last year, but had a motto "dessert first." I bought a sundae with Sticky Toffee and Earl Grey and Lavender. It was good, but the problem was they were so similar in flavor that it was hard to tell them apart. My Dad got the butterbeer and that was wonderful.
Strolled the shops, and then watched Celestina Warbeck. I knew about how they bring a guy from the audience on stage, but I had thought they pre-selected the guy. Which, later in the day, I did see them ask someone. But I guess we were at an early enough show, that there wasn't a pre-selection. My Dad was standing a foot in front of the rest of the audience, by the railing, wearing a Hogwarts shirt, so I knew what would happen. But he didn't. So I recorded a video in one hand with my iPhone, while taking pictures with my camera in the other hand. After the show, we wanted to wait for Tales of Beedle the Bard, but it started raining. Thankfully, not too long, but we decided to head for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron while they were drying off the stage.
Waited probably 15 min to order. I got the Fisherman's Pie, my Dad got the Stew. We also got a Fishy Green Ale, and a chocolate potted cream. They seat you, and bring you your food. We think we liked the feel and decor of the Three Broomsticks better. Being as full as it was, it was hard to look around. So we'll have to see what it's like when things die down. Our entrees were both fabulous. The potted cream has a slightly different texture than what we're used to, so it was different but good. I don't know how to describe the Fishy Green Ale. I liked it, a little sweet, and it was a fairly large cup so I did get tired of it when I got to the end. Tons of "fish eggs" in the bottom. It's one of those things like, butterbeer, that couldn't be anything else that what it is.
While waiting for our food, I noticed that the app said Gringott's wait was down to 90 min. We tried to eat fairly quickly so that we could scurry over there. It was up to 120 by the time we made it, but that was still loads better than the 240 and 220 it was showing when we first arrived in DA, so we got in line. The first 20 min, we moved very quickly. Then the ride needed a reset, so we stopped. It took 1 hour to do the queue before the bag check. One party gets a yellow, WWoHP ticket, leaves the line, puts the bags away, and then gives the TM the ticket and goes in a empty part of the bank lobby so they can spot their party and rejoin the regular line.
After the point where they take your picture, the ride needed resetting again. After that, we were able to move quickly to the boarding area. We were in the front row, of the 2nd car. They were loading both sides of the platform. We had no problems while we were on the ride, everything worked like it was supposed to. The ride is another winner. We did prefer FJ, just because there is so much going on, and the ride mechanism. But this is a solid addition. It's more family friendly. The simulated thrills, are exciting enough for people comfortable with thrill rides, but still tame enough for people or kids who are still "working up" to the bigger stuff. Even with the 2 ride resets, our wait time was 2 hours almost exactly, as posted.
Dumps you into Scribbulus / Wiseacre's Wizarding Supplies. Which was actually where we wanted to be. We didn't want to buy stuff before the ride, so now that was done I bought some parchment, stamp, postcards, and Hogwarts Express ticket. My Dad also bought a Butterbeer shirt. The TM was very knowledgable. We had talked to the woman who checked us out earlier in the day, and she was able to answer the questions my Dad had about the trains for sale (he's a train buff.) Unlike Disney where the CM's selling higher end stuff seem to have no clue about it at all, and can't even tell you the price without looking it up.
We still needed to watch Tales of Beedle the Bard, but I messed up the times, so we ended up doing Ollivanders, and then trying a Fizzy Orange Juice. Loved that. Cinnamon and sugar around the top of the cup, and very refreshing. Tales is fabulous, puppets are wonderful. With that done, we headed out of DA to take pictures of the facade, and with the Knight Bus before heading out of the park. Grabbed some sandwiches at Boulangerie and ate right before we left. That's the thing about Universal food. We find the quality so much better, and not too outrageously priced that even though we knew "home" was only 45 min away, we still choose to eat in the theme park.
So that's our day. Didn't want to be too spoilerish, but give everyone an idea on wait times and what you could accomplish. Get your ice cream early, later there was a much longer queue for Florean's. Otherwise, it's a great area to just hang out.
