Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[KellyWasHere]

We went today and this past Thursday. Much busier today, but the wait time for Fj was max 60 minutes, which I saw around 3 pm. I can't imagine how packed the park is on truly busy days.

 

[gibbersome]

I can handle all of these rides, although Star Tours makes me feel a little funny. I love the fast version of Mission Space to. FJ was AWESOME, I rode it 4 times (2x in a row, then again later in the day). My husband, who has issues with Star Tours AND Mission Space came off of FJ with a funny face- said it was really good but once was enough cuz it made him queasy.

Thank you for the input. My gf is a huge Potter fan so I know we're going at least once. After that, I'll let her do the single rider line!

 

[tammyroo]

So, we are going to be at WWOHP on the 23rd and we get early access to the park since we are staying on property. Its a 7am--OMG! Should we get there even earlier and queue up to get in the park right when it opens? Or, can we just mosey on over at get there right at 7?

 

[Praise2Him]

We were there on July 4th and EE was at 7 a.m. We got to the gate about 6:45 and there were already people in line. I'd try to get there between 6:30 and 7:00 if you're trying for Olivanders first. We got in the 2nd show.

 

[mollybeasley]

We arrived 12/13 Monday afternoon (around 2-3pm). It was a cold day, but it felt right at WWOHP because of the snow on the buildings. There were No lines at WWOHP. Ollivander's had a line of maybe 20 people. The shops were all small and a little crowded (partly with employees dressed as wizards), but we had no problems.

We arrived to WWOHP from the Suess side and it took us a while to find Forbidden Journey because I was looking for a line! Signage was a problem all over IOA in my opinion.

The only delay to Forbidden Journey was waiting a few minutes for my husband to put the bag in the locker. If you see a sign that says 60 minutes - ignore it. There was no wait at all to enter the castle. If there is a line to the lockers, it would be on the right side of the entry. If you stay to the left, you can walk right in.

It's quite a walk through the castle to the ride, but there is a lot to see. The first time you go through, don't rush. Move to the rail and let people pass you if you want to linger or take a picture. You can always take the single rider shortcut next time.

I went on the ride twice in a row. I loved it. I only felt queasy at the very end. I get nauseous easily, but I followed my doctor's advice - focus your eyes on something specific as you're going through the ride. The problem at the end was two sections where there was only a wall to look at. I think if they changed that, people would get less queasy. So if you want to close your eyes, close them after you see all the Hogwarts people clapping for you.

 

[damo]

Wednesday afternoon (around 2-3pm). It was a cold day, but it felt right at WWOHP because of the snow on the buildings. There were No lines at WWOHP. Ollivander's had a line of maybe 20 people. The shops were all small and a little crowded (partly with employees dressed as wizards), but we had no problems.

We arrived to WWOHP from the Suess side and it took us a while to find Forbidden Journey because I was looking for a line! Signage was a problem all over IOA in my opinion.

The only delay to Forbidden Journey was waiting a few minutes for my husband to put the bag in the locker. If you see a sign that says 60 minutes - ignore it. There was no wait at all to enter the castle. If there is a line to the lockers, it would be on the right side of the entry. If you stay to the left, you can walk right in.

It's quite a walk through the castle to the ride, but there is a lot to see. The first time you go through, don't rush. Move to the rail and let people pass you if you want to linger or take a picture. You can always take the single rider shortcut next time.

I went on the ride twice in a row. I loved it. I only felt queasy at the very end. I get nauseous easily, but I followed my doctor's advice - focus your eyes on something specific as you're going through the ride. The problem at the end was two sections where there was only a wall to look at. I think if they changed that, people would get less queasy. So if you want to close your eyes, close them after you see all the Hogwarts people clapping for you.

When the crowds are a little larger, you won't be allowed to move to the rail and let people pass. TMs will be telling you to move along. If you want to tour the castle, it is best to do the touring line.

The sign that tells you how long the wait is, means how long it will take you to actual get to the ride part, not enter the castle.

 

[Lupin]

My wife and I checked into the Royal Pacific around 11:30pm on last Tuesday (12/7) night. It was our first time staying at Universal and visiting their parks in about 15 years. We were really impressed considering that our expectations were kind of low.

We got to WWOHP at around 8:15 in the morning and while there was a steady crowd of resort guests walking through the gates, there was no line for Ollivanders or the Forbidden Journey. The shops were easy to navigate and there were plenty of opportunities to take pictures without inconveniencing anybody. At about 9:30 the crowds started to really pick up and from then on there were lots of people. We ate at the Three Broomsticks for lunch and had to wait about 7 minutes in line before ordering. The crowds overall weren't nearly as bad as I anticipated. I highly recommend staying at the Universal resort just to get in that extra hour before everyone else is allowed into the park. It made a HUGE difference!

The rest of Universal was pretty empty, especially the older park. We skipped the big rollercoasters and water rides (too cold), so we didn't wait for anything like Jaws, Mummy, Spiderman or ET. Then we spent the next 4 days at WDW and it was utter chaos everywhere we went.

My wife and I are huge Harry Potter geeks, and we absolutely loved the new park.

 

[Hombre59]

How do you guys think the crowds will be this upcoming Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday?

 

[the Dark Marauder]

This week is going to be Very Busy. The following week is going to be Extremely Busy.

Park Hours of 8a-10p mean there will be long lines just to get in to the WWOHP, most likely.

 

[GreyStr0ke]

I was there on Saturday and got in at 7am because I was staying at RPR. We went straight to FJ and there was a decent sized line already started outside the castle. Luckily, it was the line for lockers. The ride had issues during the startup cycle and didn't end up opening until 8am. At that time, the line was already an hour long. Around noon, it was at only 20 minutes. It had been raining most of the morning though and was a little chilly. I think I saw it get back to 75 min before we left later that day.

 

[geenab]

We just left hp this morning. We got there early because we are staying onsite at universal. So we got in line for the forbidden journey and ..... The ride is broken down. We waited for 45 minutes for nothing, then went to havebreakfastat the 3 broomsticks. You have to make your res through your hotel, and we had tickets for 8 am breakfast. Food was awful. After choking down the breakfast we tried to at least get into dervish and banges. But the line to get into the shop was awful.

It was freezing, and,frustrated and tired, we left. If you are headed there now you will have to get a ticket just to enter hogsmede. Good luck to you. We are done with universal. Disney handles ride problems so much more successfully.

 

[ducky_love]

It was freezing, and,frustrated and tired, we left. If you are headed there now you will have to get a ticket just to enter hogsmede. Good luck to you. We are done with universal. Disney handles ride problems so much more successfully.

I'm so sorry you had a rough morning. I hope you don't give up on Universal. They have a lot of great things to offer. You might want to try back this afternoon after the rush is over at WWOHP.

Either way I hope the rest of your trip is much better.

 

[Praise2Him]

My DS is a TM at Universal/IOA and he just texted me that there's a 2 hour wait to get into WWOHP right now

 

[ducky_love]

OY!! I hope it dies down. Not that we planned to go to WWOHP today but I'd like to get in the park!! LOL!

 

[fairyprincess88]

We are done with universal. Disney handles ride problems so much more successfully.

Not being a smart aleck but that really gave me a giggle. Disney once left me stuck on It's a Small World for 62 minutes exactly....and they didn't turn the song off! I almost needed therapy to get over that experiece. Haven't been back on the "Dolls of Torture" ride since. Ugh, still gives me chills just thinking about it.

 

[phamton]

Not being a smart aleck but that really gave me a giggle. Disney once left me stuck on It's a Small World for 62 minutes exactly....and they didn't turn the song off! I almost needed therapy to get over that experiece. Haven't been back on the "Dolls of Torture" ride since. Ugh, still gives me chills just thinking about it.

I had an issue with Toy Story Mania. It was AP preview so I arrived first thing that morning. Got on the ride with no wait and it stopped within 30 seconds. I was walked off the ride, given nothing, and told to check back later. I hung around for 4 hours at the park waiting for it to open. It never did, so I went home. I specifically went to the park just to ride Toy Story Mania. I wasn't angry at Disney as i realize that tech issues happen and I am sure that Disney and Universal both want to get a ride up and running as soon as possible. And speaking of bad food, I was really disappointed in the food at Cinderella's Royal Table breakfast but I was there to meet the characters so I didn't really mind.

There are several threads on the themepark forum with people who are upset with Disney rides being down. The first thread on that forum was one complaining about missing park opening and reservations because of monorail issues during park opening: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2617145 and talking about the overcrowding. So it happens everywhere. It certainly wouldn't keep me from going back.

Everyone needs to realize that all of the themeparks are very crowded right now. I expect both Disney and Universal to reach park capacity during this holiday season. 2 hours waits will be the norm at all of the most popular rides at both Disney and Universal during the next couple of weeks.

 

[ducky_love]

Maybe the OP hasn't been around for the first year of Disney rides being open? We used to take bets on if Test Track would be broken down when it first opened, LOL. We spent more time waiting in line to be turned away than waiting in line to actually ride!!

And WWOHP is very crowded.. but it is no worse than say the Osborne Family Light. There just aren't attractions to break down for that. Though, when the lights "dance" people stop and it can get scary crowded!!

I don't think Disney handles anything "better" I just think they have more space. Anyway - I am so off topic!! I'll try for a crowd report tonight!!

 

[phamton]

Maybe the OP hasn't been around for the first year of Disney rides being open? We used to take bets on if Test Track would be broken down when it first opened, LOL. We spent more time waiting in line to be turned away than waiting in line to actually ride!!

How could I forget TT? I waited in line for that ride 8 different times before i ever got to actually ride it.

There's another thread complaining about how Disney handles rope drop and the stampeding: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2617062

Ducky, it wasn't busy much on Saturday but starting yesterday, the crowd level really started picking up. I expect it may be pretty crowded today.

 

[mollybeasley]

We just left hp this morning. We got there early because we are staying onsite at universal. So we got in line for the forbidden journey and ..... The ride is broken down. We waited for 45 minutes for nothing, then went to havebreakfastat the 3 broomsticks. You have to make your res through your hotel, and we had tickets for 8 am breakfast. Food was awful. After choking down the breakfast we tried to at least get into dervish and banges. But the line to get into the shop was awful.

It was freezing, and,frustrated and tired, we left. If you are headed there now you will have to get a ticket just to enter hogsmede. Good luck to you. We are done with universal. Disney handles ride problems so much more successfully.

It happens at both Disney and Universal, and I don't think Disney handles it any better. People are just used to it more at Disney. Last week I fought hard to get everyone up early to get to DHS, and ALL THREE of the headliners broke down at the same time. DHS did absolutely nothing to make up for it. The lines for everything else became unusually long and there were no fast passes for them. The lines for TSM were frequently 60-120 minutes long even though it was a relatively light week.

We also had problems with the fast pass machines all week at Disney. Some blamed the cold. At nearly every FP ride, at least one of our cards would get stuck in the machine and we'd have to find someone to help get it out.

 

[ducky_love]

We rolled up on WWOHP around 7:30pm tonight. We walked up to JP and we were directed to the bridge to LC (not a great sign). Once there I asked about the wait to get into WWOHP and the TM told me we could walk right in. It was busy, but I have seen it worse.

The parks were really not that bad! I would also not trust the signs at the front of the park. It said the Suess trolly ride was a 45 minute wait and when we got there it was 10 minutes!!

Fear not - it has been worse!!