Harry Potter Today vs 2 Years Ago?

[Mike Bartenhagen]

We were in Orlando 2 years ago, I think it was only a few weeks after the Harry Potter portion of the park opened. My daughter and wife are big HP fans so they wanted to go and see the park, my son and I stayed at Saratoga Spring in WDW and went to the pool. When they got back from the park they were somewhat disapointed, they got to do a few things but the park was so packed they were unable to do all they wanted, there were hour waits just to get into the shops. We will be in Orlando on Thanksgiving week this year, have things improved? I am sure it will be crowed but will it be ultra crowed, as in lines not just for attractions but also for the stores?

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

We were in Orlando 2 years ago, I think it was only a few weeks after the Harry Potter portion of the park opened. My daughter and wife are big HP fans so they wanted to go and see the park, my son and I stayed at Saratoga Spring in WDW and went to the pool. When they got back from the park they were somewhat disapointed, they got to do a few things but the park was so packed they were unable to do all they wanted, there were hour waits just to get into the shops. We will be in Orlando on Thanksgiving week this year, have things improved? I am sure it will be crowed but will it be ultra crowed, as in lines not just for attractions but also for the stores?

I doubt it will be at all near as busy as when it first opened, but Thanksgiving is one of the busier weeks of the year. If you plan on going, either get there very early or wait until later in the evening.

I haven't seen lines for the stores in a very long time. Ollivander's Wand Experience does get a line however, due to how few people can actually fit into that room.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

I doubt it will be at all near as busy as when it first opened, but Thanksgiving is one of the busier weeks of the year. If you plan on going, either get there very early or wait until later in the evening.

I haven't seen lines for the stores in a very long time. Ollivander's Wand Experience does get a line however, due to how few people can actually fit into that room.

My wife said the wait was several hours for the wand shop when they went....is it still that long?

 

[RMulieri]

My wife said the wait was several hours for the wand shop when they went....is it still that long?

Not that long ,no.But it is not unusal to see it with waits of 60 mins or more.It is a small shop/show that only lets in about 20 people at a time so lines tend to build.If it is on your list, do it FIRST , before Forbidden journey.FJ has waits, but nowhere near what they were 2 yrs ago and the line moves fast

 

[sams3579]

Will be visiting in November the week of Veterans Day. Hoping the lines won't be long.

 

[Metro West]

Will be visiting in November the week of Veterans Day. Hoping the lines won't be long.

You shouldn't have any major issues during that week.

 

[Mackie Mouse]

I'm sure Thanksgiving week will be busier than this week, but DH and I went yesterday (while Hurricane Sandy kept us stranded in Florida after a wedding in Clearwater Beach) and were pleasantly shocked at the crowd levels, which seemed very typical for October, albeit maybe a bit low due to travel difficulties from the storm.

We arrived at the park shortly before opening and made a beeline for Harry Potter. We got on all three rides with only 5-10 minute waits and regretted that the lines were so short, as the queues for all three were so interesting that we felt rushed past details because the line moved so quickly! We did repeat Forbidden Journey later in the day and had a 25-minute wait, which was perfect (just enough time to snap photos of the whole queue and catch all the details we missed the first time). Our longest wait for anything Potter-related was Ollivander's...had we known, we would have hit that first! It took us about 20 minutes or a half hour to get into the shop. (Surprisingly worth it, though!) We had no wait for a table at the Three Broomsticks, and the other rides throughout the park seemed to also cap off at waits of about 20-30 min max. We were able to see every major attraction in the park before 2 PM. I would prepare for slightly larger crowds at Thanksgiving...but it will be nothing like what it was two years ago!

Hope that's helpful!

 

[TwoCortWort]

We went 2 years ago and went last year. Compared to 2 years ago, its NOT NEARLY as bad as it was when it first opened. Except the day after Christmas it was horrible, but before it wasn't bad at all.

 

[Mike Bartenhagen]

Thanks for the replies....they will be glad to hear that the waits are shorter. I will be certain to tell them to hit the wand shop first.