Harry Potter- Wizarding World FAQ

[Huggups]

Planning to do 2 days at Universal primarily to see WWOHP. What I wanted to know is if there is a particular order to seeing both parks? If I wanted to do IOA first and do Hogsmeade, does it make a difference?

 

[damo]

Planning to do 2 days at Universal primarily to see WWOHP. What I wanted to know is if there is a particular order to seeing both parks? If I wanted to do IOA first and do Hogsmeade, does it make a difference?

Makes no difference. But Harry did Diagon before he went to Hogwarts, so maybe you want to do it that way.

 

[DPCummerbund]

Planning to do 2 days at Universal primarily to see WWOHP. What I wanted to know is if there is a particular order to seeing both parks? If I wanted to do IOA first and do Hogsmeade, does it make a difference?

I haven't seen either park yet, and I've been asking myself the same question. From all reports both WWoHP are great, but Universal really "kicked it up a notch" with the new Diagon Alley. So, I plan to see IoA Hogsmeade first, then the newer, bigger, better Diagon Alley at USF second. If I did it the other way around, Hogsmeade would be a bit of a letdown after IoA (or if not actually a letdown, at least it won't be as impressive).

 

[SuperTink]

Subscribing to prepare for a trip in 2016. (Yes, I like to plan!)

 

[aviva5675]

We got back last night. STayed at CBBR, building 6, 6th floor. Got there Sunday around 1230 and got a room that was ready. It was a family suite for the 3 of us. Worked out fine. The kitchen plastic ware is meager but fine for us, we hardly used any. Has a small microwave and fridge. The room was very clean and nice, perfectly fine. The room next door 2 of the days had a loud kid, which you could hear well. Yes the rooms have thin walls. But over all, was fine.

We went that afternoon to Universal side= had a 2 day plus one free 2 park ticket with the package. We did about 6 rides. It was pretty crowded but not crazy. The longest line was maybe 15 minutes, not bad at all. Did MIB single rider line. One thing I would say about every where there is - use single rider if you at all can. Even if rides are short lines, saves time and aggravation standing in line.

We did Hogsmeade Tues morning. Early entry is daily right now but only at IOA. Shuttle from CBBR was very good, frequent, took 10 minutes to get there, drops off right at the escalator to go up and get into City Walk. Leaves starting at 7am. We got there about 730 am(at the IOA gate) for 8 am early entry. Maybe a little earlier. They opened the gate about 740, rope walked not too far. We high tailed it to HOgsmeade, and right to Forbidden Journey. Walked on. Rode twice no wait. WAs a longer ride than expected, which was nice, but by 2d time I was dizzy and glad to get off. Im not a roller coaster person, so this was really pushing the limit for me. We did Hippogriff (shoulda not rode), very short, my family liked it. Then ate free breakfast (w/package) at 7 Broomsticks. Got right in, they send you to a register to order. We got 2 English brkfst and a pancackes. A lot of food!! Pretty tasty tho, we enjoyed. Then did rest of the area. It is pretty small. 5 minute wait for Ollivanders. Cute. Checked out the rest of the area, took us maybe an hour. Off plan we took train to Diagon. No wait for train. Do the train, no matter what. We did it 3 times total and Id have gone again. Got to Diagon ( my husband golfed WEds morn so wouldnt have seen any). Walked on single rider line Gringotts. That was great. Train back- we missed the 9 3/4 effect somehow, you have to watch carefully for it. Next few hours in IOA, tried to ride Seuss monorail, got out of line and found out it had broken down. Family did Spiderman and Hulk. I sat at Starbucks with baby duck family and people watched. Ate lunch at Cowfish. very good. Had had dinner there night before and really enjoyed.

Weds we used early entry to Hogmeade-- got there before 830 --- the plan was to beat the 9am crowd to Diagon alley by taking the train. WAlked right on train, waited 10 minutes if that. Was possibly the 2d or 3d train over. Raced to Escape and walked right in. Enjoyed the preshow this time and the ride again. Then breakfast at Leaky. A few more choices than 7 Brooms, so we did the leek tart and oatmeal flan. Again very good, small portions tho with big pieces of fruit. Couldve made the actual food bigger. Then we did all parts of Diagon. Checked out every inch, saw the Beedle the Bard show, very good, and took about 90 minutes for that whole thing. Its bigger than Hogsmeade, and the detailing is amazing. SAw the dragon blow about 7 times total. Out of there by about 11am.

Had butter beer, yum! Butter beer ice cream--- even better! it is soft serve. And clotted cream, hard serve. Both yummy. Had pumpkin juice, surprisingly good. Got the cauldron cakes at Honey dukes, yummy chocolate. The food there was pretty good, considering its a theme park.

So-- use early entry! Its IOA only right now, it was good we took the train 2d day to get a jump on US people. There is tons to buy. Everywhere. WAit til the end and then see what you really want. The bigger stores in the park areas have HP stuff too. CBBR store had a surprisingly good selection also. Super cute kids all over with robes, and house uniforms on. WAy more than you'd expect.
Had fun, very glad we went.

 

[Huggups]

I haven't seen either park yet, and I've been asking myself the same question. From all reports both WWoHP are great, but Universal really "kicked it up a notch" with the new Diagon Alley. So, I plan to see IoA Hogsmeade first, then the newer, bigger, better Diagon Alley at USF second. If I did it the other way around, Hogsmeade would be a bit of a letdown after IoA (or if not actually a letdown, at least it won't be as impressive).

That sound like a good idea as I've heard DA is the better of the two. Thanks.

 

[aviva5675]

Thats how I looked at it also= save DA for last. We did that and I was glad we did.

 

[vicarrieous]

Question: Is it realistic to come and see the WWOHP ONLY in 1/2 day?

**I should also say that no rollercoaster or big rides would be done. Only the HPE and any other small kid friendly things.

 

[schumigirl]

Question: Is it realistic to come and see the WWOHP ONLY in 1/2 day?

**I should also say that no rollercoaster or big rides would be done. Only the HPE and any other small kid friendly things.

Do you mean the Hogwarts Express when you say HPE?

If so then you will need a two park ticket to ride the train.

Yes you could do WW in IOA in half a day, but to do Diagon Alley in the Studios on top of that in half a day and some other things then I would say no.

 

[meggiemouse]

I need help coming up with a one day touring plan. We have small kids, so we aren't out to hit the roller coasters or big thrill rides. We DO want both WWoHPs and the HWE, Suessland, Spiderman ride, Transformers ride, and Simpsonsland. We'd like to do Minions and explore the Lost continent if time too. Is all of that doable in one day? What order should we do things?

 

[macraven]

I need help coming up with a one day touring plan. We have small kids, so we aren't out to hit the roller coasters or big thrill rides. We DO want both WWoHPs and the HWE, Suessland, Spiderman ride, Transformers ride, and Simpsonsland. We'd like to do Minions and explore the Lost continent if time too. Is all of that doable in one day? What order should we do things?

check out www.universalorlando.com and see the descriptions of the rides in the parks,
there could be some that your kids meet the height requirements for them.

you will find the locations of the rides you mentioned above and can see which way to walk to reach them.

you'll have a good idea of where everything is located in both parks by checking out the park map on the website above.
you can do them in an order of location to make it less walking in the park.

don't know if you can do all that you listed without knowing a date, time period you will be at the darkside.
when is your one day visit?

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

Planning to do 2 days at Universal primarily to see WWOHP. What I wanted to know is if there is a particular order to seeing both parks? If I wanted to do IOA first and do Hogsmeade, does it make a difference?

I am a big fan of starting with Hogsmeade first and taking the train to King Cross because there is nothing quite like seeing the Hogwarts Express come steaming into the station for the first time!

(The train comes into Kings Cross backwards)

 

[meggiemouse]

check out www.universalorlando.com and see the descriptions of the rides in the parks,
there could be some that your kids meet the height requirements for them.

you will find the locations of the rides you mentioned above and can see which way to walk to reach them.

you'll have a good idea of where everything is located in both parks by checking out the park map on the website above.
you can do them in an order of location to make it less walking in the park.

don't know if you can do all that you listed without knowing a date, time period you will be at the darkside.
when is your one day visit?

We are going the last week of May... a "moderate" day according to OI. Will the crowds be comparable to Disney's crowd level that week? We are tagging this day onto the end of our Disney stay, so we won't get early access and aren't doing the passes because we are not doing the big coasters.

And opinions please... Should start HP Hogsmeade in the morning, catch HWE, then do Diagon Alley. OR should we take a break after Hogsmeade to do Suess/ Simpsons/etc and do Diagon Alley later in the day?

 

[macraven]

We are going the last week of May... a "moderate" day according to OI. Will the crowds be comparable to Disney's crowd level that week? We are tagging this day onto the end of our Disney stay, so we won't get early access and aren't doing the passes because we are not doing the big coasters.

And opinions please... Should start HP Hogsmeade in the morning, catch HWE, then do Diagon Alley. OR should we take a break after Hogsmeade to do Suess/ Simpsons/etc and do Diagon Alley later in the day?

try to do your day before the weekend to avoid larger crowds.
if you go before the 29th, i think you will get more done and not as long line waits.

i see you want:
both WWoHPs and the HWE, Suessland, Spiderman ride, Transformers ride, and Simpsonsland. We'd like to do Minions and explore the Lost continent if time too. Is all of that doable in one day? What order should we do things?

be at the entrance line to IOA before 9:00 when the park officially opens.
if you go to the seuss area first, it won't be crowded as most will be heading to potter.
finish up the rides at seuss, then head to spiderman.
go towards potter once you are done with anything in the spidey area.

you'll hit jurassic park section before potter.
many families with children enjoy the discovery building for the dinosaur and play area.

when finished there, a few more steps towards potter.

the last thing to do in potter would be boarding the HE which will empty you into Diagon Alley at the studios side.
take your time there, and head for TF.
catch DE after that.

if the family enjoys spiderman, then TF should be a hit.
i found TF louder and more movement in the cars than at spiderman.


i listed the above based on the rides you would like to do.
there will not be back tracking with the exception of starting with seuss then over to spidey.

if you start with potter at either park, you will be retracing your steps to include the other rides you listed on your want list.

if the line for HE at IOA is an hour long, walk over to the studios and do Diagon Alley
do the rides you are looking forward to at the studios and return to DA before you leave for the gringott ride and HE.


if you go to www.universalorlando.com you will see the path i am walking you through at ioa to end at potter where you will switch to the studios side by HE ride.

if you only have one day for both parks, do look at the maps so you have an idea of direction for the rides.

you could download the app that can be used in the parks for the ride waits.

at the studios, there are a few changeable signs that list showtimes, ride waits for the park.
if you see a short line listed, go for it.

 

[mabbott7242]

we will be going to Universal right before our disney cruise...how many hours do you recommend for both Hogwarts and Diagon Alley?

 

[macraven]

mabbott7242, what are your dates ?
do you plan to stay in the UO area the night before your cruise?

 

[yellowfish78]

Can someone explain the Escape from Gringotts ride for me? Similar to say...Spiderman? with a mix of the Mummy? I'm going with my 6 year old and don't want to toss him onto a ride that might scare him off all the other rides for the rest of the day. :-/ I will say he is 43 inches tall so this would probably be the "worst" of the rides.

 

[macraven]

Can someone explain the Escape from Gringotts ride for me? Similar to say...Spiderman? with a mix of the Mummy? I'm going with my 6 year old and don't want to toss him onto a ride that might scare him off all the other rides for the rest of the day. :-/ I will say he is 43 inches tall so this would probably be the "worst" of the rides.

the little guy is 6 now?
time has flown by quickly....

you'll have some movement similar to dinosaur.
one little 3 second drop then you move along until a stop to view the screen in front of you.
moves to another section for a viewing, etc.

guests are secure in their seats and won't be tossed around.
all individual restraints which is opposite of dinosaur.

 

[yellowfish78]

Thanks Mac! Yep, he will be six and his little brother will be a year in August. . Hoping to come down for a long weekend at RPR before he starts school.

 

[macraven]

little brother???

no one told me about little brother.....

i bet his is as cute as can be.



and the big boy is going to start school????



i'm so behind the times