Harry Potter- Wizarding World FAQ

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

What "One hour before park opening" means exactly ? if the park open at 9.00 they let you enter in the park when ? to be at Diagon alley at what time ?
thanks

 

[macraven]

What "One hour before park opening" means exactly ? if the park open at 9.00 they let you enter in the park when ? to be at Diagon alley at what time ?
thanks

if the official opening time for the parks is 9:00, early entry for the onsite hotel guests will be at 8:00 for the designated park.
if the studios had ee, DA alley and DE ride will be open.
if at ioa, the potter section is opened.
only spidey was open when i was there on a high crowd day.

the rides that open early can vary or not happen at all.
it's called by UO so somethings it is not known during some dates in the year what rides will be available.


basically, the ee is for one hour of pottervilles and breakfast at the main restaurants.

a few times i have been able to get into the parks thru the hotel guests lines at the entrance earlier than 8.
TM's will lead you to the section of confisco grill area and then release all around the 8:00 point.

this helps with crowd control if the hotel line entrance goes way out thru the entrance outside of the park.

 

[snowwhite84]

Hi all! So excited to go in Sept, was there last Sept and feel there was much we missed! On that trip, I kept saying how surprised I was they weren't selling fire whiskey. Well, apparently they started selling it in the park this month! Anyone seen/ tried it?

 

[ParkscopeJoe]

FYI, when IoA has Early Entry, Diagon Alley usually opens 30 minutes prior to official opening. Keep that in mind.

 

[Momw/aplan]

FYI, when IoA has Early Entry, Diagon Alley usually opens 30 minutes prior to official opening. Keep that in mind.

For onsite guests only, or for everyone?

 

[purple hippo]

If everyone getting in early is going to the HP section, most like to get on FJ - how busy is it? Are there masses of people passing you, rushing to get there or is it more civilized? Are there hundreds or thousands of people taking advantage of EE on any given day? Do you need to jog over to get a good place in line or does it go pretty quickly? We are going in October and I just wonder how busy EE is, when most people are heading to the same place.

 

[damo]

If everyone getting in early is going to the HP section, most like to get on FJ - how busy is it? Are there masses of people passing you, rushing to get there or is it more civilized? Are there hundreds or thousands of people taking advantage of EE on any given day? Do you need to jog over to get a good place in line or does it go pretty quickly? We are going in October and I just wonder how busy EE is, when most people are heading to the same place.

It can be incredibly busy depending on the season. If you are staying onsite for a few days, it might not even be worth it to bother unless you like to get up really early and be one of the first in line.

 

[purple hippo]

We would be going Oct 4-6 - how crazy do you think it will be? I know you don't have a crystal ball, but just wondering.

 

[macraven]

i'll be there also on those oct dates.
don't think monday or tuesday will have huge lines.
on that wed, 6th, hhn will be open and the studios wil close at 5.

 

[purple hippo]

Thanks! We will have our kids with us this time (10 and 12) so we will have to skip HHN this time. Since we are staying on site I thought maybe DH and I could go on the Sunday night and see if the hotel had a kids program or something the kids could participate in while we snuck out to HHN but I couldn't find anything like that....nothing that would go as late as HHN does anyways. Do you know of any options? I know there are babysitting services but I wouldn't be comfortable with that. Maybe next trip they will be old enough to go!

 

[macraven]

all the hotels have the child care program.
did you check the hours on the website?
is it over at midnight?
i've never used it but have read about it.

they do close prior to 2 am when hhn is open late.
sunday nights hhn can close at 1 am depending on crowd levels.

there are some private companies that you can hire sitters from to stay in your room if you want to go that route.
if your kids are 10 and 12, i would think that would be safe since they could always contact you by phone if you were needed to be aware of anything.

 

[malibukelly]

Can you go through the Forbidden Journey ride but not actually ride? My son doesn't meet the height requirement but would love to walk through the castle.

 

[Momw/aplan]

Can you go through the Forbidden Journey ride but not actually ride? My son doesn't meet the height requirement but would love to walk through the castle.

Yes. Just tell them you'd like to take the Castle Tour; they'll point you in the direction you need to go. It's a self-guided walk-through at your own pace. You'll exit through the "chicken exit" just before the loading area.

Alternatively, if you have a 2nd adult in your party who can wait with your son, they do offer child-swap. You could all go through the regular que together. There's a nice room near the loading area where your son and an adult can watch Harry Potter movies while you ride. Then, once you're off, you can wait with your son while the other adult rides without having to go through the que again.

 

[malibukelly]

Yes. Just tell them you'd like to take the Castle Tour; they'll point you in the direction you need to go. It's a self-guided walk-through at your own pace. You'll exit through the "chicken exit" just before the loading area.

Alternatively, if you have a 2nd adult in your party who can wait with your son, they do offer child-swap. You could all go through the regular que together. There's a nice room near the loading area where your son and an adult can watch Harry Potter movies while you ride. Then, once you're off, you can wait with your son while the other adult rides without having to go through the que again.

Thanks!

 

[Casfamily5]

we are planning at trip in Sept. We have been to DW about a dozen or so times but this will be our first trip to the Universal Parks. We are from So. Cal and have Universal here so I am interested in seeing the attractions that we cannot visit at home. Harry Potter is being built but we are anxious to see it on our upcoming trip. Any recommendations? Rides, Food, cool gift shops? By the way thank you to the above for putting all the info about child swap. My youngest is the only one not big enough to ride. I welcome any and all information. Also we are staying on site at WDW and will not have a vehicle. What is the fastest and cheapest way to get to Universal. Thanks

 

[SnowWhite1015]

Hi! We're going to Universal for the first time June 5-8. Staying offsite at the DoubleTree by Hilton. We got early entry for one day with our package and added on the express pass for one day. I'm sure this has been asked a million times and from what I've read there's no definite answer other than to try the test seats when we get there, but I'm wondering if there's anyone similar in size to me and what their experience was with being able to ride all the rides. I'm 5'9'' and a size 16, with most of my weight in my hips and thighs. Thanks!

 

[casnider]

When we went last July I was a 12/14 and I am 5'6 with most of my junk in the trunk. I didn't have any issues anywhere. I do remember some ride having trouble with the legs, only because mine are long. Had to have been a roller coaster but I can't remember. There are test seats for every ride but I am sure you will be just fine.

 

[damo]

Wear loose shorts so that your weight can be distributed in the seats. There is a current thread right now that you might want to check out.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/heading-to-universal-scared-i-wont-fit.3407795/

 

[MeLaNie9]

Hi - we are taking our first Universal trip with the kids in Nov. We are planning to spend 2 days in the parks there then will head to WDW. I certainly get the early entry, but can someone explain the "front of the line" pass that you get when staying at certain hotels, and would this be worth it this time of year?
We, of course, are most interested in WWoHP and those rides - what are they like? We won't be doing any big roller coasters or dark rides that are very roller coaster-y. Which are those in the Universal parks? My 8yo son was sobbing and screaming on Disneyland's Space Mtn last Fall - will he at least be able to do the Harry Potter rides??

 

[SnowWhite1015]

From my limited knowledge of the Express Pass it works like a Fast Pass at WDW, except it's for most of the rides, not just one. But I don't think you can use the EP on any of the WWoHP rides.