Harry Potter- Wizarding World FAQ

[macraven]

It always is a toss up
When asked which is better

I prefer the 3 B'a

 

[Kivara]

Mr President, the menus are quite different. We really enjoy them both, but if you prefer one of the menus over the other, that would make a difference.

 

[cgh]

We are going in August for one morning, staying at Disney. We have a 7 year old and a 2 year old and will only go on the Hogwarts Express and Flight of the Hippogriff and look at stores. Touring Plans list the Saturday we are there will be a 9. There's few other things we will do in the parks but our main focus is the Wizarding World. How long should we expect to wait in lines into stores if he go right after opening? (no early entry for us) Optimally, we'd do Diagon Alley then take the train over and look around Hogshead, maybe do a hogwarts walk through if that's possible. What should we expect?

 

[macraven]

i would go early and wait in the line outside the gate for the general public opening.

hit potterville asap as there will be many in that section.
start at the studios and if you have the park 2 park ticket, ride HE to ioa side for potterville.

with the ages of your children, do hit Seuss area at IOA.
the little will be able to do many of those rides.

saturdays are usually crowded so take snacks/treats while you are waiting in the lines.
check out www.universalorlando.com for a layout of the parks.

check out where you can find the restrooms, baby care, first aide sections in both parks in case you need to find one in a hurry.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Headed to US for the first time since 1996. Really just wanting to check out the HP sections in both parks-though the teenagers traveling with me will want to check out all the coasters. Will have EE and EP as we are spending 1 night at Loews RPR. Just wondering (since both parks are offering EE that Monday) where would you recommend I begin? And hello Mac!!! Long time, no see!

 

[macraven]

Hello Tiggggeeerrrnnnnnnnnn!

i could never ever forget you!!


When is your trip?
all i can see is that you will have a monday in the parks.

if you all are pottheads, then i would do EE and hit that section first.
you will have a lot less peeps in your pictures then for that area.

if you have p2p tickets, get in line for HE around 8:45 and go to the other side then.
you will face less people there as you have a head start for the park.

but, if the park opens the one hour later, you will be meeting those crowds by the time you get off of HE.

other option is start at the studios with EE, then hit the RRR and the Mummy before going to the IOA park.

do the coaster there and the Hulk, but since i don't know your park date, Hulk may or may not be up and running.
it has been done for an overhaul and due to go back up in the summer.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

We are headed there on the 20th. Both parks open at 8am. So I will be at the gate by 7:30. Thinking I will hit one HP ride in the one park and then walk over to the other park to hit the other ride, then wait on the HE and ride one way and back the other. Then stop and enjoy the atmosphere in both HP areas of both parks until I get tired. May buy a wand and wander around trying spells. Not sure what to do. If I wait on the HE, then the parks may be open for everyone making the wait longer for the 2nd HP ride. Not sure if I should start with Escape from Gringotts or Forbidden Journey first. What do you suggest?

 

[macraven]

Tigggggerrrnnnn
Are you driving to UO or taking car service?

If you have a car be at the parking garage at 7
It is not an easy in and park if you arrive at 7:30
Many others will be doing the same thing and you don't want to be delayed in getting into the park

I would start at gringotts
Not sure which park has EE
You can find that info on the UO site

Why not use HE both ways so you can see both versions of the scenes they show ?

You will have a fun day on the 20th!

 

[LadyPageTurner]

Has anyone been to the Leaky Cauldron lately? Are they still serving the Butterbeer Potted Cream dessert?

Also, do you think Diagon Alley will still be so popular that they'll have to do ticketed entry this summer? I'm going down for a library conference last weekend in June. Not my ideal time to go to the theme park... it'll be my second time going during peak season (AHHH!!!)

 

[macraven]

don't think you will end up with doing a ticket entry for potter in June.

The period from christmas to ny would be the only time i can think of where that would be done again.
not sure if that happened this past year for that area.
not recalling any posts or other sites reporting that happened then

 

[bgorring]

i would go early and wait in the line outside the gate for the general public opening.

hit potterville asap as there will be many in that section.
start at the studios and if you have the park 2 park ticket, ride HE to ioa side for potterville.

with the ages of your children, do hit Seuss area at IOA.
the little will be able to do many of those rides.

saturdays are usually crowded so take snacks/treats while you are waiting in the lines.
check out www.universalorlando.com for a layout of the parks.

check out where you can find the restrooms, baby care, first aide sections in both parks in case you need to find one in a hurry.

how long does the HE take from one to the other?

 

[pcstang]

I've never timed the HE but I would say about 5 mins.

 

[macraven]

That would be my guess also

5 minutes once the journey to the other side starts

 

[slbgnb]

How do I know if one of the parks is opening early for those staying on site? We are not staying on site, but are getting 2 day park to park tickets and I'm kind of confused. We are going 9/8 and 9/10. I'm confused if I should go straight to HP section, do the whole section, then ride HE to the other park or ride HE to the other park and do the HP section there...And, if I figure out if one of the parks is open earlier - do I go there 1st or avoid there? Thanks for any help!

 

[macraven]

go to the calendar and you can see which dates/parks have early entry.
there you can see both parks and early entry.
it will have a listing for park hours and in another color ee time


i have the early park admisson on the quick access sticky thread
this shows the info you need.

 

[slbgnb]

i have the early park admisson on the quick access sticky thread
this shows the info you need.

Thanks! Looks like Early Park Admission is not an option on the days I'm going - so that eliminates that issue!

 

[macraven]

Thanks! Looks like Early Park Admission is not an option on the days I'm going - so that eliminates that issue!

Came back to add that there are times the EE can change

I have been at the hotels before and guests are notified the day prior UO will have both parks open for EE

My guess why they open both parks for EE if they have sell outs in the hotels

 

[Sinders99]

Hi All

New to this forum so please forgive me if I'm rehashing questions already asked somewhere in the previous 74 pages

* Just looking for feedback on what crowd levels we can expect on 6th & 7th September?

* We're staying offsite at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Seaworld. Does anyone have advice on the best way to transfer between the Hilton & Universal?

* How much time should we allow to get from Seaworld to Universal and what time should we aim to arrive at Universal each morning?

* Our plan is to focus on the 2 Harry Potter areas as we're big fans - does anyone have opinions on the best way to attack the 2 parks?

Thanks so much in advance for helping the Aussies out

 

[slbgnb]

Came back to add that there are times the EE can change

I have been at the hotels before and guests are notified the day prior UO will have both parks open for EE

My guess why they open both parks for EE if they have sell outs in the hotels

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[macraven]

Hi All

New to this forum so please forgive me if I'm rehashing questions already asked somewhere in the previous 74 pages

* Just looking for feedback on what crowd levels we can expect on 6th & 7th September?

* We're staying offsite at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Seaworld. Does anyone have advice on the best way to transfer between the Hilton & Universal?

* How much time should we allow to get from Seaworld to Universal and what time should we aim to arrive at Universal each morning?

* Our plan is to focus on the 2 Harry Potter areas as we're big fans - does anyone have opinions on the best way to attack the 2 parks?

Thanks so much in advance for helping the Aussies out

the monday the 5th is Labor Day
schools are closed for the holiday.

but, this is not the type of holiday that brings the crowds high at UO.
or hasn't been that bad in the past years.

should have fair crowds in the parks for the 6th and 7th.

i'm not sure how far your hotel is to UO.
but have read some older threads that talked about using taxis when your hotel is a few miles out from the parks.
have you checked to see if the hilton grand has shuttle service to UO?
i thought the super shuttle system did transportion from certain hotels to parks.

be at the parks before it opens and wait it out in the line to get into the parks.
less people will be doing that as many wait until later thinking there will be no line to enter the parks.

read some of the other threads about touring potterville
some have given great info, too much for me to remember it all to post here.