1 Day HP- use IOA EE or not?

[MaskedRose86]

Is it better to just wait till US opens and hit the rides there first? Or should we use the EE to get into Hagrid’s right away? I will say we plan to focus on HP for the day and my daughters are 10 and I think the experience of being there matters even more than the rides themselves.

 

[wdwrule]

Click on this thread as it was posted recently and may help you as it has some great ideas

 

[georgina]

The thread linked above they don't have EE. If you have EE I would definitely use it for Hagrids, especially if you can get there a half hour before EE actually starts.

 

[MamaBear58]

I thought EE wasn't good on Hagrids?

 

[wdwrule]

I thought EE wasn't good on Hagrids?

Yeah this is the part that gets tricky. I was thinking of the OPs quote: “ I think the experience of being there matters even more than the rides themselves”. To me, I would start at Studios where it’ll be less crowded at opening and would have the Wow factor with fewer people there in Diagon Alley to experience the shops, Gringott’s, wand shopping/spells, etc with very low crowds and peaceful setting compared to IoA. Many times right around lunch or shortly after (or upon closing) Hagrid’s wait is somewhat do-able. However, if Hagrid’s is a top priority must-do, then yes… use EE for Hagrid’s and hope that it’s not down and running during EE.

 

[georgina]

I thought EE wasn't good on Hagrids?

Unless it it down for some reason Hagrids is usually open for early entry. It does not have Express Pass, if that is what you were thinking of.

 

[MamaBear58]

I was. My bad. So sorry!!

 

[ajsamett]

Doing Hagrids for early entry is hard if you aren't there was early enough. But it's still a great time to ride the other hp rides and experience a pretty empty world. If you decide to do Hagrids later in the day, I was able to do Velocicoaster, forbidden journey and hippogriff in EE. Then, I'd hop to US via the train in the first hour. Since most people do IOA first, Diagon Ally is still super empty. I got there about an hr after park open (was personally delayed between park open and hopping), and we only waited 5 mins for the train and 30 mins for Gringotts

 

[tlseege]

If your kids are big Harry Potter fans, and that's the main point of the trip, I'd start in Universal. Going through it in story order is magical. Getting into the alley, getting your wand, learning spells and escaping Gringotts. It's all so cool. Then you travel over to IOA and the fun just keeps going, but that initial moment in Diagon Alley is memorable.

 

[georgina]

Perhaps since I first went as an adult when only Hogsmeade was open, that I don’t care so much about the order. Escape from Gringotts from the last Harry Potter book though.