1st trip - Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade first?

[elaine amj]

We are heading to the Dark Side for the first time in May. We will be arriving around lunchtime on a Saturday after an early morning flight and are staying onsite at Hard Rock Hotel. We have until 5pm Monday (3 days) at the parks - staying Saturday onsite and Sunday offsite.

I am really excited to see the extensive theming of the Potter area. I just read a TR from someone who was a touch disappointed with Hogsmeade after visiting Diagon Alley first. Thoughts?

Not quite sure how best to set up our days - I know I won't need a detailed plan since I have unlimited Express Pass. That said, I am a Disney overplanner and would like to have a general idea of our days.

 

[agavegirl1]

It depends. If your family are big fans of the books (and movies to a certain degree), recreating the steps of Harry from London to Hogwarts is a more logical progression of experiences. I would say though, that saving the Gringotts ride for later would also make sense due to the story progression. My suggestion? Visit Universal Diagon Alley first, skipping the Gringotts ride. Check out the shops, Olivanders, some of the shows in Diagon Alley (including Knockturn Alley) then take the Hogwarts Express to IOA/Hogsmeade. Tour Forbidden Journey, the coasters to the extent possible and grab butterbeer and check out the shops.

On another day, finish your day by going back to IOA. Visit Hogsmeade toward the end of the day and take the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley for a tour of Gringotts and some special treats.

Yes, Diagon Alley is impressively themed but so are the queues of Dragon Challege and Forbidden Journey. You will not be disappointed if you are a fan as both "lands" have a great deal of detail.

 

[kbelle8995]

I like Hogsmeade but love Diagon Alley. Hogsmeade does have Honeydukes. In other words, candy, chocolate everything wonderful. As PP stated there are some great things in Hogsmeade. I love to visit both. Diagon Alley seems more built to take heavy crowds. You can't go wrong either way.

 

[sharona]

Keep in mind that Express is not valid for Hogwart's Express, Gringotts or Forbidden Journey rides. You'll want to get ride Gringotts on a morning when you can be at the gate before US opens so you can avoid too long of a wait. And while Diagon Alley may be "better" than Hogsmeade, the queue for Forbidden Journey is not to be missed so you don't necessarily want to go there first thing and "walk on" as you will not have time to see everything if you are speeding through it.

 

[elainesj]

OK - so start in Diagon Alley, skipping Gringotts. Ice cream from Fortescue's and maybe some frozen Butterbeer. Then take the Hogwarts Express to IOA. Wander through Hogsmeade and tour Hogwarts. If line is not too long, ride Forbidden Journey.

Next morning (Sunday with Early Entry) - ride Forbidden Journey first then Hogwarts Express to Diagon Alley to ride Gringotts.

 

[hopemax]

I think Gringotts can be better appreciated if you haven't seen Forbidden Journey. So I would actually ride that before going to Hogsmeade. It's a very good ride compared to most everything else, but compared to FJ it's a little, "is that it?"

 

[FargoBear]

We stayed onsite and did two days at Universal in November and don't plan on going back until my son reaches 48 inches in 2.5-3 years. However, the chocolate-chili ice cream in Diagon Alley could impact that timeline. So, so good.

 

[Bluer101]

I would say follow the movies or books if you can. We still do this even though we practically live at Universal. There is just something special about both HP areas besides all the other rides in both parks. The whole Universal Resort is just something words cannot describe.

 

[SweetPeasMom2]

Ok, so reading here it looks like there is a method to the madness. We are going for the first time in April. We will have 3 days (not park to park though). So where should we start - IOA or US? Honestly, of all of us going (2 moms, 2 daughters) I am the biggest fan of the HP series (both book and movies). If my dh and ds were going, they would be too. But it's just a girls trip.

 

[elaine amj]

I have a whole other thread in here asking about where to start first - some interesting points made there I am there for 3 days as well, but got the park to park since I want to ride the Hogwarts Express.

 

[johde]

Looking big picture and not just WWOHP, since you are staying onsite Saturday night you will have Early Entry on Sunday and Unlimited Express Passes on Saturday and Sunday (is there any way you can swap your onsite and offsite nights so you'll have early entry and Unlimited Express on both Sunday and Monday your full days in the park).

On Sunday, I'd hit whatever park has early entry. With only 1 day of early entry, I'd spend the entire hour in that area and not try to take the HE to rope drop the other Harry Potter area.

On Saturday, I'd spend most of the day riding rides where you can take advantage of your Unlimited Express pass. I would then have a dinner in the HP area you're not hitting first on Sunday and hopefully enjoy some night hours with the area lit up if the parks open late enough.

On Monday, I'd focus on hitting shows and rehitting favorites. If you arrive at RD and avoid HP until late morning you can hit a lot of rides in quick succession.

 

[elaine amj]

I could possibly switch my onsite/offsite days - but I leave Monday at 5pm. So neither Saturday nor Monday are full days.
Saturday: land 10:15am, hit the parks around noon - close (probably 9pm), stay onsite at HRH
Sunday: all day w/ Early Entry to close (prob 9pm), move offsite
Monday: park open to 5pm (8pm flight)

I figured we should start with our onsite stay so we could hit all the rides we are particularly excited about first thing as well as enjoy the "onsite Universal experience". Plus Saturday, May 16 is a busy day on the crowd calendar and the express pass will be an advantage then. Monday (May 18 - slow crowd day) will be focused on shows and re-rides on favorites/secondary rides.

On the other hand, if we switched, we would have 2 days of Early Entry - on Sunday and Monday.