A Celebration of Harry Potter ...

[DisneyBabies]

Hi everyone!

We took our DS to Universal for a day last September to see the WWoHP and he fell in love with it! He has now decided that he wants to go back for his 13th birthday trip next year. We were just going to do a week in the summer and let him do whatever he wanted, but we found out a bit of information about the "Harry Potter weekend" that has happened for the last four or five years and he really wants to do that instead (assuming they do it for 2017). We were looking at the things that are included in the Premium package for this weekend.

I searched for information, but the threads I found about it were questions about how crowded it will be during that weekend; not anything about the actual celebration.

Has anyone ever done a trip report about this weekend or can give me specifics about what goes on? I know that things change from year to year, but we wanted to see if someone could give us specifics about the weekend this year. So, if you are going to the celebration, would you be willing to come back and give us details about it and maybe throw in some pictures?

Thank you so much to anyone willing to help.

 

[macraven]

See if there are any reports in the trip section

Or do a forum search in case there has been one done in the past 3 years they have held it

Don't recall if any posters here have participated in them before

 

[DisneyBabies]

See if there are any reports in the trip section

Or do a forum search in case there has been one done in the past 3 years they have held it

Don't recall if any posters here have participated in them before

I checked, but didn't find anything in the trip reports forum That's why I was hoping if someone is going this year, that they would come back and tell us about it. Guess it's time to hit up google again

 

[JOCAmom]

We are leaving on Friday to head down but we are not doing a package. My DH was totally wishy washy on going so I missed out on the AP packages. I won't do a trip report but I'll come back to this thread and let you know my thoughts and post a some pictures of what we able to see.

 

[DisneyBabies]

Thank you so much @JOCAmom . We really appreciate any info we can get on this. Hope you and your DH have a great time!

 

[chucktownguy]

Hi @DisneyBabies! My wife and I just returned from Universal for the weekend for the HP Celebration. We didn't have the vacation package and found we didn't really need it. The premium vacation package folks had their own line into the HP Expo and the Sorting Hat experience and I believe their own area for the panel talks. We missed the opening night festivities but were talking to some people with the vacation package who said they were unable to see the fireworks from their premium area. They also didn't feel it was worth the extra cost just to skip a few lines throughout the weekend.

The entry ticket just for getting into the park got you access to the expo and and all of the panel events, just not any of the premium viewing areas or the shorter lines.

The expo was cool, but it was a super long line to get into all day Saturday and Sunday morning. Wait to go to that until the last day in the afternoon and there is no line. There was a cool experience inside the expo from the studio tour in London that had actual film props, costumes, etc. but there was always a long line to get into it (inside of the expo area they have an additional queue for it).

We walked up to the panel discussions about a half hour before they were scheduled to start and it was insanely crowded both days. It looked very chaotic and I'm not sure if there was an actual line to get into the area for the panels or if it was just a free-for-all, so we skipped this. It seems that Disney is way more equipped to handle huge crowds, both in terms of open space and the way they handle it operationally. Crowds through all of the Wizarding World were obviously very packed, but Diagon Alley seemed to soak up the crowds a bit better than Hogsmead. It was a very cool atmosphere throughout all of the HP areas with so many people dressed up in their robes and lots of people cosplayed characters from the movies. There was an impromptu moment to respect Alan Rickman in front of Grimmauld Place in which everyone gathered and rose their wands to the sky.

Crowds throughout the rest of the property were extremely manageable, especially with EP. The longest wait we had was about 20 minutes for The Mummy in the middle of the afternoon. My wife and I love EP and wish Disney had a similar option without having to pay a thousand dollars for the VIP experience.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you or anyone else may have! I highly recommend visiting during the HP Celebration if you are Harry Potter fans if just for the atmosphere and being around other big fans. We plan on going again next year but likely will not be booking any of the vacation packages unless the price comes down considerably.

 

[macraven]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us

 

[only hope]

For those who may be looking for information for the future- the seats were never filled for the panels at the toon amphitheater, and there were no bad seats. To get a close seat you would need to arrive about 45 minutes early. The Q&A panel with the celebrities is a different story, however. You need to arrive an hour early to find a spot on the lawn. Much earlier if you want the front- though the very front was reserved for those with enough money to pay for packages. I was second section from the back to start with, arriving 75 minutes early. After the kids event ended people stood up and I was able to move much closer, and even have a seat for another twenty minutes or so.

We were disappointed and frustrated by the expo experience. Last year we walked right in on Friday afternoon. This year we were in line ten minutes before park opening on Sunday and moved through the entire line in 20 minutes after it opened, stopping second group from the front. Then we waited another 40 minutes, with just a few package people being let in. That was frustrating enough. Then we get in and discover there are very few props to look at in the open, unlike last year. Just a model of Fluffy and some books and papers I'm not even sure were actually used for the movie. Instead, it is in a separate area like the an above poster mentioned. This line was, according to the cast member, two hours long- and it was closed because so many people were in it. What a terrible set up! The most interesting thing in the expo, by far, is seeing things used in the movies. We would not have wasted an hour in line outside the expo while other lines built up if we had known there would be a separate, two hour plus wait to see the props. We heard many people complaining about the set up. Hopefully next year it will be out in the open for you to pursue at your leisure. We talked to someone who had waited in the line to see the props and said they didn't even have that much in there and it took about six minutes to go through. There were tons of things last year.

The weekend was enjoyable but nowhere near as well done as Star Wars Weekends. James is/was fantastic at making the conversations with the actors high energy, smooth, and interesting. That was lacking at every single panel. I also wish they let normal people who don't have the money for packages to meet the actors like Disney does. I was glad they had a tribute to Alan Rickman.

 

[DisneyBabies]

@chucktownguy and @only hope Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know how it went! I know things change year by year, but this is the kind of info I need with a DS who doesn't do well when he doesn't know what the schedule is for the day.

So if I am reading this right, they did the expo as usual, but added another section to it with props from the studio tour and that section had a separate queue. Was the rest of the expo the same as previous years?

So we could potentially go to all the panel discussions, but if it happens to be really crowded, we won't be getting in unless we have a package, correct? Is it really any faster getting into the expo if you have the package?

This will be our only chance to do this weekend for at least 5 or 6 years, so we want to make sure (as much as we possibly can) that DS doesn't miss anything.

I really appreciate all of your help!

 

[bumbershoot]

The weekend was enjoyable but nowhere near as well done as Star Wars Weekends

Of course, those are gone now from what I've read.

 

[only hope]

Of course, those are gone now from what I've read.

And that is why we did not renew our Disney passes. I'm still upset about that. Construction is a flimsy excuse. I hope they bring SWW back in all its glory.



Aside from the panels at the music plaza with the celebrities, none of them were full and a package did nothing but let you in first. They've always had props at the expo but this was the first (and hopefully last) year they weren't out in the open. A package gets you into the expo much, much quicker. It looked like they were letting in the package people two times for every one time they were letting others in, and the package line was shorter. The line for the expo can reach up to four hours Unless they change it next year, once inside the expo, there are no seperate lines for those who purchased the package. The expo seemed mostly the same to me, aside from the props being in a seperate area. They did have different photo ops than last year.

 

[JOCAmom]

We are back from our whirlwind weekend. We didn't buy a package and just winged it for the weekend. Our flight was delayed for over 4 hours on Friday because of a mechanical issue so that put us behind for getting to the parks on Friday. In fact, we never even made it into the parks that day. Too tired and hungry to even thing about it once we arrived. Saturday was a wash out because we were just itching for some Universal fun without waiting in lines. So we decided to do the HP Celebration stuff on Sunday. We only did the events offered in the studios.

We had early admission to Universal Studios so we were up early to catch the boat before opening. Hightailed it to Diagon Alley first thing and it is just beautiful before the crowds arrive.

 

[JOCAmom]

We decided on Saturday to get in line for for the HP expo soon after early admission. As we were walking to Diagon Alley, CM's were already warning about the long waits later in the day and advising us to get in line now. We got back to the line about 8:45am and it was listed at 60 minutes but it didn't take that long to enter the expo. But once we were inside, it was a total chaos. No rhyme or reason to anything.. They were giving out free posters and various other things ( bookmarks and coloring pages) but no organized lines for it. You just had to push your way to the front. There was a Muggle wall where you could write your thoughts about what HP meant to you. You could wait in line to have your picture taken holding various equipment from Quidditch. Nothing too spectacular.

 

[JOCAmom]

We did hang around to see the cast Q&A session. We got there about 30 minutes before the start time and were in the back. We were able to see fine especially with the big screens. If you wanted to be up close, you probably would have had to have shown up hours before hand.

 

[JOCAmom]

A few shots from inside the Expo



We would probably go to the Celebration again only because I would have a better idea on how to plan our day. We were just flying by the seat of our pants this time. They also need more room for the actual Expo. It was overcrowded and disorganized in my opinion. We didn't do any of the event over in IOA. I didn't like the two park set up and would have preferred to have everything in one park. My kids enjoyed for the most part except for the endless lines.

 

[CinderellasKastle]

I went to the Celebration this weekend as well. I didn't have the Vacation Package - just a normal 3 day P2P pass. It was my first time ever at Universal Studios/WWOHP and let's just say, it was overwhelming. Many people that I met said "Don't worry, it's not usually this crowded." I stood in line on Friday for an HOUR AND A HALF for the expo, and it was rather boring for all the waiting I had just done. And then to wait another 45 minutes inside for the teeny little studio tour? It was cool seeing a few things from the movies, but overall it just seemed like a way to advertise "Spend more money! Go to London to get the real experience!" I was a bit disappointed my first day and left at around 5:00. The crowds and my headache were gettin' to me, and there wasn't much to do that first day.

The second day was better - mostly because there seemed to be a lot more to do. I went to the 11:00 panel (Bringing the movies to WWOHP) and met some friends there that I hung out with for the rest of the day, and then the 1:00 panel we were in the 2nd row - Matthew Lewis showed up to this panel! I didn't expect that at all. That panel was about the Harry Potter Exhibitions. Then we went to go wait for the Cast Q&A at the music plaza. Pretty surprised how many people were already there at 2:00 for a 4:15 Q&A. We were able to get into the front section of the Q&A, which was cool! Rupert Grint looked and acted like he was high. Bonnie Wright and Katie Leung didn't say much. But I want to become best friends with Evanna Lynch and Matthew Lewis. My friends and I then went to Diagon Alley and walked around for a bit, and eventually made it back to the Music Plaza for the Film Tribute that had the cast again (we were all the way in the back standing on the curb in front of the Monster Bar).

Third day, I went to the morning panel - I was going to meet up with the friends I had made the day before, but they didn't make it in time, so I went to the panel by myself. It was discussing the props used in the films with the head prop maker. Matthew Lewis came to this panel as well with the Sword of Gryffindor. It was neat seeing him so much. Then I met up with my friends and they were in line for the expo. They wanted to go in and see the studio tour. It was a lot more crowded then than it was on Friday. Friday they were only letting in a few small groups at a time, and I think that's why the line was so long and why I had waited so long. Now there were too MANY people in that small space. So we got in and did some of the stuff at the expo, it wasn't too thrilling since I had already seen it all on Friday and wasn't impressed the first time. Then we lined up for the Studio tour - an hour long wait. Awesome. But it was nice waiting in these long lines with friends versus me by myself on Friday. We ate dinner that night at The Leaky Cauldron, which I highly recommend. I had the beef, lamb and Guinness stew for $13. Not too bad of a price, since it came with a side of salad and the stew was a rather big bowl.

It was a lot of fun though, the crowds were heavy in some parts, but I expected it and took my time walking around. It seemed everywhere I turned there was something separate going on with the premiere package holders. I think they had an autograph and photo session that Rupert Grint didn't even show up to. They sure did love their package holders. But I heard they spent $1500 on their package - sheesh. I couldn't do that. I had enough fun being a normal pass holder, and I plan to do it again next year. Now that I'm a Floridian, I'll be fine with an annual pass

 

[rdunative]

Was there last weekend. Pretty good crowds but I had the premium package. I heard of people waiting a couple of hours to see things we only waited a few minutes for. For it being only the 3rd year of Universal doing this I thought it went really well. I'm sure it will get better each year.

Having both WWoHP Parks virtually to yourself on Friday night with free food and beverages and some autographs was worth the price to me. The head of the line access and reserved meals were just a bonus as I didn't care much about listening to the panels.

 

[DisneyBabies]

@rdunative Thank you so much for posting this! I'm glad to have a perspective from a premium package holder since this is what we are thinking of doing with DS next year.

Was there advanced notice of when the packages would go on sale or were you stalking the internet for a week to be able to book that package?

Also, when you got autographs, did you have them sign something special?

One other question, what was the "special themed welcome parcel"?

Thank you again posting your experience.

 

[rdunative]

@rdunative Thank you so much for posting this! I'm glad to have a perspective from a premium package holder since this is what we are thinking of doing with DS next year.

Was there advanced notice of when the packages would go on sale or were you stalking the internet for a week to be able to book that package?

Also, when you got autographs, did you have them sign something special?

One other question, what was the "special themed welcome parcel"?

Thank you again posting your experience.

The tickets went on sale August 19th, 2015. There's was like a 5 day notice on Universal's Website. It was done by phone as they don't have a ticket website for that program as of yet.
It took me around 3 hours to finally get through. You could have anything you wanted sign. Rupert (Ron) had to leave to attend another panel but left signed photo cards (for like the last 20-30 people)
and Matthew (Neville) walked through the remaining line and signed whatever you had and posed for a pic.
I bought a Marauder's Map and the wife bought a Hogwarts diary for autographs.
The welcome parcel was a Pigwidgeon Owl! = )

Saturday night was reserved for package holders (I think) as there was no line into the expo building and the
event staff was bringing food and drinks around on trays as you were walking around the exhibits.

Will definitely be going again next year if I can get the premium package

Here's an album I put together along with some homemade items = )

http://imgur.com/a/30F4D

 

[DisneyBabies]

@rdunative I just took a look at your pictures and they are great!

Did you make your Hogwarts acceptance letter? We did this for DS's day at HP last year, but I had someone on Etsy make it

Did you purchase the map and diary at HP or did you bring them with you?

What was the Premium Package Kit that you referenced in your pictures?

I had heard that the packages were released at noon; did you call in at noon or just a bit before?

I am beginning to get really excited about this.

Thanks for your help.