Are half days possible for Harry Potter rides?

[Ashleybritton]

We’ll be coming in for a baseball tournament and won’t have any full days available in the park. I can get 2 day non hopper tickets. I’d love to show my kids Harry Potter land and I’m not too concerned about anything outside of that. If we get to it, great. If not it’s no big deal. I feel lost when it comes to universal. I’ll have one day we can get there at park opening and other day would likely be in the afternoon.

1) is it possible to get the HP rides done in a half day?
2) is fast pass (or equivalent) worth it/needed given we won’t be riding that many rides?
3) is there a strategy I should take to maximize efficiency? Which park should I do for the day I can get there at park opening and stay until about 2:00?

Thank you!!

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Well, there isn't exactly a "Harry Potter land". There is Hogsmeade and Hogwarts castle in IOA which has HP and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff, and Hagrids Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Hagrids does not take Express Pass, and the line will fluctuate between 120 minutes and 60 minutes most days if it running well. This is a ride that you want to get to if you have early park admission (be at the gate at least 45 minutes prior to EP open). HPFJ is a walk on at opening, but can get up to 75 - 90 minutes on busy days. Flight is more of kiddie coaster. Diagon Alley is in Studios. Escape from Gringotts is the only ride, and is open for early park entry. Lines fluctuate depending on how busy it is, but could be up to 120 minutes on some days. You can use EP for the other 3 rides (Not Hagrid) so if you are staying at one of the 3 EP resorts, that will help. But i would be prepared to wait in lines if you do not have the EP if you are going this summer. There is also the Hogwarts Express that connects the two parks, but if you don't have hoppers, you cannot ride it. Depending on the ages of the kids and their involvement with HP, you can spend all day in one of the areas if you purchase the interactive wand and go around doing all the spells, and just exploring the nooks and crannies.

 

[obsesseddisneyfan]

I would add that if your kids are old enough for single rider, Hagrid's is more manageable. If saving time is important then staying as the poster above said at one of the deluxe hotels gets you a the express pass to skip a few long lines on both check in and check out date. It is a better deal then buying them separately and makes the time much more manageable.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I would do IoA on the afternoon day. Hagrids is likely less lines in the afternoon vs the morning, or you can wait to hop in line shortly before park close for a lovely night ride. Or you can also hang around in Hogsmeade after the park closes, and do some spells then (the shops will close, but you can hang around since there will still be people coming of of Hagrids for a while after close). If you are going while the Hogwarts projection show is on, it's a no-brainer to do Hogsmead/IoA for afternoon/closing day.

Diagon Alley in US is likely to be less busy in the morning than Hogsmeade, since usually Islands has early entry so Hogsmeade will already be hoppin' with those folks who got let in an hour before you. Diagon Alley, if US doesn't have early entry, you'll be entering the same time as everyone else and the crowds will be more spread out, as more of the park is open. The ice cream at Florean Fortescue's is not to be missed!

 

[sandam1]

Do you want to ride the rides or do you want to experience the lands? As others have mentioned, if you just want to ride the rides, honestly, there aren't that many and Express Pass would be beneficial.

However, if you want to really experience all that HP has to offer, that is not the best way to do it. The Express Pass lines bypass a lot of the queue themeing that you will want to see. (If you want to re-ride and your kids are old enough, single rider is the BEST.) That money is better spent on a park-to-park pass so that you can ride the Hogwarts Express (it is different in each direction).

3) is there a strategy I should take to maximize efficiency? Which park should I do for the day I can get there at park opening and stay until about 2:00?

Hogsmeade is more compact and tends to feel more crowded. For that reason, If I only had one day that I could be at park opening, I would probably head to Islands.

Hagrids is what makes any park plan complicated. In my experience, more often than not, Hagrids doesn't open for early entry, but people still get in the line. That back-up actually makes the morning the worst time to try to ride with the wait time going down as the day goes on.

Also, depending on when you are going, there is a night show at the castle at night. Clear as mud, right?

If you hurry through and are concentrating solely on the rides, you will probably miss some of the magic (pun intended). You want to take the time to look at the windows, do some wand work (spend the money, buy a wand at Ollivanders), see the shows, eat the food in the restaurants. HP is a multi-layered experience.