Aug trip to see Harry Potter

[Minnie]

We are traveling to ORL for a week - Aug 13-20th staying at the Dolphin for my DS's birthday. He is a huge HP fan so we are planning to surprise him with a day at IOA.

We are not ride fans and will likely not do much other than enjoy the HP area in the park. We'd like to see the show at Olivander's, walk through the castle, the area, and the shops. DS might go on the HP ride but I'll have to pass as simulators cause motion sickness.

Based on this and the summer crowds would we be okay to stay at the Swan and drive over in the morning or evening to see HP? Or would a night at a Universal hotel make more sense?

If we did the night at Universal we'd have early access to HP right? I'm not a fan of switching hotels but in this case.... The issue I see is that for the early access we would need to check into Universal on Monday evening, go to HP early AM, and then have to check out early - not sure how that would work... Any other thoughts on how to make this work out?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Metro West]

If you were interested in seeing the rest of the park as much as WWoHP, I would say stay onsite to get early entry but that doesn't sound like the case. So...just take a cab over and try to get there as early as possible. WWoHP will be crowded so expect to spend several hours in and around that area. After you've done everything, take a little time to explore.

 

[mesaboy2]

In your case, I wouldn't stay on site. My reasoning is this because you say you're not all that interested in rides. If DH does decide to ride FJ, he can use single-rider. Still get to the park turnstiles 15-20 minutes before park open, tickets in hand. You'll be able to walk into WWoHP and walk around all you want. If you go later, there will be lines to enter WWoHP and probably some of the shops. The crowds should drop off again an hour or two before park close, but it's hard to plan for that since there's no guarantee. The line for Ollivander's will have the longest wait, possibly an hour or more--be prepared.

 

[Minnie]

Thank you for the advise

We are planning on a mid-week day, going over early to be ready for when the park is opened for regular guests and going straight to Olivander's. Then moving on to the shops, castle tour, DS possibly single rider, and then walking around the area for the end.

Does this sound like an okay plan for our time at the WWoHP? We aren't planning on any of the rides or other areas in IOA.

Thanks