Christmas at Universal w/ Diagon Alley

[mellyf]

I've done some searches but am having a hard time finding specific information about this. We are going between Christmas and New Year's this year. Believe me...I'm afraid. We have gone to Disney twice from New Year's Day to the 5th or 6th when we've had a longer Christmas break at school, so we're used to massive crowds.

We have been to Universal once a few years ago, just for a day. We enjoyed it, but have just found it hard to break the Disney bubble. However, I've been really wanting to visit HP, and when my husband suggested it for this year, I jumped at it.

I guess what I want to know is, what were the crowds like at Christmas when WWofHP opened in 2010? We are staying at the Royal Pacific, so we will have early entry, which I know we will take advantage of, but I guess I'm still worried. We will be arriving the 27th and leaving the 31st, although we're planning on not leaving until later in the day on the 31st...we're going to get 4-day passes. I'm assuming at Christmas time, w/ HP Diagon Alley being relatively new still, that crowds will be horrendous. Any suggestions apart from taking advantage of early entry? I'm not planning on buying the package. We want to eat at The Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron, but lunch is fine with us, unless breakfast is a better idea for some reason? Thanks!

 

[atricks]

I've done some searches but am having a hard time finding specific information about this. We are going between Christmas and New Year's this year. Believe me...I'm afraid. We have gone to Disney twice from New Year's Day to the 5th or 6th when we've had a longer Christmas break at school, so we're used to massive crowds.

We have been to Universal once a few years ago, just for a day. We enjoyed it, but have just found it hard to break the Disney bubble. However, I've been really wanting to visit HP, and when my husband suggested it for this year, I jumped at it.

I guess what I want to know is, what were the crowds like at Christmas when WWofHP opened in 2010? We are staying at the Royal Pacific, so we will have early entry, which I know we will take advantage of, but I guess I'm still worried. We will be arriving the 27th and leaving the 31st, although we're planning on not leaving until later in the day on the 31st...we're going to get 4-day passes. I'm assuming at Christmas time, w/ HP Diagon Alley being relatively new still, that crowds will be horrendous. Any suggestions apart from taking advantage of early entry? I'm not planning on buying the package. We want to eat at The Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron, but lunch is fine with us, unless breakfast is a better idea for some reason? Thanks!

Crowds around Christmas are always crazy (even without the new opening) IOA closed to capacity several times (which just means get there early). and have a few days every year since. Now with Diagon Alley it'll probably be the studios that also closes to capacity, maybe both from time to time. Although the studios can hold more people than IOA, Diagon probably will change the dynamic.

Closed to capacity doesn't mean it's locked out all day, it just means when crowds rise to unsafe levels they stop letting people in until enough people have moved on. How something like the Hogwarts Express (inside park to park transport) factors in is a unprecedented new animal, though, so that's anyone's guess.

Even then, there will likely be return time tickets just to get into Diagon and Hogsmeade, which still occurs the week after Christmas (I think average the first year was 3 hours just to get into the potter area around 10-11AM, which is the worst time to try to enter the park)

Since you are planning to use early entry you are good, if you were off site, I'd suggest getting there EARLY (as in at least 30-45 minutes before the posted opening hours) to avoid it.

 

[RMulieri]

NO way in heck I would try it without staying onsite, so in that respect it will help tremendously..HOWEVER, with DA being so new, it will likely be alot busier in both parks...IOA and Studios are packed that week without the new HP stuff.Get there for early entry and you should be fine.My guess is later in the morning the return timed tickets will be in use for DA and possible capacity closure

 

[mellyf]

Thank you both for your replies! I'm hoping that with four mornings there, we will be able to hit early entry twice at each one. I have a feeling that one morning in each HP land will not be enough for me. I know Express Pass isn't available for FJ and Gringott's, but hopefully it will be helpful for the rest of the parks later in the day.

I'm a huge HP nerd, and don't know how I've managed to not get to Universal yet for WWofHP, but I'm really excited about finally doing it.

 

[bowtie7]

Hogwarts Express shouldn't be impacted if either or both parks are at capacity since there are two trains running in opposite directions. Each one should be moving an equal numbers of persons to the other park with no net change in the total number at either park.