Crowds in June prior to Diagon Alley grand opening??

[decembergirl71]

There's been a lot of talk about the low crowds at Universal right now as people are waiting to plan their visits until Diagon Alley opens. We plan to be there June 13-14. Do you guess that crowds will stay very low until DA opens or do you think it will be normal mid-June/kids out of school crowds? I'm selfishly hoping that crowd levels stay very low right up until the opening.

 

[heimlichfan]

I'm hoping for that too...

We will be there the 5th and 6th before heading over to Disney. It would be wonderful to have low crowds before dealing with Star Wars weekend and the new mine train ride!

Regardless, I really really really hope there are soft openings for Diagon Alley while we are there. I wasn't planning on it at all when I booked awhile back so to get to see everything would be amazing!

 

[freediverdude]

I really think that's going to depend on whether they have soft openings that are open to the public, i.e. the area is basically just open all day to everyone by that time or not. If it's basically just already open, there will be large crowds there. If it's not open at all or just for onsite hotel guests, then the crowds will be lower.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I'm a total newbie to Universal and we just had an idea to go down for a quick 3-day weekend (have some airline credits to use up). Was thinking of Father's Day weekend but now I'm worried about the potential crowds if Diagon Alley has soft openings at that time. At most we'll have one full day and an afternoon on arrival day to do the parks. Not sure what to do but every time I hesitate on these credits the airfare goes up and I have to come up with a new plan . Any words of wisdom?

 

[audrey2580]

We will be there June 7th and are hoping for soft openings to. Just wanted to pass along this website (but its blocked?) it says this for chance of soft openings:

"Simply due to the scale and ever-changing attributes of the project, this is challenging to predict – but it’s a challenge we’re up for. So below you will find our current prediction at the odds of soft openings occurring in the upcoming weeks.

May 4 – 10 = <1%
May 11 – 17 = 15%
May 18 – 24 = 50%
May 25 – 31 = 85%

June 1 – 7 = 90%
June 8 – 14 = 95%
June 15 – 21 = >95% (if not officially open)
June 22 – 28 = >99% (if not officially open)

And here is the likelihood of Diagon Alley being officially opened to the general public, using the same calendar:

May 4 – 10 = <1%
May 11 – 17 = <1%
May 18 – 24 = <5%
May 25 – 31 = <5%

June 1 – 7 = <5%
June 8 – 14 = 10%
June 15 – 21 = 80%
June 22 – 28 = 90%
June 29 – July 5 = >95%"


Also I'm following #potterwatch on twitter. Lol yep that's what I'm doing while I'm working today lol

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Thank you for that info, Audrey. Very helpful. So yeah, looks like it's likely to be over our dates. Would a soft opening make the entire park crazy busy or just that section (sorry again for the newbie questions)? It being our first time there and having limited time, I'd hate to feel like we miss out on a lot by hitting it at the wrong time.

 

[disneygal29]

My group is going on June 5th, so we are buying park-to-park in hopes of hitting a soft opening. This will be my second time there and I only did Islands of Adventure, so even if there is no soft opening, it will all be new and exciting to me. But my fingers are crossed....would love to ride the train!!!