Does anyone on this board do this?

Lizzie67

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jan 2, 2023
Messages
34
Hi all,

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to ask a question on the Disneyland boards and ended up with someone writing me out an itinerary to follow to maximize the one day I had there. To say that was a life saver is an understatement. This was a person who knew the ins and outs and their input helped my family so much.

My youngest is a Harry Potter fan and for her birthday in March, we are taking her and our other daughter to Universal. I've been to DL a few times and also WDW a few time. But.........I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT UNIVERSAL!!! I started to try to research and just become so overwhelmed as I can't even picture the park in my head. We will be there for one day and want to concentrate on HP stuff. But, would love other stuff woven in. My daughter is 12 and we are all tall enough for all the rides.

I guess what I'm asking is for some Universal Expert out there to give me a loose itinerary I can follow so I'm not backtracking too much or hitting something at the absolute worst time or missing something I don't even know about. We are not staying on property. I know nothing about the park and fear I'm not going to do a good job for my daughter's birthday present. Are there food stops to hit as I'm walking from one place to another? Are there HP secrets? Are there times to avoid for certain rides? What order should I do the HP musts? Are there rides that are a definite no miss? I will say that we do not have to go on the big rollercoasters. We live by Cedar Point and ride those all summer. But I would love to know about stuff that is unique to Universal.

Thank you all so much. I appreciate any help you guys can offer.
 
First, I suggest downloading the UO App since that'll give you a map, as well as menus/mobile ordering, wait times, show schedules.

Since you are off site, I would start at Universal Studios side and head straight to Diagon Alley. Show up at least 15min before official opening time, they usually open the gates a little early. That means you probably want to be arriving to the parking garage 25-30min before that. The Ollivander's wand show would probably be my first stop, they select one person from the ~15person group to have a wand "choose" them. You can either buy a wand or just watch and explore the shop - if you buy a wand, this will be the best time to do spells in Diagon Alley. The wand will have a little map of all the spell locations - remember to look at the map while you're in Knockturn Alley! Knockturn Alley, like in the films, is down a little side alley and lots of people miss it - the entrances are across from the bathrooms or along the left hand side of the main drag looking at Gringotts bank from the Diagon Alley entrance.

When you are done doing spells and exploring, ride Gringotts. You have to put bags in the lockers but things in your pockets are fine - you will find nice photo opportunities in the bank (the ride line) so bring your phone if possible. This is a nice time for some ice cream at Florean Fortesques - even better if you can time grabbing some ice cream and taking it over to watch Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Now is when you probably want to make some decisions - this will be the best time to take the Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure. The line gets long, and continues to get longer through the middle of the day. But, without backtracking this is also your chance to do a few other rides in Studios. Everyone will have their different recommendations - I definitely would suggest Mummy, followed by (in no particular order) Transformers, MiB, and Simpsons, maybe ET. Mummy, Transformers, and MiB have single rider lines - MiB specifically has a very efficient single rider line, ie I think I've never waited even 5min. I think, if it were my first visit, I'd probably want to ride a few of these at this point, knowing it'll increase the wait time for Hogwarts Express. And depending on how you're doing on time.

At or near lunch time, preferably before or after "typical lunch hours," grab lunch at one of the Harry Potter restaurants - check out the menus to see which fits your liking better.

Once your train ride ends in Hogsmeade, you can explore the stores and ride Forbidden Journey. I would skip Flight of the Hippogriff since you have limited time - it's a small kiddie coaster. Go through the whole line for FJ, again you can take anything in your pockets (lots of neat things in line for photos). FJ also has a pretty efficient single rider line, so you may want to spend another 10min on a second ride. NOTE FJ can be nauseating to those prone to motion sickness. Sometime early/mid afternoon is about the best time for Hagrids if you aren't early entry and you don't want to chance waiting until right before park close. You'll still probably wait an hour+ in line, but most of it is in AC, it's all themed, and you can sip a Butterbeer while you wait.

For the spells in Hogsmeade, the best time to do those is after park close. You can continue to hang out in Hogsmeade until all the riders are off Hagrids, which is usually a good hour. Hopefully they'll have the nighttime show on the castle by this time also. If they do, skip at least the first 2 shows. They'll be crowded. The show repeats every 20min until park close (and sometimes after). The later shows will be much less busy. Alternatively, you can hop in line for Hagrids again right before park close, and just watch one of the Hogwarts light shows first.

If you have extra time in Islands of Adventure, Jurassic Park River Adventure is a great ride - all real animatronics. You get splashed but not super wet. The other 2 water rides will get you absolutely soaked. I like Kong also - I know lots of people aren't as keen on it - and Spiderman. Spiderman is the same ride system as Transformers. Hulk is just your typical coaster. Velocicoaster, while really fun, can be a time suck and frankly isn't super reliable. It's themed and such but not an immersive story like Hagrids.

For a different plan, you could also ride Hogwarts Express over to Islands fairly early in the morning, as soon as you finish Diagon Alley, do some stuff at Islands, and then ride the Hogwarts Express back to Studios. It's a different experience on the way back, but not really a must-do to experience both ways. Anywho, once you're back in Studios you could then take your time doing the various rides/shows, then wander your way back to Islands to finish out the day at Hogsmeade doing spells and maybe a last ride on Hagrids. As you wander back, you could grab a meal at Toothsome or elsewhere in CityWalk (time permitting). Then head back up the left hand side of Islands which would take you past Hulk, Spiderman, Toon Lagoon, Kong, and Jurassic Park on your way back to Hogsmeade. Pick and choose rides as you go. How much time you'll have really depends on how busy the day is.

Hope you enjoyed my novel ;)

Somewhere on this board, there's also a big post of all the things Wizarding related in the parks, lots of little secrets.
 
I didn’t see it mentioned though I may have missed it but you must have park to park tickets to ride the hogwarts express and go to the other harry potter land.
 
I’d certainly agree with all the previous advice and a couple small things.
1) They sell interactive and for a bit cheaper non-interactive wands which look very similar. To do the spells you need an interactive wand.
2) Every 10mins or so the dragon on top of Gringott’s bank blows fire, very cool to see and a great picture
3) When you ride Hogwarts Express from Universal Studios and heading to Islands of Adventure, there is a place in line where you disappear into the brick wall at platform 9 3/4. One person hangs back just a bit to see the visual effect of their party disappearing (and takes a picture). It’s kinds easy to miss if no one in line ahead of you is acting it out, but it’s fun.

Hope you have a great time.
 













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