Harry Potter - 1 hour early entry

[Toad_Passenger]

How do they work the 1 hour early entry for HP? Do you go in a specific side (IoA or US-Florida)? Also, we have print at home tickets, do we just show our hotel keys to get in, or are we given some special pass?

We're 99% WDW travelers so the whole Universal thing seems completely foreign compared to the online MDE stuff.

Thanks in advance to the Universal experts!

 

[damo]

You will be told which park and you just show your room keys. Busy dates usually will get Universal for Early Admission. Non busy dates dates will get IOA.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

You will be told which park and you just show your room keys. Busy dates usually will get Universal for Early Admission. Non busy dates dates will get IOA.

Thanks.

It is so different from how used to WDW we are. I can't even find a link to go in and confirm our reservations prior to leaving.

 

[princesskimberella]

Also when doing early entry they kinda herd you into the Harry Potter area. We did IOA early entry and the main gate walk through everyone was being let in however as you kept going most areas were roped off and once we got closer to Suess Land they started checking for room keys.

 

[kip0992]

Sometimes it is both parks, but not often. FYI: if you have park-to-park tickets, take the Hogwarts Express to the other park just before the end of the early hour - you'll beat the masses coming in from the front gate to the other HP section.

 

[macraven]

EE for the hotel guests is great.
there will be a stand up sign showing you which turnstyle you should go through for the hotel guests.
you show your room key to the TM at that entrance and they direct you to the gate line to go to to scan your park pass.

easy peasy.

if guests are let in early before opening/8:00, you are roped off in the front of the park section inside the park.
when the parry hotter section is ready, you are released then walking behind TM's.

this can change based on the number of guests in that area.
a few times i was allowed to proceed 10 minutes before the 8 opening time, some days, had to wait until just about 8.

TM's walk ahead of this group for crowd control.
no running is enforced.

 

[damo]

Thanks.

It is so different from how used to WDW we are. I can't even find a link to go in and confirm our reservations prior to leaving.

You should be able to go to www.loewshotels.com and enter your confirmation number to get your information. You should also get confirmation a few weeks before you go in an additional email.

Who did you book through and is it hotel only or a package?

 

[cyndik1111]

We went last year during president's week. Got to turnstiles at 7:30 for 8 am open. The line was HUGE. They let everyone in around 7:55, followed roped area to HP. The line was already 45 minutes long by the time we walked there, and we walked fast! By the time we finished that one ride, the other park had opened so we couldn't do the train thing to get to the other park ahead of the crowds. Get there early during busy times....in hindsight, we should have got to gate by 7am.

But an FYI- at night, one hour before close, there was almost no line at HP rides (on all 3 nights we were there) and the kids rode over and over. It was so cool in the dark.

 

[jerseygal]

We went last year during president's week. Got to turnstiles at 7:30 for 8 am open. The line was HUGE. They let everyone in around 7:55, followed roped area to HP. The line was already 45 minutes long by the time we walked there, and we walked fast! By the time we finished that one ride, the other park had opened so we couldn't do the train thing to get to the other park ahead of the crowds. Get there early during busy times....in hindsight, we should have got to gate by 7am.

But an FYI- at night, one hour before close, there was almost no line at HP rides (on all 3 nights we were there) and the kids rode over and over. It was so cool in the dark.

So, for a DS who is not a "fan of getting up early", do you recommend just doing the HP rides very late in the evening then? THANKS!

 

[schumigirl]

So, for a DS who is not a "fan of getting up early", do you recommend just doing the HP rides very late in the evening then? THANKS!

It's often much quieter later in the evening before closing........plus if it's dark it looks even more spectacular............so for someone who doesn't like early mornings, it's ideal

 

[macraven]

So, for a DS who is not a "fan of getting up early", do you recommend just doing the HP rides very late in the evening then? THANKS!

late in the evening or near park closing, you will find a shorter wait for the hp rides.
there is one catch though....
if the ride goes down, it possibly won't go back up and will be closed until the next day.

if you are only going for one or two days, you wouldn't have another chance to ride it if it was done before park closing.

i go for a long stay so i don't have that issue but last year i wanted to ride it one more time on my last night there.

it went down with 2 park hours left before closing.
it didn't go back up.

not a heartbreaker as i do make trips to the darkside and will ride it again.

 

[kohlby]

EE for the hotel guests is great.
there will be a stand up sign showing you which turnstyle you should go through for the hotel guests.
you show your room key to the TM at that entrance and they direct you to the gate line to go to to scan your park pass.

easy peasy.

.

We never saw a sign until we were actually in the park for it. There was a sign near the roped off section inside the park. However, several days into our trip, I found a very small piece of paper saying it was IOA. The first day we had it, we just followed the crowd hoping it was the right one. (We were off-site that day but they allowed AP holders to do the early hour on weekdays). The second and third days, we asked the boat driver. (By the 4th day, we noticed the little paper we got on check-in that said it was IOA).

 

[neoavatara]

I was there Christmas week, and both parks got the extra hour early...just FYI.