Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[tea pot]

Hey! I was wondering if i should be worried about crowds in the beginning of december? i know disney will be having pop warner, are those crowds going to migrate to IOA/US. Im wondering if we should add extra nights at our disney hotel or book at universal to take advantage of early entry?
Thanks in advance

Thanks I had the same question.
We are staying in Disney the first week of Dec. 12/2-12/9 that's a
Friday -Friday and hope to drive over to visit on 2 separate days.
Any guess how the crowds will be around that time?

 

[Metro West]

Thanks I had the same question.
We are staying in Disney the first week of Dec. 12/2-12/9 that's a
Friday -Friday and hope to drive over to visit on 2 separate days.
Any guess how the crowds will be around that time?

Early December is not usually busy so staying onsite is not really necessary. If you are a huge Potter fan and think early entry would be valuable for you, go for it.

 

[lborne]

We will be there this Monday, May 16. The cost for the express pass that day is $19.99 which is not the cheapest, but hopefully indicates it will not be too crowded.

Can anyone with experience tell me if they think they will be handing out return passes or not? When we arrive, should we go through Tool Lagoon, or direct through Suess land to get to WWOHP?

 

[Coach81]

We will be there this Monday, May 16. The cost for the express pass that day is $19.99 which is not the cheapest, but hopefully indicates it will not be too crowded.

Can anyone with experience tell me if they think they will be handing out return passes or not? When we arrive, should we go through Tool Lagoon, or direct through Suess land to get to WWOHP?

Hello fellow cajun.... your family ready for the flood???

 

[tea pot]

Early December is not usually busy so staying onsite is not really necessary. If you are a huge Potter fan and think early entry would be valuable for you, go for it.

Thanks a Bunch
That's what I was hoping to hear.

 

[mom2rtk]

Howdy!

This is foreign territory for me........ I haven't been to US since 04. But my 10 year old is a big HP fan, and I'm afraid I've been neglecting her HP education by keeping her only at Disney!

I too am interested in feedback for December. We're looking at being there the 10th to the 18th or so. We won't be staying at US. What is the outlook for crowds during this time? Are certain days of the week likely to be better than others?

 

[mesaboy2]

Howdy!

This is foreign territory for me........ I haven't been to US since 04. But my 10 year old is a big HP fan, and I'm afraid I've been neglecting her HP education by keeping her only at Disney!

I too am interested in feedback for December. We're looking at being there the 10th to the 18th or so. We won't be staying at US. What is the outlook for crowds during this time? Are certain days of the week likely to be better than others?

I was there on a Thursday the first week of December last year. Crowds were very light. General rule of thumb is that Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday are light while Friday, Saturday, and Monday are heavier.

Feel free to PM me if you want to pelt me with questions--I went to the dark side this past year!

 

[iwish81792]

Hey guys. I was wondering if during the weekend of October 15th it would be better to go to the Studios on Saturday or Sunday. I know Halloween Horror Nights happen on Saturdays which close the park down early but do they happen on Sundays? We're giving ourselves the weekend to do Universal and IoA and trying to figure out which is better to do on which day is getting complicated. Thanks!

 

[CheapMom]

During Sunday brunch, a lady at the next table recommended visiting WWHOP about an hour or two before closing to avoid lines.

My guess is that the lines are longest in the morning and early afternoon. All those who really want to see WWHOP will get in line then.

I completely agree with this- we were there at a very busy time- Spring Break- and crowds start to thin out after dinner and were pretty short by 8pm. We were there 3 different days during Spring Break and found this to be the case all 3 days.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was there on a Thursday the first week of December last year. Crowds were very light. General rule of thumb is that Sunday and Tuesday through Thursday are light while Friday, Saturday, and Monday are heavier.

Feel free to PM me if you want to pelt me with questions--I went to the dark side this past year!

Thanks Mesaboy! When we get settled with a plan, if it looks like we can do it, I'll send you a PM.

 

[keara507]

I'm going this friday 5/20 and I can't wait!!

Are cameras pretty much impossible in the forbidden journey ride? Curious if there are any no-cameras-allowed portions of the Harry Potter section of the park.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm going this friday 5/20 and I can't wait!!

Are cameras pretty much impossible in the forbidden journey ride? Curious if there are any no-cameras-allowed portions of the Harry Potter section of the park.

Cameras are fine just about anywhere but the rides. They won't let you have any loose articles, including cameras, on Forbidden Journey or Dragon Challenge. I have been able to first-person video DD7's experience on Flight of the Hippogriff however, with TMs blessings. Not sure if they still allow that.

Oh, and

 

[keara507]

thanks!

thats too bad about FJ, was really hoping to get some pictures of inside the castle.

 

[mesaboy2]

thanks!

thats too bad about FJ, was really hoping to get some pictures of inside the castle.

Well, that's a different thing. They won't let you have cameras on FJ the ride, but you can take pictures of the castle, inside and out. Ask for the Castle Tour queue and you can take whatever pictures you want for as long as you want--you just will have to exit the castle without riding at the end.

 

[MrShiny]

Yes, you can take pitures or video (without lighting of course) to your heart's content in the castle. I think the restriction on the ride is just about loose articles flying off and gumming up the works more than the photography.

Note that light levels are low in the castle, and it is pretty hard to get a convince picture of the moving portraits. The moving and non-moving portraits which are very hard to distonguish with the eye look completely different on camera in my experience.

If it is busy, they will rush you through the castle much quicker than you might like, but there is plenty to notice on subsequent trips!

 

[macraven]

Hey guys. I was wondering if during the weekend of October 15th it would be better to go to the Studios on Saturday or Sunday. I know Halloween Horror Nights happen on Saturdays which close the park down early but do they happen on Sundays? We're giving ourselves the weekend to do Universal and IoA and trying to figure out which is better to do on which day is getting complicated. Thanks!

HHN will be on wed, thur, fri, sat and sun that week of the 11th.
if hell week falls on that week for wed & thurs, you can bet it will be crowded in the daytime.
(I"ll be leaving right before that in order to miss the hell week if it occurs that week.)

the Studios will close at 5:00 on the days it holds HHN.

If you go to the Studios on a Sunday, the park will start to gain crowds around 3ish.
Peeps that are going to HHN, usually like to arrive early in order to catch some of the rides before the park closes.

i have always found that Sundays are lighter than Saturdays.

 

[Rags]

I'm coming in the Sunday before Labor Day. How crowded will be on that Sunday and Monday? Can't wait!!!!

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm coming in the Sunday before Labor Day. How crowded will be on that Sunday and Monday? Can't wait!!!!

Shouldn't be too bad. My understanding is that Labor Day doesn't impact crowds much, which is why I'll be there that same weekend.

 

[Travel Mum]

Just had a look at this thread for the first time and started with the last page. OMG, feeling sick, cause I have never heard of "hell week" and still don't know what it is except that it sounds like I might have planned our once in lifetime visit to Universal/IOA to be at the same time Gosh, it had never occured to me that Universal/IOA might be crowded mid-week 11-14 October!!! We will be doing Universal one day and IOA the next day (as we will stay onsite for one night to get Express passes to both parks) and it will either be Tues 11 and Wed 12 Oct or Wed 12 and Thu 13 Oct. We could instead go on Sunday 9 October or Monday 10th October but I thought I'd better steer clear of those days considering they are on a holiday weekend and presumed THEY would be busy. What should I do? Please advise

 

[Travel Mum]

Oops, see that this thread is a sticky that I should only be posting about WWHP queues so I will post my query on the main board.