Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[goofyredraider]

Based on those choices, yes. Also, any Wednesday should be less crazy than Friday, even in the middle of peak season.



Early morning and near close are the best times to go crowd-wise for sure. There are pros and cons to each:

- Evening has a great atmosphere and cool lighting, but you're setting yourself up for a limited time in the area. Also no guarantee you could walk right in without having to wait.

- Morning assures you all the time you need, but it will be hot already and the crowds will be large. Still better than midday though.

I can't make the decision for you. Good luck and have fun whatever you decide!

Great! I appreciate your feedback. I think we will try right when we get to the park and then again before we leave that evening. The ambiance at night might be really cool!

One other question if you don't mind - regarding the bag issue. Are there lockers there, or should we just plan on doing the "child swap" line (I think there is one) so id doesn't become an issue?

 

[mesaboy2]

Great! I appreciate your feedback. I think we will try right when we get to the park and then again before we leave that evening. The ambiance at night might be really cool!

One other question if you don't mind - regarding the bag issue. Are there lockers there, or should we just plan on doing the "child swap" line (I think there is one) so id doesn't become an issue?

There are lockers for Dragon Challenge and for Forbidden Journey. They are free for a time tied to the wait time expected for their respective ride. The locker line for FJ is long, but you can skip it if you're doing the child-swap thing.

There isn't a child-swap queue. In addition to the main queue, which has all the bells and whistles, there is:

- The single rider queue, which is pretty quick but misses almost the entire main queue.
- The castle tour queue, which let's you see most of the cool parts of the main queue, but without the option to ride FJ at the end.

You are likely to be able to do both of these queues in much less time than the main queue once.

 

[kingken]

hi all
on the locker issue, does anyone know if there are lockers at the front of IOA althoughi have been a couple years ago i cant remember, does'nt matter if free or not just think it might be a better bet to leave the wifes bag there than the crazy lines at FJ, thanks

 

[Brandis]

Why not just travelling light and leave the bag at the hotel or in the car (if it doesn't contain any valuables).

 

[19lottie82]

I went to IoA on Sunday 12th June and US on Friday 17th of June, both days around 4pm. On arrival all the ques were maximum (Forbidden Journey) 30 minutes and by 7pm were about 10 minutes. Single rider ques were basically just walk on. US was very very quiet, even at 4pm, 15 mins ques maximum. Pleasantly surprised!

 

[Harry Potter]

Yesterday, June 22, queues were very high for all of the park. Forbidden Journey reached an hour by I think 10-11am and was still at 55 minutes by 7pm. At one time around midafternoon it reached 115 minutes.

Midafternoon, each of the three water rides were above an hour, with Ripsaw Falls hitting 75 minutes. That does seem to be the most popular of the wate rides for some reason. Maybe people think Popeye gets you TOO wet?

 

[damo]

Yesterday, June 22, queues were very high for all of the park. Forbidden Journey reached an hour by I think 10-11am and was still at 55 minutes by 7pm. At one time around midafternoon it reached 115 minutes.

Midafternoon, each of the three water rides were above an hour, with Ripsaw Falls hitting 75 minutes. That does seem to be the most popular of the wate rides for some reason. Maybe people think Popeye gets you TOO wet?

Sounds like summer crowds have arrived.

 

[Harry Potter]

Sounds like summer crowds have arrived.

As I write this now, BEFORE 9AM Orlando time, the line for FJ is already at 100 minutes this morning.

Possibly Deathly Hallows Part 2 Fever is building up already?

All other lines are ok, as you would expect for this early, but FJ is so popular.

 

[damo]

As I write this now, BEFORE 9AM Orlando time, the line for FJ is already at 100 minutes.

Then I guess it is official. Summer crowds HAVE arrived!

 

[goofyredraider]

Good to know. I wish we could leave the bag, but unfortunately, with three kiddos...I need "stuff" with me.

And ugh...about the lines already. I guess we'll just make the best out of it.

 

[LGithens]

I am hoping to do a Universal trip (and probably won't be able to help not doing at least one trip over to WDW)

I am flexible. We've only done Universal once, we are kind of Disney snobs. But I want to see the new Harry Potter area, so I want to try to find a time to go when the crowds will be somewhat lighter. We've already got a Disney trip planned for Sept, and could probably run over during that time, but I was thinking of going down in Oct or maybe even November and make it pretty much just a Universal trip.

So any suggestions on a better time to choose and can you give me an idea of how busy the HP area is during these times?

My plan is to read the books, and watch the movies before going. Seriously, I've only read the first one, and never seen any of the movies. But the one of my friends just got back from Universal and her pictures have me motivated to go and experience it for myself!
Lori

 

[mesaboy2]

I am flexible. We've only done Universal once, we are kind of Disney snobs. But I want to see the new Harry Potter area, so I want to try to find a time to go when the crowds will be somewhat lighter. We've already got a Disney trip planned for Sept, and could probably run over during that time, but I was thinking of going down in Oct or maybe even November and make it pretty much just a Universal trip.

So any suggestions on a better time to choose and can you give me an idea of how busy the HP area is during these times?

I would say early October or early November would be best. Try to avoid Columbus Day weekend or Veterans Day weekend. They won't be bad, but they'll be worse than the surrounding days. You really can't go wrong with September either.

WWoHP will always be busy for the foreseeable future, but I doubt you'll have to deal with timed-entry passes to the area during these times, especially if you're there on a weekday.

And I used to be a Disney snob too, but I was cured. I love 'em both!

 

[Danibelle]

I just got back from Orlando and this is what I experienced: IOA opened at 8:00 and I arrived at about 9:00. I went straight to WWOHP and found a 120 min. wait for Forbidden Journey. We decided to go ahead and wait because I was afraid of even longer waits as the day went on. Later in the day, the wait went down to 90 min. Other rides in IOA varied from 10 min. to 65 min. It was very hot and crowded in the park but we still had a great time (although we didn't get on many rides that day). I do recommend visiting WWOHP at least once. The ride is terrific and the theming is picture perfect!

FYI: At 9:00 a.m., we didn't have to deal with the timed entry although CM were counting customers as they entered WWOHP.

 

[Missyrose]

I am hoping to do a Universal trip (and probably won't be able to help not doing at least one trip over to WDW)

I am flexible. We've only done Universal once, we are kind of Disney snobs. But I want to see the new Harry Potter area, so I want to try to find a time to go when the crowds will be somewhat lighter. We've already got a Disney trip planned for Sept, and could probably run over during that time, but I was thinking of going down in Oct or maybe even November and make it pretty much just a Universal trip.

So any suggestions on a better time to choose and can you give me an idea of how busy the HP area is during these times?

My plan is to read the books, and watch the movies before going. Seriously, I've only read the first one, and never seen any of the movies. But the one of my friends just got back from Universal and her pictures have me motivated to go and experience it for myself!
Lori

We went this past October (Oct. 31) and thought the experience was as good as it was going to get for a VERY popular attraction. We got there about a half-hour before the regular opening. They let us in about 10 minutes later and we followed the mini-crowd of people back to WWoHP. We were a group of four adults so we bypassed Olivanders and headed straight for FJ. We stashed our stuff in the lockers just off Filches Emporium (which saved us from standing in the line for lockers at the entrance of FJ). And we were on the ride in less than five minutes. We got off, ran through again in less than 10 minutes. We then did the castle tour to take pictures. We got out and the park had filled considerably. We wandered around for a while, but with the added people it wasn't much fun, so we headed to other parts of IOA with the plan to return to WWoHP that evening. We did return at about 6 (ahead of an 8:00 close) and were able to do FJ and the rest of the rides with no wait (FotHG 3 times) and were able to shop in the nearly empty shops until about an hour after the park closed. All in all, my advice would be to go early to hit the things you REALLY want to do, but save the bul of WWoHP for the evening hours. The bonus is that place is REALLY magical all lit up at night.

 

[macraven]

I am hoping to do a Universal trip (and probably won't be able to help not doing at least one trip over to WDW)

I am flexible. We've only done Universal once, we are kind of Disney snobs. But I want to see the new Harry Potter area, so I want to try to find a time to go when the crowds will be somewhat lighter. We've already got a Disney trip planned for Sept, and could probably run over during that time, but I was thinking of going down in Oct or maybe even November and make it pretty much just a Universal trip.

So any suggestions on a better time to choose and can you give me an idea of how busy the HP area is during these times?


Lori

lori, you can't go wrong in going early november.
if you go the first week, it will be a very low attendance time period.

great rates at the onsite hotels during this time period.

 

[MoonFaerie]

I have 1 more question. We re-worked our plans a little, and we'll be at IOA on Wed. Dec 14. Do you think we'll need the express pass? Their website is showing the pass as only cost $20 for that day, so I assume they don't expect huge crowds. Thoughts?

 

[macraven]

you should be fine for crowds dec 14th.

if you decide you need the epp, buy them that day you are in the park.


if you buy them in advance and change your mind, there are no refunds.


the epp 's are date and park stamped for usage.

 

[dd50]

We went to IOA on Tues and Thursday. On Tuesday we got there about 6:30 and they let us in at 6:45. My kids went on the rides with no problems. At about 7:50 masses of people were coming in.

On Thursday we got there about 7:15 and there was already a 45 minute wait for FJ. They rode single rider.

Both nights that we went back it was still packed with 120 minute waits.

 

[Metro West]

We went to IOA on Tues and Thursday. On Tuesday we got there about 6:30 and they let us in at 6:45. My kids went on the rides with no problems. At about 7:50 masses of people were coming in.

On Thursday we got there about 7:15 and there was already a 45 minute wait for FJ. They rode single rider.

Both nights that we went back it was still packed with 120 minute waits.

Yup...welcome to summer.

 

[FrancieNolan]

We are locals trying to fit in one last night before our black out dates. I'm hopeful that we will be able to experience the entire park HP specifically tomorrow (Sunday) at night to see things lit up, which we haven't done as of yet. Hoping that the usual low crowds we've encountered on Sunday lasts one more day before summer really & truly kicks in