Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[damo]

We will be at the RPR on 8/1. We've never been to IOA. How do we know what line to stand in since we are on site? I feel a little panicky about it. If I am able to get my family up that early, it surely will not be a good thing if I direct them into the wrong line. HELP!!

There are employees there for you to ask. Don't worry about it!

 

[bubba's mom]

We will be at the RPR on 8/1. We've never been to IOA. How do we know what line to stand in since we are on site? I feel a little panicky about it. If I am able to get my family up that early, it surely will not be a good thing if I direct them into the wrong line. HELP!!

agree...you will know where to go...they won't let you go the wrong way

 

[hpchicgeek]

Headed to Universal for the first time on Sunday and staying for a week and I'm trying to figure out an itinerary. The main reason we are going is for Harry Potter. Of course we want to see everything else (in both parks) as well, but I'm less concerned and more going to play it by ear with those attractions.

We are staying on-site at RPR and I've been reading and I believe there is pretty much a consensus that we should be leave and be in line for the park by 7am...correct? We are going to to to IOA on Monday and Friday...so those will be the days that we wake up early! Our first stop on both days is going to be Ollivander's, trying to get in the first, if not second show. Then FJ and the shops and other coasters. Leave by noon and come back at 7-8pm to enjoy the night in Hogsmeade. Does this sound feasible?

On Friday we have the reservations at the Three Broomsticks for 930. For those who have been...is there enough time to do Ollivander's and FJ before breakfast...or will that be pushing it?

 

[bubba's mom]

We are staying on-site at RPR and I've been reading and I believe there is pretty much a consensus that we should be leave and be in line for the park by 7am...correct? We are going to to to IOA on Monday and Friday...so those will be the days that we wake up early! Our first stop on both days is going to be Ollivander's, trying to get in the first, if not second show. Then FJ and the shops and other coasters. Leave by noon and come back at 7-8pm to enjoy the night in Hogsmeade. Does this sound feasible?

Yes...as long as you are at turnstiles by 7am.

On Friday we have the reservations at the Three Broomsticks for 930. For those who have been...is there enough time to do Ollivander's and FJ before breakfast...or will that be pushing it?

You should be able to do both...especially if you are there by 7, and catch one of the first few shows for Ollivanders...if the crowds aren't bad. The 2nd day we went, we were 2nd show for Ollivanders (our first stop) and because post time for FJ was 10min, we went thru that. Almost walk on.

Just depends on how early you get there and how crowded it is that day.

 

[ZYanksRule]

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I agree....go early if you want to be in Harry's world...sleep in if you could care less. (unless you want to ride DC & FOTH...then you can't even get those rides )[/COLOR][/SIZE]

I was at US/IOA for three days this week, never stepped foot inside Potterville, and had a fantastic time. I used an Express pass, but never felt rushed at all. Actually spent almost an hour each day at the Mystic Fountain, did rides multiple times, etc. Don't let Potter scare you away if you don't want to go to Potter.

That being said, I looked into the Potter land a couple times in the middle of the day, and it looked like wall-to-wall people. So, if you are going to Potter, good luck.

 

[Dizney_Mike]

My neice and I went in June. The crowd was unbelievable. I am not going to step foot in there until the crowds go down. I was disappointed though I couldn't ride the main ride. I forget the name of it as it was int he castle. I got to go in until I got to the exit where the CM said it was time to leave. If you have a large stomach you have to sit in the test chairs. My stomach is not that big but I have a gut and I couldn't fit. So I didn't get to ride. But I rode the Hulk rollercoaster and several other rides that I could fit in. Just that one ride and how the ride was designed. my neice loved it though. Also that ride you could not use fast pass which was a bummer but oh well. While I was waiting for m neice I had a butterybeer or whatever it was called. Lots of foam and for being called cold it wasn't cold. I should have asked for it frozen. We bought fast passes that day and were done riding all the major attractions by 2PM and we arrived after park opening.

 

[atricks]

I went over yesterday for a little bit, and the big Harry Potter convention "Infinitus" is going on, and boy could you tell.

I got caught in between two "houses" having a match, and there were like 50 people on each side all in costume that were there for the convention. In fact there were so many people in costume there it was hard to tell who was a team member.

I escaped out to go to the Discovery Center, and it's amazing how Jurassic Park discovery center looks more like a Potter refugee camp than anything else. (Gotta love a big open area with AC)

That convention runs today and tomorrow, if anyone is going this weekend just the shear mass of costumes and lookalikes is a sight to see.

 

[Kennywife]

We're going Oct. 29....should we be preparing ourselves for a long wait....it is Halloween week after all.

Anna

 

[bubba's mom]

I went over yesterday for a little bit, and the big Harry Potter convention "Infinitus" is going on, and boy could you tell.

In fact there were so many people in costume there it was hard to tell who was a team member.

NO KIDDING!! Those convention people are MORE in costume than the TM's!

 

[hpchicgeek]

Haha I consider myself a Potterhead...but let's just say...I'm glad I'm getting there on Sunday afternoon...hopefully the masses will have cleared out...

 

[black562]

We're going down the last day of August and staying at the Hilton Garden Inn with a package....so we WILL get early access. Has anyone else done an offsite package with early access and has any advice to share? We will be driving in to the parking garage so I guess they will open early enough, but the consensus I'm hearing is to be at the gates an hour early?

 

[Puffy2]

So, if park opeing is at 9am , what time are they letting in OnSite guests?

I thought it was 8am...

If we arrive by 7am, won't we have to stand there an hour anyway?

We were planning on arriving about 7:30am - not early enough???

 

[justprettynpink]

So, if park opeing is at 9am , what time are they letting in OnSite guests?

I thought it was 8am...

If we arrive by 7am, won't we have to stand there an hour anyway?

We were planning on arriving about 7:30am - not early enough???

The week of the 4th of July, they opened the gates at 7:25 and WWoHP was open for onsite guests at that time...

 

[JulieWent]

So, if park opeing is at 9am , what time are they letting in OnSite guests?

I thought it was 8am...

If we arrive by 7am, won't we have to stand there an hour anyway?

We were planning on arriving about 7:30am - not early enough???

We just returned today. We were on-site and went to early entry Thursday and Friday mornings. Thursday, we started walking towards the gate from Royal Pacific at 7:05 and were at the gates at 7:15. Within ten minutes, the gates had opened, and we went straight to FJ. Friday, we used a similar time frame. They opened the gates a few minutes later -- closer to 7:30, but we were definitely already on FJ by 8:00. I heard people who hadn't arrived until 8:00 complaining that they hadn't known to get there early.

Because the finger scans sometimes take a few minutes and because it takes a few minutes to get through the gates for various other reasons, it just makes sense to plan to try to be fairly near the gates when they open if you can be.

Julie

 

[Spidered7]

I went to the Wizarding World for the first time today and was surprised with the crowds...

I got there at 9:30 and the Wizarding World was already packed. We walked in through the Lost Continent area and found out HP was closed off. They walked us over to Jurassic Park, where my girlfriend and me got two orange tickets to get in HP. We walked BACK to Lost Continent, where we were instantly allowed into HP. I thought this was a waste of going back and forth, but we got in and I was happy with that.

Forbidden Journey had a 60 minute queue in the morning. It zig zagged outside in a curious fashion, so a whole lot of guests accidentally(or purposefully) skipped several people every few seconds, and there was no crowd control in the area. Even after we got in the castle - there's the queue to the right of a narrow hallway and an empty queue-looking area to the left - a lady and two children went from the queue to the unused queue-like area and began darting down the line. No one stopped her and no one said anything. I was pretty upset, but the ride was incredible. Unfortunately, crowds didn't ease up - the queue got progressively longer throughout the day, culminating in a 90 minute wait at 7pm.

Dragon Challenge stayed at a consistent 35-60 minutes wait time, but I realized the dragons don't duel any more. I was really disappointed with the queue, as it's very forced. There's not much story to it at all, and with the queue being as long and narrow as it is, this made the wait feel much longer.

Olivanders was packed the whole day. With 90 degree weather, I had no idea where people got the patience to wait outside for hours on end. Didn't even bother with this one.

Butter Beer was fantastic though! The Potter area was great, but the FJ showbuilding coming out in plain sight is a HUGE distraction. If you're walking from Jurassic Park, you'll see a gigantic warehouse - and Hogwarts peaking behind it. Really, really weak.

The rest of the park was packed too. The longest line I waited was for Spider-Man, which was 75 minutes. Dudley Do Right had the longest line in the park today - 120 minutes.

 

[bubba's mom]

Just to clarify, we rode Dragons Thursday and they were dueling.

Sometimes they get outta sync...which sux.

 

[Spidered7]

Just to clarify, we rode Dragons Thursday and they were dueling.

Sometimes they get outta sync...which sux.

Hm, weird. When we got on the queue, the dragons were entirely out of sync. When we got in the station, they were a few seconds apart. Then, when we got on the ride, the dragons were finally completely synced - until we reached the end of the lift hill. The Fireball continued to go but us on the Horntail were stuck 120 feet in the air for a couple of minutes. It seemed as if they were purposefully avoiding dueling.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but does anyone whose been already have any crowd predictions for Sept? We'll be at PBH Thurs 9/9 to Sun. 9/12. Hoping to get an early park entry that Fri. Luckily our kids get 2 days off school that week.
We figured a weekday in Sept has to be one of the least crowded days possible. I can only hope the lines are nothing like photos I'm seeing. Dh would leave and go to US for the day.

Time will tell....

 

[nmartin]

I assume the Dueling Dragon ride no longer has FOTL?

 

[EEyorelover22]

I assume the Dueling Dragon ride no longer has FOTL?

I never found that out and we were just there. The wait was never longer than 10 minutes though so it didn't matter. Even when it was packed, there was no wait.

Even if you don't ride, you should walk through...my kids said there are some neat things to see if you are Potter Fans.

Just asked my son: He said it did, but had to really think about it as they didn't use it.