Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[heidijanesmith]

For onsite guests, what time is the WWHP opening up? Is it still one hour before official park open? Earlier this week they were opening closer to 2 hours before.

Just curious when I should plan to line up if I'm staying on-site - we are there soon!

Same question for me?? We are staying on site and have never been to IoA before. We are super excited for WWoHP

 

[cigar95]

. . . . . And unless you're having a character breakfast with anonymous students or holograms (which could be quite neat!), I don't think it's going to happen as per Universal's contract with JK Rowling.

Understood. And that's where I'm looking at the term "future contract re-negotiations." Then again, I don't know how long the initial contract runs.

 

[cdoles]

The turnstiles have been opening around 8:00 AM so you can usually enter around that time and get in line. Yesterday, I entered IOA at 8:30 AM and headed for the line. It was continually moving even at 8:30 AM. We rode Forbidden Journey around 10:00 AM.

so even though, i'm staying offsite, i can still get into the park at 8 to get in line for WWoHP. is that correct? i just want to make sure.

 

[hmmerr02]

Same question for me?? We are staying on site and have never been to IoA before. We are super excited for WWoHP

We, too, have an onsite reservation for July 2. We are seriously considering cancelling and heading over to Disney instead, but I really want to see WWOHP.

Could someone ONSITE in the last couple of days tell us what to expect? When should we line up and where?
Will we get in ahead of the offsite guests?
Are there any front of the line passes for FJ?
How much would you anticipate us getting done before it all "breaks loose into chaos?

I'd REALLY appreicate tips....I have to cancel within the next 48 hours if I'm going to get our $$$ back. Thanks!

 

[TraceyL]

We, too, have an onsite reservation for July 2. We are seriously considering cancelling and heading over to Disney instead, but I really want to see WWOHP.

Could someone ONSITE in the last couple of days tell us what to expect? When should we line up and where?
Will we get in ahead of the offsite guests?
Are there any front of the line passes for FJ?
How much would you anticipate us getting done before it all "breaks loose into chaos?

I'd REALLY appreicate tips....I have to cancel within the next 48 hours if I'm going to get our $$$ back. Thanks!

Phamton has posted some reviews here

 

[Dicecatt]

I have been watching the onsite questions...I will be there on Saturday, and will be staying onsite...I WILL be updating those of you that are inquiring about that...I wish for myself I had those answers now. We won't be there super early on Saturday so I'm not sure if we'll try to do Harry (that sounds bad, doesn't it). If we do, it will be later. But we'll definitely be doing at least one or two early mornings next week so I'll keep you all updated on how it is working with the onsite process.

 

[chbc]

What are the crowds lines like for Christmas Day and the weeks before and after the holidays.
:debswalk:

 

[gottaluvpooh]

bump

 

[Lou Holtz]

What are the crowds lines like for Christmas Day and the weeks before and after the holidays.
:debswalk:

Complete hell. It's the most crowded time to go. But at least it won't be too hot.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Phamton has posted some reviews here

I think the reviews were from an off site perspective, could be wrong though. I am still looking for an onsite perspective....crowds, timing, touring any tips

 

[heidijanesmith]

I have been watching the onsite questions...I will be there on Saturday, and will be staying onsite...I WILL be updating those of you that are inquiring about that...I wish for myself I had those answers now. We won't be there super early on Saturday so I'm not sure if we'll try to do Harry (that sounds bad, doesn't it). If we do, it will be later. But we'll definitely be doing at least one or two early mornings next week so I'll keep you all updated on how it is working with the onsite process.

I would really appreciate it

 

[hpfan100]

hey everyone went to potterville again today

I parked around 8:00, line to get in was about 1.5 hours again, I rode other things and then went into WWofHP at 11ish. I got a butterbeer from a cart not the red wagon with no wait!!! I got in line for Ollivanders and it took over an hour to get but I felt it was worth it. I chatted with the nice people around me and drank my fabulous butterbeer. Line for FJ was posting 90 minutes pretty much all morning and afternoon. I spent most of today wondering and taking photos. I even got to watch the frog choir and some of the dancers. I have one day left and hope to find even more secrets to share with everyone.

 

[Larrabe]

hey everyone went to potterville again today

I parked around 8:00, line to get in was about 1.5 hours again, I rode other things and then went into WWofHP at 11ish. I got a butterbeer from a cart not the red wagon with no wait!!! I got in line for Ollivanders and it took over an hour to get but I felt it was worth it. I chatted with the nice people around me and drank my fabulous butterbeer. Line for FJ was posting 90 minutes pretty much all morning and afternoon. I spent most of today wondering and taking photos. I even got to watch the frog choir and some of the dancers. I have one day left and hope to find even more secrets to share with everyone.

You sound like my kind of person! Meeting and chatting with different folks can make waiting in line its own adventure. Lemonaide from lemons, and all. Have fun tomorrow and be sure to share those juicy secrets!

 

[torinsmom]

Just got back from IOA. Got there right around 5:15pm and there was NO LINE to get into WWOHP. We just walked right on in. The line for FJ was listed as 90 minutes, but we used the single rider line and were done in about 20 minutes tops. It was AMAZING! We went on FH and the wait was 20 minutes(stand by). Fun, but it is over way too quick! Dragon Challenge was listed as a 20 minute wait, but neither of us wanted to do that. We stood in line for 15 minutes to get butter beer, and sadly the frozen was not working when we got up there. Lines for all the shops were pretty long, so we didn't bother. Neither of us is a big HP fan, so that wasn't a big deal.

I would definitely say to wait until later in the day if you are staying offsite.

Marsha

 

[clever girl]

We went today, Wednesday, June 23rd. We're staying off-site with the Harry Potter Package.

I had our cab pick us up early and it arrived at 6:50 a.m. We didn't wait in line for security at all and walked right up to the turnstiles. We showed our ticket verifying the Harry Potter Package and were directed to the right, to Seuss Landing. We were about 10 yards from the Lost Continent when we reached the end of the queue. The time we hit the queue was 7:18.

At around 7:40, the queue started moving and we made it into Hogsmede, no trouble at all. We stopped for photographs at the Hogwarts Express, and then went on to Olivanders, where we waited around 15 minutes. We took quite a while in the Owl Post and Dervish & Banges, then went on to Honeydukes and Zonkos before heading up toward the castle. The queue time read 30 minutes, and at that point it was 8:30. My daughter and I went through the queue only, and after elbowing out of Filch's, it was 9:05, and we went off to our breakfast at the Three Broomsticks.

We finished up around 10:15 (made out our post cards while seated), and posted our postcards at the Owl Post. By that time, it was starting to get really crowded. We went on the Flight of the Hippogrif, then elbowed our way back into Filch's and got more swag.

We left the park and headed toward the Lost Continent around 10:45. By that time, the line to get into Hogsmede was winding around through the Lost Continent.

My observations and recommendations:
Do Olivander's first. If we hadn't stopped for pictures, we would probably have been in the first group.

Get all of your shopping done before the general public is let in. You can't do package delivery from anywhere inside WWOHP, but you can take it to another store in another island and they will deliver it for you.

Get butterbeer before the GP is let in. The only reason we're getting up early tomorrow morning and going back is because this was one thing we forgot to get.

Get the express pass. I bought it for one day. We were there for 11 hours and pretty much walked into the loading area of each ride we went on. I can't imagine what it would have been like without it.

Keep up with these boards. If I had not been, I would have been shocked, stunned, and pretty aggravated. Because I did, everything went pretty much as I had expected it to.

 

[justprettynpink]

We went today, Wednesday, June 23rd. We're staying off-site with the Harry Potter Package.

I had our cab pick us up early and it arrived at 6:50 a.m. We didn't wait in line for security at all and walked right up to the turnstiles. We showed our ticket verifying the Harry Potter Package and were directed to the right, to Seuss Landing. We were about 10 yards from the Lost Continent when we reached the end of the queue. The time we hit the queue was 7:18.

At around 7:40, the queue started moving and we made it into Hogsmede, no trouble at all. We stopped for photographs at the Hogwarts Express, and then went on to Olivanders, where we waited around 15 minutes. We took quite a while in the Owl Post and Dervish & Banges, then went on to Honeydukes and Zonkos before heading up toward the castle. The queue time read 30 minutes, and at that point it was 8:30. My daughter and I went through the queue only, and after elbowing out of Filch's, it was 9:05, and we went off to our breakfast at the Three Broomsticks.

We finished up around 10:15 (made out our post cards while seated), and posted our postcards at the Owl Post. By that time, it was starting to get really crowded. We went on the Flight of the Hippogrif, then elbowed our way back into Filch's and got more swag.

We left the park and headed toward the Lost Continent around 10:45. By that time, the line to get into Hogsmede was winding around through the Lost Continent.

My observations and recommendations:
Do Olivander's first. If we hadn't stopped for pictures, we would probably have been in the first group.

Get all of your shopping done before the general public is let in. You can't do package delivery from anywhere inside WWOHP, but you can take it to another store in another island and they will deliver it for you.

Get butterbeer before the GP is let in. The only reason we're getting up early tomorrow morning and going back is because this was one thing we forgot to get.

Get the express pass. I bought it for one day. We were there for 11 hours and pretty much walked into the loading area of each ride we went on. I can't imagine what it would have been like without it.

Keep up with these boards. If I had not been, I would have been shocked, stunned, and pretty aggravated. Because I did, everything went pretty much as I had expected it to.

Thanks for letting us know about your early entry experience!

 

[cdoles]

so even though, i'm staying offsite, i can still get into the park at 8 to get in line for WWoHP. is that correct? i just want to make sure.

just want to bump this post, i'm still looking for an answer.

 

[Purseval]

Great detail, Clevergirl. We will be going in a couple of weeks, first trying to get in from offsite then staying onsite then offsite again. We should have plenty of trip times, I'll have a little notebook to record wait times.

 

[phamton]

just want to bump this post, i'm still looking for an answer.

I thought for sure I had answered this but maybe it was another thread. The turnstiles have been opening around 8:00 AM. So you will be able to get into the park around that time and then get in line for Harry Potter. I went yesterday and arrived at 8:30 AM and went immediately to get in line. It took us about an hour to get into the Harry potter area and then around 45 minutes in line for Forbidden Journey. If we had arrived earlier, the wait would not have been as long. (I'm a local so I don't stay onsite since I live here.) Good Luck!

 

[Skuba2]

We are back from the weekend's events. We stayed onsite and were at the parks Friday thru Monday. The lines are crazy. We went Sunday after the daily afternoon thunderstorm cleared everything out. We decided to try and get in to HP. We walked right in which kind of shocked me. I stopped and looked around for any angry people I just skipped the line and there weren't any. But, there is a line for EVERYTHING in the section. We bought our wands at a cart located outside the shop and there is another one parked by the Forbidden Journey ride. The shortest line was for the little roller coaster. There is a Front of line pass for the hippogriff--hotel guests get unlimited and FOL pass purchased get one trip through then they use the regular line. We did go again Monday morning and had to stay in the hotel guest line. We joined the boat line at 7:30 and got to the hotel line at 8 am. Everyone was getting in the park but hotel guests had their own line to the right going thru Dr. Seuss land while the non-hotel guests' line was to the left side of the park. Hotel guests have to have a key for each person. I believe the non-hotel guests need to obtain a yellow ticket at the beginning of the line to avoid the line jumpers. Get the the front of the line without a ticket and you don't get in. That may go away as the line gets shorter.

The FJ line can be 2 hours. If you can stand it, do it. The ride is excellent and the line is in constant motion which is great. We waited an hour each time and our time came within 5 minutes of the posted sign. Bring your camera with you and fanny packs are also ok on the ride. You will want the camera in the castle as it is too dark for most older phones to take pics. They will make you locker anything else. Have one person in your party stay in line to hold your place. The ride also says no recent surgeries, no casts and no prosthetic limbs---you are suppose to ask a crew member for assistance in removing. That was one I had never seen before.

Olivander has two lines---one for the wand experience and one just to get in the store. Both long.

The candy store had a long line as well and from what I hear people came out commenting on how expensive everything was.

Butterbeer has two lines. $10 for a souvenier (sp?) cup and it comes frozen (no foam) and non-frozen with foam. Tastes like root beer with butterscotch. Very sweet. We bought one and shared.

My kids enjoyed their limited experience in HP and know that in a few years we will go back and they have something to look forward to in the shops. You just have to find your balance between what your time is worth---standing in line or hitting other rides.

DG