Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[HelenParr]

Just back from long weekend at WDW. Went to IoA Thursday night to check out HP and FJ. It was very manageable.

Arrived at IoA parking at 6pm. FJ was listed at 90 minutes when we got in line. Ride stopped three times while we were in line (overhead apology comes on) for a few minutes the first two interruptions, third time about 15 minutes, but we were still OUT of the ride in 75 minutes total. Yea! Loved the ride. Less intense than I was thinking -- but still great. For those who partake of potent potables, there is a beer and soda cart near where the line begins as you pre-queue to the greenhouse. Cold beer on a hot July evening made the line wait more fun.

Hippogriff and Dragons were walk on by 8:30. Ollivander's line was sooooo long, we skipped it. The whole area was awesome at night!

 

[WambaWanda]

Same with us! ARe you staying on site? or off?

We are staying at Sheraton Resorts, but with everyone saying how you just have to stay on site, I'm wondering if I should for one night. It's a real budget buster, and if it ends up having been unnecessary, I will be very unhappy.

So I keep jumping to this thread hoping to read that the lines have virtually disappeared. Now "that" would be magic!

We stayed off site last weekend (July 23-25) and never went into WWOHP until 3pm each day. We never had to wait in a line to get into the HP world and we slept in each day. We were able to do everything in HP on that first afternoon/night (Fri).

We went back to do our HP favorites the next afternoon and night as well. We did stand in line for an hour and 5 min for Ollivanders, but it was in the evening and we were not in the sun. It was crowded, but we still had fun. We waited until late at night to go into the shops...the lines were short or there were no lines. It was still crowded in the stores while we shopped though.

I think staying off site was a great choice for us. We have teenagers who like to sleep in and we still did all the rides in HP and all the rides they wanted to do in IOA and Studios. We were finished with both parks by closing on Sat night and enjoyed our off site resort all day Sun. We even had dinner and walked around Downtown Disney Sun night to get our Disney fix before we left on Monday.

 

[mm42197]

We never had to wait in a line to get into the HP world and we slept in each day. We were able to do everything in HP on that first afternoon/night (Fri).

hmmm? sounds so tempting to sleep in , but I wonder how this would work out once they change the hours to an earlier closing time? The park closes 2hrs earlier when I am going. I think I'm just not going to risk it. I only have one day and want to see everything (in WWoHP). Sounds like you had a great trip thx for sharing!

 

[mylloh]

We stayed off site last weekend (July 23-25) and never went into WWOHP until 3pm each day. We never had to wait in a line to get into the HP world and we slept in each day. We were able to do everything in HP on that first afternoon/night (Fri).

We went back to do our HP favorites the next afternoon and night as well. We did stand in line for an hour and 5 min for Ollivanders, but it was in the evening and we were not in the sun. It was crowded, but we still had fun. We waited until late at night to go into the shops...the lines were short or there were no lines. It was still crowded in the stores while we shopped though.

I think staying off site was a great choice for us. We have teenagers who like to sleep in and we still did all the rides in HP and all the rides they wanted to do in IOA and Studios. We were finished with both parks by closing on Sat night and enjoyed our off site resort all day Sun. We even had dinner and walked around Downtown Disney Sun night to get our Disney fix before we left on Monday.

We are staying going in one week, staying off site, and have 3 boys: 19, 14, 10 yo. We are definately not morning people. I am hoping for all the same.

Thanks for posting!
Holly

 

[Kayeil]

Great thread! What seems to be the best day of the week to do WWoHP? Our plan is to go to IOA/US next Monday and Tuesday. But after reading these posts . . . I'm thinking that Sunday and Monday might be the better (and less busy) days? We are staying onsite at RPR. Suggestions?

 

[wilma-bride]

Great thread! What seems to be the best day of the week to do WWoHP? Our plan is to go to IOA/US next Monday and Tuesday. But after reading these posts . . . I'm thinking that Sunday and Monday might be the better (and less busy) days? We are staying onsite at RPR. Suggestions?

From everything I've read, it seems like Sunday is the best day to go

 

[damo]

Great thread! What seems to be the best day of the week to do WWoHP? Our plan is to go to IOA/US next Monday and Tuesday. But after reading these posts . . . I'm thinking that Sunday and Monday might be the better (and less busy) days? We are staying onsite at RPR. Suggestions?

If you are staying onsite, I'd be going every day.

 

[WambaWanda]

hmmm? sounds so tempting to sleep in , but I wonder how this would work out once they change the hours to an earlier closing time? The park closes 2hrs earlier when I am going. I think I'm just not going to risk it. I only have one day and want to see everything (in WWoHP). Sounds like you had a great trip thx for sharing!

Yes, I would worry about the earlier closing time too and with only one day there, I wouldn't risk it either. Have fun!

 

[WDW-PRINCESS]

This is a great thread, thank you to all those who posted! I have been reading it in preparation for our Aug 18th date at HP world. I am eager to keep reading the times on-site people are let in the front gates in the morning in the coming weeks. Right now we are planning to be at the gates a little before 7a (better safe than sorry imo). Right now it seems universal starts letting people in at 'random' times, anywhere in that 7-8a range.

 

[vaughan100]

My family just got back from our Florida vacation. We went to Islands of Adventure on Monday July 12th. We stayed offsite and drove over. After reading the accounts of the long lines in the morning we opted to do the Harry Potter section last. We walked into the park a little after 9am. Went to the left and started working our way around. When we got to the Jurassic Park ride around noon the line of people waiting to enter WWOHP still extended there.
We finally entered the WWOHP section around 5pm. It was still very crowded but doable. There was no line to get in the area at least. The line for FJ was posted at 90 minutes. We went through and the line moved very quickly, we never stood still for long at all. In fact, I couldn't take all the pictures that I wanted to take because the line was moving so much. In the end we only waited 60 min. After that we ate at the Three Broomsticks which was pretty good. They had you stand in one line and a person told you which ordering station to go to, then a person led you to your seat. It seemed odd at first but then I realized that by doing it that way they kept the restaurant relatively peaceful and not overcrowded. This was the only place that was serving frozen butterbeer at that time. My husband ordered the regular version and I had frozen. The frozen was definitely better! It reminded me of cream soda. After eating it was around 7pm. The place, while still busy, had really cleared out. We rode the Flight of the Hippogriff with a 15 min wait. After that the FJ ride was down to a 45min wait. We rode it again using the single rider line and it took 25 min. Then we rode Dueling Dragons and walked on the ride. We spent the next 20 min walking in shops then the park closed at 10pm. Going at night worked out very well for us.

 

[blueiis99]

My family just got back from our Florida vacation. We went to Islands of Adventure on Monday July 12th. We stayed offsite and drove over. After reading the accounts of the long lines in the morning we opted to do the Harry Potter section last. We walked into the park a little after 9am. Went to the left and started working our way around. When we got to the Jurassic Park ride around noon the line of people waiting to enter WWOHP still extended there.
We finally entered the WWOHP section around 5pm. It was still very crowded but doable. There was no line to get in the area at least. The line for FJ was posted at 90 minutes. We went through and the line moved very quickly, we never stood still for long at all. In fact, I couldn't take all the pictures that I wanted to take because the line was moving so much. In the end we only waited 60 min. After that we ate at the Three Broomsticks which was pretty good. They had you stand in one line and a person told you which ordering station to go to, then a person led you to your seat. It seemed odd at first but then I realized that by doing it that way they kept the restaurant relatively peaceful and not overcrowded. This was the only place that was serving frozen butterbeer at that time. My husband ordered the regular version and I had frozen. The frozen was definitely better! It reminded me of cream soda. After eating it was around 7pm. The place, while still busy, had really cleared out. We rode the Flight of the Hippogriff with a 15 min wait. After that the FJ ride was down to a 45min wait. We rode it again using the single rider line and it took 25 min. Then we rode Dueling Dragons and walked on the ride. We spent the next 20 min walking in shops then the park closed at 10pm. Going at night worked out very well for us.

AWSOME!! I hope that this carries over for us. I was thinking we might do the same thing. Go to Universal, and see what it looks like, and do the rest of the park if its too busy. That way we aren't wasteing our day standing around in lines!

Thank you for your report..there may be hope for us yet!

 

[Hope1]

Hi! New here. I browse occasionally just to keep up with the latest, but we're off to Orlando next week and plan to head over to Universal/IOA for a day to experience WWHP and specifically FJ.

I've read conflicting reports (here and other sites) about current crowd levels and what time of day is best to experience with semi reasonable wait times.

We are not staying on site, nor do we plan to purchase the express passes. However, we are willing and able to show up as early as need be to avoid horrible lines in the heat.

Any information or advice would be very much appreciated! We expect to be there on Sunday, August 8.

Also, although this is not pertaining to HP, kids wanted to eat at Monster Cafe in US . Any opinions on that? Good atmosphere and food?

 

[bubba's mom]

Hi! New here. I browse occasionally just to keep up with the latest, but we're off to Orlando next week and plan to head over to Universal/IOA for a day to experience WWHP and specifically FJ.

I've read conflicting reports (here and other sites) about current crowd levels and what time of day is best to experience with semi reasonable wait times.

We are not staying on site, nor do we plan to purchase the express passes. However, we are willing and able to show up as early as need be to avoid horrible lines in the heat.

Any information or advice would be very much appreciated! We expect to be there on Sunday, August 8.

Also, although this is not pertaining to HP, kids wanted to eat at Monster Cafe in US . Any opinions on that? Good atmosphere and food?

Welcome.

If you are offsite, I would recommend being at the turnstiles by 7am to wait for them to open. Head left to wait for WWoHP to open. The lines get long FAST!!

Also..have not eaten at MCafe...have always been advised to avoid it. That said, we HAVE tried places that were recommended to be avoided, and every. single. time. ...they have advised correctly.

 

[asta]

You might want to check about the Monster Cafe. It was closed for renovation when we were there last week. I didn't notice when it said it would reopen.

 

[xApril]

Monsters Cafe hasn't been open in awhile. I think the last time I saw it open was for a day in March.

 

[vegasjulie]

We are adding a day onto our Disney trip to have the HP experience as well as check out US/IOA.
If we check in to an onsite hotel on August 18th (afternoon) and use our Express pass on that date, do early entry on the 19th and use the Express pass all day, do you think we will need to plan on another day to see the main attractions here?
We are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 boys (8,6, and 4).

Right now, I have 2 1/2 days scheduled for the parks with the two park access. I feel comfortable that in 2 1/2 days we could cover it, but now I am wondering if we could do everything in 1/2 days.

I think it would be hard to go from having the Express pass while staying onsite for the 1 night, to no Express pass while staying at Disney.

Thanks for reading through this

 

[damo]

We are adding a day onto our Disney trip to have the HP experience as well as check out US/IOA.
If we check in to an onsite hotel on August 18th (afternoon) and use our Express pass on that date, do early entry on the 19th and use the Express pass all day, do you think we will need to plan on another day to see the main attractions here?
We are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 boys (8,6, and 4).

Right now, I have 2 1/2 days scheduled for the parks with the two park access. I feel comfortable that in 2 1/2 days we could cover it, but now I am wondering if we could do everything in 1/2 days.

I think it would be hard to go from having the Express pass while staying onsite for the 1 night, to no Express pass while staying at Disney.

Thanks for reading through this

Universal is such a great place for boys. You guys will have so much fun. Two full days and a little bit is a great way to start. Not sure what you mean by do everything in 1/2 days. Do mean mean one half of a day, 1 to 2 days, half as many days as you originally intended or just go for half a day a few times.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are adding a day onto our Disney trip to have the HP experience as well as check out US/IOA.
If we check in to an onsite hotel on August 18th (afternoon) and use our Express pass on that date, do early entry on the 19th and use the Express pass all day, do you think we will need to plan on another day to see the main attractions here?
We are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 boys (8,6, and 4).

Right now, I have 2 1/2 days scheduled for the parks with the two park access. I feel comfortable that in 2 1/2 days we could cover it, but now I am wondering if we could do everything in 1/2 days.

I think it would be hard to go from having the Express pass while staying onsite for the 1 night, to no Express pass while staying at Disney.

Thanks for reading through this

If your boys are like mine, and want to ride each ride again and again, you'll need at least 2 full days. If they ride once and move on, you could do it in 1.5 days. The room key makes it so easy to ride again & again.

 

[Tony Toon]

Welcome.

If you are offsite, I would recommend being at the turnstiles by 7am to wait for them to open. Head left to wait for WWoHP to open. The lines get long FAST!!

Also..have not eaten at MCafe...have always been advised to avoid it. That said, we HAVE tried places that were recommended to be avoided, and every. single. time. ...they have advised correctly.

We are currently offsite in Florida and did US/IOA the weekend of 17th/18th July which also conincided with the Invictus Convention Our original plan had been to hit the parks at opening and head straight for WWoHP, however after hearing about the hideous lines here and from DD (a Disney cast member) decided to opt for a different tact. we shopped at Mall of Millenia on the Saturday, had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and arrived at IOA at about 7pm. $3 to park, walked onto the Hulk, short wait for Spiderman etc, etc. Arrived WWOHP at about 8.00pm - busy but fine. Tried Butterbeer (both varieties), queue for Hippogriff showing 15mins (didn't do - had done it as Unicorn several times before), 45 mins for FJ. Took just over half and hour and absolutely brilliant! Dragon Challenge down The next day we tried a similar plan but did Universal in the morning instead of shopping. Started with Rip Ride, Rocket and walked on to everything except the Mummy (queue showed 40 mins but we were pleased to be out of the heat). Universal seemed pretty dead - presume everyone else was at Harry Potter . Back to the condo for a rest then arrived back at IOA earlier (about 6pm perhaps) and the same story, except DC was working with minimal queue. We didn't do Ollivanders, but had no interest in it anyway. There was still a queue both evenings but I don't know how long. Looked Ok though if it was of interest.

Usually I don't enjoy US and IOA because of the heat and queues (REFUSE to buy the Express Pass - it should come with the ticket like Disney) but had a great time this year.

Mrs TT

 

[damo]

We are currently offsite in Florida and did US/IOA the weekend of 17th/18th July which also conincided with the Invictus Convention Our original plan had been to hit the parks at opening and head straight for WWoHP, however after hearing about the hideous lines here and from DD (a Disney cast member) decided to opt for a different tact. we shopped at Mall of Millenia on the Saturday, had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and arrived at IOA at about 7pm. $3 to park, walked onto the Hulk, short wait for Spiderman etc, etc. Arrived WWOHP at about 8.00pm - busy but fine. Tried Butterbeer (both varieties), queue for Hippogriff showing 15mins (didn't do - had done it as Unicorn several times before), 45 mins for FJ. Took just over half and hour and absolutely brilliant! Dragon Challenge down The next day we tried a similar plan but did Universal in the morning instead of shopping. Started with Rip Ride, Rocket and walked on to everything except the Mummy (queue showed 40 mins but we were pleased to be out of the heat). Universal seemed pretty dead - presume everyone else was at Harry Potter . Back to the condo for a rest then arrived back at IOA earlier (about 6pm perhaps) and the same story, except DC was working with minimal queue. We didn't do Ollivanders, but had no interest in it anyway. There was still a queue both evenings but I don't know how long. Looked Ok though if it was of interest.

Usually I don't enjoy US and IOA because of the heat and queues (REFUSE to buy the Express Pass - it should come with the ticket like Disney) but had a great time this year.

Mrs TT

Just as an FYI, express pass can't come with the ticket because it is a free perk offered to onsite stayers. If it came free with the ticket as well as to onsite stayers, there would be no point in calling it express because it wouldn't be. Having it as a purchase only option creates revenue as well as keeps the express line down low enough so that it is still a huge perk for onsite guests.