Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[bubba's mom]

Long waits for all of IOA on 8/2 with water rides having waits of 2 hours +.

That is normal for the water rides in the summer.

US also seemed more crowded than we remembered from last year.

Probably just because Harry brought the people...a LOT more people....

 

[Procrastinate]

You can ride FJ with a bag no bigger than a softball. Otherwise, they direct you to a locker. They were trying to direct people with a bag to the right to the lockers, if not to the left to the ride. However, people had been standing in line up to this point when they didn't need to be. If you don't have a bag, walk up to the line attendant and ask before heading to the back of the line to make sure you are not in line for a locker. If you need a locker, it may be best to get one by DC if the time is long enough. They were also letting people go in Filch's to go straight to the FJ lockers and skip the line. I wonder if they will catch on to this and stop it.

 

[bubba's mom]

Here was our experience... DH is in charge of video on vacation. He has a tiny Sony Handycam HDD AVCHD camera. This videocamera fits in the palm of your hand and literally fits in a pocket on a zip-up hoodie.

He also wears jersey/athletic shorts (with deeper pockets). He asked a TM at the entrance to FJ if he would be able to ride if he walked thru the castle (with us) and took some video. The TM looked at him and asked if he had a pocket to stick it in. He said he did and the TM said if he was comfortable putting it in his pocket, he could take it AND ride. And, this is a direct quote from the TM: "As long as they don't see it when you board the ride, you are good to go."

I remember that because I thought it sounded weird one TM saying it was okay as long as another TM didn't see it

 

[tashasmum]

Both DH and DD rode with a small camera in a pocket of their shorts. Be prepared to remove flip flops and place them behind you, this happened on each of the 4 occasions that DD rode FJ. Not really a problem.

 

[bubba's mom]

a small point and shoot camera will fit in the seat-back compartment on FJ. and...you don't HAVE to take your flipflops off..they will stay on...but, I'm one of those "better safe than sorry" types and I still hold on to mine

 

[sicjoy]

I apologize for repeating things that have been said, but I want to make sure I understand all of this correctly:

1. For those staying at a resort (on premises), even though early entry is 8am, you can get in at about 730 on some days and the rides at Harry Potter are open and running. Correct?

2. No bags or anything to ride FJ? Have to use a locker that is timed?

Thanks for the clarification.
S

 

[damo]

I apologize for repeating things that have been said, but I want to make sure I understand all of this correctly:

1. For those staying at a resort (on premises), even though early entry is 8am, you can get in at about 730 on some days and the rides at Harry Potter are open and running. Correct?

2. No bags or anything to ride FJ? Have to use a locker that is timed?

Thanks for the clarification.
S

Yes on both counts. As crowds start getting smaller, we'll see if the early entry time goes back to 8 am.

 

[sicjoy]

Thank you!

 

[nessz79]

We were at IOA on 8/2. Crowds were immense in the morning and there were crazy lines wrapping halfway around the park to get in. There was a line for reservations to get in in the morning. We didn't attempt to get in at that time.

We came back around 6:30 and were able to walk in. It was still very crowded, but it was manageable to walk around. Stores were jam-packed and rides' lines were pretty long. FoH was 20-40 minutes (changed 3 times) at 7 and FJ was 90 minutes.

 

[blueiis99]

ugh!! that is not what I want to hear

we are leaving on tuesday, and boy was I hoping it was dying down!!

 

[Marquibiri]

ugh!! that is not what I want to hear

we are leaving on tuesday, and boy was I hoping it was dying down!!

I still got a month and a half to go! Hopefully lines will be dead by then.

Marquibiri

 

[spima3]

ugh!! that is not what I want to hear

we are leaving on tuesday, and boy was I hoping it was dying down!!

Just a reminder, don't forget to come back and post your experience.

We have a month to go, but I am beginning to adjust my expectations to crowded and unbearably crowded! We're shooting for crowded.

 

[blueiis99]

Just a reminder, don't forget to come back and post your experience.

We have a month to go, but I am beginning to adjust my expectations to crowded and unbearably crowded! We're shooting for crowded.

will do.... I just hope that no matter what it ends up being a lot of FUN I soooo need this vacation!

 

[Purseval]

will do.... I just hope that no matter what it ends up being a lot of FUN I soooo need this vacation!

Very few people have come back and said that the crowds made it so the trip wasn't worth it. Odds are you won't be one of those.

 

[georgina]

They were also letting people go in Filch's to go straight to the FJ lockers and skip the line. I wonder if they will catch on to this and stop it.

We were looking for the lockers before riding and stumbled onto the entrance from Filch's. For all the other US and IOA rides, you get a locker before getting in line, so we didn't realize we were cutting in the line by doing this. Every time we rode, the line was not long, so we really weren't cutting off much of the line. I'm not sure how they can stop it, since you have to go that way to retrieve your stuff after exiting the ride.

 

[csmommy]

SCARY! And we leave tomorrow!

 

[blueiis99]

SCARY! And we leave tomorrow!

may the best of luck go with you!! Have lots of fun!!!

 

[nmartin]

You can pay via credit card. The lockers are able to take $ or CC. No attendant needed.

Thank you!

 

[cabarnes55]

I was looking to buy VIP tickets for 8/17, which doesn't work on the HP rides. Can someone explain why you need the lockers? Haven't been to Universal in ages but soooo want to see the WWOHP with my kids, who are older, and my husband, who is impatient in line.

 

[Metro West]

I was looking to buy VIP tickets for 8/17, which doesn't work on the HP rides. Can someone explain why you need the lockers? Haven't been to Universal in ages but soooo want to see the WWOHP with my kids, who are older, and my husband, who is impatient in line.

You would need lockers to store any carry-on items. Universal is strict about bringing on carry-on items...you can't.