Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[damo]

Huh? Touringplans doesn't do crowd level predictions for Universal parks... am I missing something?

David

They are referring to the Disney touring plans. You can usually judge Universal crowds by the Disney plans but HHN and Harry Potter are changing all of that.

 

[dqpowell]

You can usually judge Universal crowds by the Disney plans but HHN and Harry Potter are changing all of that.

I have been using touringplans.com crowd predictions for several years, and have never found that to be true. If so, what's the 'mapping' supposed to be? Is IOA supposed to correspond to MK or something?

Whatever the correlation was supposed to be, I agree that WWoHP is screwing everything up. I was shocked at how busy it was when I was there in August.

David

 

[damo]

I have been using touringplans.com crowd predictions for several years, and have never found that to be true. If so, what's the 'mapping' supposed to be? Is IOA supposed to correspond to MK or something?

Whatever the correlation was supposed to be, I agree that WWoHP is screwing everything up. I was shocked at how busy it was when I was there in August.

David

I use it more as a general indication and find that the trends are generally applicable to all the parks.

 

[Echo queen]

OMG to the crowds O M G!!!!

I was absolutely STUNNED by the crowds today, Friday OCT 8th at IOA/WWoHP. I have been to Disney/Universal 5 times now since 2003 and am a total Disney junkie, so I consider myself a veteran. Normally go during slower times Oct/Jan and rarely wait to go onto anything.
Have planned this trip for almost a year now and was happy to see that touringplans.com gave todays crowd rating a "1" on a scale of 1-10. That level rearly happens, and the next couple days are supposed to be busy according to them. WELL, got to Universal at 7:50am(more than an hour ahead of time) and hotel guests were inside by 8. The place was hopping, and while I was able to get into FJ rather quickly once allowed in, after that the entire WWoHP was a MADHOUSE!!!!! I mean WOW. EVERY shop had a wait to go inside for the priveldge to buy things , not just talking Olivianders mind you, but ALL of them. Couldnt TOUCH butterbeer lines..... 45 min wait for spidey, 60 min for Dudley do right, thats how regular IOA was at 12 noon.
1000's of Scots have invaded here(i think a convention or a soccer thing or something)???? but I just wasnt prepared at all. Its 5:00pm and my crew is planning to go for our 5th anniversay dinner at Raglan Road tonight at Downtown DIsney, wish us luck.
I Love my Winsdor Hills house BTW, the FJ ride was amazing....Capones dinner show the night before was easily the best dinner show in Orlando....not even close.....but those crowds today wore me out and I'm trying real hard to shake off the bad feeling im getting about the 10 day stretch I chose to do this.
Read the boards all the time, so I thought!!!! I was prepared.....nope.....if your coming to Dis/Universal this next week, be prepared for high 80's temps and crowds..

Thanks for the Capones tip, I have often wondered if those non disney dinner shows were worth it. Our next trip will be 7 days off site bonnett creek and 5 days on site free dining.

 

[Echo queen]

They are referring to the Disney touring plans. You can usually judge Universal crowds by the Disney plans but HHN and Harry Potter are changing all of that.

Oh, I thought I was missing something.

 

[mom2aandj]

I can't imagine why touringplans would have given today a 1? It's the start of a long weekend for lots of people and many of the southern states that started school so early have a fall break this coming week.

yeah, today's rating is a 6, which sounds more realistic for a holiday weekend. When there is a big jump like between numbers I tend to think some of the crowds they were expecting to show up Sat showed up earlier and got a jump start on the weekend.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

People, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is open. Please don't expect "1" crowd levels near that park for at least two or three years.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to compare it to and I especially wouldn't choose Magic Kingdom, which hasn't added anything at all since 2007 (Monsters Inc Laugh Floor) and nothing substantial since 1992 (Splash Mountain).

This is a beast all its own, hence this thread.

 

[jennz]

OMG to the crowds O M G!!!!

I was absolutely STUNNED by the crowds today, Friday OCT 8th at IOA/WWoHP. I have been to Disney/Universal 5 times now since 2003 and am a total Disney junkie, so I consider myself a veteran. Normally go during slower times Oct/Jan and rarely wait to go onto anything.
Have planned this trip for almost a year now and was happy to see that touringplans.com gave todays crowd rating a "1" on a scale of 1-10. That level rearly happens, and the next couple days are supposed to be busy according to them. WELL, got to Universal at 7:50am(more than an hour ahead of time) and hotel guests were inside by 8. The place was hopping, and while I was able to get into FJ rather quickly once allowed in, after that the entire WWoHP was a MADHOUSE!!!!! I mean WOW. EVERY shop had a wait to go inside for the priveldge to buy things , not just talking Olivianders mind you, but ALL of them. Couldnt TOUCH butterbeer lines..... 45 min wait for spidey, 60 min for Dudley do right, thats how regular IOA was at 12 noon.
1000's of Scots have invaded here(i think a convention or a soccer thing or something)???? but I just wasnt prepared at all. Its 5:00pm and my crew is planning to go for our 5th anniversay dinner at Raglan Road tonight at Downtown DIsney, wish us luck.
I Love my Winsdor Hills house BTW, the FJ ride was amazing....Capones dinner show the night before was easily the best dinner show in Orlando....not even close.....but those crowds today wore me out and I'm trying real hard to shake off the bad feeling im getting about the 10 day stretch I chose to do this.
Read the boards all the time, so I thought!!!! I was prepared.....nope.....if your coming to Dis/Universal this next week, be prepared for high 80's temps and crowds..

I had to chuckle at your "1000's of Scots have invaded" - my cousins are over from Scotland right now, they arrived Thursday. We're going down to meet them Monday and to IOA Wednesday.

Thanks for the report - I too would have been shocked to get there and see that crazy crowd level! I expect busy but not that busy, so now I will expect that level and be pleasantly surprised if it's less.

 

[mdb78]

People, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is open. Please don't expect "1" crowd levels near that park for at least two or three years.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to compare it to and I especially wouldn't choose Magic Kingdom, which hasn't added anything at all since 2007 (Monsters Inc Laugh Floor) and nothing substantial since 1992 (Splash Mountain).

This is a beast all its own, hence this thread.

My thoughts exactly!!

 

[Armadillo4]

I was absolutely STUNNED by the crowds today, Friday OCT 8th at IOA/WWoHP.

We went for the very first time on the day before, Thursday Oct. 7. We thought the crowds would get busier starting Friday for Columbus Day Weekend and it sounds like they did.

Thursday, Oct. 7 was still crowded, but not as bad as this description for the 8th. We got to the park just past 9am, but took our sweet, sweet time before WWoHP. We did an early lunch at The Three Broomsticks *before* getting on FJ. Around noon, the wait time for FJ was listed as 60 minutes, but we were on the ride in 45 minutes. Around 4:30pm, the wait time for FJ was showing 45 minutes.

The stores were crowded, but not as bad as described on the 8th. Dervish & Banges had a line that formed sometime after 1pm, but it was the only store with a line.

I definitely think the combination of the conventions, Columbus Day and possible Fall Breaks might make the upcoming week a bit busier. Although I'm curious if the weekdays (Tues-Thurs) will still be crazy busy.

 

[Lucky4me]

We were in Disney last year this week. It was an absolute zoo with a record heat wave to add to the fun. That's why I pushed this years trip out another month and I'm hoping Veterans day which falls midweek, has no effect on the crowds. (at least Universal)
Waiting in lines at WWOHP is something we are expecting. If it doesn't happen, yay for us.

 

[bubba's mom]

Def more crowded (I think) because of holiday weekend.

Was there yesterday mid-late afternoon. FJ wait was 75 min, got in line and was loading on ride in 50min.

Lines everywhere.

Ollivander's seemed to have summer lines and noticed line to get INTO Dervish's. (didn't notice if there was a line for Honeydukes tho)

Waaaay long lines EVERYWHERE for butterbeer. Even in HH bar...line went out the back door.

needless to say....there was NO butterbeer for me. Wasn't waitin!

(and no...didn't do early entry)


-I'm sure it's because of the holiday weekend and the lines won't last.
I've seen a LOT of school age kids running around down here.
Whereas at PHL, the only few kids I saw, were of pre-school age or younger.

so....while not too helpful, consider it "documented".

 

[Tarheel Tink]

Do any of the experienced have a thought towards the crowd levels for next Sunday the 17th? I just found out that our friends want to visit there when we are at Disney's SSR from the 15th-22nd and have not researched or planned for this (gulp!). We have reservations and plans except for Sat. and Sun. so I would really appreciate (insert snivel) any feedback or suggestions.

We have a car but I have never been to Universal at all and do not know the recommended not-miss rides for 4 adults (52 year olds) with one being "pooh-sized". We would plan to spend the entire day there.

 

[christophfam]

Do any of the experienced have a thought towards the crowd levels for next Sunday the 17th? I just found out that our friends want to visit there when we are at Disney's SSR from the 15th-22nd and have not researched or planned for this (gulp!). We have reservations and plans except for Sat. and Sun. so I would really appreciate (insert snivel) any feedback or suggestions.

We have a car but I have never been to Universal at all and do not know the recommended not-miss rides for 4 adults (52 year olds) with one being "pooh-sized". We would plan to spend the entire day there.

I would expect it to be busy and if it's not be happily surprised. That is how I'm playing it for later that week. The best advice is to get to the park early and head straight for WWOHP. Do what you can in the morning then head out to enjoy the rest of the park in the afternoon when crowds are at their peak. If you can make it to closing, head back to WWOHP an hour or two before closing and see if the crowds have died down. Many reports here state late afternoon is nice also.

IOA's don't miss outside of WWOHP-

Mythos- not a ride, but a wonderful spot for a delicious lunch!
Jurassic River Adventure
Spiderman
Hulk
Seuss Landing - love the detail here for all ages - ride Cat in the Hat and High in the Sky Trolley

Runners up -

Dr. Doom
Poseidon's Fury
Dudley - you will get wet
Popeye - you will get soaked

 

[PartofDisney'sWorld]

DF and I are planning to go to IOA Sunday, Nov. 6. Does anybody know if there's any holidays around this date? Or schools that are out?

 

[Jennasis]

Will be there this Thursday 10/14 and am praying the crowds aren't bad. Out of curiosity, even when WWOHP is crowded, is the rest of the park? We'll buy EP if we need for the rest of the park. I can deal with long waits at WWOHP since it's new, but not if the whole dang park is a corwded hot mess.

 

[Tarheel Tink]

I would expect it to be busy and if it's not be happily surprised. That is how I'm playing it for later that week. The best advice is to get to the park early and head straight for WWOHP. Do what you can in the morning then head out to enjoy the rest of the park in the afternoon when crowds are at their peak. If you can make it to closing, head back to WWOHP an hour or two before closing and see if the crowds have died down. Many reports here state late afternoon is nice also.

IOA's don't miss outside of WWOHP-

Mythos- not a ride, but a wonderful spot for a delicious lunch!
Jurassic River Adventure
Spiderman
Hulk
Seuss Landing - love the detail here for all ages - ride Cat in the Hat and High in the Sky Trolley

Runners up -

Dr. Doom
Poseidon's Fury
Dudley - you will get wet
Popeye - you will get soaked

Just the info I needed!! Thank you so much.

 

[orpheus7696]

Hey guys I would like to know if the weekend of November 13 and 14 are low crowd days??And info is appreciated.

 

[jenny105]

I was just there on Thursday, 10/7. Got in the park around 9:30 and WWoHP was busy, as expected. FJ was a 60 minute wait and we waited a little bit less than that. The line moves very quickly and there is a lot to see. Let me tell you, that ride is amazing! The line for Olivanders was long all day, based on what was said on these boards, I didn't bother to see it. I did walk around the rest of the shops and they were pretty crowded as well. The rest of the park was nothing but walk-ons all day. I think the longest line we waited in besides FJ was for Spiderman, which was around 30 min. Went back to FJ prior to park closing (closed at 7, went back to WWoHP around 5:30) and it was at a 45 minute wait. Was lucky enough to get on it again! I hope everyone going soon has as wonderful a time as I did! My mouth dropped open when I saw Hogsmeade. They did a spectacular job!

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Hey guys I would like to know if the weekend of November 13 and 14 are low crowd days??And info is appreciated.

Before Harry Potter, typically yes. After Harry Potter, probably not.