Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[BABYJOSIE98]

Great report...We plan too go on a Thursday in May.....

I want some BUTTERBEER!

 

[helenb]

Thanks for the info! I hope the park is just as uncrowded when we go in January!

 

[Hogwarts_Is_Real]

gotta go to bed soon to wake up early for our second day but here's a quick report! more details when we get back Monday...

Drove to IOA around 8:10 am and got there no problem/no traffic! parked around 8:20 am easy-peezy which i was surprised about. i thought we'd be one of hundreds fighting for a spot but there was no wait paying for parking ($15 a day) or finding a spot.

walked to the front gates of IOA---about a 10-15 minute walk...we were a little winded by the end haha!

lined up with a good amount of people. there were about 15-20 people in front of us. there were several lines as there are several turnstyles at the entrance.

they opened the gates at 8:45 am!! we were so happy for the little bit of extra time! they chose a cute little boy to open the gates and say Welcome.

(by the way, there were definitely a lot of NJ-ers in the crowd so the kids prob have their fall break this week in NJ)

Our Costco 3 day passes worked fine. They didnt' check ID or anything but they do take your fingerprint to make sure you're the only one who uses it once its swiped for the first time.

we walked leisurely to WWOHP, taking the left at Green Eggs and Ham. EVERYONE went that way lol i dont think it's much of a secret shortcut...

we tried to get in line at Olivanders first like planned and advised, but the line was already 1.5 hours long!!! this was about...8:50 am. (it was this long or longer all day!! we still haven't gone..will try first thing again tomorrow morning)

so we decided to head to FJ. 15 minute wait!!! it moved TOO fast! we wanted to see everything! but we got on..AWESOMEEEE!! SCARYYYYY!

by the time we got out at 9:35 am (after browsing Filch's) the line was SUPER LONG. past the hogwarts gates and along the side fence!! that's the longest it was all day. it was ridiculous.

we then got in line for flights of the hippogryff..35 minute wait. (the wait times are VERY accurate..surprisingly so! what kind of spell do they use!) it's slow and VERY short so if you're pressed for time, skip. you can just go look at hargrid's hut (very simple hut with a few pumpkins and crates stacked outside. fang barks and hagrid can be heard but not much else) and buckbeak poke his head out then get out of line. plus you can see the back of hagrids hut in the dragon challenge line.

we ate at the 3 broomsticks at 1030 am bc we didn't eat breakfast (afraid of throwing up on FJ!) no wait no line at all. ordered, got food and sat down all in about 7 -10 minutes!! the flow/guided-seating work great!!! great system.

we were shocked at how good food is for theme park (not 5 star obviously but tasty). we had the ribs/chicken combo ($13.99) and a frozen butter beer...

DEFINITELY GET BUTTERBEER AT HOGSHEAD OR 3 BROOMSTICKS!! no line! much quicker and the butterbeer cart lines are really long.

(p.s. BUTTERBEER ROCKSSSSSS. its so delicious!! frozen > regular but both are delicious! frozen one tastes like melted ice cream!!! )

dragon challenge line was 20 minutes all day! i know why its so short out of the 3, its the roughest coaster of the 3. its more traditional coaster style---drops and loops whereas the the FJ is motion simulator.

lines to get into the stores all day. lines were less than 10 minutes for each store before 1 pm and longer after 1 pm. inside zonkos, the line to make purchases was very short and quick. DEFINITELY BUY A CULDRON CAKE! YUMM. Treacle Fudge was highly recommended to us but i didnt really like it. too rich/sweet and the consistency is strange...soft and dense? sort of like a very thick cheesecake? it has raisins sprinkled in it and it mostly taste like white chocolate. ($3.95 each)

they do still announce the name of newly purchased pygamy puffs. very cute to see little kids squeal with delight from the attention. (adult-pygamy-adopters are equally delighted when the bell is rung and their names announce!)

we left WWOHP for the rest of IOA around 230 pm after riding FJ a second time in the regular line. posted 75 minute wait which we thought would be ok bc we wanted to see everything in the castle but unfortunately the wait was mostly outside the castle--greenhouse and beyond and when we got into the castle it moved quicker. we'll take the castle tour tomorrow.

Hulk wait bounced between 5-10 minutes. AWESOMEEEEE RIDEEE. but felt motion sick afterward--even though i rarely get motion sick! still worth it. hahaah it was awesome. i'll go again tomorrow!

ok bed time! thanks for reading!!! i think i mostly wrote this to relive my wonderful day! it was amazing!!!!! I LOVE THIS PLACE.


...whaddya mean its not real??...

 

[Hogwarts_Is_Real]

the wait for FJ was 75 minutes consistently all day (at least as it was posted on the time board) though we left at 4 so maybe it went down after that...

and the longest line for any of the shops was to get into Dervish & B. will try to see it tomorrow since the line was too long for us to go today!

 

[PartofDisney'sWorld]

We went to WWOHP today and it was AMAZING!

My crowd report: Got to the park and got in line to get in at 8:30 am. I was kind of worried because there were already 5 really big lines just to get in. They opened the gates and let us in at 8:40, yay! We headed straight to HP through Dr. Seuss land, and got right in line for Ollivander's. There was already a big line, and somebody behind us said it was an hour wait. We waited maybe 45 minutes. Show was kinda lame but only because the girl that was picked didn't seem like she was really into it, so I'm sure it's better when a person who gets picked actually cares that they got picked!

So then we all were shuffled into the Owl Post, and I got my wand (and had it sent to the front of the park thanks to the tips on here!), then we left and decided to come back later and get some scarves. Noticed on the way out there was a line to get into the Owl Post.

We then headed over to do FJ, and the posted time was 30 minutes. I think we waited maybe 20 minutes, with the line moving nonstop.

There was a pretty big line at 2 of the butterbeer carts, so we got in line at a pumpkin juice cart instead that had no line and tried that first. We loved the pumpkin juice! So then we took a bunch of pictures and headed for DC. Posted wait for DC was 15 minutes, and we walked right on, literally. We left WWOHP at about 11 am.

Then we were hungry, so we went to Confiscos, and headed to Hulk after we ate. Posted wait time for Hulk was 10 minutes, and, again, we walked right on. Then headed to Dr. Doom, posted wait time was 5 minutes, we walked right on. Noticing a pattern here yet? Then we got to Spiderman, posted wait time was 25 minutes, and we waited 25 minutes. Haha!

Headed to Jurassic Park, and we were going to do the Pteranodon Flyers and said no way when the posted wait time was 45 minutes. I'm sure we probably wouldn't have waited that long, buuuut we didn't want to wait at all for that ride. So we got in line for the Jurassic Park river boat ride, posted wait time was 10 minutes, and the ride broke down for 10 minutes so we ended up waiting 20 minutes.

Went to Lost Continent and decided to do Poseidon, and posted wait time was 45 minutes, and we waited 20 minutes.

Walked back over to WWOHP at 4 pm and got in line for FOTH, posted wait time was 45 minutes, we waited 10 minutes. Then we went and did the castle tour so we could take lots of pics. I thought there was a room with the moving staircases? We were disappointed that it wasn't there. Oh well. We then got out and got back in line do to FJ again, and posted wait time was 30 minutes, we waited about 20 minutes and that's even with the ride getting stuck once.

After that, we'd decided we had enough rides as DF had a headache and my stomach was tired of being flopped around. So went to the Three Broomsticks, no line, lots and lots of tables available. Pretty good food for theme park fast food. Oh and also got our first butterbeers with our meals in the souvenir mugs. We got one regular and one frozen and we liked them both the same. We thought the frothy topping was the best part. We rested there for a bit and then went back to the Owl Post to get our scarves (it was cold today!) and there was only about 4 people in line to get into the store, so we only waited a couple of minutes. We left and went to Honeydukes and Zonkos to make our purchases, no line to get in. Took some more pictures as it was nighttime, and left.

Overall, Hogsmeade was crowded, but I'm sure it was not nearly as bad as other days. I think it just seems more crowded than it really is because of how small and tight the area is.

Sundays seem to definitely be the best day to go, even a TM in the Owl Post said Sundays are the slowest.

We really, really, really loved WWOHP, and the only disappointment we had was we missed the Beauxbatons show and the frog chorus!

 

[helenb]

So for those of you who have been... which is better to do first thing in the morning: Ollivanders or FJ? We will have early entry, but will only be there for one morning, and want to make sure we do both without hours of wait.

 

[damo]

Do Ollivander's first. If you do FJ first, you really don't even get to see anything inside the castle because the line is moving so fast.

 

[thatgirl23]

How are Wednesdays and Thursdays? That's when we currently have planned, in the first week of March, but I can see if we can change them if there are other days that are better. The poster above said Sundays seem to be the slowest but I thought since it was still a weekend day, it'd be packed.

Also, does anyone know when TNA wrestling does their shows or whatever. My brother doesn't care what days we go, as long as one of them is a day they have the wrestling. We can't seem to find anything for March yet for that though. Is there any past pattern? Or when would March be posted?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[momblanch]

We just returned. We were there Wed 11/3-Sun 11/7. By March things may change with Spring Break and all. But Wed was our quietest day followed by Sun.

 

[zimaaaaah]

Just a quick note - Spent the day at Studios and then went over to IOA about 4:45 this afternoon. Studios were pretty much walk-on all day. When we got to WWHP there were lots of people, but the waits were only 15 minutes for Dragon Chall and Hippogriff and 20 for FG. Rode FG for the first time & loved it! We were thrilled to find the lines so reasonable. Going back to IOA tomorrow and will report again.

 

[phamton]

H
Also, does anyone know when TNA wrestling does their shows or whatever. My brother doesn't care what days we go, as long as one of them is a day they have the wrestling. We can't seem to find anything for March yet for that though. Is there any past pattern? Or when would March be posted?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.universalorlando.com/Shows/tna_wrestling.aspx

Here is the schedule. It is updated at least once a month so you should know the days in plenty of time for your trip. They usually tape on Sunday and Monday, every other week.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

So when the park hours change to 8am opening, that means on-site early entry is 7am?

 

[rie'smom]

So when the park hours change to 8am opening, that means on-site early entry is 7am?

It's evening EMH on the 21st.

 

[damo]

So when the park hours change to 8am opening, that means on-site early entry is 7am?

This only happens during Christmas break? I guess they can handle it.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

This only happens during Christmas break? I guess they can handle it.

I know but I'm going to be there starting December 20th which means I have to be at the gates before 7am. Lord have mercy!

 

[damo]

I know but I'm going to be there starting December 20th which means I have to be at the gates before 7am. Lord have mercy!

No late nights at Citywalk for you!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

so can I just check - when we are there in January we are staying at HRH. The park officially opens at 9am all week, so does that mean IOA will open for early entry every day that week at 8am?

If so, what time do you recommend we get to the entrance of IOA?? - and what time would you leave the HRH (bearing in mind we will have two young children to hurry along!!)

Many thanks for any advice - getting excited now!!!

OOH - one more question!! - Does Ollivanders open for early entry too or just the rides??

 

[GreyStr0ke]

On the Universal site, it states the early entry to the Wizarding World is only valid until 12/31/10.

"Early Park Admission begins one hour prior to Universal’s Islands of Adventure® regular opening hour for On-site Hotel guests and is valid 7 days a week for travel 6/19/10 – 12/31/10, valid only at Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™, Flight of the Hippogriff™ and Dragon Challenge™. "

http://www.universalorlando.com/Ove...ss.html&expID=13-5733&contentID=13-6248&seq=1

 

[glocon]

When we stayed at HRH in June, it took us about 5 minutes to walk at a medium kind of pace, we did not rush but did not meander along either. If your kids are slow walkers or easily distracted, I would leave 10-15 minutes before you wanted to be there. There is also the water taxi, but you have to walk around the lagoon to get to the parks, so you don't really save any time. Or there are usually the bike taxis (or whatever you call them) that you can take for the price of a tip.

 

[damo]

On the Universal site, it states the early entry to the Wizarding World is only valid until 12/31/10.

"Early Park Admission begins one hour prior to Universal’s Islands of Adventure® regular opening hour for On-site Hotel guests and is valid 7 days a week for travel 6/19/10 – 12/31/10, valid only at Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™, Flight of the Hippogriff™ and Dragon Challenge™. "

http://www.universalorlando.com/Ove...ss.html&expID=13-5733&contentID=13-6248&seq=1

Harry Potter packages are available thru May 2011 and they state early entry as one of the perks.

http://www.universalorlando.com/Florida_Vacation_Packages/bf/vacation_packages_overview.aspx