Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[mollybeasley]

I'll sticky it until the crowds calm down.

This thread is huge and it took a long time to open. Can you start a NEW thread on the topic? Some new visitors might not know how to immediately go to the LAST page of the post.

 

[MiniLaura]

FJ was down for a bit this morning. I was doing the castle tour and heard the announcement. The ride had not resumed by the time we left the castle, so I don't know how long it was down. It must not have been a major problem because they never cleared the line. However, I think the downtime cause the wait time to increase rapidly.

 

[AlexandNessa]

We are just home today from 6 nights at the Royal Pacific. I expected crowds to be crazy last week. I was not expecting them to continue to be so bad this week. There are a LOT of foreigners vacationing now. We were definitely in the minority as English speaking. I mean foreigners from everywhere ... Poland, Korea, China, Brazil, the UK, Australia, Germany, I even heard Russian dialects. It is mad busy; you can no longer count on Orange County school calendars to plan your visits . On Tuesday (1/4), we left IOA at 9:10 am, and could not believe how busy IOA already was and the LINES of people just waiting to get in and streaming in from the CW parking lot. A Tuesday. In January. Not a holiday. Insane.

 

[alaskanabbott]

I hope someone here knows the answer to this. My son was granted his wish last March, but our family got the NoroVirus during his wish trip and he wasn't able to do IOA. We were there for about an hour and decided to come back later...which never happened with everyone being pretty ill for about 3 days. We are coming down with him at the end of Jan, and we are staying at WDW. He REALLY wants to see WWOHP, but we will have to pay all 9 of us (yeah we have a huge family) and we are planning on taking the Lynx bus from DTD to IOA- about an hour long ride, with a child in a WC....So from what I'm reading we may show up and WWOHP may be closed? Our boy has pretty limited stamina, even in his chair, so waiting 4 or 5 hours to get in would be out of the question for him. Also, how accessible is the line and castle? Do they have special enterance for wheelchairs? I know he really really to see WWOHP but I'm worried about chancing it.

 

[rie'smom]

I hope someone here knows the answer to this. My son was granted his wish last March, but our family got the NoroVirus during his wish trip and he wasn't able to do IOA. We were there for about an hour and decided to come back later...which never happened with everyone being pretty ill for about 3 days. We are coming down with him at the end of Jan, and we are staying at WDW. He REALLY wants to see WWOHP, but we will have to pay all 9 of us (yeah we have a huge family) and we are planning on taking the Lynx bus from DTD to IOA- about an hour long ride, with a child in a WC....So from what I'm reading we may show up and WWOHP may be closed? Our boy has pretty limited stamina, even in his chair, so waiting 4 or 5 hours to get in would be out of the question for him. Also, how accessible is the line and castle? Do they have special enterance for wheelchairs? I know he really really to see WWOHP but I'm worried about chancing it.

Check your private message.

 

[alaskanabbott]

Check your private message.

THANKS, I always I forget I have a PM! And TY for the info too

 

[rie'smom]

THANKS, I always I forget I have a PM! And TY for the info too

You're welcome, have a fabulous trip!!!

 

[MrShiny]

When WWoHP closes in the morning, does it generally still open back up in the evening? In July it was hugely busy (about 90 minutes to get in in the AM although not completely closed), but you could walk in if you showed up after 4.

 

[BatonrougeDisneyfan]

I went with my family to WWOHP yestarday (Jan. 5th). We arrived at the HP part of the park by 9:30am. 1 &1/2 hour wait for lockers and then 2 hour wait for FJ. I think the ride had broken down. The park and shops were completely packed. We went back at 1:30pm and WWOHP was at capacity & we couldn't get back in.
I'm trying to decide if I want to attempt going back tomorrrow or go to Universal Studios instead. If anyone went today (Thursday, Jan. 6th), were the crowds any better?????

 

[MiniLaura]

I went with my family to WWOHP yestarday (Jan. 5th). We arrived at the HP part of the park by 9:30am. 1 &1/2 hour wait for lockers and then 2 hour wait for FJ. I think the ride had broken down. The park and shops were completely packed. We went back at 1:30pm and WWOHP was at capacity & we couldn't get back in.
I'm trying to decide if I want to attempt going back tomorrrow or go to Universal Studios instead. If anyone went today (Thursday, Jan. 6th), were the crowds any better?????

The FJ ride had broken down yesterday (1/5) morning, but I don't know how long it was down.

We went to US this morning (1/6) and early afternoon and it was very quiet. When we were walking toward US at around 9:00 this morning there was a river of people heading toward IOA--I assume to go to WWOHP. However, when we went to IOA in the afternoon (I think it was around 2:30 or 3:00) WWOHP was open and far less crowded than it was at around 4:00 yesterday. The posted wait time for FJ was 45, but I'm certain our wait was shorter. The single rider line had about 15-20 people in it, so you could use that to get on the ride quickly.

MrShiny-- When they close WWOHP, it's not closed completely. They allow people in a little at a time to control the crowds inside. If the crowds thin out enough then they "reopen" the area and let people go in at will.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

Just got home. We were there on Monday, arrived around 10am, crowds were insane! We had to wait in line by Jurassic Park to get into WWoHP and FJ line was at 90 minutes until we left the land around 1pm. I rode FJ twice through the single rider line with no wait, it was a wonderful ride! We also did lines to get into Dervish and Banges and The Three Broomsticks. Didn't even try Zonkos and Honeydukes, lines were insane!

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

I do have a complaint though, there was no organization from the IOA employees part. The line to get into WWoHP was completely unorganized. First we were supposed to get stand-by tickets to get in and then they told us we didn't need them and then in the line to get in people were cutting way at the front, there was no crowd control what-so-ever because there were no employees guarding the line and pointing the people in the right way. It was a mess.

 

[Mikelly1221]

Saturday afternoon report: WWOHP was very crowded but the ride lines weren't too crazy...10 minutes for Flight of the Hippogriff, 25 for Dragon Challenge, 1 hour for Forbidden Journey. Timed Three Broomsticks just right, no line to get in when we went in but noticed one had formed while we were eating. Ollivander's was its usual very long wait...so we didn't wait.

Spider Man was around 25 minutes, Hulk was 25 right at closing. Rest of the park very managable.

Hope this helps someone!

 

[bouncycat]

Saturday afternoon report: WWOHP was very crowded but the ride lines weren't too crazy...10 minutes for Flight of the Hippogriff, 25 for Dragon Challenge, 1 hour for Forbidden Journey. Timed Three Broomsticks just right, no line to get in when we went in but noticed one had formed while we were eating. Ollivander's was its usual very long wait...so we didn't wait.

Spider Man was around 25 minutes, Hulk was 25 right at closing. Rest of the park very managable.

Hope this helps someone!

This helps me actually!! We're staying away from this next coming up weekend, and going on the 22nd, getting there before opening and getting in line. I just want to see it, ride FJ and Dragon Challenge, and then go thru the rest of the park. There's like at least 6 of us going!! I know it's gonna be crowded, but as long as it's not insane, I'll be happy!! LOL

 

[Mikelly1221]

This helps me actually!! We're staying away from this next coming up weekend, and going on the 22nd, getting there before opening and getting in line. I just want to see it, ride FJ and Dragon Challenge, and then go thru the rest of the park. There's like at least 6 of us going!! I know it's gonna be crowded, but as long as it's not insane, I'll be happy!! LOL

You'll probably be ok, especially going first thing in the morning. We didn't arrive at IOA until around 2pm. The area is themed so very well-we love noticing all the details. Have fun!

 

[Jay Quick]

I am sure that the lines will be unbelievably long considering how new it is but I am willing to wait it out.

 

[MIChessGuy]

I second the advice to come early, particularly for the offsite guests. I am going in early February and will be at the IOA gates by 07.45 for sure. See ya bright and early, Sorting Fat!

 

[Anjelica]

Should you do Ollivander's or FJ first? I wasn't sure which one we should head to first thing in the morning and wanted to know people's thoughts on that.

 

[Mikelly1221]

Should you do Ollivander's or FJ first? I wasn't sure which one we should head to first thing in the morning and wanted to know people's thoughts on that.

This is just my opinion, so others may disagree. I'd go to Ollivander's first thing. That line gets really long really quickly, and if you have to stand in a long line, at least the FJ line is interesting once you get inside the castle. There's nothing interesting about the Ollivander's line! Also, the FJ line moves along well; they only let about 30 people in Ollivanders every 10 minutes or so.

 

[SmallWorld71]

This is just my opinion, so others may disagree. I'd go to Ollivander's first thing. That line gets really long really quickly, and if you have to stand in a long line, at least the FJ line is interesting once you get inside the castle. There's nothing interesting about the Ollivander's line! Also, the FJ line moves along well; they only let about 30 people in Ollivanders every 10 minutes or so.

I agree! It's kind of like the difference between sitting in bumper to bumper traffic (Ollivander's) or taking the long route home. (FJ) You may get home at the same time, but the long route is so much less stressful because you are always moving.