Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[MrSteve]

HP friends,

My family and I arrive in Orlando Tuesday and will be there June 8-10. Staying off-site and frankly so worried about long lines at WW that my hair is falling out (although I really should blame my maternal grandfather for the baldness).

SashaFarce, I assume from your report that from 4:45pm onward FJ and the rest of Hogsmeade was not too crowded?

Thanks.

 

[jacksg@l]

Thanks for all the good advice and help from everyone. This is our first "short-3 total days" trip to UA/IoA (the first two were 5 days and 7 days) and I want to make sure we fit everything in (new things and old favorites in). We took total advantage of the single rider line at Everest at Disney and rode 3 times in a row.

 

[tink20]

Yesterday (Wed. 6/8) wait time was 75min from around 3-5. @ 6:15 it dropped to 45 min. I rode in the single rider line, and got through in less than 20min. If using early entry, hardly no wait at all, even if you do Olivanders first (which we did, with a 10min. wait).

 

[macraven]

HP friends,

My family and I arrive in Orlando Tuesday and will be there June 8-10. Staying off-site and frankly so worried about long lines at WW that my hair is falling out (although I really should blame my maternal grandfather for the baldness).

SashaFarce, I assume from your report that from 4:45pm onward FJ and the rest of Hogsmeade was not too crowded?

Thanks.

Thanks for all the good advice and help from everyone. This is our first "short-3 total days" trip to UA/IoA (the first two were 5 days and 7 days) and I want to make sure we fit everything in (new things and old favorites in). We took total advantage of the single rider line at Everest at Disney and rode 3 times in a row.

many homies are saying for the present time period, to go back to parry hotter section after 4:30 or even after 7:00/if park opened late, and have little wait for FJ lines......

 

[TallandGoofy]

Here is our experience from this past Tuesday, June 7th. We arrived just before 8 (7:45ish) for the early access and there was already a line going back to City Walk. So, first off, I'd say, if you are going to take advantage of the EA, then get there by 7:30 or earlier. We got to WWoHP by 8:10 or so. Ollivanders already had a 30 minute wait so we skipped that. FJ had 10 minutes posted and we did tour only first. Mistake...not a HUGE one, but when we got into the regular line the wait had jumped to 20. No biggie.

After FJ we grabbed a frozen butterbeer. Took some pics then went into the shops. We headed out of WWoHP a little after 9 and it was getting really crowded. I think the wait was at 30 or 40 by then and shops were filling up.

We never went back to see it in the evening. We were doing both parks in one day so ran out of time. Had a great day, though!

I know it's been said before, but let me just say it again....don't bring bags with you. Leave em in a stroller or with someone prior to. The Locker line is just stupidly long. It was so nice to walk right by it and go right in. Also, after we toured the first time, we walked through the locker room and got right back in line. Nice!

 

[damo]

Here is our experience from this past Tuesday, June 7th. We arrived just before 8 (7:45ish) for the early access and there was already a line going back to City Walk. So, first off, I'd say, if you are going to take advantage of the EA, then get there by 7:30 or earlier. We got to WWoHP by 8:10 or so. Ollivanders already had a 30 minute wait so we skipped that. FJ had 10 minutes posted and we did tour only first. Mistake...not a HUGE one, but when we got into the regular line the wait had jumped to 20. No biggie.

After FJ we grabbed a frozen butterbeer. Took some pics then went into the shops. We headed out of WWoHP a little after 9 and it was getting really crowded. I think the wait was at 30 or 40 by then and shops were filling up.

We never went back to see it in the evening. We were doing both parks in one day so ran out of time. Had a great day, though!

I know it's been said before, but let me just say it again....don't bring bags with you. Leave em in a stroller or with someone prior to. The Locker line is just stupidly long. It was so nice to walk right by it and go right in. Also, after we toured the first time, we walked through the locker room and got right back in line. Nice!

Since you can tour anytime without a line, I wouldn't waste the early entry hour with a tour.

 

[TallandGoofy]

Since you can tour anytime without a line, I wouldn't waste the early entry hour with a tour.

Agreed! Should have done that later but wanted to get the whole story line since you get kind of rushed past some parts. Would have been fine to get it later, though. Ride is fun either way!

 

[Mickey Fliers]

We started our day yesterday (Sunday, June 12th) with the early entry at WWOHP. We arrived at turnstiles at 7:30 and were among a few of the first people there. They opened the gates a few minutes early and we were in Hogsmeade a few minutes after 8:00. The line for Olivanders was already pretty long so we went straight to FJ. We walked right on and used child swap, which was very easy. After I rode with big kids and DH rode with big kids, we headed away from the castle.

FoH had no wait and neither did DC. Crowds in the street and in the shops were pretty heavy. Word of advice, don't take your strollers into the shops if you can help it. The shops are very small. Hogs head was not yet serving, so for butterbeer you had to wait in very long lines at the carts or go into Three Broomsticks.

We left the area at 9:30 and it was getting very crowded. However, we went back at 7:00 and it was practically empty. FJ was a walk on, as well as DC and FoH. Olivanders was about a 15-20 min wait, and honestly it wasn't worth any longer. Way over hyped. Butterbeer lines were very short or non existent.

The evening experience was great. We couldn't believe the lack of crowds. Although, it wasn't dark yet so the lights weren't on.

 

[minnie mouse ears]

We waited until later in the afternoon to go to the Harry Potter area. It was crowded but not as bad as I had feared. We ended up leaving & coming back towards the very end of the day. At that point, the wait for the castle was only 30 minutes long. It was well worth the wait! I loved it. One quick tip, use Childswap if you have small kids. We had a 4 year old with us and he loved seeing the castle but was to small to ride. They had a great little room in the castle for the family to sit and take turns riding. In the Dueling dragon ride, they actually allowed us to jump ahead of a lot of people to go to a seperate line for the child swap. Again, they had a great little area to wait.

We skipped the wand shop since the wait was so long. Also, we refused to let our 4 kids buy a wand outside the castle because they were $31 each according to my husband. Yikes!

So to sum it up.... I highly recommend Child Swap and going at the very end of the day if you don't want to fight the morning crowd. The Flight of the Hipograff only had a 10 minute wait in the last couple of hours. We were able to ride Hulk and Spiderman and the water rides by walking right on after opening since 90% of the crowd seemed to be heading for HP. Universal is nice and had a few great rides but the draw for me was Harry Potter. It was worth the admission cost for one day. We did 6 days of Disney and one in IOA.

 

[mesaboy2]

We started our day yesterday (Sunday, June 12th) with the early entry at WWOHP. We arrived at turnstiles at 7:30 and were among a few of the first people there. They opened the gates a few minutes early and we were in Hogsmeade a few minutes after 8:00. The line for Olivanders was already pretty long so we went straight to FJ. We walked right on and used child swap, which was very easy. After I rode with big kids and DH rode with big kids, we headed away from the castle.

I'm confused. If you were there for early entry and among a few of the first people there, how was the line to Ollivander's "pretty long"? Where did those people come from?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Well, we got caught in the one turnstile that was acting up and by the time we got back to WWOHP the line for Olivanders was easily 80 people deep. It was very plausible that even though were only 5 people deep at the turnstiles upon arriving, we were passed by lots that ran or got through their turnstile quickly.

That bein said, at about 7:30, there were maybe 25 people in line. I wouldn't wait more than that. The show maybe lasted 5 minutes and is completely over hyped. Not sure why. Maybe because there is a lack of things to do in the area. Without doing Olivanders in the morning, we did 2 rides on FJ, 2 rides on DC, all the shops, got cash since credit mahines were down in the whole area, got butterbeer in Three Broomsticks, tried Pumpkin juice (blech!), and ate our Cauldron cakes from Honeydukes in an hour and a half.

 

[Kathymford]

I am in the beginning stages of planning my first Orlando trip. I didn't read ALL the posts, but here is what I am planning, please let me know if this sounds on target. FWIW, I'm going in early October, so hopefully less crowded.

• Planning on going to IOA on a Tuesday, for possible lowest crowds
• We will not be staying on-site, so with no early entry, go to Potterland after 430pm

So my list isn't long...any other quick tips?

 

[mesaboy2]

I am in the beginning stages of planning my first Orlando trip. I didn't read ALL the posts, but here is what I am planning, please let me know if this sounds on target. FWIW, I'm going in early October, so hopefully less crowded.

• Planning on going to IOA on a Tuesday, for possible lowest crowds
• We will not be staying on-site, so with no early entry, go to Potterland after 430pm

So my list isn't long...any other quick tips?

I don't think you'll need to wait to get in WWoHP at all on a Tuesday in early October. Take a peek earlier in the day and see if you can walk right in. Should be among the lightest crowds all year. Emphasis on the should.

 

[MIChessGuy]

Well, we got caught in the one turnstile that was acting up and by the time we got back to WWOHP the line for Olivanders was easily 80 people deep. It was very plausible that even though were only 5 people deep at the turnstiles upon arriving, we were passed by lots that ran or got through their turnstile quickly.

Sorry to wander off topic, but the entry system is something that has always burned me about Universal. After making sure to arrive early and have a touring plan in place, I end up listening to five minutes of "Press down...a little harder....no, that's too hard...hmm, did this get demagnetized? ... Okay, try it again....." as dozens of people rush past me. Now that I have an AP, maybe I can avoid that this summer.

 

[damo]

Sorry to wander off topic, but the entry system is something that has always burned me about Universal. After making sure to arrive early and have a touring plan in place, I end up listening to five minutes of "Press down...a little harder....no, that's too hard...hmm, did this get demagnetized? ... Okay, try it again....." as dozens of people rush past me. Now that I have an AP, maybe I can avoid that this summer.

You still have to use the same scanner. What we did this past vacation that had great results was rub our index finger on our clothing before we used the scanner. It seemed to work extremely well then.

 

[mesaboy2]

Here now for couple hours while I pass through Orlando. Walked right in to WWoHP at 1:30, posted FJ time 60 minutes, did SR in 10. Ollivander's looks it's usual crazy wait, 45-60 minutes I'd guess.

 

[ekraxa]

We were in IOA on Sunday, June 5th. Since our entire reason for going to Universal was Harry Potter we took the advice of people on this board and arrived early to be there at opening. We also left all of our backpacks and camera cases at the hotel room.

They opened about 15 minutes early and we followed the crowd to WWoHP. We walked right onto Forbidden Journey, rode the Dragon Challenge, and made it through Ollivanders (where my 12 yo son was selected) and then ate a wonderful and relaxing lunch at Three Broomsticks all before noon. We left WWoHP around 1 and the crowds were really starting to get intense.

Few things worth noting - the Dragon Challenge really is intense. A young woman threw up in front of us as soon as she stepped off the ride. The butter beer we bought in Three Broomsticks had this wonderful creamy foam on top that was simply divine!!!! I watched them make it and it was something they sprayed on top of the drink after they filled the cup.

The wand show at Ollivanders was neat but mostly just because my son was chosen. Not sure it would have been worth the wait otherwise. We waited longer for that than any other ride at IOA.

Thanks to everyone here for the advice on how to manage IOA! Thanks to you we were able to experience the best of WWoHP!

 

[mesaboy2]

The wand show at Ollivanders was neat but mostly just because my son was chosen. Not sure it would have been worth the wait otherwise. We waited longer for that than any other ride at IOA.

I consistently advise doing Ollivander's before anything else with early entry for this very reason. Cute show, but not worth a long wait.

 

[DVC Dude]

I was there yesterday and my best advice is to go on the Singles lines as Harry Potter ride line was 90 minutes for non-singles and less than 5 minutes for singles. We went with a family of 4 and got lucky and rode 2x2.

The other best advice is to travel light and do NOT use the lockers as that was the reason the lines were so long.

Also, don't be cute and try to beat the lockers such as using the ones by the Fire and Ice rides as they only give 30-45 minutes and HP gives almost 2 hours grace periods.

Finally, get your butterbeer in 3 broomsticks as there is A/C and shade and tables to sit down.

 

[ddd928]

Returning to WWoHP in August but with two new visitors (one 13 year old but other 3 adults)...really flexible as to dates and want to do an afternoon and then whole next day in the park. What days of week do you recommend? First choice would be to fly in Monday and spend Monday and Tuesday in park...but think I read months ago that Wed is a better day? Any advice appreciated.