Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[klacey1]

So excited! We decided to stay at RPR for one night-- Saturday Sept. 27th and enjoy IOA/US on Sunday. I've never tried to do IOA/US in only one day and I think staying onsite will help us be able to do as much as possible!

 

[DiNap44]

So excited! We decided to stay at RPR for one night-- Saturday Sept. 27th and enjoy IOA/US on Sunday. I've never tried to do IOA/US in only one day and I think staying onsite will help us be able to do as much as possible!

You're going to love the RPR.

Both parks in one day? Be prepared for a long day. There is so much to do. I would suggest using the Early Entry if you want to ride FJ at WWOHP. Good Luck and enjoy.

 

[EEyorelover22]

I would recommend going Sat night if you can. We did that last summer...went around 5 pm Sat and then used all day Sunday. We mapped out what we wanted to do and hit those high points. We didn't leave until Monday morning though.

We all loved it there!

 

[rtfelt]

It seems this thread is getting off topic a bit IMO. Isn't it supposed to be a "crowd report thread" from those who have gone, when they went, what the crowds were like,what their strategy was, and how it worked? I personally would still be interested in how people's strategy is working for them. Is going first thing in the morning to HP the best way (as many here have stated) or should you do the rest of IoA first then go back to HP later after the "enthusiastic" crowds have dissipated (this is the recommendation from a IoA site I found)? What did you do when you went to HP recently and what would you change if anything now you have 20/20 hindsight?

 

[MrTriVan]

It seems this thread is getting off topic a bit IMO. Isn't it supposed to be a "crowd report thread" from those who have gone, when they went, what the crowds were like,what their strategy was, and how it worked? I personally would still be interested in how people's strategy is working for them. Is going first thing in the morning to HP the best way (as many here have stated) or should you do the rest of IoA first then go back to HP later after the "enthusiastic" crowds have dissipated (this is the recommendation from a IoA site I found)? What did you do when you went to HP recently and what would you change if anything now you have 20/20 hindsight?

We were there this past Saturday and Sunday. If you're staying on site, definately take advantage of early entry into HP. For us, that meant 7am on Saturday, since the park opened at 8am. We did Ollivander's first. We had about a 20 minute wait. I think we were in the third show for the day. We then did FJ with about a 15 minute wait.

We used our express pass to ride Hippogriff & Dragons, bought a butterbeer and then watched the frog choir at 9am. When we left around 9:30 the line for Ollivanders was extremely long, and hordes of people were still streaming into the area.

We came back to have dinner at the Three Broomsticks around 5pm, and the crowds were still pretty heavy, but there was no wait for ordering food.

We went back on Sunday and did the castle-only tour since we moved through the line so quickly on Saturday. We also watched the Tri-Wizards Spirit Rally. Speaking of which, the two shows aren't very well advertised, nor are the show times listed on the park map. We had no problem showing up 5 minutes before the show started and getting a spot on the ground in the "front row". The shows occur every 30 minutes on the half hour, alternating between the two shows, with no shows at 12pm or 12:30pm (lunch break for the performers we were told, although I'm not sure why you need a lunch break when you're only performing once an hour for 10-15 minutes, but that's a different topic...!)

 

[klacey1]

You're going to love the RPR.

Both parks in one day? Be prepared for a long day. There is so much to do. I would suggest using the Early Entry if you want to ride FJ at WWOHP. Good Luck and enjoy.

We will of course do early entry! It's basically the reason we're staying onsite! I've been to US/IOA plenty of times, so I know which rides we;re going to hit at each park. Obviously we won't be able to do everything, but I think we'll get my favorites done!
I will enjoy-- I'm really looking forward to staying onsite!

 

[arlsdimples]

Does anyone have a magic 8 ball handy? Any guesses as to what the crowds will be like on Aug 19 or the 21st?

This will be our first visit to Universal and obviously WWoHP. Would it be in our best interest to drag everyone out of bed uber early? We will be staying on WDW property.

 

[mesaboy2]

Does anyone have a magic 8 ball handy? Any guesses as to what the crowds will be like on Aug 19 or the 21st?

This will be our first visit to Universal and obviously WWoHP. Would it be in our best interest to drag everyone out of bed uber early? We will be staying on WDW property.

Did you not like my answer on the Wizarding FAQ thread?

Crowds this time of year are tough to predict as we are into the final weeks of the summer peak season. I suggested Sunday in the other thread because a) Sundays are often better than Fridays, and b) it's two days closer to the end of the season, not that that matters much.

You can find tons of posts on here that discuss advantages and disadvantages of going early, midday, and late. Midday is by far the least attractive option, but cases can be made for and against the other two. It's really up to you.

 

[arlsdimples]

Sorry....I did very much appreciate your response in the other thread. I guess I have a hard time trying to word what I am trying to figure out. I was more curious as to what the crowds in general will be like on either day. As in normal summer insanity, holiday crowd insanity, or slightly better. Knowing it is still summer I expect it to be crowded. However a few times when we were in Disney in late August the crowds were mildly better during the week because it seemed a lot of schools were back in session. I have no idea when in August this happens, perhaps it's the following week. In our area most schools begin after Labor Day.

I believe I'm over thinking and trying to find answers to things that can not be answered. At any rate thank you very much for your responses they have been most helpful.

 

[mesaboy2]

Sorry....I did very much appreciate your response in the other thread. I guess I have a hard time trying to word what I am trying to figure out. I was more curious as to what the crowds in general will be like on either day. As in normal summer insanity, holiday crowd insanity, or slightly better. Knowing it is still summer I expect it to be crowded. However a few times when we were in Disney in late August the crowds were mildly better during the week because it seemed a lot of schools were back in session. I have no idea when in August this happens, perhaps it's the following week. In our area most schools begin after Labor Day.

I believe I'm over thinking and trying to find answers to things that can not be answered. At any rate thank you very much for your responses they have been most helpful.

No worries. Crowds should be generally falling off about now. Schools in my area are beginning to start up this week and next. Of your three crowd level choices, I'd guess "slightly better". The two days you're considering won't be much different, but my money's on Sunday being better.

 

[dvcspain]

hello
we are going to be there 25 an 26 sptember(sunday and monday) what do you think about the crowds and how can we tour the 2 parks?

harry the first thing or the last thing to avoid crowds?

thank you

 

[mesaboy2]

hello
we are going to be there 25 an 26 sptember(sunday and monday) what do you think about the crowds and how can we tour the 2 parks?

harry the first thing or the last thing to avoid crowds?

thank you

Crowds should be fairly light, except for WWoHP where it is almost always crowded. Do WWoHP either early in the day or late in the day to avoid the midday peaks.

 

[callieriggs]

So we are going on a big family trip to Orlando the week of Thanksgiving. The rest of the family is flying so to save money they are leaving Friday morning. We want to go to Harry Potter world and no one else really does...go figure. That means we could go the Fri after Thanksgiving. Any one have an idea of the crowds for that day? I figure we need to be there early and be patient, figure it will be a ZOO! Sound right?

 

[mesaboy2]

So we are going on a big family trip to Orlando the week of Thanksgiving. The rest of the family is flying so to save money they are leaving Friday morning. We want to go to Harry Potter world and no one else really does...go figure. That means we could go the Fri after Thanksgiving. Any one have an idea of the crowds for that day? I figure we need to be there early and be patient, figure it will be a ZOO! Sound right?

Sounds about right.

 

[Taytortots]

Hi everyone
I'll be going to Disney and Universal On December 3rd until December 13th. I'm wondering what the crowds will be like at that time and if we should go at the begging of our stay or at the end. I figured beginning would be best because the holiday crowds will start coming in later but i'm not sure. Thanks

 

[macraven]

So we are going on a big family trip to Orlando the week of Thanksgiving. The rest of the family is flying so to save money they are leaving Friday morning. We want to go to Harry Potter world and no one else really does...go figure. That means we could go the Fri after Thanksgiving. Any one have an idea of the crowds for that day? I figure we need to be there early and be patient, figure it will be a ZOO! Sound right?

zoo is correct.
the day after Tday is crowded

Hi everyone
I'll be going to Disney and Universal On December 3rd until December 13th. I'm wondering what the crowds will be like at that time and if we should go at the begging of our stay or at the end. I figured beginning would be best because the holiday crowds will start coming in later but i'm not sure. Thanks

early december is delightful.
low crowds and the decorations will be out at universal.

 

[roobix]

Hey Everyone!

My wife and I are thinking about going to IOA the Sunday or Monday after Thanksgiving.

Does anyone have experience with crowds on those days? I see that it's a zoo for the week of Thanksgiving..what about the week following?

We're mostly going just for WWoHP.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mesaboy2]

Hey Everyone!

My wife and I are thinking about going to IOA the Sunday or Monday after Thanksgiving.

Does anyone have experience with crowds on those days? I see that it's a zoo for the week of Thanksgiving..what about the week following?

We're mostly going just for WWoHP.

Thanks in advance!

Sunday may still be busy, Monday probably not as much. Just guessing.

 

[hmmerr02]

Ok, I swore I would never go to IOA again after going on January 3rd of this year and catching EVERYONE still on Christmas break. We couldn't even get our stroller in WWOHP.

Of course....now I am seriously wanting to go back and do all of the things that I couldn't do the first time! I need serious advice. 2 adults 2 children (age 2 and 4). Not too terribly much into thrill rides. Would like to do WWOHP thoroughly and need advice on when/how to do it. Also, what is there for the daughters to do?

Help for a newbie?

 

[OrcaPotter]

2 adults 2 children (age 2 and 4). Not too terribly much into thrill rides. Would like to do WWOHP thoroughly and need advice on when/how to do it. Also, what is there for the daughters to do?

Help for a newbie?

Crowds for WWOHP are still strong, so to avoid the biggest of crowds, you'll want to plan to come in the off season. This includes September through early November, then mid-January through February. I would try to avoid October, because that used to be a slow month but has gained popularity. I would also plan your vacation to occur in the middle of a week, because Universal is popular with locals wave: ) on the weekends--Saturdays in particular.

My #1 advice, too, is to visit WWOHP at the end of the day. Because resort guests get that extra hour to fill WWOHP, unless you're part of that group, you take the chance of entering an already full area depending on how many resort guests took advantage of their early entry. Even on the most crowded of days, I've been able to walk through WWOHP and ride things if I waited until an hour or two before park close.

As for what to do in the area for small children? Your options are a little limited. If the wait isn't long, Ollivander's is a cute 5 minute show if your children are familiar with the books/movies. Flight of the Hippogriff is a little kiddie coaster if your kids are feeling a little more daring. Finally, you can do the castle tour through Hogwarts since they likely aren't tall enough to ride. Fortunately, there's rarely any sort of wait to do the castle tour--you just have to ask a team member for entry. Then there's just taking in all the ambiance of Hogsmeade, but this can be difficult if it's wall to wall people.