Harry Potter Opening Stampede Changed

[inkkognito]

Am waiting for 2nd ride on HP this morning and am happy to stay they changed the idiotic morning stampede after yesterday's fiasco. We were #2 at the turnstyle, and this time they opened a little later (still before 8) and did not do a rope drop. Instead they had team members stationed every so often telling everyone to walk, which kept it down to power walking and light jogging. People trickled in so no stampede and it was more fair because the earliest in line were the earliest to HP. We were right up front and got through so quickly we're hoping to get one more before it goes belly up. I hope they keep it this way for you future previewers.

 

[mrspopeye]

Thanks for the info. Your article was also very good. I hope they get the bugs worked out before our trip in October.

 

[Metro West]

Glad to hear things are changing for the better.

 

[LJF]

Glad to hear things are changing for the better.

Me, too!

Can I ask what time you got there, ink?

 

[damo]

And that is why they have soft openings. Glad to hear things are improving.

 

[Metro West]

Can I ask what time you got there, ink?

Knowing Barb...she probably got there before the sun came up.

 

[Dollyrar]

That's great to hear. I'm glad that they're using this time before opening to figure out how to handle the crowds safely
I also appreciated your review of WWOHP, so thanks for all the top info!

 

[tink1957]

I'm glad to hear that things have improved since we were there yesterday, a little boy just ahead of us got knocked down by a couple of teenagers rushing to Hogwarts, it was a nightmare trying to keep up with the rush of people heading to the castle.

The good news is that we finally got to ride FJ yesterday before we went back home which made our trip well worth the hassle.

 

[inkkognito]

Still writing from ioa so please excuse typos. We arrived a little before 7 am and crowd grew more slowly today. Got 4 rides on FJ with 1 35 min wait and 3 walk ons!!!!!! Broke down while we were literally on our backs and after a brief panic attack I got all excited at the prospect of experiencing an evac but they got it going in a few mins. Lots off butterbeer, cauldron cakes and pumpkin tarts, more photos, bought shirts and hubby was picked for a wand. We were literally the only ones in Ollivanders so he thought it would be me...ha ha! If only I had a camcorder. The shows are actually different (different effects). He got the phonix core with the skull...way cool. People out in IOA actually asked to see our merchandise. The preview was ooooo worth it for us.

 

[FINFAN]

Still writing from ioa so please excuse typos. We arrived a little before 7 am and crowd grew more slowly today. Got 4 rides on FJ with 1 35 min wait and 3 walk ons!!!!!! Broke down while we were literally on our backs and after a brief panic attack I got all excited at the prospect of experiencing an evac but they got it going in a few mins. Lots off butterbeer, cauldron cakes and pumpkin tarts, more photos, bought shirts and hubby was picked for a wand. We were literally the only ones in Ollivanders so he thought it would be me...ha ha! If only I had a camcorder. The shows are actually different (different effects). He got the phonix core with the skull...way cool. People out in IOA actually asked to see our merchandise. The preview was ooooo worth it for us.

WOW! I think you are the current record holders for number of rides! We arrive on Friday, but after 10 a.m. so Saturday will be our first attempt...but have until Wednesday the next week. HOpe we are as lucky as youo,,, but just found out DH may not get to ride, he is exactly 6'3" and it might be a no-go.

 

[mar915]

Still writing from ioa so please excuse typos. We arrived a little before 7 am and crowd grew more slowly today. Got 4 rides on FJ with 1 35 min wait and 3 walk ons!!!!!! Broke down while we were literally on our backs and after a brief panic attack I got all excited at the prospect of experiencing an evac but they got it going in a few mins. Lots off butterbeer, cauldron cakes and pumpkin tarts, more photos, bought shirts and hubby was picked for a wand. We were literally the only ones in Ollivanders so he thought it would be me...ha ha! If only I had a camcorder. The shows are actually different (different effects). He got the phonix core with the skull...way cool. People out in IOA actually asked to see our merchandise. The preview was ooooo worth it for us.

So if you got there before 7am, when did they let you in was it still 8am or little earlier?

 

[inkkognito]

They let us in at about 10 minutes to 8, and we were allowed to immediately walk to WWoHP...by the time we got there, they were letting us into FJ already. It was VERY efficient. The day before, when they were doing rope drop stampede thing, it was in at 7:45 but had to stand by the rope till 8 and then walk behind it to WWoHP.

 

[damo]

They let us in at about 10 minutes to 8, and we were allowed to immediately walk to WWoHP...by the time we got there, they were letting us into FJ already. It was VERY efficient. The day before, when they were doing rope drop stampede thing, it was in at 7:45 but had to stand by the rope till 8 and then walk behind it to WWoHP.

Sounds like they are starting to get it running more efficiently. Do you know how long FJ was running for?

 

[damo]

WOW! I think you are the current record holders for number of rides! We arrive on Friday, but after 10 a.m. so Saturday will be our first attempt...but have until Wednesday the next week. HOpe we are as lucky as youo,,, but just found out DH may not get to ride, he is exactly 6'3" and it might be a no-go.

It is probably more of a ratio thing. He may have longer legs and a shorter torso and may be fine. I don't think anyone has absolute numbers.

 

[inkkognito]

Sounds like they are starting to get it running more efficiently. Do you know how long FJ was running for?

Amazingly, it ran continuously from before 8 (I think the Virgin people were riding it earlier) to its scheduled shutdown at 10. That is a far cry from yesterday when we wasted an hour waiting after our first ride and then it died (and I think it died early the two previous days too). We did experienced a shutdown where we spent awhile stuck on our backs but they got it going again without an evac. I hope this bodes well for the future and means they are getting the kinks worked out.

 

[Momw/aplan]

They let us in at about 10 minutes to 8, and we were allowed to immediately walk to WWoHP...by the time we got there, they were letting us into FJ already. It was VERY efficient. The day before, when they were doing rope drop stampede thing, it was in at 7:45 but had to stand by the rope till 8 and then walk behind it to WWoHP.

Okay. I'm beginning to feel a little better about our upcoming package now. Maybe this won't be so bad.
I still want in for a while at night though.

 

[Rags]

Am waiting for 2nd ride on HP this morning and am happy to stay they changed the idiotic morning stampede after yesterday's fiasco. We were #2 at the turnstyle, and this time they opened a little later (still before 8) and did not do a rope drop. Instead they had team members stationed every so often telling everyone to walk, which kept it down to power walking and light jogging. People trickled in so no stampede and it was more fair because the earliest in line were the earliest to HP. We were right up front and got through so quickly we're hoping to get one more before it goes belly up. I hope they keep it this way for you future previewers.

I was there on Saturday during the stampede. At first I was running for the ride then for my life!!! LOL Glad they made some changes!

 

[Planogirl]

Four rides!!!! Now I am really envious.

That is very, very cool.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Lovin' this report.

 

[inkkognito]

I have the feeling all you lucky preview people are going to have really low crowds this week. The HP preview crowd was noticably lighter today. My mind is still reeling at how many times we literally just walked onto FJ. I think a lot of the people did it once right away, then dispersed to check out everything else. For us, the ride was the priority because we can see the shops etc. any time being local but the ride will surely have insane lines when WWoHP is officially open.

We were also literally the only ones in Ollivanders on our last stop (we'd been in several times pverthe 2 days as I wanted to witness all the different effects). Hubby loves his phoenix-tail core wand that chose him, and I wish I had him on video when he tried to move a book with another wand and a whole stack of books nearly fell on him. That's one of the best effects.

As annoying as it is that Uni is limiting those who booked an early vacation to two hours, the quality of that limited time is amazing. And it's really more, since the 2 hours has so far only applied to the rides, with 1-2 more to shop, hang out, get photos with characters, etc. I just hope everyone with upcoming packages has as great a time as we did.