luandjustin
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 4, 2008
- Messages
- 32
I'm a long-time lurker, infrequent poster. DW and I just returned from Orlando, so I thought I'd share our Harry Potter experience here.
We were there on a Monday (Sept 20, 2010), so you'll have to take that into account, but I definitely don't think an Express Pass would have been a good idea. We queued up outside the Universal IoA main gate around 8:15. We were near the front, and at about 10 minutes to 9, they opened the gates and let us through the turnstiles. Wealong with everyone elsemade our way to Hogsmeade and, more specifically, the Forbidden Journey.
Like many Universal rides, we had to check DW's bag in a locker (free). There are lockers at the base of the castle (where the FJ ride is housed), but we made the mistake of going for the first locker terminal near the entrance to the locker room. I suggest going deeper in the locker room and using one of the terminals back there. (As with all the Universal locker rooms, each locker terminal controls a specific bank of lockers.)
If you're worried that you're going to be forced to wait in an excruciatingly long line, don't be. Two reasons: 1) Even if we'd dilly-dallied, there wouldn't have been much of a wait. 2) Waiting is actually pretty cool. The castlethe queuewas my favorite part of the ride. (For me, this is not unusual. My favorite parts of Animal Kingdom are the queues for Everest and Kali River Rapids. Go figure.) There really is quite a bit to see during the HP queue: you go through a greenhouse, hallways with animated portraits, Dumbledore's office, the Sorting Hat, etc. It's pretty fun. I would think that a 30 minute wait would have been pretty perfect. Instead, we had about a five minute "wait."
The ride itself is... well, I guess it's not my style. It's kind of like Spider Man on steroids. The best parts are those that don't involve the screen/projection system. And those are pretty disorienting. I don't remember there being a great sense of space, like there is on the Spider Man ride. Everything felt pretty cramped and schizophrenic.
The next stop was a visit to Ollivander's shop, which we waited about 20 minutes for. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. (Rattling drawers? Flickering lights? That's it?) But you should definitely check it out, mostly so you can say you've done it.
The Three Broomsticks was fun. Food-wise, it's better than most quick serve places I've been in Disney and Universal. DW had shepherd's pie, me the fish 'n chips. Both were pretty scrumptious, and the portions were huge (of course). We showed up around 10:30 (we didn't eat breakfast), so it was dead.
Apparently, it was JK Rowling's wish that the shops and other areas be designed in such a way that people feel cramped, shoulder-to-shoulder. Mission accomplished. Shopping was miserable, and the park wasn't even that busy. Oh, and the wands are $30. They're neat, but... um... $30?
Later in the day, we returned to Hogsmeade after a tour of the rest of the parks (no wait on any ridesagain, no Express Pass needed). We waited about 20 minutes for the Flight of the Hippogriff. There's an animatronic hippogriff, Hogwart's cabin, and some wicker embellishments to the roller coaster cars, but other that, it's the same as it was before Harry Potter arrived in Orlando.
The Dueling Dragons is still an awesome coaster, but the only change to the ride was the omission of all the skeletons from the queue. They were really cool. I miss them. I wonder where they are now...
Not really sure if this is useful info, but I figured I'd just do a brain dump.
We were there on a Monday (Sept 20, 2010), so you'll have to take that into account, but I definitely don't think an Express Pass would have been a good idea. We queued up outside the Universal IoA main gate around 8:15. We were near the front, and at about 10 minutes to 9, they opened the gates and let us through the turnstiles. Wealong with everyone elsemade our way to Hogsmeade and, more specifically, the Forbidden Journey.
Like many Universal rides, we had to check DW's bag in a locker (free). There are lockers at the base of the castle (where the FJ ride is housed), but we made the mistake of going for the first locker terminal near the entrance to the locker room. I suggest going deeper in the locker room and using one of the terminals back there. (As with all the Universal locker rooms, each locker terminal controls a specific bank of lockers.)
If you're worried that you're going to be forced to wait in an excruciatingly long line, don't be. Two reasons: 1) Even if we'd dilly-dallied, there wouldn't have been much of a wait. 2) Waiting is actually pretty cool. The castlethe queuewas my favorite part of the ride. (For me, this is not unusual. My favorite parts of Animal Kingdom are the queues for Everest and Kali River Rapids. Go figure.) There really is quite a bit to see during the HP queue: you go through a greenhouse, hallways with animated portraits, Dumbledore's office, the Sorting Hat, etc. It's pretty fun. I would think that a 30 minute wait would have been pretty perfect. Instead, we had about a five minute "wait."
The ride itself is... well, I guess it's not my style. It's kind of like Spider Man on steroids. The best parts are those that don't involve the screen/projection system. And those are pretty disorienting. I don't remember there being a great sense of space, like there is on the Spider Man ride. Everything felt pretty cramped and schizophrenic.
The next stop was a visit to Ollivander's shop, which we waited about 20 minutes for. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. (Rattling drawers? Flickering lights? That's it?) But you should definitely check it out, mostly so you can say you've done it.
The Three Broomsticks was fun. Food-wise, it's better than most quick serve places I've been in Disney and Universal. DW had shepherd's pie, me the fish 'n chips. Both were pretty scrumptious, and the portions were huge (of course). We showed up around 10:30 (we didn't eat breakfast), so it was dead.
Apparently, it was JK Rowling's wish that the shops and other areas be designed in such a way that people feel cramped, shoulder-to-shoulder. Mission accomplished. Shopping was miserable, and the park wasn't even that busy. Oh, and the wands are $30. They're neat, but... um... $30?
Later in the day, we returned to Hogsmeade after a tour of the rest of the parks (no wait on any ridesagain, no Express Pass needed). We waited about 20 minutes for the Flight of the Hippogriff. There's an animatronic hippogriff, Hogwart's cabin, and some wicker embellishments to the roller coaster cars, but other that, it's the same as it was before Harry Potter arrived in Orlando.
The Dueling Dragons is still an awesome coaster, but the only change to the ride was the omission of all the skeletons from the queue. They were really cool. I miss them. I wonder where they are now...
Not really sure if this is useful info, but I figured I'd just do a brain dump.
I've also done the mummy ride but I've always stayed away from DD's Would anyone like to comment on FJ? Do you think I can handle it? 
