Harry Potter- Wizarding World FAQ

[mesaboy2]

I will be heading to Universal the Sunday before Labor day until that Friday. How do yo think the crowds will be starting Tuesday? TIA!!!

I expect it'll be pretty light then. Labor Day doesn't have much impact on crowds, which is why I'll be there myself that weekend. Even better for you midweek.

 

[OrcaPotter]

For those of you that know your theme park attractions well, what rides or attractions do you think should have been included at WWoHP? The rides are too aggressive for very young visitors, and the only other ride is FotH which is yet another coaster.

I would like to have seen an interactive show and a carousel maybe.

One of the positives and negatives about Universal is that most of their attractions are meant to be thrilling. My thought is that since Disney already meets the needs of most children under 8 years old, the likelihood that they'd invest in mild and/or "slow" rides wouldn't have as big an appeal with the demographics they aim toward--which are the teen and young adult sets--something Disney does not really do well with other than the pull of nostalgia. Even Cat in the Hat has an element of "thrill" to it with the occasional spinning. My motion sickness-prone mother has to count THAT ride out, too.

So, something like a carousel already exists at IoA in Suess Landing ... in addition to other mild rides like One Fish Two Fish and the Sneeches Train--they're unlikely to repeat rides like those. Though, I agree, I would love for them to build a milder attraction in WWoHP for those who have motion sickness and younger children who otherwise love Potter. Take out the Sinbad show (I have not seen it since the park opened) and perhaps replace it with some sort of HP-themed show. How about some sort of interactive playground where you can do "real magic" or something? Or (and I like this best) ... turn the Hogwarts Express into an actual ride.

 

[Tink2Day]

I agree Orca, and JK Rowling would never go for it. She has said that the books aren't targeted at young children. Turning it into kiddie rides wouldn't fit with the dark themes of HP.

That may be why the children in her books don't attend Hogwart's until they are 11.
Personally if/when I had small children Fantasyland at Disney was perfect for them. Older children find it boring and babyish and want more excitement. They also are happy to get away from the, think my 14 year old grand called them: 'whiney ankle biters'. (guess the whiney teens are better)

There have been rumors that an expansion will occur, lets hope so!

 

[left210]

Can you buy pumpkin juice and butterbeer bottled to take home to someone as a souvenir? If so how much is it?

 

[beckysmith]

Pumpkin juice is bottled, butter beer is not. However, I think they sell souvenir mugs for butter beer. I had the crazy luck of going twice this summer, and the first time (a week before it officially opened- it was secretly opened) they had these great mugs that you could buy your butter beer in and get free refills with it- but the second time, about a month and a half later, I didn't see any mugs and you couldn't get free refills. But either way, you can probably find a butter beer mug somewhere and pumpkin juice comes bottled.

 

[Redbudlover]

I was just there in mid-March and went solo. First of all I learned that if you are not a hotel guest by the time you get to FJ the line is huge.Do not stop at Olivander's- that line is the slowest I have ever seen any where. Skip the show and buy your wand after you ride FJ. I was there at RD and went directly to Dragon Challenge. I was in line and was told it would be an hour long line when a CM came through looking for single riders. He took a group of us through the line to the place single riders enter. It was a great ride and I decided to ride again since the single rider line was a walk on. I had already picked up my backpack for the lockers however so had to drop it off again. A Cm told me to go to the end of the main line which would take us to the lockers eventually and from there I could go to the single rider line. That main line was still huge. I thought about it for a second and realized I could enter the area for the lockers without going through the main line as I had been shown by the first CM who took us through the first time. So I went in the locker exit - dropped off my stuff and walked right onto the single rider line from there.... I could have done that all day! So if anyone wants to ride that ride alone do the FJ ride first, then the Hippogriff which is really really really short after a long line, and then ride dragon challenge to your heart's content! You will minimize your time in lines that way...

 

[DAlston4485]

How much time should I allot for Harry? I am going on a busy, busy week (the Sunday before Easter), I am a HUGE Harry fan, and I want to see everything in there. Is this going to be an all day experience? We couldn't afford the on site hotel, so we are staying at the Double Tree at the Gates of Universal or something like that. We are thinking of getting in line at 7:30 for a 9:00 opening. Any thought would be greatly appreciated!

Did you purchase a package through the Double Tree with tickets or just booked the hotel? If you booked the package, I'm pretty sure you get early entry bc Double Tree is a partner Hotel.

 

[damo]

Did you purchase a package through the Double Tree with tickets or just booked the hotel? If you booked the package, I'm pretty sure you get early entry bc Double Tree is a partner Hotel.

You have to have booked the package through Universal to get the early entry.

 

[DAlston4485]

You have to have booked the package through Universal to get the early entry.

Yes that's true. Forgot about that when I wrote it.

 

[undertheseas]

We've never been to a theme park with a toddler but DH's conference has rented out the park in June one evening and I have to go Can someone please tell me how the baby swap works? Do we all get to go through the queue together until the very end? Or where does the adult and toddler wait?

TIA!

 

[rosieari9197]

does anyone know if the butterbeer is kosher?

 

[Sowmya]

We are five adults and we will be staying at Disney's All Star music. I am wondering if it is better to rent a car or hire a cab to get to Universal. Does mears have cabs for 5 passengers?

My next question is if we want to do just the castle tour at WWOHP do we still need to leave our bags in the lockers? Or can we directly join the line for castle tour?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Harry Potter]

I am a big sucker for Harry Potter soundtracks, so I am going to write an incomplete list of all the great orchestral music you will hear at WWoHP and whereabouts within it! That way, you can download any individual tracks that remind you of your vacation!

Flight of the Hippogriff:

A Window to the Past
Hagrid the Professor
Buckbeak's Flight

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey:

Secrets of the Castle (Castle queue)
Hedwig's Theme (loading station)
Harry's Wondrous World ("Ron and Harry will meet you outside!")
Hedwig's Theme ("Hermoine did it! They're Flying!")
The Spiders (the forbidden forest sequence)
The Quidditch Match ("Showing off to your Muggle admirers, Potter?")
Mr. Longbottom Flies ("We've made it! To the Great Hall!")
Harry's Wondrous World ("You're free to return to Hogwarts any time. Now, tuck your elbows in!")

Dragon Challenge:

Harry Sees Dragons
Golden Egg

Hogsmeade area music:

Potter Waltz (most frequent)
Neville's Waltz
Leaving Hogwarts
Reunion of Friends
Entry to the Great Hall and the Banquet
Diagon Alley and the Gringotts Vault
The Flying Car
Fawkes the Phoenix
Double Trouble
Aunt Marge's Waltz (very frequent)
Christmas at Hogwarts
Fireworks
Dumbledore's Army
Flight of the Order of the Phoenix

Very incomplete, any more ideas?

 

[pooh4evr]

We will be in Orlando Sept 27- Oct 7 - we haven't done universal before but are planning a day for Harry -- are crowds the first week of Oct OK? I have heard of "hell Week" - what is it and do we need to worry about it? FWIW our kids are 10,8 and 4 Thanks!

 

[Metro West]

We will be in Orlando Sept 27- Oct 7 - we haven't done universal before but are planning a day for Harry -- are crowds the first week of Oct OK? I have heard of "hell Week" - what is it and do we need to worry about it? FWIW our kids are 10,8 and 4 Thanks!

Crowds in October aren't usually bad...it can be crowded but nothing like summer. Hell Week isn't until mid-October and normally affects crowds at Halloween Horror Nights...not the parks during the day.

 

[pooh4evr]

Thak You!

 

[lklasing]

A friend just told me she is going to WDW/US in a couple of weeks, staying in a rental home. I am looking for information about what the best strategy is for the Harry Potter area, including rides, for US visitors who are not staying on-site. I thought I heard about 2 months ago on a podcast that they are changing to a system where everyone is assigned a particular time to go, with the intent to lessen the tremendous waits. Does anyone know if that is true? Can y'all help me understand the best plan to visit the HP area? I've never been but want to try to help my friend.

Any quick responses will be appreciated as we are going to dinner tonight. Thanks!

 

[mesaboy2]

A friend just told me she is going to WDW/US in a couple of weeks, staying in a rental home. I am looking for information about what the best strategy is for the Harry Potter area, including rides, for US visitors who are not staying on-site. I thought I heard about 2 months ago on a podcast that they are changing to a system where everyone is assigned a particular time to go, with the intent to lessen the tremendous waits. Does anyone know if that is true? Can y'all help me understand the best plan to visit the HP area? I've never been but want to try to help my friend.

Any quick responses will be appreciated as we are going to dinner tonight. Thanks!

It sounds like you're talking about the timed entry system that has been in place at WWoHP for months now. It is typically used when crowds are moderate to heavy. If you are familiar with Disney's FastPass, it is just like that except it is only used to gain entry into the area, not any specific attraction.

 

[OrcaPotter]

I agree with the above post--sounds like the raffle ticket method where you're given a time to come back to the area, this does not mean you'll have an easier time with the attractions.

Best summer approach: Go in the middle of the week. US is popular with locals (such as myself) and crowds tend to be insane Friday and Saturday. I've heard Sundays are slower, but this may not apply for folks on summer vacations.

Not staying on-site, go as early as you can, just expect there to already be a hefty wait for WWoHP depending on how many on-site folks took advantage of their early entry. Best bet is to do all the other rides, which should have minimal waits. Leave WWoHP until much, much later in the day--close to closing and crowds should be a lot less.

If you're there on a day they're handing out tickets, you know it's beyond insanely crowded. Go ride other rides, check out US, then try again much later.

 

[kkendle]

Hi.....I am new here to this site....but have been reading a LOT of the posts and learned a great deal...thanks!

Our first full day in Orlando will be Thurs. June 2nd...I had planned on going to Universal that day thinking that kids may still be in school and a lot of vacations will have not started yet...being a week day as well then maybe the crowds wouldn't be that bad...specifically for the Harry Potter World.

Now I see that the park closes at 7pm that night....what to do????? We are NOT staying on site so cannot do early ebtry or express passes and I opted not to spend the minor fortune it costs for the VIP tickets (although I realize they do not apply to Harry Potter).

Maybe I should wait until the follwing Tues. or Wed. June 7th or 8th to go? Any advice or opinions would be welcomed!!!!

I will be in the Orlando area fron June 1st (late evening)-Wed. June 15th....but we fly out that day. We have 6 day Disnet tickets and 4 day Universal/IOA tickets. We also may go to Busch Gardens 1 day and Daytona beach one day if I don't collapse from exhaustion first!!!

I got multi day tickets and we will likely not use every single day but it is so cheap to add on a day after the first few that I thought it would be a good idea in case we have the energy to go.

One more thing...I have been reading here that you cannot take bags on the rides but have to leave them in lockers but if you are wearing a fanny pack...they allow those on the rides? Does anyone know if that is true? As dorky as fanny packs are....I would rather wear that then have to put a bag in lockers every time I get on something. My kids think I am the biggest dork ever with my fanny pack and tourist hat. I don't care as no one cares what everyone else looks like!

Thanks for your help!!