Harry Potter World - how much time would you recommend?

[PrincessInOz]

For those of you that have recently gone to WWoHP, how much time should DH and I allocate for a visit?

DH and I are thinking that if we aren't too jetlagged, we should try to move heaven and earth to get to WWoHP on Sunday, which is the only possible day in our mad dash to WDW. We are mad Harry Potter fans.

We're doing the flight from Melbourne to Orlando on Saturday and expect to be checking in to CSR at past 11 pm on Saturday night. Crashing to bed will be a certainty.....although I'm not sure what time we will wake up in the morning.

I'm expecting that we will be catching a taxi to get to Universal but do not expect that we will get there early. I would like to be able to book Mears; but I cannot guarantee a re-boot time on Sunday morning; much less necktop processing speed!

I'm resigned to not getting on any of the rides; but want to go see the park and at least be able to experience the stroll through the Hogs (wart and meade) and get some Butterbeer.

I'm meeting up with a couple of Dis-ers for dinner at CP (6 pm ADR) and expect that we would need to leave the Universal area around 3.30 - 4 pm to get back to the hotel, freshen up and make it MK.

Do you recommend a minimum of 4 hours? If we don't want to queue for the major rides, what else would you recommed we try and experience?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ehsmum]

Hmmm, it's really hard to say. There isn't enough to keep you busy in WWoHP for 4 hours BUT the crowds are manic and you could spend that time just lining up for the rides/Ollivander's. When we were there you even had to line up just to get into the gift shops!

We spent 1.5 hours there two mornings and again one evening. So we did spend 4.5 hours total but we did all 3 rides several times, as well as Ollivander's. We also had dinner at the Three Broomsticks.

The problem with not arriving early is that (if the crowds are anything like they were in July) you will have to line up just to enter WWoHP. Ms Shuttergirl will be able to give a better idea of more recent crowd levels.

I think if you plan to get there sometime on Sunday morning and are able to stay till around 5pm-ish then you will definitely get quality time at WWoHP. You might not get to see much else at Univeral though.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm not planning on seeing anything else in Universal.
If it weren't for Harry, we wouldn't even go to the Universal area this trip....and we definitely need to get back for 6 pm ADR (or a little earlier). DH starts his conference at 7.30 pm; so he's cutting it very fine as it is.

Sounds like if I wanted to stroll and enjoy the ambience that 4 hours would allow us queue time for selective attractions.

Was Ollivanders worth it? I've been following the commentary on that sub-forum and the jury seems split....

 

[ehsmum]

Ollivander's was worth it for us as my dd was picked to receive the wand, so it was really special. I can imagine that if we weren't the chosen ones (haha) that it would still be a lot of fun though

I would definitely go. If you're not worried about trying to do all the other rides at IOA or go into US then you'll have plenty of time for Harry .

 

[PrincessInOz]

Excellent! Thank you.

Is there anything else you would recommend that we "must see" at HPW?

 

[DizOz]

Excellent! Thank you.

Is there anything else you would recommend that we "must see" at HPW?

Princessin OZ,

We just got back and had a great time at HPW.

Must do's are:

1. Olivanders. The wands are the same price as you get them in the shops, major difference is the box has Olivanders on them and they are not character specific as you get in the shop. Our 2 DD did not get selected but was a good show none the less. Line is a bit long but perserve not as bad as it looks.

2. Forbidden Journey was great. Tip is to do it first thing and go straight to locker and put everyting loose in there including bags etc.

3. Butterbeer - Loved it. Got the cold and frozen version. Preferred cold as frozen lacked the taste and gave me brain freeze. Owwwww.

All the other rides are re-hash of old rides. OK but not new.

We managed to get there early as we stayed on site and park opened an hour early. After the park opened at 9am it was kaos as everyone heads straight for HPW.

 

[ehsmum]

Well for me, a must-see/do is The Forbidden Journey ride. I think it's the best ride I've ever been on. But I told Ms Shuttergirl that, and now her poor daughter is traumatised for life!

You can't experience the inside of Hogwarts without lining up for Forbidden Journey so I would recommend joining the line even if it's a long wait. There's plenty in the line to keep you oohing and ahhing and the detail really is amazing.

And even if you don't want to do the Dragon rollercoaster, check out the line as that's the only way to see the flying car and the TriWizard Cup.

Try and catch a performance by the Frog Choir and the Triwizard Champions. Have a meal at the Three Broomsticks. If you're big HP fans, I'd say line up for Ollivander's, even if you don't have kids with you. You won't get picked as the chosen one, but the experience is pretty cool anyway. And it gets you into the shop without having to line up seperately for that.

Be sure to check out all the detail in the shop windows. We saw quills writing on their own and a tape measure working around Hermione's Yule Ball dress.

It is such an amazing experience, especially for HP fans. My DH is not a fan and really doesn't know much about HP but even he was blown away and advises everyone to go.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks everyone....much appreciated.

 

[cola]

I'm here this week.
We went for line drop this last Sunday morning at 9am, it wasn't too bad. We went straight to Forbidden Journey, it was a 20min wait. The park had already been open for an hour for on site guests, which was why there was a wait. We did a queue up for Dervishs and Bangles that took about 20min. Olivanders is tomorrow. We left by about 11am. We went back about 6pm for 2 hours as the sun went down. The queues for everything except Ollivanders was less than at 9am.

We wnet again today about 10:30am, everything was packed! And it was very hot.

Other than being amazed by the details and FJ there isn't much to it. 4hrs should be fine, though could be very hot and bright, a great way to reset the body-clock for jet-lag.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I'm here this week.
We went for line drop this last Sunday morning at 9am, it wasn't too bad. We went straight to Forbidden Journey, it was a 20min wait. The park had already been open for an hour for on site guests, which was why there was a wait. We did a queue up for Dervishs and Bangles that took about 20min. Olivanders is tomorrow. We left by about 11am. We went back about 6pm for 2 hours as the sun went down. The queues for everything except Ollivanders was less than at 9am.

We wnet again today about 10:30am, everything was packed! And it was very hot.

Other than being amazed by the details and FJ there isn't much to it. 4hrs should be fine, though could be very hot and bright, a great way to reset the body-clock for jet-lag.

Thanks! Have a GREAT time! And we'll be here waiting for your TR when you get back

 

[Oz-kateer]

I'd agree - at least 4 hours. It's not all that big but the lines can be long, and the HP rides are not part o f the Universal fastpass equivalent (the name escapes me). We did the 9am mad dash as well through Suess Landing etc and when we got to WWOHP the kids ran straight up the hill to the castle and the Forbidden Journey ride, there was only a 15 min wait but the line moved constantly. It's a long line, part in doors, part outdoors (up and series of banck and forth ramps) but the indoors part is interesting to look at. I think our "line" was actually the length of the walk from the entry gate to to actual ride.

The ride itself is great - a bit intense in some parts, and perhaps not for the easily motion-sick. I came off it a bit headachy but still had fun. You ride in groups of 4. The only part that really scared my 7 year old was the spiders - you come so close to them I think that is what freaked him out the most.

There was no wait for the dragons ride at all, but there is a height restriction that means a lot of kids cant ride anyway.

Had photos taken with the Hogwarts Express driver (or station manager, whatever he is) and went in all the shops (which are a bit pokey and crowded) and of course Olivanders where my son was lucky enough to be chosen for the little show they do. The Olivanders line can look long but do line up, it's not so bad. If you want to try and get chosen for the wand show, when you enter, if you can, aim for the far left corner of the room. That's where he seems to choose from - we were told beforehand, tried it, and it worked.

I found the butterbeer way too sweet for my palate but the kids liked it.