Harry Potter ???

[gayles]

The Express Pass for H P is it only to go early in the morning ? Or is it an all day thing? Never been ... Any Advice is welcome >>>>

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is an area within the park with three rides. Guests who are staying at the on-site hotels or certain partner hotels can enter Islands of Adventure an hour before the general public to experience the Wizarding World. Only two of the Harry Potter rides accept the Express Pass- Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff. Express Passes can be used on these rides at any time of the day. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the big ride inside the castle, is open for Early Entry but does not accept the Express Pass.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Based on our recent trip, and assuming you are staying at an onsite hotel:

You get "early access" to the full WWoHP at 7AM for one hour, along with people staying at "partner hotels". We found it best to utilize that hour each morning to do either Ollivander's (just once, as my DD8 was chosen to do the wand ceremony on our first visit so we were "done" with that) and the Forbidden Journey, which is an experience unlike any other I've had at any amusement park. The WWoHP then opens to the regular public at 8:00, although in my opinion it didn't start getting really busy until about 8:30 or 8:45 (although the line for Forbidden Journey starts getting long by 7:30, in my experience).

The Express Pass works throughout the day for Flight of the Hippogriff (a really fun coaster that my family rode, seriously, at least 20 times in four days due to the ease of using the Express Pass) and the Dueling Dragon ride (I never could get down the real name, but I really enjoyed riding it) but does not work, at any time of day at the current time, for Forbidden Journey or Ollivander's.

So, I'd suggest using the free hour to use do Ollivander's and the Forbidden Journey and then using Express Pass for the rest once the park opens to the general public.

 

[gayles]

Yes we will be staying on site ----- I hate to say this but we are not early- Bird people ====== I guess 10 am --- or mid-day is not what we should do .... right ?

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Yes we will be staying on site ----- I hate to say this but we are not early- Bird people ====== I guess 10 am --- or mid-day is not what we should do .... right ?

I think it's worth it to get up early at least one day to see HP when it is relatively empty. From your signature I see that you're going in October? The parks aren't typically too crowded that time of year, but it still is probably worth your while especially if you're trying to do the park in one day. Early Entry during that time of year will start at 8 AM.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Yes we will be staying on site ----- I hate to say this but we are not early- Bird people ====== I guess 10 am --- or mid-day is not what we should do .... right ?

My wife and children are not, either, but my DD8 is such a Potterphile that she happily got up with me to be there at 7AM each day and we then met my wife and son later in the morning once they were up and going.

I will say that the single rider line for FJ moves very quickly, and since there is no way to interact with others during the ride even if you're riding with family, it's a great way to do the ride with a shorter line (although you miss seeing a lot of the castle that way). My daughter did single rider 15 times (no exaggeration), in addition to the four times I rode it with her, while I waited in the Child Swap room, and each time it took her less than 15 minutes in line, so that may be a strategy for you to ride FJ without getting there at 7AM. As for Ollivander's, I think if you don't get there early, you'll just have to deal with a longer line, but it never looked awful, in my opinion.

 

[mcgregml]

I am an early bird and enjoy the early entry to HP, but not everyone in my group does.

We found that often another good time to visit the HP area was late in the afternoon. The lines for FJ were not long then (20 - 30 minutes typically) and we were there in June when the crowds are bigger. The line for Olivanders was still pretty long though; definitely an early morning there if you don't want to wait in line!

 

[DCTooTall]

October crowds at IOA are much lighter than they are during the summer. If you can't bring yourself to get everyone to the park for early entry, You will often find the WWoHP also somewhat slower and emptier later in the day (say the hour or so before the park closes).

Olivanders will probably still have a healthy line since it's such low capacity, but FJ's line will be maybe 20-30min tops in the regular line. (Single rider would probably be almost a walk-on)

 

[Lyndye]

Your daughter is awesome! I would love to do that! Hope I can when I go in October.

My wife and children are not, either, but my DD8 is such a Potterphile that she happily got up with me to be there at 7AM each day and we then met my wife and son later in the morning once they were up and going.

I will say that the single rider line for FJ moves very quickly, and since there is no way to interact with others during the ride even if you're riding with family, it's a great way to do the ride with a shorter line (although you miss seeing a lot of the castle that way). My daughter did single rider 15 times (no exaggeration), in addition to the four times I rode it with her, while I waited in the Child Swap room, and each time it took her less than 15 minutes in line, so that may be a strategy for you to ride FJ without getting there at 7AM. As for Ollivander's, I think if you don't get there early, you'll just have to deal with a longer line, but it never looked awful, in my opinion.