Here now! 3 days at US/ IOA - our experience

[cheerky]

On Sat. 12/18, we went to US/ IOA at 2:00 when the rain stopped. The parks were empty! We walked on all rides (several times)...had a blast! We toured the Wizarding World with no waits. FJ is extraordinary and the theming is top notch! However, only in low crowds! Last night, entry to the HP section of the park was absolute chaos with very angry guests! Today, we got a ticket to return the area. The wait times for FJ were 150 minutes. Lines for the stores, vendors, etc. were very, very long. Staff/ security were yelling at guests as there were wall to wall people. IMO, Universal has some work to do to help ensure the safety of their guests and to inform them of the procedures involved in visiting this area. Our family has never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter movie. But, I was heartbroken for the families that traveled to see this area of the park only to be nearly trampled over a wand or scarf.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I know it's crazy, but it's the best they're doing. Let in fewer guests to the land, the lines outside of it get longer. Let in more people to the land, the craziness inside is unbearable.

 

[damo]

If they let too many people in and it gets too crazy, people are upset. If they make you line up outside of the area and only let it a certain number of people, people will still be upset.

There really are no solutions that will keep everyone happy.

If you can't go during lower attendance times, it really is best to wait a few years before going at all.

 

[tfoster]

Yikes! We were originally supposed to be there right now. As the date started nearing, I started getting more and more nervous about the crowds, and pretty close to the last minute switched our trip to last week. Our experience over several days (except for Friday morning which was a stunning contrast) was just like the one you had on Saturday - morning, day, and night Harry Potter had super low crowds and everything was a walk-on. I have lots of great pictures with no people in them whatsoever - even inside of Honeyduke's.

It looks like we made the right decision regarding changing our dates. I hope people are bringing lots of patience with them!

I found out today that my boss and 26 (!!) members of his family are going to Orlando next week. A bunch of them will be spending one day at Universal to see Harry Potter. I didn't have the heart to tell about the crowds and wait times, but I suppose tomorrow I should advise him that they should arrive before the opening time.

 

[Metro West]

I know it's crazy, but it's the best they're doing. Let in fewer guests to the land, the lines outside of it get longer. Let in more people to the land, the craziness inside is unbearable.

Yeah...it's a no win situation for the most part.

 

[damo]

Yeah...it's a no win situation for the most part.

Yup!

It is really tough because they cannot control how long people stay in the Wizarding World. It isn't like a ride where people will continually exit, so people can continually enter.

 

[geenab]

Yikes! We were originally supposed to be there right now. As the date started nearing, I started getting more and more nervous about the crowds, and pretty close to the last minute switched our trip to last week. Our experience over several days (except for Friday morning which was a stunning contrast) was just like the one you had on Saturday - morning, day, and night Harry Potter had super low crowds and everything was a walk-on. I have lots of great pictures with no people in them whatsoever - even inside of Honeyduke's.

It looks like we made the right decision regarding changing our dates. I hope people are bringing lots of patience with them!

I found out today that my boss and 26 (!!) members of his family are going to Orlando next week. A bunch of them will be spending one day at Universal to see Harry Potter. I didn't have the heart to tell about the crowds and wait times, but I suppose tomorrow I should advise him that they should arrive before the opening time.

Also try going late in the evening before closing. That was when we had the best luck. Getting up early in the morning did not work for us (we were in the same broken line ride as horseshowmom)

 

[HillPete]

We were there Sunday 12/19 and the crowds definitely peaked over the lunch hours. We got there right when the park opened (maybe 15 minutes early as we were staying on property) and went straight to WWOHP. We stayed until about 10:30 and they were setting up the barricades to keep people out for the time being. We went and did the rest of the park, went back to the hotel to chill for about 90 minutes and headed back around 5:00. The crowds were waaaay down in WWOHP. We rode FJ twice in a row without waiting much for the second ride. By 7 the line was down to 30 minutes (which was really more like 15-20).

The moral of the story is go early, leave the area by 11 and return after 5. It's much more fun when you can breathe!

--H

 

[englishteacha]

Thanks for the head's up! We're going in February. I know it will be busy, but we'll aim for arriving early or visiting late.