Hogwart's Express

[macraven]

I do split stays at both parks so I know it adds up

Disney has raised prices again on their resorts

This September I'll be paying $30 more per night compared to last September

 

[snoopboop]

We live in MN, so driving 2000 miles is not something I want to do.

Another Minnesotan here!

Here's a sneaky tip you may want to consider... especially for Universal, as their annual passes are much more reasonably priced than Disney... Think about getting APs for Universal instead of buying regular tickets. You might be able to sneak two annual trips out of them... for example, travel in July of one year, then in June of the next year.... It saves a BUNCH on that second trip when you don't have to pay for park tickets! It's how I've managed to make as many trips to Uni as I have.....

 

[Squirlz]

Another Minnesotan here!

Here's a sneaky tip you may want to consider... especially for Universal, as their annual passes are much more reasonably priced than Disney... Think about getting APs for Universal instead of buying regular tickets. You might be able to sneak two annual trips out of them... for example, travel in July of one year, then in June of the next year.... It saves a BUNCH on that second trip when you don't have to pay for park tickets! It's how I've managed to make as many trips to Uni as I have.....

That's what we did. We spent 7 nights at RPR in January so I bought 2 Power Passes. Then I told my Wife 'Well I guess we have to go back in December to get our money's worth.'

 

[macraven]

That's what we did. We spent 7 nights at RPR in January so I bought 2 Power Passes. Then I told my Wife 'Well I guess we have to go back in December to get our money's worth.'

smart homie..

 

[newestkg06]

The annual pass one is a great idea, we'll have to think about that.

 

[bumbershoot]

We're addicted to Potter!! Lol But that's one expensive ride!!!! Upgrading the tickets for just that kills me!!!

I think that you just have to choose to upgrade or not. If you choose to upgrade, stop looking at it as being just for that ride, and PLAN to hope. Make it a part of the trip.

The freedom to travel between parks is nice to have.

Yes.

The same would be true if one were looking at adding Disney on to an already-planned Universal vacation. Adding ANY park on for just one or two days is going to be expensive.

Absolutely.

We keep Universal APs (since 2011!) (and we live in WA), and on one trip where we went from DisneyLAND to Universal Orlando we stayed DVC for our first night specifically so I could do "free" laundry. We considered hitting Epcot that first day, but ultimately it was just a ridiculous expense for a one day ticket. We swam then headed on over to our onsite Uni stay.

Maybe that's why I have such difficulty understanding the mindset that park-to-park access is unnecessary or not worth the expense. We hop back and forth all day long!

Same. I never know when I might NEED a Richter's veggie burger! It was worse when butterbeer was only in one park; now I don't have to hop for that. But it sure was nice to know I could!

 

[Seeker615]

Park to Park passes are worth it in my opinion. we did a 3 day park to park pass and we hopped between parks each day. We would start our mornings in one park and then go to Citywalk for lunch and then head over to the other park. It is so easy to move between parks. I kind of think of Universal as one big park and not two separate parks. If you a big HP fan you will certainly want to re-ride a few of the rides so it would be worth it. We rode Forbidden Journey about 12 times while we were there. It was that good!

 

[slbgnb]

For those that say they get the park to park because it's so easy and nice to go back and forth.....I'm trying to figure out what we would gain by doing that. We will buy a 2 day ticket. Is there a difference between the going back and forth between both parks OR just spending the whole day in one park and then the whole day in another park? Taking HE out of the equation...I'm trying to see what you gain by traveling back and forth between the 2 parks. Sorry if it's a stupid question....it's just that at close to $300 for my family of 5 to do this, it's a hard decision. Thanks!

 

[bchbetha]

For those that say they get the park to park because it's so easy and nice to go back and forth.....I'm trying to figure out what we would gain by doing that. We will buy a 2 day ticket. Is there a difference between the going back and forth between both parks OR just spending the whole day in one park and then the whole day in another park? Taking HE out of the equation...I'm trying to see what you gain by traveling back and forth between the 2 parks. Sorry if it's a stupid question....it's just that at close to $300 for my family of 5 to do this, it's a hard decision. Thanks!

Really, for us, it was so we could have access to all shows, eating and rides each day. We really hopped around all day long depending on our interests, wait times, temperature (warn day? Water rides to cool off!), catch the show at the end of the night... The flexibility was so nice.

 

[Chucky!]

Here's my take on it....if Universal didn't have HP Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, would you go? Is Harry Potter the main point of going to Universal?

If it is, I couldn't justify paying all that money to go, and not paying the additional to get the full experience of the Hogwarts Express (and trust me it is a big part of the experience!!!)

If you are going just because you want to go to Universal and HP stuff is a bonus add on, then take it or leave as you like.

Having said that, I get it it about Universal, when you are already forking out a lot of money for Disney, the extra days at Universal are expensive! I ended up going on my own while DH and DS5 and DD2 stayed at the resort and swam and then went shopping. I was the only one interested in HP, DH doesn't do coasters and kids were mostly too little for everything, so we didn't see the value in paying for all of us.

 

[slbgnb]

Here's my take on it....if Universal didn't have HP Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, would you go? Is Harry Potter the main point of going to Universal?

Hmmmm...that's a good question. We decided to add Universal to our trip 4 years ago because my daughter had just finished all the HP books...so it was definitely a draw. Now, this year we wanted to add it back in - in part because my son has now watched all the movies, but also - Universal has a lot of great rides - in and out of the HP area. We love Mummy, Simpsons, Minion, Hulk, Spiderman.....so...I guess, no - while we love the HP area - we go for more than just that. Thanks for the take on it.....I'm close to deciding against the park to park I think.

 

[PollyannaMom]

True - but, we go at a very slow time and are totally fine doing US 1 day and IofA 1 day....for US.....the only reason to purchase the park to park is for HE. I wouldn't spend that extra hopping money otherwise...but, again, that's just for my family.

We used to be the same way, one park a day was fine for us, but the whole reason we were going this last time was the new HP stuff, so we sprung for the park-to-park. (It did kind of hurt to push that purchase button, though! - I get it.)

For those that say they get the park to park because it's so easy and nice to go back and forth.....I'm trying to figure out what we would gain by doing that. We will buy a 2 day ticket. Is there a difference between the going back and forth between both parks OR just spending the whole day in one park and then the whole day in another park? Taking HE out of the equation...I'm trying to see what you gain by traveling back and forth between the 2 parks. Sorry if it's a stupid question....it's just that at close to $300 for my family of 5 to do this, it's a hard decision. Thanks!

What we found we really liked was the freedom to do things in each park at less busy times, to re-ride favorites, and (of course) the train ride itself! It was pretty amazing. You aren't supposed to take pictures in the cars, but you can on the platform. Here are a couple of mine:

Well....not a bad idea - we'd have to definitely buy 3 though. The 2 avid "Potterheads" are 2 of the kids. Not sure if we'd want to separate or not...something to think about though! I just priced it out....it would be $265 for the 5 of us to have the hoppers.

I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited too! I hate to wish the summer away, BUT.....I can't wait until Sept!

Since it's that far out, look at it this way: If you divide that $265 by the 107 days until your trip, you'd only have to save $2.48 a day!

 

[spima3]

For the OP, another perspective.

We just retuned from Universal. May 9th to 13th. I had purchased the buy 2 day get 3rd free, park hopper for 3 of us. I got them before the prices went up.

We spent about 3 to 4 hours per day in the parks, saw everything we wanted, teens rode favorites a few times and then we were done.

I said to my kids, we very easily could have done a one day park hopper and been happy. Start morning in one, hop over via Hogwarts Express, then back again. Would have been more than enough for us.

We stayed on site w/ early entry and didn't even use that. Waits for most rides were only 10 minutes. Even Gringotts was only about 20 minutes and that was around 11/12.

I think if you are going at a less busy time, are mainly interested in experiencing Harry Potter, buy the hopper for one day. Hogwarts Express was really cool, very short, but cool and so convenient to get to the other park.

 

[cheerupem0kidx0x]

Here's my take on it....if Universal didn't have HP Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, would you go? Is Harry Potter the main point of going to Universal?

If it is, I couldn't justify paying all that money to go, and not paying the additional to get the full experience of the Hogwarts Express (and trust me it is a big part of the experience!!!)

If you are going just because you want to go to Universal and HP stuff is a bonus add on, then take it or leave as you like.

Having said that, I get it it about Universal, when you are already forking out a lot of money for Disney, the extra days at Universal are expensive! I ended up going on my own while DH and DS5 and DD2 stayed at the resort and swam and then went shopping. I was the only one interested in HP, DH doesn't do coasters and kids were mostly too little for everything, so we didn't see the value in paying for all of us.

I would be going solely for harry potter experience, the other stuff will be nice but I am a harry potter fanatic! So I definitely don't want to miss out on HE, just hate to have to pay that much extra for it lol. We are kind of in the same boat, my DH doesn't really care either way if he goes to US, my DD is still kind of little to ride most of the stuff and would rather spend the time at Disney, DS wants to go to US too but more for the roller coasters and the park in general not just HP. That's why we decided to split up for 1 day and have DH/DD go to Disney and me/DS go to US. It saves us about $300.

 

[nkereina]

A lot of people say they want to go only for Potter, but if you're there and spending the money, don't discount the rest of the parks. Some of my favorite attractions and food are in parts of the parks not related to Potter. I'm not a Simpsons fan at all but I crave the big Pink donut! And I've never seen the Mummy movies, but it's one of my favorite rides. If you're spending the day or two days, definitely hit the rest of the park. And as two adults, we spend much more time at Universal than IOA.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I would be going solely for harry potter experience, the other stuff will be nice but I am a harry potter fanatic! So I definitely don't want to miss out on HE, just hate to have to pay that much extra for it lol. We are kind of in the same boat, my DH doesn't really care either way if he goes to US, my DD is still kind of little to ride most of the stuff and would rather spend the time at Disney, DS wants to go to US too but more for the roller coasters and the park in general not just HP. That's why we decided to split up for 1 day and have DH/DD go to Disney and me/DS go to US. It saves us about $300.

I don't think you'll regret it! It seems now like "splitting up" for a day is taking something away from your family vacation, but it will really add to it. That one-on-one time for each child/parent will be a priceless memory! Plus, even though I'm sure they love each other, the kids will both secretly relish not having to take turns doing things that each wants for a little while.

 

[Seeker615]

For those that say they get the park to park because it's so easy and nice to go back and forth.....I'm trying to figure out what we would gain by doing that. We will buy a 2 day ticket. Is there a difference between the going back and forth between both parks OR just spending the whole day in one park and then the whole day in another park? Taking HE out of the equation...I'm trying to see what you gain by traveling back and forth between the 2 parks. Sorry if it's a stupid question....it's just that at close to $300 for my family of 5 to do this, it's a hard decision. Thanks!

I got park to park passes the last 2 times we went and I really could not imagine being without them now. It is nice to be able to head to one park in the morning and then head over to the other maybe in the afternoon to catch a show or shop or eat in the other park. If one park seems congested you can easily walk to the other one. Also it is great if you really want to ride or experience something more than once. Like I said earlier in this thread we rode Forbidden Journey about a dozen times over one of our trips. It also came in handy when on our last day I forgot to get a souvenir that was at IOA so we were able to reenter that park toward the end of the day to purchase it.

And to those who only are going for the Harry Potter experience...I am a huge Potter Fan and the areas are breath-taking but really both parks have so much to experience be sure to explore all the areas of both parks. They are both so well done. Some of my favorite things are The Mummy, The Horror make up show, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Transformers, strolling through the Old NYC area as well as Seuss-land. That is only naming a few!

 

[Erin BN]

It might be a bit late to add to the conversation, but here's my two cents anyway...

I actually am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and in my opinion, the Hogwarts Express is actually pretty over-rated. Don't get me wrong here - it's an excellent ride, and comes with some really great photo-ops of course, and it's different depending on the direction you take it! But if you have 2 days at Universal anyway? It's pretty hard to justify the cost. In terms of value for money, the ride is definitely not worth $45 a head. It absolutely is a sneaky money grab to get everyone to upgrade their tickets. You could consider visiting Universal for only one day and doing the park-to-park - if you spend all day in the parks and plan well you will be able to see and do most of the things on your list even at a slow pace, especially if you go in the slow season. Unfortunately, the money value might not matter if your kids are huge fans, as there could be a sense of 'missing out' on something... though if you can not tell them about it or think they will understand then, honestly, I'd recommend skipping it and saving the money. You aren't really missing out on all that much - there is so much other awesome Harry Potter stuff to see that you might not even care that much. Taking the train adds to the immersiveness of the Harry Potter worlds, but again, not to the extent of $45 worth. Subjectively, it's hard not to recommend doing Hogwarts Express just once, as it is such a quintessential part of the Harry Potter narrative, but objectively, it just isn't worth it.

If you do decide to go for the park-to-park, the ability to be in Diagon Alley on both days might actually make it worth it. As a big Harry Potter fan, there is no place like this in the world for me and I would gladly hang out there eating ice cream and watching the shows as many nights as possible. The shopping here is also unparalleled (though that certainly won't save you any money!). There are so many shops that it's a good idea to look through them all first and then make a return trip to get the items you've decided on. Doing this on a second day is a good option if you don't want to feel rushed or are likely to make impulse buys. The area is also cooler inside and generally nicer to hang out and linger in than Hosgsmeade.

Whatever your decision, though, I do have one piece of advice for any Wizarding World first timers - do Hogsmeade first (in Islands of Adventure), and then Diagon Alley (Universal Studios). This is actually 'backwards' if you are taking the Hogwarts Express but to maximize your appreciation of both worlds, I would recommend this. The splendor of Hogwarts is amazing, but compared to Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade can seem a bit 'meh'! Doing it backwards will mean that you fully get that 'wow!' moment each time.

 

[snoopboop]

Taking the train adds to the immersiveness of the Harry Potter worlds, but again, not to the extent of $45 worth. Subjectively, it's hard not to recommend doing Hogwarts Express just once, as it is such a quintessential part of the Harry Potter narrative, but objectively, it just isn't worth it.

The flaw in this reasoning, though, is that paying that fee to upgrade your ticket literally gives you access to another whole theme park. Having the ability to bounce back and forth between the parks is absolutely worth it, in my opinion. I don't know that there's ever been a single day where we stayed in one park the whole time. Ever.

 

[slbgnb]

The flaw in this reasoning, though, is that paying that fee to upgrade your ticket literally gives you access to another whole theme park.

But, if you are already buying a 2 day ticket for 1 day in each park, that's not really true. You will already have access to each park - just not on the same day....