Hogwart's Express

[WDWfan uk]

Hi,

We will be attending the EE in IOA and plan for DH to experience Forbidden Journey & probably Dragon Challenge and then get the Hogwart's Express to US (have park to parK tickets) - please can you advise what time it starts running? How frequently does it run?
Thanks for any help.

 

[macraven]

HE will leave the station for the other park right at 9 most of the times.
very few occasions it has left minutes before 9 am

i have lined up for that ride at 8:40 am and do get on the train for the first one out.

if you wait until 8:55 to get in the HE line, you will have a wait.

 

[janicept]

Depending on what time of year if you go 9 will not be too busy. If you're only going each way once make sure to take time and look around in the line. The capacity for the train is high so even if you don't get on the first one it's not the end of the world. I think I noticed there was a time soon that early entry is in both parks. The train will open whenever the other park opens. If you're not sure there's always a castmember standing at the entrance to ask. It's not out of the way and there will likely be others asking as well.

 

[Patience]

We waited nearly an hour to ride HE from US to IofA last week. You can't tell how long the line is until you get in the line. This was around 6 pm. After that, we just walked from one park to the other. We did get to ride the train both ways but it definitely is not worth an hour wait.

 

[macraven]

Totally agree!!

One hour is a horrible amount of time to wait

 

[bchbetha]

The wait time app will tell you how long the line is, as well as the sign outside the ride. We just kept checking the app for low waits as it really ebbed and flowed.

 

[Patience]

The wait time app will tell you how long the line is, as well as the sign outside the ride. We just kept checking the app for low waits as it really ebbed and flowed.

The wait time on the sign outside HE was listed as 20 minutes. I'm not sure what happened but our wait was more than double that. We had express passes and ended up not really using the app, even though I had downloaded it, because our waits for everything but the no express pass Harry Potter rides were minimal.

 

[WDWfan uk]

Thank you!
We will be there within a couple of weeks and IOA is the EE park for both mornings -I had thought of getting the train early to get over to US to ride Gringotts before the crowd from the main gate get there.
Looking forward to Gringotts as I think Forbidden Journey will be too much for me.
Really appreciate your replies

 

[scrapbooksellman]

How special is the ride?
We are planning on going and need to know if I have to buy park-to-park tickets?
13 son is a Potter fan.
Is it worth the extra money?

 

[schumigirl]

How special is the ride?
We are planning on going and need to know if I have to buy park-to-park tickets?
13 son is a Potter fan.
Is it worth the extra money?

You will get varying replies with this one.

Some think it's a waste of time and is just a little train ride, others love it and wouldn't miss it.

We aren't huge Potter fans, but we really enjoy it and have ridden it many times.......we always get a park to park 14 day ticket, so value isn't the issue for us that's just what we get with our ticket. We sometimes use it as a means to get to the other park if we're close to it and switching but we do make a point of doing it every trip.

For a Potter fan, I think it's a must do.........you have to take the train both ways as they're different each journey........so, yes I think it's worth the extra money for Potter fans.

 

[scrapbooksellman]

You will get varying replies with this one.

Some think it's a waste of time and is just a little train ride, others love it and wouldn't miss it.

We aren't huge Potter fans, but we really enjoy it and have ridden it many times.......we always get a park to park 14 day ticket, so value isn't the issue for us that's just what we get with our ticket. We sometimes use it as a means to get to the other park if we're close to it and switching but we do make a point of doing it every trip.

For a Potter fan, I think it's a must do.........you have to take the train both ways as they're different each journey........so, yes I think it's worth the extra money for Potter fans.

Thanks for the input! This short Universal trip is going to be expensive!!!

 

[macraven]

Potter fans will need to do HE

Me, I'm not a pothead but do enjoy the HE ride each time I am there

 

[scrapbooksellman]

Yikes. if I can seeing prices correctly it will cost over $200 for out family to upgrade to 2 park passes.

 

[qemom]

How special is the ride?
We are planning on going and need to know if I have to buy park-to-park tickets?
13 son is a Potter fan.
Is it worth the extra money?

Both my kids are huge Potterheads so for us it was a definite must. Seeing the look on my 14yo dd face when the train pulled into Hogsmeade was worth every penny.

 

[dlsanchez]

How special is the ride?
We are planning on going and need to know if I have to buy park-to-park tickets?
13 son is a Potter fan.
Is it worth the extra money?

I just took my 12 year old son and he was not impressed by the train in either direction. We waited over an hour to go from IOA to US but only waited 5 min going in the other direction. I am taking my daughters in April and will skip the PTP. It is a cute ride but not worth buying a park hopper in my opinion.

 

[luvsJack]

If you or your child wants the true "Harry Potter" experience, imo, Hogwarts Express is a must. We rode it both ways and loved it. We waited longer going from Uni to IOA but there was more to see in the line anyway.