How busy is Harry Potter now?

[marius97]

I am thinking about taking the family, DW, DD12, DD10, DS8, to IOA this summer for the first time to see the Harry Potter area. We were excited for it until I read the Disney Ultimate Guide. They make the lines and waiting sound much worse than they are in WDW. Is that true? Plus, my family isn't big on roller coasters. Is there much to do if we don't want to do the roller coasters over and over?

 

[whitek1275]

I've gone 3 times. The first was right before grand opening, the other 2 were in March 2011 and January 2012.

Both times I found the same thing. The line is crazy in the beginning of the day, but gets better as the day progresses. I got on the Forbidden Journey in a wait no longer than 45 minutes, sometimes 20. I've ridden it about 9 times total.

As for the other attractions, Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff I've never seen a line longer than 20 minutes for, but Ollivander's can get crazy long. I've seen 75 minute waits for the 5 minute show.

 

[Cold71]

I went to Harry Potter in February of 2011 and can confirm the previous post. If your there when the park opens I would recommend heading straight for Harry Potter. You should be able to get on any ride almost immediately.

 

[Metro West]

Both times I found the same thing. The line is crazy in the beginning of the day, but gets better as the day progresses. I got on the Forbidden Journey in a wait no longer than 45 minutes, sometimes 20. I've ridden it about 9 times total.

Agreed.

 

[DDreamer]

Get there early and go straight to Harry Potter. We were there on January 2 (this year) and the whole Harry Potter part of the park was closed until 7:30 p.m. because it was at capasity. We got in at 7:45 and waited in line for 1.5 hours to ride WWoHP. It was worth it

 

[damo]

A lot depends on when you go. If you go in the middle of summer vacation, the crowds will definitely be larger than going in early December (for example). This summer, there are several new things opening at USF (Transformers and the newly themed Simpsons area) so park crowds are going to be quite high again in both parks.

My advice is to stay onsite and you'll get unlimited express passes which will make your wait times very short. And yes, there is still a lot to do even if you don't do the big coasters. There are two big coasters in IOA and one at USF.

 

[tricky1]

I have been 5 times since Potter opened, The crowds are always there but wait times for FJ do go up and down. It seems to me that alot people go to Potter ,ride, visit the shops and then STAY. The streets are just packed and hardley never a open place to sit down. In the other islands guests ride the rides maybe shop or grab a bite then move on to the next area, not so much in Potter.

We always visit it once, but for the rest of our stay we avoid that area.

 

[Squirlz]

I have been 5 times since Potter opened, The crowds are always there but wait times for FJ do go up and down. It seems to me that alot people go to Potter ,ride, visit the shops and then STAY. The streets are just packed and hardley never a open place to sit down. In the other islands guests ride the rides maybe shop or grab a bite then move on to the next area, not so much in Potter.

We always visit it once, but for the rest of our stay we avoid that area.

That's an odd phenomenon isn't it? We were there in October and you could barely move through the crowd, but the rides were nearly walk-on! We rode FJ 4 times in a row using the single rider line. I was actually a bit dizzy from riding it so much in a short time.

 

[Berlioz70]

Went this afternoon - very SLOW day, only one parking ramp was open - FJ had a 15 minute wait. I nearly fell over I've never seen it that low. If it weren't for the fact that I hate the attraction (it gives me a severe migrain), I probably would have gone through a couple times just cause it was so short.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

We were there this week (Tues-Fri) and lines for FJ varied between 20-70 minutes. The biggest surprise was that Hippogriff was a 45+ min wait every day! I have no idea why. Dragon Challenge was mostly a walk-on, but on occassion it was a 20 min wait. Dragon Challege did not open until 11 AM two days that we were there.

 

[rusty4]

Went this afternoon - very SLOW day, only one parking ramp was open - FJ had a 15 minute wait. I nearly fell over I've never seen it that low. If it weren't for the fact that I hate the attraction (it gives me a severe migrain), I probably would have gone through a couple times just cause it was so short.

Oh no! I hope this is not common. I suffer from migraines and have had other rides cause this. Maybe I should skip this ride.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Oh no! I hope this is not common. I suffer from migraines and have had other rides cause this. Maybe I should skip this ride.

Are you effected by motion simulators? If so, I wouldn't recommend FJ.

But you should at least go through the line if other people in your party want to ride; or take a castle tour. It is definitely worth going through Hogwarts to see everything inside, even if you bail out before the ride!

 

[Disneyqueendenmark]

I went Christmas day (2012) and the wait for FJ was about 120 minutes (give or take) almost all day long.... And the streets and shops just got more packed during the day!
I don't know if you can compare christmas and summer crowds, but if you are going during peak season - get there early!