How busy will IOA be Feb 5th?

[csgsu]

I really want to get everything done since I will only be in town for 1 full day......is this possible? Park opens at 9 when should we plan on getting to the gate?

 

[Metro West]

I really want to get everything done since I will only be in town for 1 full day......is this possible? Park opens at 9 when should we plan on getting to the gate?

If you really want to see HP then I would suggest getting to the parks around 8am and wait in line. If not...9am would be fine. I doubt the crowds will be bad but a lot depends on HP. If you aren't too concerned about HP then you should have no real issue getting through the park in a single day. If however you really want to do HP and it's mobbed, then you will be standing in lines a lot of the day.

 

[csgsu]

We definitly want to do all of the WWOHP but am just curious if there is a crowd predictor for the 5th of feb. I know its usually a slow time but am wondering what a slow time in WWHOP still brings.......thanks

 

[Metro West]

We definitly want to do all of the WWOHP but am just curious if there is a crowd predictor for the 5th of feb. I know its usually a slow time but am wondering what a slow time in WWHOP still brings.......thanks

The best way to determine the crowds is to use the pricing chart for the Express Plus passes. The cheaper the EP the lower the crowd is estimated to be. On 2/5 the one park EP is $19.99/per person which is the lowest price available.

https://secure.universalstudios.com/webstore/shop/ViewItems.aspx?CG=UO&C=UUEP

There's really no way to guess about HP...the crowds having been coming even though it's slow.

You would need to get to the park before opening and hope to get to the front of the HP line.

 

[IdesOmarch]

The posters that live in the area will know more than me, but I have always been under the impression that February was generally one of the slowest times of the year, very light crowds.

 

[punkin]

I was planning on doing IOA (particularly Harry Potter) the same day and I am still undecided if staying onsite for the early entry makes sense or not.

 

[IdesOmarch]

I seriously doubt fast passes will be needed in February.

 

[xApril]

The posters that live in the area will know more than me, but I have always been under the impression that February was generally one of the slowest times of the year, very light crowds.

It was last year, but Harry Potter has definitely changed things.

Around this time last year, I remember the parks being dead. It is definitely busier this year.

 

[fairyprincess88]

I'll be there the same day. It will be our first park day so I'm hoping for light crowds. We're on the Potter package so we get the early admission and we have breakfast reservations at Three Broomsticks at 9:30 that morning. I'm hoping to at least get through Ollivander's, Forbidden Journey and Honeydukes by breakfast. It might be difficult but Im going to try at least.

 

[punkin]

I'll be there the same day. It will be our first park day so I'm hoping for light crowds. We're on the Potter package so we get the early admission and we have breakfast reservations at Three Broomsticks at 9:30 that morning. I'm hoping to at least get through Ollivander's, Forbidden Journey and Honeydukes by breakfast. It might be difficult but Im going to try at least.

What made you decide to do the package? Are you staying at one of the on-site hotels? I am going the same weekend and still deliberating the pros and cons.

 

[fairyprincess88]

What made you decide to do the package? Are you staying at one of the on-site hotels? I am going the same weekend and still deliberating the pros and cons.

We are staying off site at the Holiday Inn Maingate which is a partner hotel. We decided to do the package so we could get the early admission. Staying at a Partner Hotel on the package was half the price of staying on-site without the package. I priced it out and we're not really paying much more for the package then we would doing the hotel from priceline and the tickets separately. It was about a $40 difference. I figure that extra hour in WWoHP each morning was worth the 40 bucks. Plus, Im going with my friend, who like me is a massive Potter nerd, and this is her first time at the WWoHP and I wanted to make it as enjoyable as possible for her without breaking her budget. On-site she was flipping over the price but this way we still get early admission and she is very excited about breakfast at the Three Broomsticks. So for us, the package was a good fit.

 

[punkin]

Thanks, fairyprincess88. I was looking at the package at Best Western (cheapest they had) and it's about $300 cheaper than on-site. However it doesn't give us FOTL access to Universal and the rest of the IOA rides. Then again, how busy can the parks be in early February, even on a weekend?

 

[lkmom]

You would need to get to the park before opening and hope to get to the front of the HP line.

We will be there on the same day! Is there actually a separate line for HP?

We will be staying onsite so assume we would want to get there sometime before 8? Any idea what time we would need to be there to get towards the front of the line? We would like to try to be one of the first in line for Ollivanders and then plan to head over to Forbidden Journey. Any tips?

 

[fairyprincess88]

We will be there on the same day! Is there actually a separate line for HP?

We will be staying onsite so assume we would want to get there sometime before 8? Any idea what time we would need to be there to get towards the front of the line? We would like to try to be one of the first in line for Ollivanders and then plan to head over to Forbidden Journey. Any tips?

We have early admission that day too and have the same plan of Ollivander's first then FJ. We plan to be over to the park no later than 7:30 AM maybe more towards 7:15. When I was there this summer we did not have early admission and got there at 7:30 and they let us in with the early admission guests but directed us to a separate line over in JP. For onsite guests they had them all going in the opposite direction through Suess Landing into LC.

Im honestly not thinking it's going to be hard to get into one of the first Ollivander's shows and then on FJ before the lines get hetic. Even second week of July w/out early admission we were able to do FJ with a 10 minute wait and Ollivaders with a 20 minute wait by being the first ones in at 9AM. Considering this is the first weekend in Feb and we have early admission, I'm not planning for there to be huge lines first thing in the morning *fingerscrossed*.

See you at Ollivader's as it looks like we might end up at the same show.

 

[punkin]

See you at Ollivader's as it looks like we might end up at the same show.

Count me in at the same show too. I really cannot wait.

 

[Metro West]

We will be there on the same day! Is there actually a separate line for HP?

We will be staying onsite so assume we would want to get there sometime before 8? Any idea what time we would need to be there to get towards the front of the line? We would like to try to be one of the first in line for Ollivanders and then plan to head over to Forbidden Journey. Any tips?

I believe there are two lines for onsite and offsite guests...each going their own way through the park. If you get there by 7:30am, you should be near the front...if not the front of the line. Definitely do Ollivander's first and then head over to FJ. The rest you won't have any problems with.

 

[glocon]

That is Super Bowl weekend too, isn't it? Hopefully that will bring the crowds down for you guys too.