HP 1st????

[spottycotty]

Hi,
We are visiting in November, my thoughts were to head straight to HP but I've read that maybe doing Minions first could be better?
Any advice??
TIA

 

[spottycotty]

Also, just to add on, which is the best way to ride hogwarts?
We are spending one day each in universal and IOA so is it best to go there and back without looking round the other park or spend time in both??
Thanks x

 

[Kivara]

Minions gets a LONGGGG line early. We always stay on=site, and sometimes the Express Pass line was 20-30 mins (in late May, mind you.) And that's before getting inside for 2 pre-ride
rooms/"shows."
The non-Express line got over 60 mins every day we were there.

If you can, ride the Hogwarts Express both ways, it's totally different. I rode it so many times over the 6 days we were there, I don't remember if there was a "better" direction.

 

[hdnwaters]

Minions is the first attraction when you walk into Universal. We got there early (9:15) and there was already a 45 minute wait. This was a Saturday when the parks are generally going to be crowded anyway. We were in Orlando Sept 6-13. Our plan was to do IOA on Wednesday and US on Saturday. I was talked into buying the 2 day Park to Park ticket because of the Hogwarts Express. On Wednesday we went straight to Forbidden Journey, then made our way counter clockwise around IOA. By lunch time we had ridden everything without much of a wait. Lunch at Margaritaville, then headed back into IOA did a few things at Suess Landing for fun and caught the Hogwarts Express over to Dragon Alley. We did Gringotts and rode the Mummy. When we arrived on Sat.....we did head straight to the back of US. Walked on MIB and did Gringotts a second time without much of a wait.

So to answer your question.....I would go to HP first. (either park) The day you do IOA, you may want to dress in quick dry clothing or take something to change into. Bilge Rats you get soaked on! JP River Adventure makes a good splash. DD Ripsaw Falls....pretty wet! When you are wet....it can be chilly on the inside rides (like Spiderman) We basically late afternoon "park hopped" and revisited our favorite rides. We also did Minions later in the day (35 min wait) We did Mummy, Gringotts, F. Journey, and Transformers twice! Plus being 2 adults....we took advantage of the single rider lines!

 

[johde]

Without Express, I'd hit Minions first. Unlike many others here, I'd hit the non-HP headlines next. Everybody has the same idea as you go rush to Diagon Alley first. First thing in the morning though you can often hit HRRR, ROTM, Transformers, Simpsons, and MIB with little to no wait while you work your way back to Diagon Alley. Gringotts has ended up becoming a real people mover. Looking at Touringplans, often times the longest waits of the day are shortly after Rope Drop. Riding those other rides gives everyone that rushed to Gringotts a chance to ride. Also, a moderate wait for Gringotts isn't too bad because the theming is so great.

 

[elaine amj]

Another data point. We stayed onsite on our last trip and wanted to take advantage on our visit to IOA on a Saturday, Sept 5th ("a "busy" day on crowd calendars). We ran a little late and ended up arriving at Forbidden Journey about 8:10am (Early Entry at 8am). The sign said the line was 20 mins. After 20 mins, we made it almost to the end of the greenhouse section. It was still going to take a while to get through Hogwarts and we decided to bail and left the line. Outside, the sign said 45 mins.

The line for the Hogwarts Express was getting slammed at this point. I figured it would be about 9am before we hit Gringotts (wait, ride train, and walk to ride) if we took the train over to Diagon Alley which would put us quite far back behind the morning crowds at Gringotts.

We decided to bail and take the LONG walk over to USF. We got to Minions and it was a 5 min line with Express Pass. When we got out, the Express Pass line was at least 10-15 mins long.

 

[sharona]

We've found the HP areas to be easier to tour and with shorter SB waits in the hour or two just before closing. I checked the file date and this pic was taken at 830pm at Diagon Alley (9pm closing). We got there about 730pm and were able to really explore all of the shops and details plus ride Gringotts twice. This was in late April on a Sunday night. We had similar good luck last November over Veteran's weekend with Diagon Alley being relatively empty before close.

 

[spottycotty]

Thanks so much for your replies, don't know what I'd do without everyone on here (queue longer probably)

 

[fantasmicfantastic]

Without Express, I'd hit Minions first. Unlike many others here, I'd hit the non-HP headlines next. Everybody has the same idea as you go rush to Diagon Alley first. First thing in the morning though you can often hit HRRR, ROTM, Transformers, Simpsons, and MIB with little to no wait while you work your way back to Diagon Alley. Gringotts has ended up becoming a real people mover. Looking at Touringplans, often times the longest waits of the day are shortly after Rope Drop. Riding those other rides gives everyone that rushed to Gringotts a chance to ride. Also, a moderate wait for Gringotts isn't too bad because the theming is so great.

Not trying to Hijack, but this is a great perspective. I am planning on going for a first time visit next September or October and I will probably keep your advice in mind when I tour.
Thanks!