I am new to Universal

[Christine9125]

I have been to Disney several times, we are going next summer and spending one day at IOA to do the Harry Potter stuff. Give me some idea of what we are looking at, when should we get there, what should we do first?

We are going August 5 next year.

 

[damo]

Since you've got lots of time, my suggestion is that you browse through this forum. It is filled with great advice about all aspects of IOA and the Wizarding World. Many of the threads are exactly what you are looking for.

 

[mesaboy2]

Since you've got lots of time, my suggestion is that you browse through this forum. It is filled with great advise about all aspects of IOA and the Wizarding World. Many of the threads are exactly what you are looking for.

 

[Christine9125]

Sorry to have bothered you all, on the disney site you can ask questions and get answers instead of being told to search around. I don't have much time with my work, that is what I asked a question.

Again, sorry to have bothered you all

 

[mesaboy2]

Sorry to have bothered you all, on the disney site you can ask questions and get answers instead of being told to search around. I don't have much time with my work, that is what I asked a question.

Again, sorry to have bothered you all

You are not bothering us. Sorry you didn't like damo's answer. It was a good one, especially given you gave a whole year to plan.

To answer your earlier "specific" questions: you will be looking at Hogsmeade and Hogwarts that includes three or four attractions, you should get there as early as you possibly can, and Ollivander's.

If you have follow-up questions, please ask and try to be as specific as possible so we can give you relevant info.

 

[Christine9125]

You are not bothering us. Sorry you didn't like damo's answer. It was a good one, especially given you gave a whole year to plan.

To answer your earlier "specific" questions: you will be looking at Hogsmeade and Hogwarts that includes three or four attractions, you should get there as early as you possibly can, and Ollivander's.

If you have follow-up questions, please ask and try to be as specific as possible so we can give you relevant info.

I just thought this was like the Disney side, when you ask questions, they are answered. I have looked around and will look around the site, but since I was new thought I could ask questions. All I want was peoples first hand experience.

 

[GingerJay]

Well, are you only going to IOA? or do you think you might swing by the Studios, too? Or are you stopping by US mainly to check out the WWOHP?

From the different threads on this forum, touring plans usually involve tackling FJ first, with Ollivanders second..unless you really want to do Ollivanders and then you should do that first Many of the posters here recommend late afternoon (before closing) or right at opening to visit (before the throngs if you can) WWOHP. Maybe you could try booking a package with the onsite resorts or a partner hotel for early entry? Also, the various threads recommend NOT taking a bag since you'll be tied up at the lockers.

When you're done with the WWOHP, be sure to visit the rest of IOA- its a beautiful park with state of the art rides.

 

[mesaboy2]

I just thought this was like the Disney side, when you ask questions, they are answered. I have looked around and will look around the site, but since I was new thought I could ask questions. All I want was peoples first hand experience.

I would start with the WWoHP FAQ thread, provided here for your convenience: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2439234.

I would suggest going backwards from the last page to get the most recent experiences. It's very long, so if you get to the point where you can't stand it anymore and don't see the answer to a particular question you want to know, feel free to ask. I do bet many of the answers you are looking for are in there though.

And I will respectfully disagree with GingerJay, I think Ollivander's is the first attraction to hit, especially if you have early entry privileges.

 

[damo]

Sorry that you mistook my response as ignoring your question. Your question is so broad that it is difficult to answer in just a few sentences. It's kinda like asking, "Can you tell me about Fantasyland?" It is very tough to answer and there is a ton of information already there. Once you've learned more, you can ask more precise questions that will be much more helpful to you.

If you were leaving tomorrow, then it would be a different situation but you have so much time to do thorough research. Read through this forum. Go to www.universalorlando.com and check out all their info on the Wizarding World. If you still have specific questions, we'll be more than happy to answer them.

 

[Fantasmic23]

I have been to Disney several times, we are going next summer and spending one day at IOA to do the Harry Potter stuff. Give me some idea of what we are looking at, when should we get there, what should we do first?

We are going August 5 next year.

We were recently at IOA (August 2nd - August 4th).

Are you spending at least one night at a Universal resort to take advantage of Early Admission into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? If not, try to arrive right when IOA opens and head straight to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (if you want to ride, that is). The wait for this ride can be extremely long, even for those who have Early Admission.

If you and your family are not adverse to riding solo, you can get into the Single Rider line. You will have a considerably shorter wait. The downside (the upside, too) is that the Single Rider line puts you right inside Hogwarts. The downside being that you won't be able to see everything that the inside of Hogwarts has to offer.

*Ride as family at first, to get the "full" Forbidden Journey experience. If you wish to ride again, hop into the Single Rider Line.*

The shops within Hogsmeade (Honeydukes, Dervish and Banges, etc.) are quite small and tend to get very clogged, almost to the point where you just stand there and the crowd kind of pushes you along. I've never been able to properly browse in the shops.

If Butterbeer is on your list, just get in line (You'll see the barrels). The line might look intimidating, but it moves surprisingly quickly.

I know you'll only be there for one day, but we found that returning to the WWOHP around 6:00/6:30 in the evening worked best. It was a bit less crowded. Weather wise, it was still hot, but a bit more tolerable because the sun wasn't beating directly down on you.

Hope this helps.

 

[lpandorf]

We went to IOA for a day the last week of July. We've been to Disney many times, but DD is a huge HP fan and wanted to check it out. We were at Daytona Beach for the week and decided to drive up the day before and stayed in Royal Pacific Resort to get front of the line. We checked in at 4pm and enjoyed the hotel swimming pool and movie showing at the pool. Great hotel.

If you are staying onsite, they open an hour early for resort guests and I'd recommend going the hour early. We went at 7am and still had about a 45 minute wait. My kids wanted to go back to HP area mid-afternoon and it was so crowded they would not let anymore people in the area and they were handing out tickets with a return time several hours later. We decided to just go back after dinner. Crowds had thinned out by 8pm and we did Ollivanders with about 30 minute wait. Kids then went on HP 3 times in a row until park closing at 10pm. Not that long of a wait after 9pm.

If your budget can swing it, I'd stay onsite for front of the line. Spiderman had over an hour wait and we were able to get on in about 15 minutes with FOL. Same for Jurasic park ride.

My kids really enjoyed the park and had as much fun as Disney. Have fun!