chrisn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2000
- Messages
- 1,273
We are just back from S&S/EPP on Wed, 10/20, and IOA on Thu, 10/21. Weather was amazing for our entire trip! Couldn't have asked for anything better. We were HHN newbies and had so much fun! We were let out of Finnegans holding area at about 5:50. We followed the touring plan and it worked out perfectly! All the houses had 5-15 minutes waits although they looked much longer, except for the last house we did, the Past house in the E.T. area. This one had a 30 minute wait. We were able to see both shows and ride Mummy and Jaws (so fun at night). Loved the one scare zone with Chucky and all the others. Chain saw guys were scary as hell. Almost better than the houses! My 13 yr old LOVED every second of it, had to have the house shirt and lanyard. I was actually scared to even go, but I ended up handling it way better than I thought I would, although, they did get tons of screams and jumps out of me. I can't even imagine going when the lines are 2 hours...we used our EPP's and were so glad we purchased them. Totally worth it!!!
Harry Potter was amazing! I could not believe how it pulls in the crowds. We've never been to IOA with the park that crowded (guess we've been lucky). Having said that, we still really didn't have waits to speak of. THE BEST TIPS...getting the frozen nectar of the gods (Butterbeer) from The Hogs Head instead of waiting outside. The cart was mobbed all the time! No wait at the bar! Also...accessing the lockers through Filches...GENIOUS! We were at the front of rope drop and you should of seen the line for lockers by the time we walked up! We walked right in through Filches and right back out to get in the queue which was maybe 5 minutes. Queue is amazing! Village is amazing...yes the stores are small and crowded, but the attention to detail is wondrous. We did get woozy on the movie part of the ride (all of us did), but it was worth it! My 22 yr old DD was chosen for the wand experience (standing off to the very right hand side in front) and loved every second. She did end up buying it and half the items in the shops as well! My son got some HP candy and some things from Zonkos, as well as a wand. We spent the first part of the morning at the rides, then returned for the last two hours of opening just to shop, do the wand experience, take pics and do one last ride right before closing with no wait! Cauldron Cakes not that great. Frozen Butterbeer I will be craving for the rest of my life! I had two that day and it was what I wanted for breakfast the next morning! SIC!
A wonderful trip! So glad we got to experience these new things! Is there any way to order stuff from the shops that I don't see offered on the online store? For instance Jacobs Ladder and Screaming Yoyo make great stocking stuffers! I want to get them for my nephew as my DS loves them! Also the small black caldrons, I was going to grab and completedly spaced! Too much stimulation going on!
Fabulous! Thanks to everyone for all your tips and help! As always, you make the trip 3 times more fun!
Harry Potter was amazing! I could not believe how it pulls in the crowds. We've never been to IOA with the park that crowded (guess we've been lucky). Having said that, we still really didn't have waits to speak of. THE BEST TIPS...getting the frozen nectar of the gods (Butterbeer) from The Hogs Head instead of waiting outside. The cart was mobbed all the time! No wait at the bar! Also...accessing the lockers through Filches...GENIOUS! We were at the front of rope drop and you should of seen the line for lockers by the time we walked up! We walked right in through Filches and right back out to get in the queue which was maybe 5 minutes. Queue is amazing! Village is amazing...yes the stores are small and crowded, but the attention to detail is wondrous. We did get woozy on the movie part of the ride (all of us did), but it was worth it! My 22 yr old DD was chosen for the wand experience (standing off to the very right hand side in front) and loved every second. She did end up buying it and half the items in the shops as well! My son got some HP candy and some things from Zonkos, as well as a wand. We spent the first part of the morning at the rides, then returned for the last two hours of opening just to shop, do the wand experience, take pics and do one last ride right before closing with no wait! Cauldron Cakes not that great. Frozen Butterbeer I will be craving for the rest of my life! I had two that day and it was what I wanted for breakfast the next morning! SIC!
A wonderful trip! So glad we got to experience these new things! Is there any way to order stuff from the shops that I don't see offered on the online store? For instance Jacobs Ladder and Screaming Yoyo make great stocking stuffers! I want to get them for my nephew as my DS loves them! Also the small black caldrons, I was going to grab and completedly spaced! Too much stimulation going on!
Fabulous! Thanks to everyone for all your tips and help! As always, you make the trip 3 times more fun!
