Next week: how busy?

[mialeighs]

My husband and I are going to stay for a few days in Disney using up some vacation club points. We aren't going to the Disney parks, but we do want to spend one day at Universal. We mostly want to do WW of HP, and we're trying to decide if we want to get Universal Express, or possibly even the VIP experience. Will we be able to ride Gringotts, for example, or Forbidden Journey more than once without UE? Just wondering how much we want to spend to get the experience we want.

 

[confetti]

Not sure about crowd levels next week since the holiday weekend is approaching. But we went yesterday without express passes and just did the HP areas. It felt crowded but the wait times weren't bad. Gringotts was 20 min the whole morning while we were in Diagon Alley. Forbidden Journey was 30 min while we were in Hogsmeade. We hit Hagrid's first thing (we arrive an hour before park open to be one of the first through the gates). We were off Hagrid's by 9:07. We only stayed in the park until 3:00 but we easily could have ridden the HP rides (except Hagrid) again with minimal wait.

 

[Disxuni]

As a frequenter due to how local I am it should be a breeze, especially if you choose to do during a week day rather than the weekend.

Also, if you do not have EE I would suggest getting there a little early anyway. As they let in everyone into the parks at EE, but people do not have a pass, or hotel with EE just have to shop, or eat at the beginning of the park before the official opening. If you're at UO they hold you off in the Hollywood area. However, they let you into the park a few minutes early (actual minutes depends). So while it doesn't seem much you get into the park a little before the official opening so at least you're a few steps ahead compared to the people who show up at the gates exactly at 9am.

As @confetti said, if you plan on doing Hagrid's, which I do not know since you didn't mention it, but just in case, if you do not plan on trying to catch it in the afternoon, but want to do it in the AM you should do the route they chose and wait at the IoA gate during EE. As taking HE in UO will not help to beat the crowds at all and will essentially push you to the back of the line.

 

[mialeighs]

Not sure about crowd levels next week since the holiday weekend is approaching. But we went yesterday without express passes and just did the HP areas. It felt crowded but the wait times weren't bad. Gringotts was 20 min the whole morning while we were in Diagon Alley. Forbidden Journey was 30 min while we were in Hogsmeade. We hit Hagrid's first thing (we arrive an hour before park open to be one of the first through the gates). We were off Hagrid's by 9:07. We only stayed in the park until 3:00 but we easily could have ridden the HP rides (except Hagrid) again with minimal wait.

That's not bad at all! Thanks!