One day at Universal for Harry Potter worth it? (really a budget question..)

[KKB]

Our dance team has Nationals at Disney next month. Our WDW passes are only for 3 days & we will actually have 4 days available for parks. Apparently we can add a day for about $25.

Several girls were looking to go to Universal, specifically for the Harry Potter exhibits. We found 1 day tickets on USSSA for $102 plus tax. Apparently to go to Hogswart it is another $35 for Islands of Adventure. Additionally we need to pay about $10 for transportation to/from Universal. So this is going to run about $150 per person (some Moms are going along, so that is about $300 for those families)
We would have the whole day free.

For those of you who have done Harry Potter, is this worth this chunk of $? (I am going, so for our family it would be $300) Some have done WDW already & are not interested in another day. Others of us have favorites we would like to revisit at WDW.

We may split some to each place--I am just looking for some opinions on the cost-benefit so that I may give good advice to everyone.

Thanks!

 

[jimandami]

I have taken my DS over there twice for the day and while expensive, I do think it is worth it, especially for a Harry Potter fan. The theming in Hogsmead and especially Diagon Alley is just phenomenal. As for the USSSA tickets, if you want to visit both HP areas, you need a park to park and I am unsure if you can upgrade the one park tickets from USSSA at the gate. I would make sure they are upgradeable before you purchase them.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I you can afford it, then yes. However, depending on when you are going to be there the lines could be really long. We went a couple of years ago and stayed on-site. If we hadn't done that we wouldn't have been able to do much. It might be something you want to do with your whole family when you go back WDW. But, it is truly amazing!!

 

[gofordrew]

Universal absolutely blows Disney away when it comes to rides and technology. If you can afford it, it is definitely worth checking out.

 

[KKB]

DD isn't into big rides so Disney is more her speed--but if most of her friends are going to Universal, she wants to go, too.

The good news is that according to the crowd calenders, it is expected to be a slow day...

We shall see what the masses decide...

 

[mhf]

DH and I were there for 2 days in October, 1 of which was listed as slow. We arrived around 9 both days. The rest of the parks were almost empty but the Harry Potter sections were a ZOO. I thought the theme was very well done but found it difficult to see everything. Lots of crowds around the interactive wand sites. As the morning went on, it became even more crowded. All the shops are small (but really cute but really pricey) and there's nothing to DO in Diagon Alley besides the Escape ride, shop, and eat. The Hogwarts Castle ride was a little more intense than I like but the theming was great. Hippogriff Coaster was fine but not really much theming, did not ride Dragons.

And yes, if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express train between the 2 areas/parks, you need a park to park ticket.

Frankly, I wouldn't go back. The whole Universal experience vs. Disney was just not for me. Maybe because I don't like the truly thrill rides. However, I did enjoy the frozen butter beer on the back patio!

 

[dpswift]

I am not at all into thrill rides however I loved Universal and Harry Potter World. Yes $150.00 is a lot compared to $25. I do think that she would enjoy it however even on a slow day waits will be long for HP.

 

[100AcreWood]

If you have a Harry Potter Fan, it's totally worth it. We like Harry Potter but after seeing it once we have no desire to go back. Glad we did it, but it was an expensive day!

 

[katie111]

I think it would be worth it IF you could get there 1/2 hour before opening. Otherwise the lines in HP will be ridiculously long even on a slow day. Then, have a game plan in mind on which park you are going to first & to which ride. We were there on a slow day, went right to Forbidden Journey, waited about an hour and by the time we got off the listed wait time was about 2 hours. I think with a big group this would be difficult as you all either need to be in agreement on where to go or agree to split up. If you daughter does not want to ride the FJ or another ride, will she be happy standing around waiting for her friends for an hour+?

If you can make it work, I think it is definitely worth it if you don't plan on going to Orlando any time in the near future. Otherwise, I would save it for a time when you can spend at least one night at a Universal hotel so you get the Express pass and early entrance. I think the theming at Universal is fantastic and really enjoy their parks. My DD12 and I did a mother daughter trip there in June and had a blast. I think it's perfect for the tween-teen age group.

 

[danygirl]

I did one day there recently. The customer service park wide has improved dramatically

It is a lot of money for one day but the whole Harry potter part is amazing.

Gringotts broke down when I was on it. They gave us one of their fast passes. FYI it was good all over the park. They were so apologetic that 4 or 5 rides just let me in and didn't collect it! The ride that collected it was the minion ride which is very popular......so if you find yourself in that situation it might work very well for you!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Our dance team has Nationals at Disney next month. Our WDW passes are only for 3 days & we will actually have 4 days available for parks. Apparently we can add a day for about $25.

Several girls were looking to go to Universal, specifically for the Harry Potter exhibits. We found 1 day tickets on USSSA for $102 plus tax. Apparently to go to Hogswart it is another $35 for Islands of Adventure. Additionally we need to pay about $10 for transportation to/from Universal. So this is going to run about $150 per person (some Moms are going along, so that is about $300 for those families)
We would have the whole day free.

For those of you who have done Harry Potter, is this worth this chunk of $? (I am going, so for our family it would be $300) Some have done WDW already & are not interested in another day. Others of us have favorites we would like to revisit at WDW.

We may split some to each place--I am just looking for some opinions on the cost-benefit so that I may give good advice to everyone.

Thanks!

For our trip last year, we spent $600 to just go for the day for 6 people including a very short child.

We ONLY went to get to do Harry Potter and it was only at IOA. (Rest if vacation was DCL and a MK day to see the new FL stuff. Cutting Harry potter was never an option!)

It was NoT cheap nor really budget friendly.

It was worth every penny. It is that awesome.
I can't think if any poor review coming from it yet and most folks I know hit that park to be able to do Harry Potter.


My family did enjoy other rides in other areas. But we spent a good chunk of time just at Harry Potter.


We also were the off site family of the day and got to open the park for the off site guests. And it was pretty much wet or rainy the whole day.

Worth every penny.

ETA: we went on a Friday at the end of January. I don't know ride names, sorry! Family rode the castle ride twice, the single roller coaster twice, my girls rode the dueling roller coaster--I think twice to get each side. Same day on our exit--they could also ride Hulk 4x in a row. It was a very slow day. HP seemed like a lot of people were in it, but not awful and I think that perception is due to JK Rowling wanting it to be realistic and shops and the area were built to closely resemble what it would be in the books rather than enlarged to accommodate lots of people if that makes sense. And it works for slow days. I would hate to see it during a super busy day.

 

[crisi]

Note on the Forbidden Journey - its awesome, and completely worth a long (hour) line to see the castle which is the line part (not more than an hour though). If people want to ride it again, check out the single rider line.

Also, it is the most motion sickness inducing thing I've ever been on. If you are sensitive, take bonine before getting on.

We haven't been since the second part opened, but the older part is worth it - IF the budgets will allow. We skipped Disney and just did Universal last trip - with two teens - one big coaster fan, one rabid HP fan - Universal offers them so much more right now.

 

[tinkerone]

I went by myself in November for the day, two parks. I was mostly interested in the harry potter stuff but as a pp said, its lots of little shops and very crowded. the push on wand sales is huge so be prepared for that. not a ton of rides but lots to look at if you can push past people. they tend to want to stand in the middle of paths and congregate making their plans.
I got there at about 10 and was ready to leave at 2. in that time i did both parks and had lunch. did a few not potter rides as well. it wasn't very busy line up wise.
i'm glad I saw it but would not go back. for me it was just eehhh and i'm a harry potter lover. I would certainly not pay the price to take a family of four, that could easily run $800 if your adding in tickets, transportation to universal, lunch and maybe a small trinket.

as an fyi I purchased my ticket for the two parks and transportation through DIS. they arrange to have you picked up at your hotel and then dropped off after you have completed your day. you can pick the times for both pick up and drop off. its $149.99 per person I believe.

 

[sk!mom]

We've included a stay at Universal to our last two trips just for the HP stuff. My DD and then several people on our most recent trip are huge Potter fans.

My biggest concern in your plan would be being able to see it all if not staying onsite. Granted both of our trips were in August and both shortly after each section opened but if we hadn't had the benefit of entering an hour early it would not have been worth it. This past August, Gringotts had an unbelievable wait right away.

If you do it, be at the gate 30-60 minutes before the park opens and head straight to Gringotts and get in line. Enjoy Diagon Alley, it really is something to see. By late afternoon, Forbidden Journey didn't have to bad a wait or you can do the single rider. Hogwarts Express never had any wait.

Universal used to be economical but thanks to Harry, it's a costly add-on. It was completely worth it to our group of 10 though.

 

[jimandami]

As far as wait times, DS and I went the last weekend in Oct (last day of HHN so moderate crowds) and we arrived at the gate at exactly opening time (8:00 AM). We headed to DA and waited about 45 min for Gringotts, no wait for Hogwarts Express, and then about 15 min for FJ so we were done the two longest waits by 9:30-9:45ish, leaving us plenty of time for the other rides and looking at the two areas. We rode everything we wanted at both parks (the things we didn't do were: RRR (down all day for wind), any Suess stuff, Transformers, Twister, and the 2 big water rides (it was too cold). We did everything else and were ready to leave the park by 5:00 PM.

 

[danygirl]

I was there first week of Oct. Crowds were not bad. The gringotts wait was long so I went single rider- ride broke down and after that I kept showing my fast pass and walking on everywhere

All the good theming on gringotts is missed if you go single rider. Same with the hog warts ride.

 

[Pembo]

As others have said, if you have big HP fans, it is so worth the $$$. My tip is to use the single rider lines. Yes you miss a lot of the queue but we rode Gringotts 6 times in one day using the single rider. We did use the regular line once so we could see it but a 5 minute wait vs 50 minutes was a no brainer. You wait in line together.

We also did Mummy and MIB the same way.

 

[kellia]

We went 2 years ago in January. I didn't want to pay for just one day, either, since we had 5 at Disney. But, since my kids and I are big HP fans, it was worth it. It was amazing!! Details are awesome! I don't like "big" rides so the rest of the park did nothing for me.

 

[disneyfab]

If it doesn't stain the budget and they are HP fans, it is worth it . I went on a school trip with my ds and had never read the books or seen any of the HP movies. DS had read them all and he and his friends loved it. I was very impressed, but not blown away. However, we returned on a family trip this summer and after watching all the movies, "WOW!" This is doubly so for the new addition! Amazing! You truly feel immersed!

 

[katyjeka]

We just returned from Universal. We spent 3 days in early December. Our girls are not huge Harry Potter fans, but we loved the area. The rides were fantastic. We have some young ones so a majority of our time was spent in the Dr. Suess area. I swear I rode Cat in the Hat twenty times on our first day!! We LOVE Disney but I must admit we were pleasantly surprised with the characters. The Grinch was awesome. When we return to WDW this year a trip back to Universal is a must. Worth every penny. I guess we were lucky as we never waited more than 10 minutes for anything, including the Harry Potter section. Most rides for walk ons. They have come a long way in ten years.