Our Experience In WWOHP (no package, no onsite)

[Claire-Bear]

We were staying (way) offsite in Mount Dora, so it was approx an hour journey to get from the house to the park gates (including parking etc.). We packed our rucksack the evening before the days we went to the parks but also had a waistbag with our cameras to take photos of rides that required lockers.

Our first day at IOA was Monday 21st June. We arrived at the entry gate at about 8.40am and they had already been letting people in. They had cordoned off the Port of Entry half that led to Seuss Landing and that way, saying that access that way was for onsite guests only. I spoke to one of the ladies by the rope and asked how we could reach WWOHP. She said they were letting in general public round the JP way, so we started heading off. When we reached Spiderman, a TM popped out into the street and said (not particularly loudly) that if we wanted to see WWOHP we should queue up where he was standing. A lot of people had already passed him, so it wasn't made apparent. We queued up by him wondering quite what was going on, but then he sent us round the back of one of the buildings next to the lagoon. That was when we saw the queue!

We were behind a couple that we started chatting to. Through chinese whispers down the queue, people were saying it was a 3-hour wait to get into WWOHP, but we thought we may as well do it incase the queue got worse. The couple we were chatting to said that their children had come on opening day and had to wait for effectively a whole day to get in. The queue wound round the islands, but wasn't too bad moving. They were giving out green tickets part-way round the queue to avoid queue-jumping. Once we got to the front, there was a group who had queue jumped and were removed from the queue (amidst them shouting and swearing!). There was a little cheer once we passed the ticket collectors and entered the WWOHP!

But then we saw the crowds..we decided to start queueing right away for FJ, 2-hour wait time posted plus the queue for the lockers (which stretched down over half way through Hogsmeade). The queue itself was done pretty badly (discounting the manic at the lockers). We were queueing through the outside and greenhouse area for over 1 1/2 hours, but when we got inside the castle - the area with the rooms, projections and AC - there was no queue, but TMs were rushing everyone through, telling us we couldn't stop! This meant that I couldn't really take any photos and we didn't even get to hear all of Dumbledore's and the 3 heroes speaches. Really disappointed since the queue outside had been so slow..

The ride was awesome, we both loved it! Once we were out the TM gave us our "ride photo number" but he was obviously just writing random numbers since noones corresponded to the screens! The ride photo was also expensive so we abandoned getting it and got our stuff from the lockers. We headed into the shop attached (Filch's), it was so packed we lost each other. We managed to buy a Marauders Map from the shop and then we headed out. We went on FOTH which only had a 20min wait, and it was nice seeing Buckbeak and the view from the ride. By then it was almost 1 and we were getting hungry, but we were stuck. The queue for Butterbeer stretched the whole of Hogsmeade, about 45 min wait. The queue for 3 Broomsticks, our only eating option, was well over an hour long. The queues for the shops were also quite long. We went to the Lost Continent side of WWOHP and asked if we could leave to eat. We were told no, once we leave, we would have to queue again to get back in. We decided to leave since we were getting very hungry and very hot. We spent the afternoon around the other islands.

We returned to the area later that evening, at around 8pm and took some photos. Whilst the queue to get in the area was no longer there, the queues outside the rides, shops and 3 broomsticks were just as bad. We decided to queue up to go in the Owl Post (about 30mins or so) and there we bought an Ollivanders wand. Jay wanted Sirius Black's wand but we were told quite a few of the character wands were sold out. The queue at 9.30 for FJ was still 75 mins! So after we left the shop we decided to leave; our feet were killing us. We'd enjoyed our day but unfortunately had spent most of the day queueing in the heat; the lack of outdoor fans was apparent!

We returned to IOA on Monday 28th and again queued up at about 8.35. This time it wasn't quite as bad as the queue started at the Ripsaw bridge, so waiting time was about 30mins (although still with tickets given out). We had decided before arriving that since we had done 13 hours at IOA the previous Monday and had done 13 hours at US the previous Wednesday, we would just see what we wanted to see here then leave.

Once we were in, the wait time for FJ was still high (100mins) with the queue for the lockers spreading down into Hogsmeade. This time, we went straight for Ollivanders. I asked the TM before we joined the queue how long it would be; he guesstimated 1 3/4 hrs, which was just about right. The show was quick but quite fun; he wandered through the crowd repeating "excuse me, pardon me", quite funny, and picked out a little girl from up front. It was manic when we were forced into the Owl Post, though. We could barely move and we knew we'd have to work quickly before the next Ollivanders lot poured in. Again a lot of character wands were sold out, so Jay opted for Professor Lupin's instead. We also bought some postage bits (letters with envelopes, stamps, wax seal). We filmed the Monster Book of Monsters and left the shop.

We decided to go single rider on FJ, although didn't fancy the long outside queue for lockers so snuck in through Filch's. The single rider queue was only about 20mins and was purely AC (mmm...AC...). We then decided to have a spot of lunch as it was gone 11am but I knew it would take a while to queue for 3 broomsticks. It took about 30mins in the end, and the fish and chips were pretty good. The way they handle the seating is good since the TMs did make sure we had a seat. Once we'd eaten we headed into Honeydukes/Zonkos since it didn't have an outside queue yet. My hunt was for a Pygmy Puff but we couldn't find one. I asked a TM and she said they'd been sold out since the day after she started and they wouldn't have more in until August earliest and October latest!! So I settled for a Pygmy Puff t-shirt instead.

We headed over to Dragon Challenge next. I must admit, the queue for this ride had been 5-10mins on both the days we were here until around 3pm (basically when they stopped having people queue to get in to WWOHP) when it went up for 40mins. It was only 5min queue when we went on; they were actually asking people to ride it! I was quite nervous going on it since I haven't been on this ride or any coaster for 5 years! But it was great. After this, we split up, I queued at Honeydukes for Every Flavour Beans whilst Jay queued for Butterbeer. It took about 45mins each to do this. The Butterbeer was quite good, very much like cream soda with a very sweet thick cream on top.

After this, I had a photo with the train conductor (we was quite funny, said he liked me, but was clearly not English despite fake accent since he didn't have a clue where I meant when I told him where I lived!) and we headed out; it was about 3.30pm. Whilst we got to see the frog choir, we didn't get to see the spirit rally. TMs got confused as to what times the shows were on and once we found out it wouldn't be on again until 4pm, we didn't want to wait 30mins just to see the couple of mins show.

Overall, the area looked great, but we'd like to return when its much quieter (although won't be able to return for probably 2 years but the queues should be ok by then!).

I'll add a proper trip report for our days at the parks once I've sorted through the 450 photos and vids!!

 

[Kay1]

Oh, boy. We're going over today and half of what you said went right over my head. I guess we'll do a lot of exploring and go the single rider route.

Thanks for the excellent report.

 

[mom2aandj]

Thanks for sharing; great details!

We were queueing through the outside and greenhouse area for over 1 1/2 hours, but when we got inside the castle - the area with the rooms, projections and AC - there was no queue, but TMs were rushing everyone through, telling us we couldn't stop! This meant that I couldn't really take any photos and we didn't even get to hear all of Dumbledore's and the 3 heroes speaches. Really disappointed since the queue outside had been so slow..

oh this must have been maddening!!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Great summary of your experience Claire. I have read (pretty sure it was on here) that once through the greenhouse area, you can step over to the side and let people pass you if you want to take pictures etc. although I'm not sure how easy this is to do

I am really hoping the madness has died down a little by the time we go next month.

 

[Claire-Bear]

Thanks guys, glad it's helpful

Great summary of your experience Claire. I have read (pretty sure it was on here) that once through the greenhouse area, you can step over to the side and let people pass you if you want to take pictures etc. although I'm not sure how easy this is to do

I am really hoping the madness has died down a little by the time we go next month.

When we tried to stop, we stepped right to the edge of the wooden pole so people could walk by us, but the TMs were literally shouting at us "Don't stop! Keep moving!"..

 

[damo]

Thanks guys, glad it's helpful



When we tried to stop, we stepped right to the edge of the wooden pole so people could walk by us, but the TMs were literally shouting at us "Don't stop! Keep moving!"..

They're going to have to start using the system of keeping people in each room for a certain length of time and then moving them on in order to maintain the line throughout the ride. Someone had posted that the line was getting all blocked but there was no one at the boarding area.

 

[Claire-Bear]

They're going to have to start using the system of keeping people in each room for a certain length of time and then moving them on in order to maintain the line throughout the ride. Someone had posted that the line was getting all blocked but there was no one at the boarding area.

That would work out a lot better

 

[derekburgan]

I love reading these posts and then remembering back to pre-opening with all the threads with people wondering how they can Fast Pass the queue. I can't believe there is an actual queue in a theme park whose biggest problem is that people want to stay in it longer.

This is a legitimate complaint though and it will be interesting to see how Universal deals with it. It's going to take some outside the box thinking, because the solution is counter intuitive to every problem that has ever come along the way in line queueing. The question has always been "how do we get people through faster?" Now they have to get people through as fast as possible, while also giving them the time they want to appreciate all the details.

Or they can do it the Disney way, keep shooing people along and say it is because of "guest demand."

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for the report! It sounds like Universal has some crowd control issues to work out still. The problem of people wanting to stay in the queue longer is interesting.

 

[Claire-Bear]

I love reading these posts and then remembering back to pre-opening with all the threads with people wondering how they can Fast Pass the queue. I can't believe there is an actual queue in a theme park whose biggest problem is that people want to stay in it longer.

This is a legitimate complaint though and it will be interesting to see how Universal deals with it. It's going to take some outside the box thinking, because the solution is counter intuitive to every problem that has ever come along the way in line queueing. The question has always been "how do we get people through faster?" Now they have to get people through as fast as possible, while also giving them the time they want to appreciate all the details.

Or they can do it the Disney way, keep shooing people along and say it is because of "guest demand."

I wouldn't have minded if the whole queue was like that - nice and quick, since we could have gone on it again and again to see the queue. The problem was that, after queueing outside in the baking heat for over an hour and a half, to then find that they had barely anyone queueing inside the castle (not just the area where the interesting parts are, but also the only AC'd part of the queue) and that they are rushing people without letting us see anything after waiting all that time was very frustrating why on earth didn't they let people queue inside the castle?? Keeping us all outside in the heat and with little to look at wasn't nice given they knew the inside was practically empty

 

[Sassagoula Billy]

The queue itself was done pretty badly (discounting the manic at the lockers). We were queueing through the outside and greenhouse area for over 1 1/2 hours, but when we got inside the castle - the area with the rooms, projections and AC - there was no queue, but TMs were rushing everyone through, telling us we couldn't stop! This meant that I couldn't really take any photos and we didn't even get to hear all of Dumbledore's and the 3 heroes speaches. Really disappointed since the queue outside had been so slow..

THANK YOU! I was there on June 22nd and encountered the same situation (and have henceforce referred to that greenhouse as my own personal limbo). I haven't seen anyone else mention the lopsided queue and I appreciate your excellent report. Universal has got to do something about the rushed indoor section of the queue. Heck, that's where the money went, we might as well enjoy it. I don't remember any universal people pushing us along, but there were a few people who were irked by those who actually wanted to enjoy themselves and explore the castle surroundings.

And for the record, I didn't think the ride could even compare with the design of anything else built specifically for the WWoHP. Save for that bottlenecking greenhouse.

 

[Lewisc]

They're going to have to start using the system of keeping people in each room for a certain length of time and then moving them on in order to maintain the line throughout the ride. Someone had posted that the line was getting all blocked but there was no one at the boarding area.

That's the reason the singles line moves so fast. The time I used the singles line the team member wasn't waiting for guests from the regular line. 1-2-3-4 go now.

 

[mom2aandj]

I can't believe there is an actual queue in a theme park whose biggest problem is that people want to stay in it longer.

well, not really. It sounds like the OP wishes she had spent her hour in line INSIDE the castle, going through it, not standing still outside in the hot greenhouse area, not moving at all. It's a *bunching* issue, not a *more time* issue, at least the way I'm reading it.

 

[M likes the mouse]

Hi!

We were there on the morning of the 21st. Being guests at the Royal Pacific Hotel we were there for the early opening. We were in line for Forbidden Journey and it broke down for about 30 minutes at around 9. And again when we were on it at around 10. We waited for about 1 hour in the greenhouse, and it was because of that breakdown. When the ride was repaired, the line began moving quite quickly. Including the greenhouse part of it.

Was the line moving while you were waiting in the greenhouse? If not, it might have been because of a breakdown of the ride.

 

[kathy884]

Thanks so much for the super detailed report. We'll be offsite, only looking at one day at IOA and are really only interested in WWHP. Would do Hulk and Jurrasic Park Discovery Center again, but not really that interested in doing other IOA things again.

Since, though, we'll be down at a busy spring break week, we were guessing lines would be similar to what you're describing based on post we've been reading. And we do like HP and seeing new attractions, but aren't big enough fans to do those lines. I've been having my teenage son read the threads to see what he thinks and he suggested we skip it (wait another year or two) and add the DHS park instead for our March trip. We'll keep checking these boards, but that's what we're thinking at the moment.

 

[inkkognito]

That's the reason the singles line moves so fast. The time I used the singles line the team member wasn't waiting for guests from the regular line. 1-2-3-4 go now.

Yep, I've experienced that several times too, as well as allowing rerides late in the evening because no one will come in from the queue.