Starting and ending with Wizarding World

[I'm No Fool]

Wife and I will be spending one day at Universal this July. Does it make sense to do either Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade first thing in the morning, the other late afternoon or evening, with the rest of the two parks in between? And take the Hogwarts Express both ways, since each direction is a different experience? And if so what's the best way to do it?

 

[escapeartist]

You didn't state if you will have Express Pass. Even w Express pass doing both parks in one day In the busy month of July is unlikely imo. I feel w Express pass you can tour both Diagon and Hogsmeade completely in a day. But seeing the majority of the remainders of both parks is unrealistic.
With that said, to answer your question, I like to follow in Harry's footsteps and begin in Diagon Alley. Complete that, then take the train to Hogsmeade. Complete Hogsmeade, then see where you are w time and hit any highlights that interest you in the other parts of Islands of Adventure. Or, this may be a good time to take train back to Diagon to experience that route, then hit some rides in the Universal side where you will end up again.
It's probably best to decide in advance any must do attractions you would like to try and hit in the 2 parks after wwohp and prioritize them.

 

[bchbetha]

Yep. That plan works. I'd start at Diagon Alley and travel as Harry does. I'd do some of Hogsmeade when you get off the train and just leave if you want to ride other stuff or it's too crowded. Plan an early lunch (by 11:30) at one of the restaurants.

 

[I'm No Fool]

You didn't state if you will have Express Pass. Even w Express pass doing both parks in one day In the busy month of July is unlikely imo. I feel w Express pass you can tour both Diagon and Hogsmeade completely in a day. But seeing the majority of the remainders of both parks is unrealistic.
With that said, to answer your question, I like to follow in Harry's footsteps and begin in Diagon Alley. Complete that, then take the train to Hogsmeade. Complete Hogsmeade, then see where you are w time and hit any highlights that interest you in the other parts of Islands of Adventure. Or, this may be a good time to take train back to Diagon to experience that route, then hit some rides in the Universal side where you will end up again.
It's probably best to decide in advance any must do attractions you would like to try and hit in the 2 parks after wwohp and prioritize them.

Not using Express Pass and wasn't expecting to be able to see most of the rest of the parks. My thought was that by the time we did Gringotts and took the train the line for Forbidden Journey would be so long it would be better to try it later in the day. I know single rider is available for both, but I know that the line is just as much a part of the attraction as the rides themselves.

 

[bobbie68]

Not using Express Pass and wasn't expecting to be able to see most of the rest of the parks. My thought was that by the time we did Gringotts and took the train the line for Forbidden Journey would be so long it would be better to try it later in the day. I know single rider is available for both, but I know that the line is just as much a part of the attraction as the rides themselves.

Hi there is another idea since you won't have express pass and that you are correct on the crowds in Hogsmeade. You could start in Hogsmeade at opening and go right to Forbidden Journey and then hop on to the Hogwarts Express over to Diagon Alley. Explore Diagon Alley and do Gringotts. Then you can spend more time in the studios if there is something else you want to ride. Then I would take the train back to Hogsmeade later in the day and explore IOA a bit. Then head back up to Hogsmeade and explore around then watch the castle light show. This way you could optimize your time but still do the Hogwarts Express both ways. The last 3 summers we have been to Universal in July they usually have early entry on both parks so I did notice a little more even distribution in each HP land early.

If you really want to start with Diagon Alley you can you would just spend extra time in line for the Hogwarts Express to go both ways if you want to end in Hogsmeade at night with the light show. Otherwise you could do Diagon Alley and anything else in the studios. You could hop on the HE over to Hogsmeade explore there and IOA then take it back to DA and end the night there. Honestly we go back and forth multiple times on the HE in one day. However, we have express pass and it makes a big difference. The line in the summer for Hogwarts Express can be very long.

Enjoy!

 

[damo]

You'll probably want to see the castle show which is in the evening. So I'd plan Diagon in the morning and Hogmeade in the evening.