The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

I believe shl1108 is correct. I just spoke to a very knowledgable person at Universal reservations regarding my room-only reservation booked for 5/26 - 5/31 and she told me that any hotel reservation booked prior to today's announcement that includes 5/28 to 6/17, whether package or room-only will be allowed access to WWoHP. We will be given a packet of info upon check in and we might be given a specific time to enter. She assured me that my reservation was included in this. That is fine with me even if we can only enter once during our stay, that's better than nothing, and the lines should be very limited.

Hope this helps.

pheww..so glad I made my ressie at the beginning of this mth. We're going the beginning of June and staying onsite,so looks like we may have lucked out!!

 

[glocon]

I sure do hope shl1108 got good info regarding reservations that were already made prior to today about onsite guests being able to get into WWoHP!!!! This info has changed my to a glimmering of hope.....

 

[shl1108]

I believe shl1108 is correct. I just spoke to a very knowledgable person at Universal reservations regarding my room-only reservation booked for 5/26 - 5/31 and she told me that any hotel reservation booked prior to today's announcement that includes 5/28 to 6/17, whether package or room-only will be allowed access to WWoHP. We will be given a packet of info upon check in and we might be given a specific time to enter. She assured me that my reservation was included in this. That is fine with me even if we can only enter once during our stay, that's better than nothing, and the lines should be very limited.

Hope this helps.

She didn't detail exactly. But you are right, what she said is that if you made your reservations BEFORE today for either onsite or the Harry Potter package, you would have "full access to Harry Potter and all attractions".
Made me happy, but hopefully they are not just saying these things to calm down the crowd.

 

[lildamo]

I feel like it's going to take some time for everybody to figure out what the plan is and how they're going to monitor everything over at Universal. I feel like we'll be getting conflicting stories for a little bit yet, but would be surprised if everybody didn't have access to at least frequent soft openings by that point -- they'll need to practice with crowds before opening the area full-time!

 

[shl1108]

I sure do hope shl1108 got good info regarding reservations that were already made prior to today about onsite guests being able to get into WWoHP!!!! This info has changed my to a glimmering of hope.....

Me too! I was so happy when she said that, that I forgot to ask more specific questions. She was so confident with her answers and did not put me on hold once. Happily told me twice that full acces for package holders and onsite guests that had already reserved.
I did read somewhere about the hp package holders that they would be asked to bring their confirmation email with them to the park for WWHP entrance. So maybe hotel guests bring their confirmation email with date of reservation prior to today for access! Lets hope!

 

[Rags]

I believe shl1108 is correct. I just spoke to a very knowledgable person at Universal reservations regarding my room-only reservation booked for 5/26 - 5/31 and she told me that any hotel reservation booked prior to today's announcement that includes 5/28 to 6/17, whether package or room-only will be allowed access to WWoHP. We will be given a packet of info upon check in and we might be given a specific time to enter. She assured me that my reservation was included in this. That is fine with me even if we can only enter once during our stay, that's better than nothing, and the lines should be very limited.

Hope this helps.

Keeping fingers and toes crossed!!!!

 

[damo]

Let's hope they follow through with this. It really annoys me when they say one thing and do another!

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Huh. I seem to recall telling people that jsut because the package dates started on May 28th didn't mean that the thing was officially open at that point. Not to toot my own horn, but neiner neiner!

 

[Poly-Anna]

Like the person shl1108 spoke to, my reservationist was very knowledgable and confident and didn't put me on hold once. I believed her and I'm not worrying about my reservation. I had booked it back in January hoping HP would be open by Memorial Day. Good guess!

 

[Karpkg]

I have mixed feelings, my plans were set whether or not Harry Potter was opening the week I was going to be there. They're ranging from anticipation, to disappointment to a bit of relief because it won't be super crowded and wayy crazy. I now anticipate a soft opening and the ability to explore a little easier. I was seriously thinking crowd level 10 and with young uns...I wanted our vacation to be fun and not stressful. Staying onsite without the HP package- I actually thought about cancelling and going offsite- but I think I'll still keep the reservations and just keep checking in to see what happens.

 

[Preds]

I just spoke with a Universal Vacations reservations agent named Mikaela re: our HRH reservation that we booked back in January for May 28-31 (room only).

I told her we booked solely for the WWoHP, and that I called last month when they came out with the packages starting May 28 to confirm that WWoHP would indeed be open for us and was told that it would be, thus I booked my flights.

I then of course brought up today's news re: the June 18 Grand Opening, and my concern that we wouldn't be allowed in for our May 28-31 visit.

The agent said "all onsite guests AND people who booked the WWoHP packages will have access beginning May 28". She didn't specify what access meant of course.

I stressed that we booked room only, and she again said "Yes, as an onsite guest you WILL have access from May 28 on."

I hope this is true, because if it's not we're going to be royally pissed and US will hear about it!

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

Universal is not in the wrong here. They are simply not guaranteeing anything until June 18th. I booked earlier in good faith, you did as well. But the only date they HAVE to have WWOHP open and running is now June 18th, the first date they've confirmed as official since they announced the project.

 

[Don Pacho]

I just spoke with a Universal Vacations reservations agent named Mikaela re: our HRH reservation that we booked back in January for May 28-31 (room only).

I told her we booked solely for the WWoHP, and that I called last month when they came out with the packages starting May 28 to confirm that WWoHP would indeed be open for us and was told that it would be, thus I booked my flights.

I then of course brought up today's news re: the June 18 Grand Opening, and my concern that we wouldn't be allowed in for our May 28-31 visit.

The agent said "all onsite guests AND people who booked the WWoHP packages will have access beginning May 28". She didn't specify what access meant of course.

I stressed that we booked room only, and she again said "Yes, as an onsite guest you WILL have access from May 28 on."

I hope this is true, because if it's not we're going to be royally pissed and US will hear about it!

Congratulations. You are going to be one of the few lucky ones that is going to have the WWoHP experience before the big crowds.


From Screamscape:

2010 - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - (3/25/10) Just a few hours from now, Universal will reveal all about the new Harry Potter attraction as well as the grand opening date. However it seems a slip-up a few hours ago may have given it away early, as many claim to have seen a page go live briefly on the website that including the following paragraph:
“On Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – the marquee attraction of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – guests will journey through iconic locations straight from the films, such as the Room of Requirement. This amazingly detailed scene is where guests board the groundbreaking ride and are drawn into the excitement and chaos of Harry’s life. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – the only place in the world where the stories of Harry Potter will come to life – grand opening on June 18.”
So… June 18th seems to be the date of the official grand opening ceremony, which is sure to disappoint many who were hoping for a Memorial Day Weekend event and may have planned trips around that concept. However I do have one possible ray of light for those in need as a Screamscape source has given us May 15th as a possible soft opening date. This is all rumor, and very unofficial at that, since so many things can go wrong between now and then, so don’t count on anything just yet. Stay tuned!

.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

Here is what I'm taking form all the comments made quoting Universal workers. That part of the park itself will be open but "Grand" events and maybe the big ride attraction won't be set until June 15th. I know there is talk of soft openings but I have a feeling Universal is playing this one close to the belt. No one is getting in until June 15th, not no way not no how.

I don't understand those people who are upset because they booked before a date was given. We booked for July not knowing if WWHP would definitely be open by then but it was a safe bet. I never thought it would be finished in May or even June.

 

[Don Pacho]

The safest date was to book after June 30th. That's when the actual building contract with the general contractor expires. When this happens, the G.C. starts getting huge fines per day eating all the profits because Universal is also losing money for every day they are not open.



.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

So question, if I wanna go on the Opening Day, do I just buy normal tickets or is there a special ticket?

 

[disneyismyname]

I haven't written on this thread, but have been watching it for a long time! Today when I heard the grand opening date I booked my trip! Soo Excited! My brother and I are major HP fans and we are staying on-site for 4 nights. I've never been to Universal Studios (been to disneyworld twice) so this is different for me! Going 6/17 -6/21

 

[lildamo]

So question, if I wanna go on the Opening Day, do I just buy normal tickets or is there a special ticket?

You would just buy normal tickets. Prepare for HUGE crowds though!

As a sidenote, if you check the official Wizarding World of Harry Potter news site, every picture is captioned with "grand opens June 18th", a subtle but important difference from "opens June 18th". This gives me another reason to believe that everything will be "open" before the grand opening.

 

[gollal]

I too just called & the customer service agent at Universal assurred me that they would honor our package. We are booked to arrive on 6/5. She said guests who already did book the package will be permitted in. I specifically asked if the breakfast would be open and if all rides would be open. She said we would have access to all rides (if they are operating as with any park) and we would still have the 3 Broomstix Breakfast. It really does seem the "soft opening" is 5/28 then. I asked how they would know we had already purchased the package & she said we needed to bring out the emails or printed confirmations with us.

 

[jessrose18]

If you booked a multiple night package do you only get to choose one day to get into IOA early?