Timing for Harry Potter in both parks?

[LilyWDW]

Hey all! I'm posting this for my cousin as she asked me this and I have no idea. I am mostly a Disney girl and have little to no knowledge when it comes to Universal planning!

Her hubby and MIL want to take a day out of their Disney trip to hit up the Harry Potter attractions at both of the Universal parks. If they get there at opening, about how long do you believe it would take to do this? They do NOT plan on doing anything else at Universal and it is just the two of them (my cousin will be back at the hotel and possibly Magic Kingdom with the 2 kiddos).

Also, which park would you suggest starting in to maximize the time they have?

Thank you for your help!

 

[damo]

They can do each in a couple of hours depending on the lines. It is tough to judge not knowing when they are going.

 

[bchbetha]

There's more to the HP parts than the rides. For true fans, just browsing the shops, Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Hogsmeade... Can take several hours. They are so immersive. The ride lines really will vary based on when they plan to visit.

 

[jsmla]

I'm not an expert on UO by any means but I would definitely check the calendar for early opening days at each park. The HP "lands" are a major early opening draw. If not staying in an eligible hotel I'd hit the park without early opening for rope drop. When I was there in April the lines tended to shorten nearer park closing.

https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Early-Park-Admission.aspx


The single rider lines at Forbidden Journey and Escape From Gringott's worked well for me.

 

[LilyWDW]

They can do each in a couple of hours depending on the lines. It is tough to judge not knowing when they are going.

Ugh, my bad! Totally forgot that information!

They will be going in mid October (pretty sure the weekend AFTER the holiday weekend). Mostly they are curious if they can get there at opening, get both areas done, and get back to meet up with the rest of the group for a 5:30PM ADR at MK.

 

[bchbetha]

They could make it but I think skipping dinner at MK makes sense. They'd probably enjoy dinner at The 3 Broomsticks or Leaky Cauldron.

 

[LilyWDW]

They could make it but I think skipping dinner at MK makes sense. They'd probably enjoy dinner at The 3 Broomsticks or Leaky Cauldron.

The rest of the party will be at MK that day. It's only my cousin's hubby and his mom who will be at Universal so they want to meet up with my cousin and the two kids for dinner.

 

[damo]

I think it can be done. It wouldn't be my preferred way to do it but if that's really all they want to do, that's their decision. They need to follow the advice above and be an the non-early entry park before it opens to get everything done.

 

[jsmla]

The single rider lines at both FJ and EfG can be big time savers but they'll miss the very immersive queue areas. They're very well done.

 

[Catvondita]

I went last year in July so peak time and was able to do both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade in like 2 hours. The wait for Forbidden Journey was only 20 minutes and I went on again for single rider which was a walk on. I also got a wand at Ollivanders in DA which took about 20 minutes. The lines aren't as long as they used to be when those sections first opened up so I think they would have plenty of time to do both sections plus time to explore other areas of the parks. I don't think it matters which park you start in

 

[nkereina]

IMO, they'd need to leave UO by 4pm to make a 5:30pm ADR at MK. They'll run into traffic that time of day, plus its a 20 minute commute without traffic. Add to that the time it takes to park, go through bag check, and walk to whatever restaurant. That being said, if they got to UO at opening, I think they'd have time to do both DA and Hogsmeade. They would need to strategically plan their rides on Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, and Hogwarts Express because those waits get long the later it gets in the day.

If it were me, with the amount of money I'd be spending on a park to park ticket for this, I'd forego dinner at MK and just spend the day at UO so I wouldn't have to rush and could enjoy dinner there, before heading back at my leisure.

 

[PrincessNelly]

That quite an expensive trip for 3 rides... honestly, HP is great & we were able to ride gringotts, hogwarts express, and forbidden journey within the first hour. Then spent another 40 minutes just exploring.
However, with that said... they should totally spend time doing other non-HP stuff. Its so worth it! As a matter of fact, my favorite ride is the Mummy!
Look at Kong! Transformers & Rip Ride Rocket are also fantastic. Universal is so much more than HP.

 

[PrincessNelly]

Also,

We've done both IOA/USF on a wednesday in Sept. & were back at POFQ by 4pm. We even sat & watched some shows.