Waits and best time to ride in Harry Potter

[IBLarsen]

We are planning a day at US/IOA in Mid March. The crowd levels are predicted to be an 8/10. We are not staying onsite, and not doing express passes. So on a busy day like this, what kind of wait times do they usually see for those without early entry or express pass? If we hit Diagon Alley at rope drop, what would expected waits be at Gringotts at that time? I'm assuming its best to go to Gringotts first? Then explore Diagon Alley?
Would it be best to head straight to IOA for Forbidden Journey right after Gringotts, as well before doing any other rides in US?
Would love any tips for minimizing waits in all of HP? I realize there will be waits, but makes a difference on planning to assume a 20 minute wait vs a 2 hour wait. I honestly have NO clue what to expect. We want to ride DM for sure, it seems like with reading through other threads people seem to hit this first? That goes against my Disney Strategy brain..... I feel like a fish out of water trying to figure out a plan at US/IOA!

FYI, I'm also very familiar with Disneyland and DCA and how easy it is to go back and forth. I'm getting the feeling that US/IOA are comparable to that? Please correct me if I'm wrong before I plan on going back and forth a couple times

 

[johde]

The general school of though is without EE is to hit DM first. To your Disney brain think Peter Pan before the Queue update. It's a slow loader than builds lines on even the slowest of days. Then power ride 3-4 of the "hot" older attractions ie. Mummy, MIB, Simpson and Transformers. The goal is to his those while the lines is still short in the morning. Then go to Diagon Alley and get in line for Gringotts (assuming it's not having technical issues) although some plans recommend holding of on Gringotts until the evening. Unlike Disney at least right now, Gringotts and DM are the only two rides open for EE. That means for non-EE people, Gringotts especially has a backup of EE people at Park opening. So, you want to ride a few other rides (with short lines) until the initial RD crowd cools off. Even if it doesn't cool off too much, it won't be too much worse than rope drop. So you'll get 4 rides with 5 minute waits and 1 ride (Gringotts) with a 50 minute wait but as long as your not stuck for a long time in the extended queue out back I've heard the queue is as good as the ride. Where if you flip it you may wait 40 minutes for Gringotts but 30 minutes each for MIB, Transformers, etc. because everyone else has moved on.

After Gringotts and Exploring Diagon Alley, take HE to IOA Hit Forbidden Journey then loop around IOA hitting the other attractions you want. Return to USF on HE (different experience each way). Head to Diagon Alley if lines were too long earlier.

 

[IBLarsen]

The general school of though is without EE is to hit DM first. To your Disney brain think Peter Pan before the Queue update. It's a slow loader than builds lines on even the slowest of days. Then power ride 3-4 of the "hot" older attractions ie. Mummy, MIB, Simpson and Transformers. The goal is to his those while the lines is still short in the morning. Then go to Diagon Alley and get in line for Gringotts (assuming it's not having technical issues) although some plans recommend holding of on Gringotts until the evening. Unlike Disney at least right now, Gringotts and DM are the only two rides open for EE. That means for non-EE people, Gringotts especially has a backup of EE people at Park opening. So, you want to ride a few other rides (with short lines) until the initial RD crowd cools off. Even if it doesn't cool off too much, it won't be too much worse than rope drop. So you'll get 4 rides with 5 minute waits and 1 ride (Gringotts) with a 50 minute wait but as long as your not stuck for a long time in the extended queue out back I've heard the queue is as good as the ride. Where if you flip it you may wait 40 minutes for Gringotts but 30 minutes each for MIB, Transformers, etc. because everyone else has moved on.

After Gringotts and Exploring Diagon Alley, take HE to IOA Hit Forbidden Journey then loop around IOA hitting the other attractions you want. Return to USF on HE (different experience each way). Head to Diagon Alley if lines were too long earlier.

Thanks for explaining! That helps!

 

[johde]

No problem. When Gringotts is running smoothly is eats people. I have an app that fakes GPS location so I can see the wait times on Universal's APP. Right now, 3:20 P.M. Gringotts has a 20 minute wait, Despicable me is 45 minutes. The problem come when Gringotts act up.

 

[IBLarsen]

Thinking through more, the Gringotts waits have been explained, but what about the Forbidden Journey waits? Does it matter as much to get on that one first thing (without early entry, or Express Pass)? Does the line continually build or does is stay fairly consistent? So other than first thing at rope drop, if we can't get to it for an hour after rope drop, does it matter at that point to hit it then or will it be the same mid day or evening? (Again, mid-march trip with crowd levels of 8/10 predicted).

 

[johde]

Thinking through more, the Gringotts waits have been explained, but what about the Forbidden Journey waits? Does it matter as much to get on that one first thing (without early entry, or Express Pass)? Does the line continually build or does is stay fairly consistent? So other than first thing at rope drop, if we can't get to it for an hour after rope drop, does it matter at that point to hit it then or will it be the same mid day or evening? (Again, mid-march trip with crowd levels of 8/10 predicted).

In general, from what I've read, the shortest waits for Forbidden Journey are in the Morning and to a lesser extent the Evenings. One thing you might want to consider, I was playing around with the Universal Orlando App and you can set an alarm they will let you know when the posted wait time get below a certain level. So, you could set it for 30 minutes on Forbidden Journey and it should let you know if the ride get's to that level. I haven't tried it out to see how well it works, me next trip is in in a couple of weeks. So, most of my information is from my own research for that trip.

 

[lazer]

Thinking through more, the Gringotts waits have been explained, but what about the Forbidden Journey waits? Does it matter as much to get on that one first thing (without early entry, or Express Pass)? Does the line continually build or does is stay fairly consistent? So other than first thing at rope drop, if we can't get to it for an hour after rope drop, does it matter at that point to hit it then or will it be the same mid day or evening? (Again, mid-march trip with crowd levels of 8/10 predicted).

when we were there in October, it was consistently 30 minutes. The few times we saw it higher were later in the day (like 3/4 pm).

 

[hydrotony]

when we were there in October, it was consistently 30 minutes. The few times we saw it higher were later in the day (like 3/4 pm).

The general touring method lately seems to start at Diagon Alley, stay though lunch at the Leaky Cauldron and go to Hogsmeade via Hogwarts Express, then go on Forbidden Journey. This is why the afternoon line for FJ is the longest for the day. This plan follows the books the best and it is what HP fans want to do. What you do is up to you.

 

[Pembo]

If wait times are long, try the single rider lines. We never waited more than 5 or 10 mins in single rider. Yes you miss a lot of the queue but if maximizing your time and riding is your goal, you will love single rider.

 

[IBLarsen]

If wait times are long, try the single rider lines. We never waited more than 5 or 10 mins in single rider. Yes you miss a lot of the queue but if maximizing your time and riding is your goal, you will love single rider.

Definitely want to stick together as a family. I'm not too concerned by the waits, just want to be prepared for what to expect, as I try to plan out our day, so I have realistic expectations for how much we can get done in a day, and the best way to do it. For Disney I always have a super detailed plan and ride order. Trying to come up with our plan for US/IOA, but just not familiar.

 

[lazer]

And, honestly, the Forbidden Journey line seems to go by quickly because there's so much to see in the castle. It's definitely worth seeing IMO.

 

[dpuck1998]

I'm honestly disappointed when the wait is under 30 mins, I don't get to enjoy the queue. We ran through it this morning first thing and didn't see anything.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

On the 23rd, after EE at 8 AM Gringrotts was a 60 min. wait. By mid morning it was 105 min. I didn't check after that. The lines move pretty continuously though and there is a lot to see in the lines. I almost felt rushed through Gringotts trying to see it all, waited about 20 min. We were a little late to EE on the 22nd and waited about 30 min. for FJ and that didn't seem bad at all, we were able to see everything and it moved steadily. When we came out at about 8:15 the line was 45 min.

 

[TLPL]

May I ask a stupid question?
What is DM?

 

[mhake01]

May I ask a stupid question? What is DM?

Disposable Me Minion Mayhem. DM for short

 

[TLPL]

Oh! of course !

 

[kb mkcp]

This will be our 1st trip to US/IOA. We are staying on site at Disney. Harry Potter is our highest priority & we will have only 1 day to do both parks. Would the previous strategy listed work well on this date too?

 

[johde]

I just got back from my trip. I had lots of time in the parks so I didn't need to use any specific strategy. But, the morning I was "power riding" at USF, that part of the plan worked well up until Gringotts was closed. I was staying at Cabana Bay so I had a head start to Despicable Me (I got to the parks about 8:45). But, If you're wanting to do a "best of Universal" Focusing on HP. I would do.

1. Despicable Me
2. Hollywood Rip Ride RockIt (if that interests you)
3. Revenge of the Mummy
4. Transformers
5. Simpsons
6. Men in Black.
7. Diagon Alley to check Escape for Gringotts Line. If the posted wait time is under 45 AND the queue is limited to the first section out back (Completely under cover and not yet to the movie cart) the wait is really about 30 minutes barring ride resets.

8. Hogwarts Express to IOA: If at all possible, you want to ride before noon. In the morning the wait was 10-15 minutes. By about 12:30 it was 45 minutes until about 6:00 when it started coming down again (8:00 closing time).

Islands of Adventure get's a little bit tougher because you're hitting it in the middle of the day. But, if you've moved and gotten lucky Gringotts will have been you're only significant wait so far.

For Forbidden Journey, unless you have you're heart set on the ride photo, I'd recommend taking the Castle Tour followed by the Single Rider line unless the lines under 30 minutes.

Otherwise, pick a direction and hit the rides that interest you for the most part as you come to them going around the lake. You might want to used either Universal's App or one of the 3rd party app's to keep an eye on wait times.

After Looping around IOA, Hop the Hogwarts Express back to USF and finish the evening there.

Basically, you got 2 shots at each of the HP areas with this plan. If things are running smoothly, you can probably hit the major attractions twice. Otherwise, if a ride is temporary down, you still have another chance to hit it later.

 

[larklynn98]

Im hoping this may work in July!

 

[Welcome Home]

We will be getting to the parks at about 2pm. Should I even attempt Harry Potter stuff the first day or wait? We are coming on a Tuesday at the beginning of May and staying at HRH for 7 nights.