Which Ollivander's?

[Angeliki19]

Hi! So excited to be taking our first trip to WWOHP this April! I want to ride the train both directions, so my plan is to start in one park, do all the HP stuff, take the train to the other park and finish up the day doing the non-HP stuff. And then on the second day, reverse it.

I would like to get wands right away as we are only there for 2 days and want to use them as much as we can. Which Ollivander's would be better for first timers? If it makes a difference, its me, DH, DS (6) and DD (8).

Thanks!

 

[Angeliki19]

Also, which park is better to visit in the evening, if I had to choose one? We will definitely be doing mornings in both, but if we want to experience HP in the evening, wasn't sure which one would be better.

 

[mjhtvchick]

I can't speak to the experience at Ollivanders as I have only done the one in US.

We like to finish at least one night in Diagon Alley - beautiful atmosphere at night. Having said that, if I am ever there when the Hogwarts nighttime projection show is on, I will have to see that at least once!

ETA: Keep in mind that the parks close earlier at Universal, especially at certain times of year. And there are times when the whole park or sections of it are closed for private parties...in particular Fridays in April and May where they have Grad Bash.

 

[AngiTN]

We've done both Ollivanders, I got mine in Hogsmeade, DGD got hers in Diagon Alley (different trips). We were both picked for the ceremony
I lean to the Diagon Alley option as that's the way Harry did it, which is why we did it that way for DGD. We took her there first, got her wand, then to get her robe, etc. She followed the path the kids follow, going shopping for supplies in Diagon Alley, then taking the train to Hogwarts.

 

[Angeliki19]

We've done both Ollivanders, I got mine in Hogsmeade, DGD got hers in Diagon Alley (different trips). We were both picked for the ceremony
I lean to the Diagon Alley option as that's the way Harry did it, which is why we did it that way for DGD. We took her there first, got her wand, then to get her robe, etc. She followed the path the kids follow, going shopping for supplies in Diagon Alley, then taking the train to Hogwarts.

I love that idea.

 

[wagman67]

It's been my experience that, although the lines do get long in both areas, in Diagon Alley, there tends to be breaks where I have been able to walk right in, but have never seen a short line in Hogsmeade...I just go for the show...been many times through DA, only once through Hogsmeade. YMMV

 

[AngiTN]

It's been my experience that, although the lines do get long in both areas, in Diagon Alley, there tends to be breaks where I have been able to walk right in, but have never seen a short line in Hogsmeade...I just go for the show...been many times through DA, only once through Hogsmeade. YMMV

If I heard correctly, DA has multiple rooms where Hogsmede has just 1

 

[wagman67]

If I heard correctly, DA has multiple rooms where Hogsmede has just 1

Yep...three.

 

[only hope]

There’s only one Ollivanders

Definitely Diagon Alley. It has a much shorter wait. The actual experience is the same. My first time at DA the CM looked and sounded like Ollivander from the films. It was awesome.

 

[KEW]

Also, which park is better to visit in the evening, if I had to choose one? We will definitely be doing mornings in both, but if we want to experience HP in the evening, wasn't sure which one would be better.

They had a projection show on the castle during the Christmas holidays. They're going to come out with another one soon...so at last experiencing an evening at the park with the castle. I would try to do it the first night...just in case. It was very crowded when we went, especially at night. The projection show started at 7 during the holidays and ran continuously throughout the night after that. Because it was so crowded when we went, they would actually cut off the crowd (we went for the 7 showing) from walking further in to view the castle. so I would say try to do it your first night just in case something happens and you miss it...you can still try on the 2nd night if that's the case.

 

[Alicefan]

I prefer the one in DA. The one in Hogsmeade is just a madhouse!

 

[toonaspie]

We did DA because it was more thematically appropriate plus it has more rooms so your wait is practically a walk on. We only had to wait 10-15 mins not because of crowds but because of a lack of crowds and our experience only had me and five other people in it.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

The one in Diagon Ally is larger so the lines move faster....plus that is where Olivanders really should be based on the books. We have dont both and they were both the same experience.