Still long lines just to get into the Harry Potter area?
Universal Orlando: Is there still a long line just to enter the Wizard World of Harry Potter?
Just wondering if there is still a large line just to get into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section. I heard that the lines inside the Harry Potter area aren't quite as bad as the summer, but do you still have to wait in a long just to enter the area? We are going in about two weeks (on a Thursday) and are planning to head over there at park opening (no, we don't have any early access) and we're just trying to prepare outselves for what to expect.
Another Jersey TPI!!!
Can't offer any advice, Lexie, but have a blast!
Lines can get longish in the morning for Forbidden Journey, but you shouldn't have any problem getting into the Wizarding World itself. If the crowds get too heavy for your liking in the morning, hit something else in the park and come back later in the afternoon.
I don't expect huge crowds back in this area until schools are out for vacation. Thanksgiving and Christmas might be crazy again.
I went to IOA on October 4th, a Monday. Got into the park at 9:30 AM, not ideal at all, but was running a bit late, considering I'm someone who wants to be one of the first people entering the park. Anyway, we went straight towards the Harry Potter world, and there was no wait to get into the world. For the Forbidden Journey ride, I went on twice at different times. I went on first thing when I got there, the wait was about 20 minutes, not bad at all, especially considering enjoying the castle once you get into it. Then, I went on in the afternoon, this time with about a 30 minute wait. I did notice as I was walking around inside the world, it was getting a bit cramped up, but nothing major. The butterbeer lines were empty, the Dragon Challenge coaster had a 10 minute wait, the smaller kiddie coaster had a 30 minute wait, and the wand shop show was overly crowded when I walked by to see the line.
To get into the HP land, there's no line anymore, Dragon Challenge and Hippogrif are ALWAYS 5-25 minutes almost everyday, and FJ will be mildly long in the morning(60-90 min) and fluxuate the rest of the day from 90-40 min. For Thanksgiving extended weekend, all lines in the park will go up, but still shouldn't have a line to get into the actual vacinity, and Christmas-New Years break MIGHT have a small, 10-20 min wait to get into the land, but don't count on that too much.FJ will definitely climb north of 2 hours, and only go down to about 100 minutes at it's lowest point. Dragon Challenge will stay south of 45 min, and Hippogriff the same. My strong recommendation for visiting the HP land, and this is for any day, is DO IT LAST. The majority of Islands in the morning is in HP, those lines will be tremendous, and the rest of the park will be lighter in crowds.
We were there last week, and there are no longer lines to get into the land. However, lines for Olivander's and Forbidden Journey were running consistently 45-60 minutes all the time. The single rider line is the best way to do Forbidden Journey (you can ask for a "tour of the castle" and walk through the line without have to wait for the ride to take pictures), but Olivander's has no other way to get through the line fast, and it's extremely slow capacity (20 people every 3-5 minutes). Lines for Dragon Challenge (around 20 minutes at peak) and Flight of the Hippogriff (around 30-45 minutes) have not been to bad recently.
The problem with the lines now is that if you're not staying at an on-site hotel, by the time normal guests get into The Wizarding World, significant lines have already formed from hotel guests getting early access to the park. We found that doing Olivander's first thing, and then doing Forbidden Journey through the single rider line allowed us to see everything in the land before lunchtime (at Mythos of course).
Went with aunt and uncle a week ago and found FJ to be 45 minutes in the standard line. But I found the single-rider line to be a walk-on. You're really on the green if you choose a day when kids are likely to be in school and you select the single-rider line. Cheers!
From ben breeg
Posted October 25, 2010 at 12:28 PM
As of last week, there is no line to get in the area itself, but it was still jam packed. HPFJ ride was consistently 40 - 60 minute wait all day. Olivander's shop was also 60 minute wait all day.
The place is overrun right now with European tourists and kids. Apparently no school in Europe right now? Anybody know what the deal is? I did not expect to see so many kids this time of year on weekdays.
Don't use the single rider line at HPFJ! You will miss all of the cool Hogwart's castle stuff which is half the ride experience!!!!
As for HPFJ, my advice is this: go through the normal queue once and then, after you love the ride as everyone has, use the single riders line which gets you on in 5 minutes. Plus, you still have a chance of riding with your group even in the single riders line, but if you are split, the rest of your party would be right in the car before or after you to get off!
Finally, I visited in July and never waited in a line just to get into the land area. I am starting to think that that line was a rumor and maybe was mistaken for the line into HPFJ.
It's currently a holiday period in the UK, and I definitely noticed the Brazilian influence in all of the Orlando parks.
If you don't want to wait in the line, but still want to see the queue, you can ask the cast members to "take a tour of the castle," and you can walk down what will be the Universal Express line, which parallels almost the entire regular queue. Whether you do that before or after riding in the single rider line, it's far better and faster than waiting in a 60-minute line, and you can take your cameras with you through the "tour" line that you cannot do through either the regular or single rider lines.
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