Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...

[abooch]

How about a thread where people who visit the park post how the crowds are in the upcoming days/weeks/months? It would up those of us who are going to be taking trips and to make a plan...

After the days over I'm going to change the name of the thread to just Harry Potter Crowd Report Thread...Maybe a sticky?

 

[polkadotminnie]

Great idea! Please post arrivel time at the park and if you are staying onsite for early entry...

 

[NaylorLS]

First time visit to a large park, not sure what to expect, but sounds like everyone is doing the same WWoHP, then the rest. Is it going to be nuts?

 

[mom2monkiesx3]

We arrive Sunday afternoon and are there all next week. We did not book at the resort (family of 6 ) but we did get Express Passes for each day. I will update while there or when we get back...PLEASE pray it doesn't stay this way all week. We booked long before we knew the actual HP opening date and this is my kids first ever trip to Universal (12,9 and 6)

 

[mom2monkiesx3]

And luckily we were talked into park hopper tickets....THANK GOODNESS for that! We might just have to live at US and only brave IOA briefly

 

[Metro West]

First time visit to a large park, not sure what to expect, but sounds like everyone is doing the same WWoHP, then the rest. Is it going to be nuts?

It will be very busy all summer but it shouldn't be like today was...at least I hope not. I expect the crowds to die down in September once school is back in session and the majority of family vacations have ended. But in the mean time...do the best you can.

 

[SnowWitch]

Planning on first week of October, staying onsite. I hope it levels off ALOT by then.

 

[Planogirl]

Great idea for a thread!

I personally expect this weekend to be bad, really bad and then for things to settle down gradually. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

 

[abooch]

In reality when do you guys think the crowds will settle down some...I mean I dont care about Harry Potter as much as going to IOA...I want to ride FJ if the waits are ridiculous...Do you think its gonna be like this the last week of August where you have to wait to even get in the park? man i hope not...

 

[damo]

In reality when do you guys think the crowds will settle down some...I mean I dont care about Harry Potter as much as going to IOA...I want to ride FJ if the waits are ridiculous...Do you think its gonna be like this the last week of August where you have to wait to even get in the park? man i hope not...

Gosh no. Just keep an eye on these boards for the next month and you'll have a good idea what to expect.

 

[Dicecatt]

I'll be there next Saturday, the 26th, until July 1st, staying onsite. I'll keep you all updated on waits!

 

[abooch]

Frankly I dont mind waiting an hour or two to ride FJ but waiting to JUST get into the park is a bit much...

 

[truck1]

This may help a little.
I went over to IOA to try and get my son a wand for his bday this month. Got there about 330ish, and took less then 5 minutes to get thrru the turnstyles. Not sure if the rain scared people away, they got tired or the die hards were already in the park.

For HP there was a 6 HOUR wait at that point, just to get to the Island(HP).

IMHO IOA and US an learn a lot from Disney with crowd control and telling people what is going on. I walked all the way up to where LC starts after Seuss Landing and was promptly stopped by a rope and a small army of employess and security guards.(Didnt know about the line at that point)Apparently, the line started at the end of the lake as you come under the tunnel, and continued the long way around the lake.And it wasnt moving as far as I could tell.There was no signs, warnings, cast members or even a bird saying come here.Found it by accident.Needless to say Im going back during the week to try again. Id say after this weekend, and this is my swag, a lot of the die hards will have had there fill, and things should come somewhere near normal for this time of year. WWHOP may be busier then some of the other lands, but no where near as bad as this weekend.As I was leaving, I overheard a security guard telling someone that if they want to make sure they get in tom, then to get there at like 6 in the morn.

 

[dalownerx3]

Day after GO seems smoother. I saw rope lines to cordon off the Harry Potter line with the rest of the crowd and more TMs patrolling the line.

Also the line is much shorter. At 12:30, the line ended at Toon Lagoon and a TM was quoting 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait to get into the land. She had a bullhorn directing people to the end of the line which was marked with a portable sign that moved with the line.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Great thread idea. My sisters and I are going to Disney from August 8th-14th, and are taking a day to do WWoHP. As of now, we're planning that day for Wednesday the 11th. I'm really hoping that by then, although it will still be really crowded, it will at least have died down a bit. I'm hoping that a thread like this will help us with our planning, since we'll only have the one day there and want to make the most of it. Right now we're planning to take a Mears shuttle to get to Universal from WDW, but the earliest one leaves at 7:20 am and will probably have to make stops at other resorts before getting to Universal. This thread will let us see if we'll need to rethink that plan to get to the park earlier to ensure being able to at least get into the park.

Frankly I dont mind waiting an hour or two to ride FJ but waiting to JUST get into the park is a bit much...

Agreed. The interior of the castle sounds like it is an attraction in and of itself, so I will be fine if I have to wait 1-2 hours to get on Forbidden Journey. It will give me a lot of time to take it all in. But I could not tolerate waiting hours just to get into the area, as much as I love Harry Potter and as excited as I am to go.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Day after GO seems smoother. I saw rope lines to cordon off the Harry Potter line with the rest of the crowd and more TMs patrolling the line.

Also the line is much shorter. At 12:30, the line ended at Toon Lagoon and a TM was quoting 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait to get into the land. She had a bullhorn directing people to the end of the line which was marked with a portable sign that moved with the line.

Well, that sounds promising. It's still ridiculous that you'd have to wait 2 hours just to get into the land, but it's definitely better than 6-8! And it makes me think that if you get there about an hour before the general public opening, you wouldn't have to wait as long.

 

[kik050]

We truly had a blessing in disguise. My wife is a huge HP fan and was looking forward to seeing the WWOHP, which was planned to originally open in the spring of 2010. We planned to be there between June 1-14. When we heard it wasn't opening until the 18th, we were truly bummed to miss out on this event by 4 days. Luckily, when we went, it had a soft opening. We were able to stroll through all of the rides, including FJ, which had a 20 minute wait. Best simulation ride I've ever been on. I just rode the Spiderman ride earlier and said that's the best simulation ride I've ever been on. These crowds that I'm looking at for the grand opening is ridiculous.

 

[hopemax]

Day after GO seems smoother. I saw rope lines to cordon off the Harry Potter line with the rest of the crowd and more TMs patrolling the line.

Also the line is much shorter. At 12:30, the line ended at Toon Lagoon and a TM was quoting 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait to get into the land. She had a bullhorn directing people to the end of the line which was marked with a portable sign that moved with the line.

I hope it calms down more. I am visiting my parents, and I have a 3 day park hopper and we are visiting this Monday, Thursday and next Monday (the 28th). I am okay not doing much in WWoHP on Monday, but I would like to at some point get in the land to check out the test seat, because I am worried about that. So if we do that at the end of the day, that's okay. Although, I am a little worried about things selling out. I wanted a Pygmy Puff, but would prefer a purple one. So, again, I am okay waiting until they restock and sending my parents to get me one (they got AP's since I wanted to go during my trip), but I don't know what else might be in danger of running out. I am a December birthday, so I need an elder wand. But I am worried about what the line just to get in the park will be like and what time we should plan on arriving.

Hopefully, someone is going tomorrow and will be able to post a crowd update.

 

[wish_upon_a_star35]

I am getting really worried. We leave in 4 days for my son's wish trip and he LOVES Harry. He's only three so I'm not too concerned about him not riding anything although my 14 year old is a fanatic and would love to ride. We just want to get into the land!!! Oh brother, this may be awful

 

[inkkognito]

I think it will die down quite a bit. We recently got an AP flyer in the mail stating we can get AP rates at the onsite hotels between now and mid-August. That wouldn't be offered if they were all sold out.