Is Ollivanders open during Early Entry?

Mark Hammond

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Could anyone help me as to whether Ollivanders in Diagon Alley is open during Early Entry please?
I’ve tried Universal’s own site, and other sources, and keep getting conflicting information. Plus the threads already on here are old ones, so may no longer be accurate.

I understand that Universal changes it’s opening procedures regularly, so was after some up to date information. It will be Thursday 23rd May that we’ll be visiting - Setting the whole day aside for the full Potter experience, and hoping to get ahead of the crowds with the spell-casting.

TIA.
 
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Yep an dI bet you'll be fine line wise on a Thursday in May. We had maybe a 5 minute wait at a similar time.
 
It is, and it’s busy. There was a line out the door in late March.
Not what I was wanting to hear... :mad:

Yep an dI bet you'll be fine line wise on a Thursday in May. We had maybe a 5 minute wait at a similar time.
However, this is great news!!! :)

At least I know it’s open, and I guess that regardless of the queues, it’ll still be quieter than at the start of regular park opening?

Cheers!
 


Not what I was wanting to hear... :mad:


However, this is great news!!! :)

At least I know it’s open, and I guess that regardless of the queues, it’ll still be quieter than at the start of regular park opening?

Cheers!
It wasn’t super long (out the door), and it was probably much better than after park opening. It’s also cooler in the morning, so you have that going for you :-)
 
Not what I was wanting to hear... :mad:


However, this is great news!!! :)

At least I know it’s open, and I guess that regardless of the queues, it’ll still be quieter than at the start of regular park opening?

Cheers!

I was there last week. The parks were busy. I didn't make it to early entry, but every time we passed olivanders, I never saw the lines as long as I have seen in the past. We almost did it the last time we went by because of no line.
 
Late March through the week after Easter is a busy time at the theme parks due to spring breaks. May 23 is shortly before Memorial Day, so it may be a tad busier due to people taking an extended weekend but nowhere near as busy as it has been lately. If you have an interactive wand I suggest doing the spells during early entry. It’s a lot more fun when you’re not waiting in line watching other people do it first. The shops aren’t crowded first thing in the morning either. The standby line for the coaster is usually shorter in the evening than it is in the morning, unless you get lucky and end up in the front of the crowd and thus the front of the line. Ollivanders often has no wait after the morning rush, other than waiting for the next group to be let in.

None of this applies for high crowd days of course.
 


Late March through the week after Easter is a busy time at the theme parks due to spring breaks. May 23 is shortly before Memorial Day, so it may be a tad busier due to people taking an extended weekend but nowhere near as busy as it has been lately. If you have an interactive wand I suggest doing the spells during early entry. It’s a lot more fun when you’re not waiting in line watching other people do it first. The shops aren’t crowded first thing in the morning either. The standby line for the coaster is usually shorter in the evening than it is in the morning, unless you get lucky and end up in the front of the crowd and thus the front of the line. Ollivanders often has no wait after the morning rush, other than waiting for the next group to be let in.

None of this applies for high crowd days of course.

Yes, I’m aware of Memorial Day, as it fell over the same weekend on our last (and first) visit to WDW in 2016, and we’re actually moving over to Disney on the Saturday of that weekend this May. It falls during our school half-term holidays back here in the UK, which is why we’ve come back at the same time again, as it avoids the Easter crowds and limits the time that the kids have to miss school. (It seems like it’s virtually impossible to miss a busy period during a two week holiday though!)

And yes, we’re planning on doing Ollivanders and buying the interactive wands on that morning before moving onto the spell-casting and shops for the very reason that you mentioned - It won’t be quite as magical if they’ve seen a dozen or so other people do the same spell first! :wizard:Unfortunately, we’ll be in the thick of it when we move over to Hogsmeade though...

We’ve got Express Unlimited for Gringotts, so there’s no need for us to try getting ahead of the crowds there. We’ll already have ridden it via standby on the previous two mornings anyway, as we’ll have been up really early due to jet-lag and it’s the only thing open during Early Entry in USF apart from Minions. We’re dedicating a full day for each park to non-Potter stuff on our first two days there, so will literally have to drag the kids out of Diagon Alley after riding Gringotts in those days.

Thanks for your advice.

:disrocks:
 
May I jump in with a further question?

(I’ll take silence as a yes!)

I believe the store is quite small-
Are you only allowed in to the show/shop if you intend to make a purchase?

Dd1 is desperate to be chosen and buy her wand.
However me & dh are merely intending to be amused parental bystanders..
 

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