Help please for birthday at WWOHP

Hi! I am taking my HP obsessed daughter for her 10th birthday (just the two of us!) to Universal and I haven’t been there in over 20 years. We arrive on a Tuesday at 12:30 pm and leave on Friday at 6:30 pm. The crowd calendar says it’s a level 3 while we are there. We have four day park-to-park passes. Staying off site and no Express Pass. She turns 10 on the Wednesday (day 2.) I’m thinking of getting her wand at Ollivander’s on her birthday. Which location do you recommend? Should we go there first thing?

Also, is there a HP touring plan? I didn’t see it on the site but saw reference to it on the boards. I’m thinking we will do other parts of the parks on arrival day and focus on HP on her birthday and then leave the last two days to repeat favorites/see things we didn’t get to.

How much is the touring plan needed on a crowd level 3 day? Do I need to go hit the big rides first thing or will crowds be decent enough to just go with the flow?

And any other advice/tips are appreciated!! Thank you!!

Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley, if you’re going to be as authentic to the story as possible. And yes, the line builds quickly there, so the earlier, the better…what a wonderful birthday present for her!

Thank you!

1 Like

If the crowd is at a 3, a touring plan is probably not critical, but without EP, it would make a difference. With 4 days, you’re not going to be as pressed for time to fit everything in. If I were you, I’d at least take a look at which attractions you want to see get the longest lines (e.g., Minion Mayhem, Reign of Kong, etc.) and try to hit them earlier in the day to minimize waiting.

Sounds like an awesome experience for both of you… enjoy!

Thank you! With a crowd level estimated to be a 3 and no EP, do you think we can do both HP locations in one day? Considering we want to take our time looking in the shops and such? Everything I read said that for a crowd level estimated at 3 buying the EP isn’t it worth it. Thought?

What a great trip this will be! With a CL 3 and if you spend a full day, yes, you can see everything in the Wizarding Worlds, though if you really linger, you may still wish you had more time. And DEFINITELY do Ollivanders in Diagon Alley!

As @rebeecky says, you absolutely should be able to get through everything in both locations of WWoHP. Whichever headliner you don’t do first will probably require you to wait in line for awhile. For example, if you arrive at USF at rope drop and do Gringotts, Ollivanders, and wander through Diagon Alley, by the time you take the HE to Hogsmeade, you’ll probably have to wait a bit for Forbidden Journey. With those crowd levels, it may only be 30-45 minutes, which isn’t too bad. Keep in mind that on-site guests will get into WWoHP an hour early at one or both of the parks, so that will affect your wait times a bit.

If I were you, I’d make a custom touring plan with just the Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley attractions and see what it tells you for waits, with and without EP. That will then help you decide if EP is worth the cost. You’ll have to make two separate ones and adjust the start and stop times. If you need help with that, there are lots of us who would be glad to assist!

1 Like

I’ve been at the parks when the CL was 3, and it is a very relaxing day. Sure, you will see some crowds along the headliners, but the waits are very reasonable.

We had no problem finding a place to watch the parade, and the Leaky Cauldron was the only place where we had what I would call an unreasonable wait to order our food. … We got in line around 11 a.m. and it was about 45 mins til we could order.