HARRY POTTER Crowd 8+

HI there,
My 15 and 12 year old and I will be going to UR and IA on Dec 28/29.
My question is,…I am hearing misleading information on when to go to Harry Potter Ville. Some blogs say go early and plan to return later (we are not staying on site and have no express passess).

My huge concern is if we leave it till after 5pm, what are the chances we will not get on the 2 main rides in each park? Or for that matter be able to get into the area at all?

I am ok with leaving it till after 4-5pm but I am super nervous about not getting on the rides…
Thoughts?

Getting express passes not an option as we are from Canada and they literally cost us $270 per person.

When we went (mind you, during times NOT so busy), we found that the crowds were definitely lightest if you do HP first thing. This is because in BOTH parks, HP is at the very BACK. By noon, however, crowds can become almost unbearable, even on low CL days.

I DEFINITELY recommend getting to the park at RD and heading STRAIGHT for HP to do the rides first. Once crowds pick up, you’ll be done with the rides and can focus on just sights. If you want to experience it in the evening, then go do the other parts (AFTER you first did the whole RD HP thing!) of the parks then come back for evening sights.

I’m almost thinking of running straight to HP and doing the main ride attraction just to make sure we get it in…I am assuming that if we did the single rider lines we would probably wait for at least 60 minutes but I am super worried we will miss out if we take chance and only do it at end of day.

I definitely want to see HP at night too so we were going to return at night…

I don’t know if you would have that long of a wait in the single rider lines. We went on a low crowd day and the single rider line for FJ was practically a walk on. Not sure how much busier it would be at a high crowd level.

Also, to add, if you aren’t staying on site, find out which park is open for early entry, then go to the opposite at rope drop, it won’t be as busy.

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If the HP rides are the most important then I’d ride them first, and come back later for sightseeing

Does anyone know how much quicker the single rider lines travel in comparison to the regular lines in the HP universe?

Also, is it worth it to wait in line to see the sights of the HP rides?

If you have the time, or go first thing, I think it is worth it to do the full line for Forbidden Journey once. I never do single rider, so I’m not sure what gets cut out in those lines on either HP ride.

I wouldn’t do the single rider line for gringotts the first time, either. I tried it once, and I felt like you miss a lot. After going through the line a few times to see things, then single line would be worth it in my opinion. I have never gone through single rider line in FJ, but I probably never will—Hogwarts tour is an attraction in itself. When I went the first week Hogsmeade opened, I waited in line for almost 2 hours, and it was worth it because of what you’re seeing in the line.

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That definitely helps me out! I have read that there is lots to see when you are standing inline at both attractions. Looking at how busy those days are we will most definitely be in line for an hour for sure.
Thanks so much!

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One idea is to do the castle tour at Hogwarts then ride Forbidden Journey as single riders. You can get in a separate queue to just see the sights inside Hogwarts but not actually get on the ride. I did it once and it was nice to take my time looking at all of the little details without being pushed ahead by riders behind me to keep the line moving. You’d miss a few things that are in the full stand by line but you’d see most of it. I’m not sure if you can do the same at Gringotts.

Did you do this recently? It was my understanding that they got rid of the tour only line.

I’m trying to find the castle tour online and cannot…

I think to “tour” the castle, you have to go through the usual standby line, but just not ride when you get to the end.

It is worth doing at least once, though, to see/listen to the talking portraits, etc. But if the line is short, you whiz by those things anyhow. So it kind of depends on how much the details ultimately matter to you! :slight_smile:

I did it in February. Would be such a shame if they did get rid of it. It was a nice option to see the castle at a slower pace.

I’m not sure it was something you could look up online vs. something I read about here or on another site. But rebeecky thinks they may have gotten rid of that option? See above.

Correct. I know that they used to have a line dedicated to people who just wanted to walk through and see the castle and not ride the ride. I thought when they redid the lines, they did away with that particular line and dedicated it to something else. You can always just walk through the regular line to tour the castle.

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