We are visiting March 25 (level 9 crowd prediction day) and staying at Royal Pacific (so have unlimited express passes). We are only doing this one day. My kids (7 year old twins) are huge Harry Potter fans but not interested in much of anything else at Universal (we might do Dr Seuss but that’s it). I’m struggling to find good advice on how to plan our day. Despite it being a level 9, Touring Plans has us walking into everything quickly, even things like Olivander’s that I’ve heard we will likely need to get a time to come back. General advice on boards seems to be to do HP in the morning and evening and go elsewhere midday, but we aren’t interested in the other stuff. We do have the hotel room 2 nights and could go back to the room, but then I’ve also read that the park might hit capacity and you might not be able to get back in if you leave (which would be utterly heartbreaking for my kids). Kids are too short for Hagrid’s Motorbike so that isn’t a concern. We are mostly interested in exploring the world, food, and shops. We will do things like explore the castle but not ride the ride. How would you plan your day?
How about using the wands around, and finding all the secret ones? That sounds like a lot of fun if nothing else grabs your fancy.
Honestly, with EP and the kids being too short for Hagrids I don’t think you need to plan much. I would probably RD Olivander’s. Then you can explore and cast spells (I’m guessing your kids will want wands).
We were told that if you are staying on property you will be allowed back in even if the parks hit capacity. We were there last week for spring break and neither park hit capacity and it was crowded.
They would absolutely love that.
Thank you!!!
- Visit the money exchange to get some wizarding bank notes
- Eat at Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks during off-peak meal times
- Explore the many shops in Diagon Alley and be sure to visit Knockturn Alley
- Make sure to try all the types of Butterbeers
- Pick up a postcard from Scribbulus and mail it from the Owl Post
There’s a great HP scavenger hunt that @gingerSnaps543222 posted that looks really fun! Lots of cute ideas for your kids in and around WWHOp 
You do not need a touringplan! You have Express Pass. Do what you want when you want. This is the beauty of Universal and why they win for me over Disney in this particular area. (I still love Disney!) Hotel guests are guaranteed a spot into the park. You do not have to worry about not being let in. Also a 9 won’t hit capacity even if you weren’t onsite. I’ve been on 10s where they didn’t hit capacity.
For the wand effects though I would try for nighttime if you can do that with your schedule. The HP areas clear out at night. And some of them are affected by sunlight. Like turning on the lights one looks better at night and the one in Weasly’s Wizard Wheezes won’t work unless you block the sunlight. So one person has to put their hand over the camera and block the sun for you to get it to work.
Thanks for this tip. I’m sure my kids are the go all night type and we don’t have anywhere else to be, so I’m going to try to find a good spot for a downtime during the day and stay later.
This scavenger hunt is great! I’m planning our first ever trip with DD11 (delayed 10th birthday) so I’m just starting to read the Universal advice threads… sorry for crashing this one!
Not useful, but hope you have a fantastic time!