Diagon Crowd Concerns

[Parkscope Joe]

Same here! My brother and I got in line at 5:30, right around JP like you (probably a bit behind you since I didn't get in til 11:00AM). We went on everything (DC twice) and went to every shop including Ollivanders. We left the land at around 5:00 PM and left the park at 6:00. I plan to get there even earlier this time. If I can play it like Phase I grand opening, it should be just fine if we get there early enough.

Do they open CityWalk at 5:30am or 5am? I'm going to be on property, I want to get there early as possible but I can't find an opening time for CityWalk.

 

[maxairmike]

If I remember right, they told us the parking garages would open around 4:30, Bubba Gump was open for breakfast (like anyone coming in that early was going to stop for breakfast and be farther back in the line ), and when my friends and I got there at around 4:40 there was already a massive backup heading towards the light on Universal Blvd. My group ended up being right in front of NBA City before they opened the park gates.

 

[HailSouthern84]

Do they open CityWalk at 5:30am or 5am? I'm going to be on property, I want to get there early as possible but I can't find an opening time for CityWalk.

Don't worry, we will figure it out. :thumbs:

 

[rinacee]

Do they open CityWalk at 5:30am or 5am? I'm going to be on property, I want to get there early as possible but I can't find an opening time for CityWalk.

I'm not quite sure. We got there a little bit after the garages opened.

 

[kapeman]

Total UNI noob here. We have had our July 11th trip planned for some time.

We are staying on property and I had thought we would hit Diagon Ally first thing. Should we expect to have a ridiculous wait even with the extra hour perk?

The plan also involved hitting Gringot's first and then taking the Express over to Hogsmeade.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

Total UNI noob here. We have had our July 11th trip planned for some time.

We are staying on property and I had thought we would hit Diagon Ally first thing. Should we expect to have a ridiculous wait even with the extra hour perk?

The plan also involved hitting Gringot's first and then taking the Express over to Hogsmeade.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I think since Diagon Alley opens only 3 day before your trip, you're gonna deal with lots and lots of crowds. There are also likely to be breakdowns on both Gringotts and HE. I would suggest you try to be patient. Staying on site would help, and it's a shame that Gringotts doesn't have a Universal Express queue, but I'm not sure you can do anything to avoid the massive amounts of people that are gonna be there. Did you see the line waiting to get into the park when WWOHP first opened

 

[kapeman]

I think since Diagon Alley opens only 3 day before your trip, you're gonna deal with lots and lots of crowds. There are also likely to be breakdowns on both Gringotts and HE. I would suggest you try to be patient. Staying on site would help, and it's a shame that Gringotts doesn't have a Universal Express queue, but I'm not sure you can do anything to avoid the massive amounts of people that are gonna be there. Did you see the line waiting to get into the park when WWOHP first opened

I am afraid to look!

So, should we try for first thing or wait until the end of the day? Or just skip it entirely?

I am not going to wait in line for 2-3 hours, especially since we are only there for two days.

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

The line, just to enter the park, went literally all around CityWalk. Not even talking about the queue to get into WWOHP, FJ or the various shops.

I would say yes, try to get there early and see. It could be less crowded at night, or it might packed all day. I wouldn't say to skip it, either. Get there as early as you can and see what it's like. Make an attempt to see it because it's worth it.

If you don't wanna wait 2-3 hours, I think you're gonna be in for a bad time. I don't know what the capacity is for Gringotts, but I think it's safe to say that on the 11th, it might be 2 hours for that queue alone, nevermind getting into the actual section of the park.

 

[kapeman]

The line, just to enter the park, went literally all around CityWalk. Not even talking about the queue to get into WWOHP, FJ or the various shops.

I would say yes, try to get there early and see. It could be less crowded at night, or it might packed all day. I wouldn't say to skip it, either. Get there as early as you can and see what it's like. Make an attempt to see it because it's worth it.

If you don't wanna wait 2-3 hours, I think you're gonna be in for a bad time. I don't know what the capacity is for Gringotts, but I think it's safe to say that on the 11th, it might be 2 hours for that queue alone, nevermind getting into the actual section of the park.

It's not looking good for us.

Would it be better try and get into the park via the HW Express even if only to avoid the crowd at the front of the park?

 

[rhino4evr]

I remember we were in town when Phase 1 opened, and I work up that morning and looked on this very site at all the lines and said NOPE. Ended up going to Disney instead. The place was much less crowded ha ha.

I kinda feel bad for those people that booked vacations months ago that had no idea what they were getting into.

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

It's not looking good for us.

Would it be better try and get into the park via the HW Express even if only to avoid the crowd at the front of the park?

Hmmmm. That's a very good question. On paper, that would make things easier, but I have a feeling a lot of people might have that same idea, therefore making the HE have quite a long line as well.

 

[illumination]

It's not looking good for us.

Would it be better try and get into the park via the HW Express even if only to avoid the crowd at the front of the park?

Good question. Since it dumps you out into London and not inside DA, you'd still have to potentially wait in a long line just to get a return ticket to enter DA later. So it's hard to say if that would help or not versus going straight in to the studios side.

 

[kapeman]

I am starting to get concerned that even if we take a pass on Gringott's, we may get locked out of the rest of the park due to the crowd level.

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

I am starting to get concerned that even if we take a pass on Gringott's, we may get locked out of the rest of the park due to the crowd level.

I think getting in MIGHT be a bit difficult, but I don't think the park as a whole is going to be impossibility crowded.

 

[Dancapt]

Getting on the HE and riding over to Diagon sounds like a bad idea, assuming they wait to fill both trains before dispatching....

 

[Vyrus]

If you have the hotel and the early entry guaranteed, go and use your early entry and then get as far away from Diagon as possible, unless you get a return ticket to come back at night. The whole area will be packed.

Now those lines youre seeing were ONLY the first day it opened, however the subsequent days and weeks the line stretched from JP all the through Toon Lagoon to Marvel. Hence why they now are planning to use the ticket machines. That will honestly be the ONLY way to get into the land for at least the next 2 months.

 

[kapeman]

I really appreciate all the responses. Great info.
It feels weird being a theme park newbie again!

 

[adjjb]

I remember we were in town when Phase 1 opened, and I work up that morning and looked on this very site at all the lines and said NOPE. Ended up going to Disney instead. The place was much less crowded ha ha.

I kinda feel bad for those people that booked vacations months ago that had no idea what they were getting into.

This is people I know, book for 4th of July week for Orlando to just go normal IOA, Wizarding World. Had no idea DA would open at the same time.

 

[Shadow Carelli]

So how early do you guys think they're going to let people get in line on opening day? I remember reading a few pages back that during the first WWOHP grand opening, people were able to get into Jurassic park at 5:00 a.m. and wait in line. Do you think they'll let people wait in line at 5:00 this time around???

 

[rinacee]

So how early do you guys think they're going to let people get in line on opening day? I remember reading a few pages back that during the first WWOHP grand opening, people were able to get into Jurassic park at 5:00 a.m. and wait in line. Do you think they'll let people wait in line at 5:00 this time around???

I posted in the main thread about this the other day. My boyfriend and I were at the parks on Wednesday and spoke to some TMs outside of Diagon. We asked them about when the garages were going to be open, and though they said they don't know exactly when, they said they typically open them at 5:30 on normal days. BUT. They said if it was anything like it was in 2010 (I was there by Jurassic at 5:30 AM with thousands ahead of me already), they said to get in line at the garage entrance as early as possible. In 2010 (before 5AM to my understanding) the line ended up lining all the way back to the I4, so Highway Safety Patrol forced Uni to open the garages VERY early to avoid traffic issues. So it's not a solid answer, but if a similar situation happens again (which is likely), it could be earlier than 5 AM.