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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade (Orlando): Part 2

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We were among the first 30 people to ride FJ!!!

We were onsite hotel guests and arrived at the park on Friday, 5/28, about 7:30 a.m. not knowing what to expect. They let us in at 8 a.m. and we went straight to FJ. When we got to the entrance for the ride, there was a sign saying they were having technical difficulties. Everyone we asked about whether the ride would be open gave us a different answer. One of the attendants told us after we waited for about 20 minutes that it would no open at all that day. We decided to wait anyway and they let us in not too long after that. I wasn't sure at first whether we were just being let into the castle to do a walk-through or if the ride was actually running. The line went fast and then when I heard someone tell us to make sure to store all personal items, I knew we were going to get on the ride. I was excited! The ride was just incredible. It reminded me a lot of Spiderrman but without the3D. You don't need 3D with this ride. I can't imagine anyone will be disappointed. The only thing I was surprised that it didn't have was the basilisk. My son saw an area where he said it was just a black hole where he thinks maybe it was supposed to be but just wasn't operating yet, but he's just guessing. I thought the gift shop you come out in at the end of the ride was just great, although a little on the expensive side. There was a good variety of merchandise, though. If anybody has any questions, I'll try to answer them. We went back the next day and were just a little farther back in the line for the ride and after waiting about 20 minutes, they announced they were having technical difficulties again. We waited probably about a half hour after that and then they announced that everyone would have to leave the line and it never ran again, so we didn't make it on a second time. I was very thankful that we were able to ride it at all. One of the employees in the gift shop told us they ran it for the employees recently and out of four hours they had scheduled for them to ride it, it was only open one hour because of breakdowns. To eveyone who has yet to ride it, it is a fabulous ride and worth wiating for. Enjoy!
 
Yep, according to guest services all you need is a valid admission ticket for the day and an on-site room key to gain access to Potter preview.
 
Okay. I've been getting all kinds of confusing snippets from here and there about how the package deals are currently working, so maybe some of you who have been there can help me out? We'll be there for two days a few days before GO, so I know things may be different by then, but how exactly are the packages being handled right now?

I've heard some people saying everyone on-site (pkg or not) gets in at 8 am and then all rides are shut off around 10 and everyone is out around 11:30-12. Other things I've read said that pkg holders get in around 7:00 (?) and then everyone else on-site at 8:00.

When I initially bought the package I was told there were no special time restrictions--we'd get in an hour early and then spend all day until park closing.

Later, after the GO announcement, I was told we would get in at 8:00am, on-site guests would get in a 8:30am and then they might possibly open to the public at 9:00 if soft openings had been decided on but at the very least we'd have a whole hour of low crowd (the first 30 min. VERY low crowd) and then we'd just have to see closer to time if there would be soft openings people joining us after 9am or not. Never was I told that my so-called package deal would only let me stay in the land a few short hours. I was led to believe we could stay in all day if we wanted<--which is what I thought I was buying. And yes I am a bit miffed to say the least that our time will be so seriously limited.

But now I'm trying to figure out if, in addition to only getting to stay in the area until 10 or 12 (if we're "lucky"), if I'm also going to have to drag my kids on a a crazy-@$$ dash with a whole huge mob of people to FJ in hopes of getting to ride if it doesn't break down first. OR will this stupid package I've spent so much money on at least allow me to walk calmly into the land and savor the sight before we head to the castle. It sounds like to me if we're not one of the first ones in line at the gate and then again at FJ we may wind up spending our whole two hours of open ride time (HALF of our total ride time in WWoHP) in line hoping to ride and with a better than average chance we'll wind up getting turned away at the last minute anyway because it broke down again.
 
Thank you to those who post their spoilers in links or in reference to other "Spoiler" threads. Simply doing this:

SPOILER

OMG HARRY DIES AT THE END OF BOOK 7 AND HERMIONEE AND RON TOO OMG!!!

END SPOILER

...is like saying "Don't look at the nudist! Don't look at it! DON'T!"

And then looking.

Thank you.
 
Some questions
1. do we know exact seat weight/size dimentions yet for the FJ seat/ride? (for us bigger folks, can we ride)
2. will there be queue lines for the shops like honeydukes?
3. what is breaking this fj ride everyday where they have to shut down

if u can answer, thanks
 
I'm not sure how it'll be working when you get here, but for the last two days, any Universal hotel guest was let in the park around 7:30 to 7:45, held in Port of Entry until 8 a.m., then led to WWOHP. The rides all stayed open until 11. Most guests were out by noon.

Matt


VacationTalkRocks! said:
Okay. I've been getting all kinds of confusing snippets from here and there about how the package deals are currently working, so maybe some of you who have been there can help me out? We'll be there for two days a few days before GO, so I know things may be different by then, but how exactly are the packages being handled right now?

I've heard some people saying everyone on-site (pkg or not) gets in at 8 am and then all rides are shut off around 10 and everyone is out around 11:30-12. Other things I've read said that pkg holders get in around 7:00 (?) and then everyone else on-site at 8:00.

When I initially bought the package I was told there were no special time restrictions--we'd get in an hour early and then spend all day until park closing.

Later, after the GO announcement, I was told we would get in at 8:00am, on-site guests would get in a 8:30am and then they might possibly open to the public at 9:00 if soft openings had been decided on but at the very least we'd have a whole hour of low crowd (the first 30 min. VERY low crowd) and then we'd just have to see closer to time if there would be soft openings people joining us after 9am or not. Never was I told that my so-called package deal would only let me stay in the land a few short hours. I was led to believe we could stay in all day if we wanted<--which is what I thought I was buying. And yes I am a bit miffed to say the least that our time will be so seriously limited.

But now I'm trying to figure out if, in addition to only getting to stay in the area until 10 or 12 (if we're "lucky"), if I'm also going to have to drag my kids on a a crazy-@$$ dash with a whole huge mob of people to FJ in hopes of getting to ride if it doesn't break down first. OR will this stupid package I've spent so much money on at least allow me to walk calmly into the land and savor the sight before we head to the castle. It sounds like to me if we're not one of the first ones in line at the gate and then again at FJ we may wind up spending our whole two hours of open ride time (HALF of our total ride time in WWoHP) in line hoping to ride and with a better than average chance we'll wind up getting turned away at the last minute anyway because it broke down again.
Click to expand...
 
MattBoom said:
I guess no one was screaming, I was riding with a dad and his two sons though.
The screens aren't multi-layered that I could tell, but everything goes by fast.
Click to expand...

Aaaah... so you took the video. Question, is this ride as dark as Dinosaur? It looks like you cannot see much of anything most of the time.... even the projections looked dim. Is that the camera or is the whole thing Dinosaur?
 
Yep, VacationTalkRocks!, you pretty much have it crystal clear as of what's happening right now, lol. If it stays this way, you will be in a mob of people rushing for the ride, with a fair chance of it breaking down. Oh and don't forget about the breakfast that you paid for at the Three Broomsticks, that will take up a bunch of the time in there too.

True, I think that the people who paid for those 4 night packages with the breakfast really should have gotten an hour to themselves in there. And then maybe let the hotel guests in additionally for another couple hours, and then the AP people after that would have been fair.
 
The package people and onsite hotel guests are being let into WWOHP at 8 a.m. You need to show your admission ticket and hotel room key. No other peope were being let in (at least on 5/28 & 5/29 when I was there). They told us the preview would last from 8 - 10 a.m., but they did not kick anyone out until later than that. We stayed there until around 11:30 and there were still people there. If you want the best chance to ride FJ, you need to get there very early and be among the first people in line or you take the chance that it will be down for the rest of the time. If I were you, I would arrive at IOA by 7 a.m. (or maybe even earlier by the time you go) so that you are near the front of the line when the group is led to WWOHP. Then when you enter, go straight to the castle where the ride is and get in line as quick as you can. A lot of people were mingling around near the entrance taking pictures and looking at the shops. If we had not gone right to the ride as soon as we entered, we would not have been able to ride FJ. You are exactly right that if you take your time savoring the sights on the way to the caste, you may spend your entire preview time waiting in line for FJ and even then it may break down and you won't get to ride at all. The land itself is not that big and, like I said, they were not rushing people out so you should have enough time to see the rest of it if you can get on the ride as soon as it opens. There weren't even that many people there for our preview and everything was very crowded. The building are very close together. There were long lines for Olivander's and Butter Beer. There are choices of just cold Butter Beer or frozen and the frozen kind only lasted a certain amount of time and then they told us they had to wait for the machine to recharge before they could make more. I think they definitely need another cart because it was very popular but I don't know where they would put it. The best advice I can give you is to get there as early as you can and go right to FJ and then see the rest of it after your ride.
VacationTalkRocks! said:
Okay. I've been getting all kinds of confusing snippets from here and there about how the package deals are currently working, so maybe some of you who have been there can help me out? We'll be there for two days a few days before GO, so I know things may be different by then, but how exactly are the packages being handled right now?

I've heard some people saying everyone on-site (pkg or not) gets in at 8 am and then all rides are shut off around 10 and everyone is out around 11:30-12. Other things I've read said that pkg holders get in around 7:00 (?) and then everyone else on-site at 8:00.

When I initially bought the package I was told there were no special time restrictions--we'd get in an hour early and then spend all day until park closing.

Later, after the GO announcement, I was told we would get in at 8:00am, on-site guests would get in a 8:30am and then they might possibly open to the public at 9:00 if soft openings had been decided on but at the very least we'd have a whole hour of low crowd (the first 30 min. VERY low crowd) and then we'd just have to see closer to time if there would be soft openings people joining us after 9am or not. Never was I told that my so-called package deal would only let me stay in the land a few short hours. I was led to believe we could stay in all day if we wanted<--which is what I thought I was buying. And yes I am a bit miffed to say the least that our time will be so seriously limited.

But now I'm trying to figure out if, in addition to only getting to stay in the area until 10 or 12 (if we're "lucky"), if I'm also going to have to drag my kids on a a crazy-@$$ dash with a whole huge mob of people to FJ in hopes of getting to ride if it doesn't break down first. OR will this stupid package I've spent so much money on at least allow me to walk calmly into the land and savor the sight before we head to the castle. It sounds like to me if we're not one of the first ones in line at the gate and then again at FJ we may wind up spending our whole two hours of open ride time (HALF of our total ride time in WWoHP) in line hoping to ride and with a better than average chance we'll wind up getting turned away at the last minute anyway because it broke down again.
Click to expand...
 
yay, finally a FJ video! I talked to several that had rode the ride today and they all said it was very scay and some said they screamed so for those that were thinking its like ET, its not according to the riders today haha. They all gave it a very positive review so things are looking up. I also heard that lots of the guests today had the same idea as you all here do: run straight to FJ. Lots were running today haha.

I am just really really excited about the fj working finally long enough to get a good number on. And that video made me die too. If someone ever gets a brighter video of it I think everyone here will be dead haha.
 
For those who watched the POV video...were there a lot of amazing sets and AAs?

I'll wait to die when I ride it firsthand on June 25th...no more POV spoiling for me! Glad to see all the positive reviews for the ride!
 
It's hard to say on the "amazing sets" part but there were some AAs. Combine the fact that people are saying it's better than SpiderMAn I'd say there are probably some cool a$$ sets on it.
 
Jmaff said:
For those who watched the POV video...were there a lot of amazing sets and AAs?

I'll wait to die when I ride it firsthand on June 25th...no more POV spoiling for me! Glad to see all the positive reviews for the ride!
Click to expand...

It was really dark and hard to see. But you could make out lot's of video screen and some awesome animatatronics and effects.

~JW
 
HHN_dollfie said:
Hey guys for any that went today or know someone that went today.....I heard reports that they weren't selling beer at Hogs Head before noon since it was Sunday. I know that this is not a Florida law, so is this true or could it be something else? Any insight or ideas?

Also just booked a hotel room for the 9th......Seeing how it is coming across that it's my only way in. I am considering this to be a mini vacation for myself.
Click to expand...

Not sure if anyone has answered this or not yet, but the City of Orlando has an ordinance that prohibits the selling of alcoholic beverages prior to noon on Sundays. I also saw that you work at the WalMart down the road from UO and can sell starting at 9am. If you work at the WM on Turkey Lake Rd, the reason is that this store is outside of the Orlando city limits and UO is within it (Orange County does not have the same ordinance).

:)
 
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