The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hollywood
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Seems like it was only in use Thursday and Friday? If you check the Wait Times online it sometimes displays the Timed Ticket Entry so you can book your time. I haven't seen it used this week so far. The real test will be this summer.
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All in all I wouldn't be concerned about the crowds or lack there of. Remember that Orlando and Japan opened their Potter lands in the middle of summer when kids are out of school and families take their vacations. The other factor is that Hollywood opened theirs up two months before the official opening which allowed a large amount of pass holders to go early.
Another interesting factor that came into play was that "shockingly" low wait times that people were pointing out on Thursday, April 7 for the grand opening. I would point out that on the Universal website it said that one day admission was sold out using the EZ Rez system. Perhaps Universal wanted a lower attendance than a maxed out day and wanted to avoid what happened in IOA and USF? With the media coverage that day, it might not have been wise. This version opened on a school day in the middle of the week in the beginning of April, while most schools were back in session and everyone was back at work.
Universal has set themselves up quite nicely. Most AP's are blocked out till after summer time, than once most tourists and families go back to work in the fall, AP's are good again.
Another interesting factor that came into play was that "shockingly" low wait times that people were pointing out on Thursday, April 7 for the grand opening. I would point out that on the Universal website it said that one day admission was sold out using the EZ Rez system. Perhaps Universal wanted a lower attendance than a maxed out day and wanted to avoid what happened in IOA and USF? With the media coverage that day, it might not have been wise. This version opened on a school day in the middle of the week in the beginning of April, while most schools were back in session and everyone was back at work.
Universal has set themselves up quite nicely. Most AP's are blocked out till after summer time, than once most tourists and families go back to work in the fall, AP's are good again.
- Jul 7, 2013
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Here's a small looks at some of the new interactive wand spots in Japan's Hogsmeade. Way more impressive than ours. Can we have some of these instead?
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vkg9OanXIUo?feature=oembed
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vkg9OanXIUo?feature=oembed
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Hey did they change the park hours because I'm going on April 17 and originally it said they were staying open to 11 but now it says 9:00?
I doubt Universal is worried about the low ride wait times presently either. They have always promoted HP as a full land experience, not just the rides. And a lot of those experiences are shopping and eating, I'm sure Uni will do just fine with the amount of merchandise and food/drink sales the land brings. And as a several people have pointed out, summer will be when we see what really happens, when more people are free to travel and book vacations.
It's pretty funny that they may put in more interactive wand stations. When I took their survey about 3 weeks ago, that was one of the things I mentioned. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. Hope we get some of those from Japan, those are great!
With more of an emphasis on locals (who would want to see more on repeat visits), and the fact they have more "dead" space with the 2nd alley, as well as the small dead end alley behind Honeydukes, they definitely have the potential to put in more.
With more of an emphasis on locals (who would want to see more on repeat visits), and the fact they have more "dead" space with the 2nd alley, as well as the small dead end alley behind Honeydukes, they definitely have the potential to put in more.
Maybe? The hours do fluctuate and are subject to change. The other day they extended the closing by 30 mins. I've also seen them add a few hours. Maybe the crowds have been mild enough for them to retract their hours until 9pm? I heard last weekend it was pretty empty at 11pm so that might have been a factor?
Given the local factor of USH, I can't see them not implementing these along with the spell stage show at some point in the future.
Hi! Newbie here but have been following the thread for a few months.
We are planning on visiting Universal - with the main focus and priority being WWOHP in two weeks. This will be our first and most likely only visit (coming from overseas). Any thoughts on whether Friday or Monday would be the better option? - crowds, hours (would the extra 1 hour till 7pm make much difference), etc. Would like to book our tickets online but can't decide which day!
My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan so we will most likely ride the rides, do Ollivanders, get an interactive wand and eat at Three Broomsticks. Are there any 'tricks' or 'secret' things we should try not to miss? Wanting to make the most of our day!
We are planning on visiting Universal - with the main focus and priority being WWOHP in two weeks. This will be our first and most likely only visit (coming from overseas). Any thoughts on whether Friday or Monday would be the better option? - crowds, hours (would the extra 1 hour till 7pm make much difference), etc. Would like to book our tickets online but can't decide which day!
My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan so we will most likely ride the rides, do Ollivanders, get an interactive wand and eat at Three Broomsticks. Are there any 'tricks' or 'secret' things we should try not to miss? Wanting to make the most of our day!
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Hmmm...good question! Monday vs Friday. I'm not quite sure. Both fall under an extended weekend so are busier than Tuesday through Thursday. This past Friday and Monday both seemed pretty busy, but it did barely open. Maybe we should monitor tomorrow and next Monday to decide? Watch the wait times for each day? Are you thinking April 25 or May 2? If May 2 is the possible Monday I'd say go with Friday instead since the beginning of May is a holiday for many people and might be more crowded?
As for tips, I'd say get your Butterbeer from the Hogs Head Pub instead of the carts. The carts always have long lines and I never notice too much congestion at the bar. You want to be able to enjoy your Butterbeer while you wait in line for everything else. Most people tend to prefer frozen Butterbeer because the blend seems more balanced but it gives me brain freeze. I'd say do Ollivander's and the Flight of the Hippogriff first because those lines can get pretty long. FotH is a super short ride so it's not worth waiting too long for. Even if there is a bit of a line to see Forbidden Journey later it'll still be worth it. Plus, there is so much to see and appreciate it that you don't really want to rush through the queue either.
For the interactive wands if you search in the window you can find the hidden sensor. Make sure you aim for that when you cast your spell and the magic will work better. All the food I've had so far at Three Broomsticks has been great so I can't recommend anything over anything else. There are secret light/shadow animations projected on the walls inside at random times that are fun to notice. Dishes flying in one corner, an owl at another. I haven't seen them all yet. If you eat outside though, you get a nice view of Hogwarts.
And my personal favorite secret, mainly because it's my doing, but if you do end up outside of Hogsmeade, go to the second floor of Krusty Burger in Springfield to the back room where the walls are covered in caricatures. There's a drawing of a Simpsonized Severus Snape from the episode when Benedict Cumberbatch impersonated Alan Rickman. There's also a drawing of Daniel Radcliffe as Edmund the Vampire from one of the Treehouse of Horror episodes but that is harder to recognize. The asked us on the Simpsons crew to submit artwork for those walls and I had to include Harry Potter references and Universal used them!
Hope that helps! Enjoy your trip!
As for tips, I'd say get your Butterbeer from the Hogs Head Pub instead of the carts. The carts always have long lines and I never notice too much congestion at the bar. You want to be able to enjoy your Butterbeer while you wait in line for everything else. Most people tend to prefer frozen Butterbeer because the blend seems more balanced but it gives me brain freeze. I'd say do Ollivander's and the Flight of the Hippogriff first because those lines can get pretty long. FotH is a super short ride so it's not worth waiting too long for. Even if there is a bit of a line to see Forbidden Journey later it'll still be worth it. Plus, there is so much to see and appreciate it that you don't really want to rush through the queue either.
For the interactive wands if you search in the window you can find the hidden sensor. Make sure you aim for that when you cast your spell and the magic will work better. All the food I've had so far at Three Broomsticks has been great so I can't recommend anything over anything else. There are secret light/shadow animations projected on the walls inside at random times that are fun to notice. Dishes flying in one corner, an owl at another. I haven't seen them all yet. If you eat outside though, you get a nice view of Hogwarts.
And my personal favorite secret, mainly because it's my doing, but if you do end up outside of Hogsmeade, go to the second floor of Krusty Burger in Springfield to the back room where the walls are covered in caricatures. There's a drawing of a Simpsonized Severus Snape from the episode when Benedict Cumberbatch impersonated Alan Rickman. There's also a drawing of Daniel Radcliffe as Edmund the Vampire from one of the Treehouse of Horror episodes but that is harder to recognize. The asked us on the Simpsons crew to submit artwork for those walls and I had to include Harry Potter references and Universal used them!
Hope that helps! Enjoy your trip!
Jon Fu
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
Is Universal not receiving the attendance figures they were originally expecting?
Hmmm...good question! Monday vs Friday. I'm not quite sure. Both fall under an extended weekend so are busier than Tuesday through Thursday. This past Friday and Monday both seemed pretty busy, but it did barely open. Maybe we should monitor tomorrow and next Monday to decide? Watch the wait times for each day? Are you thinking April 25 or May 2? If May 2 is the possible Monday I'd say go with Friday instead since the beginning of May is a holiday for many people and might be more crowded?
As for tips, I'd say get your Butterbeer from the Hogs Head Pub instead of the carts. The carts always have long lines and I never notice too much congestion at the bar. You want to be able to enjoy your Butterbeer while you wait in line for everything else. Most people tend to prefer frozen Butterbeer because the blend seems more balanced but it gives me brain freeze. I'd say do Ollivander's and the Flight of the Hippogriff first because those lines can get pretty long. FotH is a super short ride so it's not worth waiting too long for. Even if there is a bit of a line to see Forbidden Journey later it'll still be worth it. Plus, there is so much to see and appreciate it that you don't really want to rush through the queue either.
For the interactive wands if you search in the window you can find the hidden sensor. Make sure you aim for that when you cast your spell and the magic will work better. All the food I've had so far at Three Broomsticks has been great so I can't recommend anything over anything else. There are secret light/shadow animations projected on the walls inside at random times that are fun to notice. Dishes flying in one corner, an owl at another. I haven't seen them all yet. If you eat outside though, you get a nice view of Hogwarts.
And my personal favorite secret, mainly because it's my doing, but if you do end up outside of Hogsmeade, go to the second floor of Krusty Burger in Springfield to the back room where the walls are covered in caricatures. There's a drawing of a Simpsonized Severus Snape from the episode when Benedict Cumberbatch impersonated Alan Rickman. There's also a drawing of Daniel Radcliffe as Edmund the Vampire from one of the Treehouse of Horror episodes but that is harder to recognize. The asked us on the Simpsons crew to submit artwork for those walls and I had to include Harry Potter references and Universal used them!
Hope that helps! Enjoy your trip!
Thank you so much eivega!! Great information and tips!! The Monday would be 2nd May, so will keep that in mind. Will make sure we check out the Simpson HP drawings too!
- Mar 29, 2015
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Well, as many HP fans as there are here in LA, this is still the third time they've built this. So it's not exactly fresh and new. It's also been six years since the first one opened in Orlando. People have had plenty of time to visit that one before this ever opened. So I can't say I'm too surprised by the low attendance.
That, and probably because they were a little too cocky with their pricing scheme. $600 for a pass with parking that has its ride count still in single digits is a little high.
- Dec 16, 2015
- 205
- 327
I feel like summer is always a sh*t storm anyways. I took my bone marrow donor's sister back in July and she wanted to do EVERYTHING since she is Canadian and it was probably her only time she'd be there. Three hours in the heat for Minions only for her to say, "Why didn't you tell me it wasn't worth that wait?" (I tried. I definitely did.) I can only imagine what Potter crowds will be like in a few months.
- Apr 12, 2016
- 16
- 6
Yeah, the attendance hasn't been there so far. Even opening day the park wasn't close to hitting capacity. Even with the EZ-Rez 'sold out', there were still a lot of tickets to sell at the gate, but the feeling is that posting 'sold out' online drew potential crowds away.
Summer will be different, but from now until around Memorial Day will be manageable.
Summer will be different, but from now until around Memorial Day will be manageable.
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