Wizarding World of Harry Potter

[Anonymous]

I just returned from a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (i.e. Universal Studios) and would be happy to answer any questions people have.

[Anonymous]

I had pondered a weekend trip there with my 9 year old. Do you have hotel recommendations? It looked like there were a couple of onsite (almost) options. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I would recommend staying at one of the official Loews properties (we stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort). Among other things, you can easily book into breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, a hard-to-get reservation at peak times. But the best thing is your room key gives you access to "Univeral Express" lines. This is the "Fast Pass" concept they have at Disney, except you can skip to the front of the line at ANY time, rather than have to get a special Fast Pass ticket to come back at a designated line later. Moreover, this privilege is available ONLY to people who stay in the official resorts, whereas at Disney anyone with an admission ticket can choose to Fast Pass a ride. We saved a LOT of time with the Universal Express privilege (note, however, it doesn't work for all rides, including the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride -- you'll have to wait in line for that, although for us the line was about 45 minutes both times we did it, which wasn't bad).

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I think that's the one I was looking at, and I will be sure that we stay there. Is there anything else that I should sign up for ahead of time, other than the hotel and the breakfast that you mentioned? And did you rent a car and do anything else in Orlando, or was the Wizarding World enough for one trip?

[Anonymous]

How many days did you spend at HP and what else did you do in Orlando? I love Universal and would choose it over Disney any day, but if we make the trip, my DH thinks we need to go to Disney, Epcot, Sea World, etc....

[Anonymous]

We did four days at Universal, which was one too many, frankly. We went to the beach for three days, and then back to Disney for two. It was a good itinerary!

Depends on when you go to Orlando. In mid-August when we were there, everything was SUPER hot so it was nice to have a hotel to retreat to during the heat of the day. If you follow our schedule, you'll probably only want to do Magic Kingdom and/or Epcot at Disney b/c you would have no need for Hollywood Studios, having just been to Universal, and the animals are all in the shade and laying low at the Animal Kingdom. And, you can go to water parks anywhere...

[Anonymous]

I am planning a trip to Universal in a few months, but don't want to spend too much money. Which official hotel on site would you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Probably the Royal Pacific if you have younger kids... The Portifino is more adult-oriented and the Hard Rock is, well, the Hard Rock.

[Anonymous]

How do you get from the airport to the resort?

[Anonymous]

So excited, just booked four days at Universal Orlando for the family. Followed the advice here. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Have fun! I am the OP of this post and was surprised to see it bumped up.

Lemme know if you have any more questions.

[Anonymous]

Thanks as well! I'm planning our summer vacation, which includes a few days in Orlando. DS is huge Harry Potter fan and we'll also be hitting Legoland on way from Tampa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend staying at one of the official Loews properties (we stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort). Among other things, you can easily book into breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, a hard-to-get reservation at peak times. But the best thing is your room key gives you access to "Univeral Express" lines. This is the "Fast Pass" concept they have at Disney, except you can skip to the front of the line at ANY time, rather than have to get a special Fast Pass ticket to come back at a designated line later. Moreover, this privilege is available ONLY to people who stay in the official resorts, whereas at Disney anyone with an admission ticket can choose to Fast Pass a ride. We saved a LOT of time with the Universal Express privilege (note, however, it doesn't work for all rides, including the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride -- you'll have to wait in line for that, although for us the line was about 45 minutes both times we did it, which wasn't bad).

We will be in Orlando between Christmas and New Years. I figured the crowds would be insane, and therefore we would not go to Universal or Disney. But now that I see what you wrote about staying at a Loews property and using your room key for the Universal Express lines, maybe we should give it a try. So when you do this, do you go to another, shorter line and you still have a wait, but it is just shorter? Do you see any problems with going at Christmas time, if we were to use the Express lines? Just wondering if there is something I am missing. We would love to go, but waiting in line for hours will make me not want to go. We will be in Orlando anyway, which is why I am considering it. thanks!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would recommend staying at one of the official Loews properties (we stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort). Among other things, you can easily book into breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, a hard-to-get reservation at peak times. But the best thing is your room key gives you access to "Univeral Express" lines. This is the "Fast Pass" concept they have at Disney, except you can skip to the front of the line at ANY time, rather than have to get a special Fast Pass ticket to come back at a designated line later. Moreover, this privilege is available ONLY to people who stay in the official resorts, whereas at Disney anyone with an admission ticket can choose to Fast Pass a ride. We saved a LOT of time with the Universal Express privilege (note, however, it doesn't work for all rides, including the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride -- you'll have to wait in line for that, although for us the line was about 45 minutes both times we did it, which wasn't bad).

We will be in Orlando between Christmas and New Years. I figured the crowds would be insane, and therefore we would not go to Universal or Disney. But now that I see what you wrote about staying at a Loews property and using your room key for the Universal Express lines, maybe we should give it a try. So when you do this, do you go to another, shorter line and you still have a wait, but it is just shorter? Do you see any problems with going at Christmas time, if we were to use the Express lines? Just wondering if there is something I am missing. We would love to go, but waiting in line for hours will make me not want to go. We will be in Orlando anyway, which is why I am considering it. thanks!!!!

With the room key there is a dedicated line, and you go basically to the front of the normal line. You might encounter a slight wait if there are other resort guests doing the same thing, but you're looking at 5 to 10 minutes versus an hour or more.

Remember, the room keys don't work for *every* ride, including the big Harry Potter Forbidden Journey experience. You can probably look in advance to see which ones they work for now. I'd guess they apply to 80 percent of the attractions.

Can't speak to crowds at Christmas, as I haven't experienced them. I reckon it will be much more crowded of course.

[Anonymous]

OP - if you are still around, would younger elementary kids like the place, or is it better for ages 9-10?