Harry Potter Park Vacation Package Response from Universal Orlando

by on March 26, 2010


With the release of the Harry Potter park opening date, yesterday, we had some concerns about what happens to those people that booked a Harry Potter vacation for the original May 28th date.  Late yesterday, we received an official response from Universal.

We are confident in our ability to provide those who have already purchased travel packages featuring entitlements in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter park the experience they are looking forward to having -- with all the great benefits we have listed and we will make special arrangement to accommodate them.  As always, specific operating hours and availability of attractions and shows are subject to change.

Sounds like even if you booked one of the earlier packages, you'll still get what you expected.  Great to hear that Universal is standing by their prior agreements!

We were also informed that ALL the Harry Potter park vacation packages for May 28th to June 17th have been booked!!!  So, if you want to get one of the package for June 18th, you'd better hurry and book, because they're going super fast!

Ready to book your Harry Potter park vacation? We can help! We're all Universal Specialists at Destinations In Florida Travel, a full-service travel agency that specializes in Central Florida travel!

Get your Harry Potter theme park souvenirs from the official Harry Potter shop, the WB Shop!

Got your tickets for the new Harry Potter theme park? Let us help you out!

Tagged as: Central Florida, Central Florida Travel, Full Service Travel, Full Service Travel Agency, Grand Opening, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Park, Harry Potter Park Opening, Harry Potter Shop, Harry Potter Theme, Harry Potter Theme Park, Hurry, New Harry Potter, Official Harry Potter, Operating Hours, Park Vacation, Potter Park, Service Travel Agency, Souvenirs, Travel Packages, Universal Orlando, Vacation Orlando, Vacation Package, Vacation Packages, Wizarding World

  • Cavort

    I would be very careful about this. First of all, we booked a package, but not the specific Harry Potter package (we booked the Hard Rock). We were promised early admissions to the Wizarding World, too. I called Universal today, and they said that we would still be able to access the Wizarding World, but they did not have details as to what would be open NOR how it would all work. For me, this is a BIG RED FLAG.

    We booked through a prominent Orlando travel agency, and they said:

    “I would also be wary of this information. Universal is telling us only those that booked the Harry Potter package will be allowed access. And even then, they are careful to say that ride availability and opening hours are not guaranteed.

    I do think the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be in a soft opening phase at the time of your visit, and there is a chance that you (and other Universal Resort Guests/Day Visitors/Etc) might be allowed in at various times throughout the day to check things out. But I would worry that not everything will be up and running, and there will only be certain times where the land is even open during the day. It would be a risk to be sure.

    If you want to visit at a time when you are confident everything will be up and running, I would suggest pushing your travel dates back a few weeks to a month at least.”

    I would recommend that anyone who does not want to risk disappointment push back their trip.

  • http://www.therealtimjones.com Tim_Jones

    Thanks for the comments, Cavort. We agree 100%. As another prominent Orlando-based travel agent, we inform our guests of the same thing. We even mentioned in a previous post: http://wizardingworldpark.com/book-harry-potter… that Universal is notorious for opening a park (or section of a park) with only some rides operational. I was on the original Islands construction team and many “islands” had rides that were “out of order” much of the time after official opening. Universal Studios made national news with the lack of rides open when they opened in Florida.

    We've tried to be as clear as possible that you must book the Harry Potter package to get any of the special “soft opening” perks and even then, Universal cannot guarantee any rides or attractions being open. The early packages are also now all booked (according to our Universal representative), so unless you've already booked one, you'll have to wait until after the official grand opening on June 18th.

    If you want to be absolutely sure you can get on all the rides, Cavort is absolutely right, push your dates back at least a couple months, if possible.

  • Cavort

    Thanks, Tim.

    Also, didn't mean to imply that ya'll were not a “prominent” travel agency. I found this site AFTER I had already booked my trip. Y'all look like you do your homework AND have a great deal of expertise in all things Orlando.

  • http://www.therealtimjones.com Tim_Jones

    Not at all — I just wanted to be sure and fully disclose that we were a business and not a “fan” site. Thanks for the compliments and we hope you have a great Universal vacation.

  • Sasha

    i was told the same thing as the person below when i booked a package on March 27th. If I had known that I needed the special Harry Potter package to enter before June 18th I would have booked it, but that was not explained very well. So, I took my chances anyway, called Universal and booked a ONE night package with a two day ticket. The agent ensured me that I would be allowed inside of the Harry Potter park area but that there was no guarantee of exactly what would be up and running. I was told the same thing by another agent I spoke to a few days later while making a payment to my package. I will not be a happy person if I can not get into the park when arriving. Universal agents should not give people any hope if they can not get in at all. I can understand rides still being tested when we arrive, that is natural, but they should at least allow anyone with a package through Universal into the Harry Potter area. I am sure by the time we arrive June 3rd things should be up and running pretty good considering they already started booking packages for May 28th. I am going to keep calling back every week to Universal for any updates, the agents suggested this. They seemed very confident in their information, the agent who booked my package even called it a “soft opening.” Maybe people shouldn't have jumped the gun and ran down right away for the opening, but Universal has a responsibility to their customers to not fool them with false advertisement. When I saw that packages were being booked for the 28th of May I planned a visit to Universal around our Disney vacation. We took off from work, made travel plans etc. Imagine my surprise, and a lot of others, when Universal announced a June 18th opening! I wish everyone luck with getting in, hopefully myself and my family will have the same luck. Universal is charging 3 of us over $600 for ONE night to stay in one of their resorts with the tickets, that is way overpriced but worth it to us to get in to the HP park, lets hope they stand by their word. Or the word of their agents anyway.

  • karinaonline

    Sasha, good afternoon, I am Karina from Argentina, I am in your terms and conditions, I have a Harry Potter 28-5 to 30-5 package. I wanted to ask you if you had another something new, I travel holiday from far away, seems incredible that do not comply with the selling!

  • floridagirl

    just a little info for any of you traveling for the package. I was there today 5/28 and they only allowed the package guests to be in the Harry Potter Village from 8am to 10am after that no more. As well the Harry Potter ride only worked for about the first hour then it had technical difficulty(which is to be expected with a new ride). I feel sorry for the people that purchased these soft opening packages.

  • http://www.therealtimjones.com Tim_Jones

    It sounds like it's a typical soft opening. A few things open, some (most) not. You get a preview on a soft opening. It's not a full opening.

    As I've mentioned, here, before, Universal is known for opening (that's full, grand opening) a park with many rides non-operational, so I would never expect rides to be fully operational on a soft opening.

    It's just your opportunity to see the new area before anyone else, not a fully open, operational park. As another commenter mentioned (maybe on another post), if you want a fully operational and open park, your better off waiting until a couple months after grand opening….especially at Universal.

  • Sasha

    Just got back yesterday. We had full access to the park, ate at the Three Broomsticks for breakfast, rode the Forbidden Journey once our first day there, and once the second day there. We could have ridden the rides as much as we wanted. Everything was open to resort guests. The park was amazing! The Forbidden Journey was one of the best ride experiences we have ever had. And the Butterbeer was so good, we got refills both days. If you can get there, go, it is worth every penny

  • Sasha

    Just got back yesterday. We had full access to the park, ate at the Three Broomsticks for breakfast, rode the Forbidden Journey once our first day there, and once the second day there. We could have ridden the rides as much as we wanted. Everything was open to resort guests. The park was amazing! The Forbidden Journey was one of the best ride experiences we have ever had. And the Butterbeer was so good, we got refills both days. If you can get there, go, it is worth every penny

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