With everyone taking their summer vacations, we’ve had lots of questions about the crowds at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. Without question, the crowds are much less than they were last year at this time, but that was the opening year of the park.
We visited the park, last Friday and didn’t arrive until about 3PM (we always recommend arriving later in the afternoon, unless you stay at a Universal Resort and get in an hour early). The park may have seemed crowded to someone less familiar with the park, but I felt it was pretty reasonable.
- No wait to get into the park — many times, you must wait just to get on the island!
- 5 minute wait for Dragon Challenge
- 25 minute wait for Flight of the Hippogriff
- 75 minute wait for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey — this one may seem long, but last year it was over 120 minutes! I rode it on Friday in less than 20 minutes using the single rider line
- Ollivanders Wand Shop show had the shortest line I’ve seen since the preview days before the official opening
Most people headed over to the other cart at the back entrance to the island, near Jurassic Park. I went directly into Three Broomsticks, as I knew they served butterbeer, also. However, they were pretty busy, too. What to do, what to do?
Well, the Hogshead bar also serves butterbeer!! If you go between Hogshead and the restrooms to the patio seating in back of Three Broomsticks, there’s a line just for the bar! I waited behind three families and got my butterbeer in less than 10 minutes.
The one surprising “crowd” issue on Friday was the line for Dervish & Banges! I guess everyone wanted to buy their souvenirs from Dervish & Banges. If you’ve been inside before and don’t need to see it, again, you can always buy your Harry Potter souvenirs from the shop at the front of the Port of Entry in Islands of Adventure. Some items are also available at kiosks throughout the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and you can get many items at Filch’s Emporium. I’m not sure why Dervish & Banges was so busy, but it was a notable exception to the otherwise moderate crowds.
What has your experience been with the crowds at the Harry Potter park, this summer? Let us know in the comments, below!
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Want to get all our tips and tricks for visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? We wrote a travel guide for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hogsmeade! We included all our tips and tricks that we’ve learned over the last year to make your visit to the Wizarding World as magical as possible. Be sure to check it out!
Get your Harry Potter theme park souvenirs from the official Harry Potter shop, the WB Shop!