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View Full Version : Harry Potter & FJ crowd update Oct.1



disneyfamily05
10-12-2010, 04:20 PM
I know that everyone (including myself) had heard about the massive crowds over the summer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I returned last week from a Disney trip and decided to take one day out to go to IOA, and thought I would give a quick update as to those who may be travling there in the near future.

We went to IOA on Sat. Oct. 1st (being that it was a Sat. I assume that it was a bit more crowded than if we had gone on a weekday - as it seemed almost everyone we spoke to around us in lines were from FL). We arrived at IOA at 9:00am (took the Mears bus from Disney property), walked thru Seuss Land (stopped for an early bathroom break as we were fearful of how long we would be in lines), the Lost Continent, and came upon the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Our goal was to ride the Forbidden Journey so went past the steam engine, shops, etc. to the back of Harry Potter "land" to get to the castle.

Yes, there are test seats in the front of the Hogwarts school (my friend and i tried them - even though we were both thought we would fit - but paranoid none the less). Right as we entered past the test seats - there was one very long line on our right, and no one on the left side of the rope. We quickly turned around and asked the cast member what the difference was - she said the line on the right was to get to the lockers - line on the left was to get on the ride.

So VERY important here - if you have never been to Universal or IOA - on MOST rides you have to place your belongings in small lockers before you get on the ride. I learned this previously when I was at US last year. Knowing this my friend and I made a point to take as few things with us as possible. When I am in Disney, I usually have a small back-pack with me to keep tissues, pair of flip-flops, camera, sunscreen, etc with me. At IOA I took my camera, and had my money/driver's liscense/credit card/tickets in a small wallet connected to a laynard around my neck. And I made a point to wear capri's with cargo pockets on the side so I could stuff and snap shut my camera into a pocket. My friend had a small wristlet and shoved her sunglasses down her shirt once we got on the ride.

So we literally high-fived each other as we made our way down the left side of the rope and passed all the folks waiting for lockers, b/c our morning fuss of what to take/what not to take had paid off for us at that point. Once you enter the school, there is a small hallway to the left for single-riders (more on that later), and we were sort of bottle-necked at that point where people were coming from storing their things in the lockers.

Overall our wait was about 35 min. (wait time was posted as 40min). BUT there is no doubt in my mind that people were waiting at least 15-20 min. to store things in the lockers. Even with our wait - we seemed to keep walking through the queue. It was rare that we were stopped for more than 3 min. in one place.

It was a great experience - and worth our 40 min. wait.

We went back later (around 3:00) and went through the single rider line. We waited about 20 min. at that time (regular wait time was still listed as 40min). If you do single rider, you will miss the entire going through the school experience, as it lets you out right before the safety talk by the Sorting Hat.

My single rider experience: when they motioned a party of 3 to go - and I was the next single rider and therefore motioned for me to go, I immediatley thought - there is no way this one adult male was going to get on that ride. I'm not trying to be rude, and would have never thought this person was very large if I saw him walking down the street. But since I had been in the ride once and knew what a tight squeeze it had been, and this person was a bit taller than average and had a "beer belly" it sent red flags up. He must have known that the outside seats were modified b/c his friends jumped in two seats, then he skipped one and sat in the last seat, so I sat between them. I heard my safety harness latch as I pulled it down, and saw the girl try to latch his. She turns around and said something to the other CM, and next thing I knew chaos seemed to ensue. Suddenly my harness comes undone (and I panic b/c I know how the ride "takes off"), and the CMs start yelling at me and the guy next to me to get off the ride. I must have look confused b/c one CM starts asking if I am with him - which I say no - and point to the folks next to me. All of the sudden two CMs are yelling "Get off the ride. You have to exit the ride" - the people to my left jump out, the guy to my right jumps out - and I'm yelling do I get off too?? (at this point I could not tell if something was really wrong - or if it was b/c of the gentleman's size that they pulled them off - b/c the CMs never said anything about his size and that's why they were pulling him or his friends off). It seemed they literally shoved all three of them thru this door and those folks were gone (not sure where to, or if they explained what was going on) - meanwhile, a CM pulls down my harness and not 2 seconds later my feet are off the ground. All if this happened in about 20 seconds or less. I was far more unerved by that experience and the confusion then by the ride. And most importantly, I feel really bad for those people who waited in line for 40 min. and didn't get to ride it (perhaps they let them back on - I'm not sure). So, I guess the moral of the story is - if you are unsure if you will fit, be sure to try out the test seats.

My friend who went with me is VERY prone to motion sickness - she said she felt fine after she got off the ride (just slightly dizzy - but that could have been the lack of food).

Other than that, the experience was great. We ate at Three Broomsticks (where we got butterbeer - instead of waiting at the Butterbeer carts), purchased a lot of Harry Potter stuff for my kids. FYI, at MCO they sell the chocolate frogs and jelly beans, along with other stuff at the Universal store in the airport. I really wanted to buy a frog, but knew it would melt before I got back to Disney. So was really happy to pick one up there on my way home.

Hope this info. helps anyone who may be traveling there soon!

laprana
10-12-2010, 05:21 PM
Thanks for the great report! We'll be visiting IOA next May and will definitely check out HP world. This may be a really dumb question, but what kind of ride is Forbidden Journey? Is it a roller coaster/thrill ride type of attraction, or more like a Disney dark ride? I assumed because you have to have harnesses on while in the seats that it was more of a thrill ride, but I haven't been able to find out anywhere exactly what kind of ride it is! :confused:

The reason I ask is that my mom will be with us on our next trip and she can't do any kind of thrill ride/roller coaster/spinning ride/basically anything more "wild" than Haunted Mansion! :D But, I know she really wants to ride Forbidden Journey if it's tame enough. I have a feeling she's going to have to pass on it, though, which will be a bummer!

Mammabruski
10-13-2010, 11:12 AM
I assumed because you have to have harnesses on while in the seats that it was more of a thrill ride, but I haven't been able to find out anywhere exactly what kind of ride it is!

It is indeed a thrill ride that is pretty intense. We were there 3 weeks ago, and I can tell you if your Mom can't do anything more wild than the HM, then this is not the ride for her. You get harnessed in so that when they rock you sideways, front, back, pretty much any way but upside-down, you don't fall out. And it’s fast! Basically you're sitting on a "bench" and it's a robotic arm that moves you from behind. You can't see any of the mechanics, but it whips you around pretty fast. There is also a screen in front of you that makes it feel like you are in a movie... and there are props all around, so its more than just a movie... I never used to get motion sickness, but after having my two girls I unfortunately can't handle motion simulators like this. I had to keep my eyes closed most of the time so I wouldn't lose my cookies! I rode it once and felt sick the rest of the day. The rest of our visit, I just walked through the line with my family, and then just didn't get on the ride.

Hope this was helpful! :mickey:

laprana
10-13-2010, 11:54 AM
Thanks so much for the info! :thumbsup: I had a feeling this ride would be too intense for my mom, and I'm sure she will skip it. But, I'm glad to hear you can go through the line and not get on the ride, because at least that way she'll get to see the inside of the castle! I hate that she has to miss a lot of attractions, but no one wants her to feel :sick: walking around in a park all day.

Thanks again! :mickey:

DisneyFr33k
10-13-2010, 12:50 PM
Do they make you wait for a locker if you have a fanny pack? It is secured to your body.....

disneyfamily05
10-14-2010, 04:36 PM
I honestly don't remember if they made folks with fanny packs put them in lockers. If you keep in on, you may have to slide the pocket portion to your side vs. keeping it in front of you to ensure that the harness can come down.

Hopefully someone else who frequents there often can tell you.

2MuchWDFun
10-15-2010, 05:25 PM
Thank you for the great review== we'll be there on the Wednesday before Christmas, so we'll need all the tips on how to effectively use our time.
Hopefully it won't be too crazy (the new HP movie will be out in November, so I think the popularity will just pick up again)--we'll definitely take advantage of the single rider line and not bring any items that we need to stand in line to put into a locker.

forever a child
10-19-2010, 05:31 PM
Great report! Thank you. I hope I remember it all before our trip...which wont be until next year, LOL. But excited to hear about the ride!:cloud9:

IloveJack
10-21-2010, 12:26 PM
Do they make you wait for a locker if you have a fanny pack? It is secured to your body.....

You CANNOT have anything that will not fit into a pocket. Not even glasses. And they will FORCE you to return to the lockers if you try to bypass that rule. The only ones who get by are those who are doing baby swap, and therefore won't need to stow their items.

Kathy Jetson
10-31-2010, 02:37 AM
You CANNOT have anything that will not fit into a pocket. Not even glasses. And they will FORCE you to return to the lockers if you try to bypass that rule. The only ones who get by are those who are doing baby swap, and therefore won't need to stow their items.

Are you allowed to wear your glasses or do they make you take them off? I can't see without them.

MIKESMOM
10-31-2010, 05:52 AM
Are you allowed to wear your glasses or do they make you take them off? I can't see without them.

You can wear your glasses.:mickey:

Kathy Jetson
10-31-2010, 02:33 PM
You can wear your glasses.:mickey:

Thank you I got a little worried :blush:

IloveJack
11-01-2010, 01:11 PM
Thank you I got a little worried :blush:

Just a warning... I don't know how tightly your glasses fit, but I had my sunglasses on my head, and almost lost them on the ride. You do a good bit of flipping (not completely over) but back and forth, and if I hadn't grabbed mine at one point, they'd have been gone.

Kathy Jetson
11-02-2010, 10:46 AM
Just a warning... I don't know how tightly your glasses fit, but I had my sunglasses on my head, and almost lost them on the ride. You do a good bit of flipping (not completely over) but back and forth, and if I hadn't grabbed mine at one point, they'd have been gone.

Thanks for the warning! Mine are pretty tight but I'll make sure to be prepared.:mickey:

TiggeRia
11-02-2010, 06:55 PM
I almost lost my sunglasses, too--hang on tight! :)

GoBlueLacheta
11-04-2010, 06:05 PM
Universal did a fairly good job of not leaking the ride structure for FJ itself, it seems to me from descriptions that it is just a more elaborate and better themed Sum of All Thrills ? Is this basic comparison apt ?

CaptainSad
11-04-2010, 09:41 PM
Just a reminder.. Universal employess are not known as Cast Members....

John
11-04-2010, 10:08 PM
Just a reminder.. Universal employess are not known as Cast Members....

What are they known as? Employees? I think Cast has almost become generic in the theme park industry at this point to refer to someone who works at a theme park...

John
11-04-2010, 10:15 PM
Universal did a fairly good job of not leaking the ride structure for FJ itself, it seems to me from descriptions that it is just a more elaborate and better themed Sum of All Thrills ? Is this basic comparison apt ?

Can't even compare - kuka makes both but the scale of the arms and the fact that they move on platforms (sum is stationary in one place) makes the experience of HP quite unique. Robocoaster is more what HP is and Sum is a moving arm simulator.