early entry

[disney obsessed]

Hi.
I have never stayed on site at Universal but I am considering it. do they have select days for early enrty or is it every day? Their web site suggests its whenever you like.

[magicalmom]

It's every day, but I think it's only IOA - at least that's how it was when we were there last August.

[NJGIRL]

It's every day, but I think it's only IOA - at least that's how it was when we were there last August.

This is correct. The only reason for this is that if you stay on site you have free express passes for all the attractions except HPFJ & the RRRC which are in IOA, so the early entry lets you ride these atteactions before anyone else enters the park.

[disney obsessed]

So if the main reason to go to universal is to see Harry Potter, the option to skip the lines is not available? Am I correct? If so, I think we may wait until the excitment over this ride calmes down.
Thank you!

[magicalmom]

We were there last August, and the early entry made WWHP very doable - we had three day tickets, and went early to IOA two of the three days. It also calmed down a lot toward the end of the day.

[ljgirl]

We were there last week. The wait times for HP are significantly shorter by 6 pm or so. Also, everyone who stays on property gets an unlimited fast pass for everything. That is worth staying for! The fast pass last week were never more than 15 or so minutes. The regular lines for popular rides were 80+ minutes.

[NJGIRL]

So if the main reason to go to universal is to see Harry Potter, the option to skip the lines is not available? Am I correct? If so, I think we may wait until the excitment over this ride calmes down.
Thank you!

You may be waiting a very long time, the ride is that good. Lines for Soarin at EPCOT are still crazy after all these years and FJ IMO is a better ride. Maybe I explained it wrong. The express pass is not for Forbidden Journey, but can be used for the other 2 rides in Harry Potter Land. The early entry allows you to ride FJ at least once and maybe get back in line for another spin before other guests are in the park, that is if you are there when the gates open.

Maybe this is just me but I would never pay a theme park admission if I was just interested in going on two or three rides. Universal Parks IMO have alot of very good attractions and are quality parks. We like the Studio's more , but that's just us. I highly recommend staying on site for two days and going into both parks.