Saving Money On Tickets
Before you buy your tickets, be sure to check out Universals deals and specials. They often have some fantastic deals, and offer special rates for Florida residents as well. Right now Universal has a fantastic special, where you get one extra day FREE if you buy a two day Park to Park pass.
If youre looking to make panning simple, check out Orlando Vacation packages. Orlando Vacation has specials, discounts, and customized plans on hotels and theme park tickets. See Harry Potter Orlando Vacation Package Deals at Universal Studios here or call 1-800-641-4008 for planning assistance.
Is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on your bucket list? If youve been, do you have any Harry Potter Universal tips to share? Tell us in the comments below. Wed love to hear from you.
We were kindly hosted by Universal Orlando Resort during our trip, but they didnt tell us what to write, and all opinions are all our own. They definitely didnt encourage Mickis current butter beer obsession, or get Charles to buy the kids their own wands, and they definitely didnt force us to smile all day. Those came all by themselves.
What Is Your Harry Potter Personality Type
Harry Potter has certain personality traits that make him so lovable and adored by everyone. He is loyal, brave, and humble. He always takes a stand to protect the weak and can even put his own life in jeopardy to help his friends. Harry is also very valiant as he always steps forward to face off against his evil and powerful enemies.
Also read: Which Harry Potter Villain Are You? Fun Quiz
But which Harry Potter resembles your own personality type? We are all different and unique individuals. So is it even possible for you to find a resemblance with fictional characters? Actually yes. All of us have certain traits based on our personality and these traits are usually common among people who share the same personality type.
This Harry Potter personality quiz can help you figure out which particular character you share your personality type with and help you understand yourself better. You may be like Albus Dumbledore. Or Hermione Granger. Or even Harry himself. And this fun quiz can help you find out exactly that.
Wizarding World Of Harry Potter Ride Tips
1. Take Advantage of Single Rider Lines
One of the best Universal Orlando tips that I can share is to use the single rider lines. You can drastically cut down on the wait time for most rides by going in the single rider line! This was one of the best Wizarding World of Harry Potter tips that I found before my visit, and it worked like a charm . This works best if youre travelling with other adults, as the height requirement for the single rider line is greater than the requirement for the regular lines.
You will be separated when you climb on the ride, sitting in different rows or different carts, but you will get on the ride much faster than the regular line. In my experience this works best earlier in the day. As the park fills up, or during the high season, consider the Universal Express Pass for even faster entry.
2. Use Lockers While You Ride
Many of the rides in both the Universal Studios park and the Islands of Adventure park have lockers where you can stash your things while you ride. The lockers are free for the first little while, in accordance with how long the line up and ride are expected to take.
The lockers are about 16 inches deep, 11 inches tall, and 10 inches across. This is an approximation, of course I measured by holding my wand up to the locker, taking photos, and measuring the wand when I arrived home . Ta-dah! Magic! Or at least, a very practical use for a wand. Purses, small packs, and wands fit comfortably in the lockers.
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Stay At Universal For Early Park Access
One of my biggest tips for visiting Universal Orlando is to stay at one of the park-associated hotels. There are seven of them the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, the Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, the Aventura Hotel, and the new Endless Summer Resort Surfside Inn and Suites.
Staying at any of these hotels will give you access to both Universal parks one hour before they officially open meaning this is the best way to see Diagon Alley without any people, or to get in line for the Gringotts ride when there’s no wait.
I love staying at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, which is a funky, family-friendly hotel that opened in 2015. It has two pool areas, a lazy river, a Starbucks right inside the hotel, and a free shuttle bus to take you to CityWalk and back that operates from 7 a.m. 2 a.m. every day. And the prices are more than reasonable we paid an average of $125 per night.
The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter Hogsmeade At Universal’s Islands Of Adventure
Its the one-and-only, all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade, and youll only find it at Universals Islands of Adventure! The main attraction here is Hogwarts castle, which comes to majestic life on select evenings for The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle spectacular.
Looming over Hogsmeade, Hogwarts also features Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, an attraction that will take you soaring high above the castle grounds. For more airborne adventures, hop aboard the family-friendly Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster, which youll find at Hagrids hut.
Speaking of Hagrid, he takes center stage in Hagrids Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Sending you deep into the Forbidden Forest for up-close encounters with a menagerie of wondrous creatures, this innovative attraction combines state-of-the-art coaster technology and gripping storytelling for one of Universal Orlando Resorts most incredible experiences yet!
High Street a popular hangout for Hogwarts students and professors alike is brimming with enchanted shops. Send magical mail to family and friends at Owl Post, load up on sweets at Honeydukes, or get your very own Sneakoscope at Dervish and Banges, among other arcane retailers.
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Browse A Diagon Alley Boutique
Step foot inside Portos Livraria Lello bookshop and youll feel as though youve been transported straight into a Diagon Alley boutique. The neo-Gothic interior is an impressive illusion: what appears as intricately-carved wood is actually painted plaster, dappled by a magical light from the magnificent stained-glass ceiling. The pièce de résistance has to be the scarlet staircase that winds like a two-headed snake to the stores mezzanine level.
As you browse the bookshelves avoiding the restricted section, of course its easy to see how J.K. Rowling was inspired by this interior when she worked in Porto as an English teacher between 1991 and 1993. There is a $5 entry fee which can be redeemed when you buy a book.
Practical Tips & Getting Around
11. Download Orlando Studios Apps
Make the most of your time at the Universal Orlando Resort with 3 apps that will help you navigate the park. This isnt just part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter tips, these apps are for the entire park and well worth downloading.
Wondering how to use the apps if youre travelling without a phone plan? Well
12. Use Free Park Wifi
Just sign on the park wifi! The free network is called UNIVERSAL and can be accessed from anywhere in the park. Refresh ride wait times and pull up your tickets when you board the Hogwarts Express.
13. Ride the Hogwarts Express
Youre going to walk a lot anyways, so spare yourself the trek from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade. When the wait for the Hogwarts express was 40 minutes, we decided to walk. It turns out that this takes about an hour. Enjoy the stroll if you like, but know that walking is not faster than the taking the train if the wait is 60 minutes or less.
Learned the hard way for me I walked, muggle move. Heres hope these Wizarding World of Harry Potter tips can spare you some hassle!
14. Watch the Light Show
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Wizarding World Of Harry Potter Tips And Hacks To Save You Time Money And Hassle
Some things just seem meant to be.
You see, for the last two months of our South American trip, both of our kids devoured the entire series of Harry Potter books. Once done, we all started re-watching the movies together as a family since Charles and I are huge Harry Potter fans as well.
So, when we had the chance to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando on the way home, we were thrilled.
We had heard nothing but good things about the Harry Potter world, but honestly, the Universal Orlando Parks blew our expectations out of the water. Every detail was perfect and lovingly crafted. We truly felt like a family of muggles magically dropped into Harry Potters world.
Check prices for a two day Park-To-Park pass, with ONE extra day FREE here.
Aside from having a fantastic time, the four of us learned a lot during our visit, so I wanted to share our tips for visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to make your visit easier, faster, and save you money.
Phase : Islands Of Adventure
Construction of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter began seven months after the official announcement, in January 2008. By July, the Flying Unicorn and Enchanted Oak Tavern were closed. The Flying Unicorn then began an almost two-year refurbishment which transformed it into the Flight of the Hippogriff. The Enchanted Oak Tavern was later demolished. A bridge was built to connect The Lost Continent with Jurassic Park allowing guests to avoid the construction zone that was to become the Wizarding World. Construction progressed with the Hogwarts Castle slowly taking shape. By September 2008, the Dueling Dragons entrance was moved to Jurassic Park to make room for construction of Hogsmeade. One month later, the old entrance was demolished. By September 2009, the top shell of Hogwarts Castle was completed. On September 15, an announcement was made detailing what was going to be included in the Wizarding World. In early 2010, Universal increased its marketing of the area, which included newspaper advertisements, billboards and television commercials. The Dueling Dragons were closed for some maintenance before being transformed into the Dragon Challenge. Construction was completed by June 1, 2010, when the area began soft openings.
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Sign Up For Flying Lessons
The battlements and archways of the 14th-century Alnwick Castle are an impressive sight to behold not least because the castle is Hollywood royalty. For fifty years, Alnwick has been used in blockbuster hits like Star Trek, Transformers and Downton Abbey as well as several of the Harry Potter films.
Youll recognize the Inner Bailey from when Ron and Harry crash-landed the flying Ford Anglia, the Lion Arch from jaunts to Hagrids cabin and, most iconic of all, the Outer Bailey as the location of Harrys first flying lesson with Madam Mooch. Today, visitors can enjoy daily broomstick training sessions in the very same spot as well as a plethora of Potter-inspired events.
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Rides At The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was our favorite of all the fantastic rides, shows, and experiences at Universal Orlando. I dont want to spoil too much of the surprise, but the ride felt the most like the real world out of any theme park ride Ive ever experienced. It honestly felt as if we were truly swooping through Harry Potters world on broomsticks. Even our little eight year old, who doesnt love scary rides, thought this was one of the best rides in the park.
Because this ride is so popular, it can have longer wait times, but there are so many interesting things to see in the line as you wait that the time really flies! On the way in youll see the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room, moving paintings, the Gryffindor common room, and even Dumbledores office.
Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey
Step into Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry, and explore the world of Harry Potter. At the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction you can do just that. As you await the beginning of your journey through Harry Potters world you can explore classrooms and corridors as surprises wait behind every corner. Youll encounter the Sorting Hat, Dumbledores Office, and the well known Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom along the way as youre accompanied by some of Harrys friends. The friendly characters in the moving frames come to life in the castle as they scurry from frame to frame along corridors just as they do in the wizarding world. It doesnt end there youll also be able to wander around the Gryffindor common room as well as the famous Room of Requirement where anything is possible. Youll find yourself in awe about how incredible this school is and before you know it, it will be time to embark on your epic journey where you will come face to face with everything you could imagine to find in the wonderful world of Harry Potter. Taking on dementors and a few giant spiders is all in a days work for this Potter boy and youll be there to take a front row seat for all of the action. So enter the gates of Hogwarts for the adventure of your life and youll be dropped right into the center of all the magic. Be prepared for fun and surprises around every corner, it is now your turn to take the lessons and finally learn to become a witch or wizard
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Attractions At Universal Orlando
The Wizarding World at Universal Orlando is split into two lands in both of the theme parks. Diagon Alley is found in Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade is in Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The Hogwarts Express connects the two theme parks. Combined between both lands Universal Orlando has five attractions.
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts can be found in the Diagon Alley portion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. Guests will enter the Gringotts bank underneath the fire-breathing dragon in Diagon Alley. The queue on the way to the ride takes you through the bank’s marble lobby where you can see the Gringotts goblins hard at work. The ride puts the guest in the role of having to escape the bank’s strictest security measures. You will see Harry, Ron, and Hermione along the way along with some more sinister villains like Voldemort and Bellatrix. This is a 3-D/4-D track ride experience and guests must be 42 inches to ride.
Hogwarts Expressis the transportation that takes you back and forth between the two Universal Orlando theme parks. If you want to experience the Hogwarts Express, you need to have a park-to-park ticket since this is the transportation between the two theme parks. Catch your train in King’s Cross Station and be sure to watch out the windows to see scenes reminiscent of the Harry Potter movies.
Christmas In The Wizarding World Holiday Foods
For 2017s inaugural Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, three new festively exclusive dishes were added to the magical menu at The Three Broomsticks and/or The Leaky Cauldron in the years since, those got replaced by just one special holiday treat. For 2020, however, no new plates were offered at all instead, guests were content with Hot Butterbeer. Now that the Butterbeer is here to stay, we cant wait to see what will be offered for 2022.
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Twenty Years To The Week Since Harry Potter Started School At Hogwarts We Look At Places That Fans Of The Jk Rowling Books Can Visit
A Harry Potter fan poses for a photograph during a visit to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at Kings Cross station in London. Reuters
If you go:The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxesThe tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advanceEntrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is freeThe hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 .
There are, as ever at King’s Cross Station, significant queues. There’s little interest in the actual trains, though. For many arriving at the London rail hub, this is a literary pilgrimage rather than anything as simple as a transport interchange.
To any Harry Potter fan, King’s Cross is the home of Platform 9¾, where the magical Hogwarts Express departs for Britain’s secret wizarding school. And readers were coming to the station to find it not long after the first of JK Rowling’s boy wizard books was released 20 years ago.
A general view shows the stores that line Diagon Alley, AFP