Harry Potter Exhibit at Universal Studios, Orlando, FL

I'm from the Tampa area as well, and we arrived an hour after the park opened, and got in very quickly. Each time I've been, there's always a crowd even during the off seasons, but it's worth it in my opinion. Everyone rushes there in the morning, and leaves before the park closes, so they all go to Harry Potter World first. I'd say go through most of the park first, and then go. And make sure you have some $$ to spare for souveniors! Lots of really neat stuff you may want to pick up. :happy:

It is pretty much all the way in the back and you have to go through other parts of the park to get there. I live in Florida too (Jacksonville) and I've been. It's neat, I went last May and it was busy, but I never had to wait to get in that section of the park. Weird! Oh well. I enjoyed the park, but most of the rides in that area are just renamed rides from before, like the Dueling Dragons. I don't remember what they are calling it now! lol. But Harry Potter Land was awesome. I didn't like Butterbeer. Too sweet for me, but that's a personal taste, I much preferred the Pumpkin Juice! And the shops are awesome.
However, if you are going to be spending they day there, don't completely rule out going to check out the rest of the park! I love Jurassic Park, and Rip-Saw Falls. If you live getting a little wet, try those out!
And if you like roller coasters then ride the Hulk!
The whole park is so much fun!

Go to Islands of adventure, if you go take a left from the endtrance and go back through Marvel World and up you should get there. However, I recommend saving it for later in teh evening. Hogsmeade is GORGEOUS at night and the castle is lit up. The rides are so much fun too.

Spend your day in the other areas like Marvel, Dr Suess, Lost Continent, Comics, etc...Islands of Adventure is just AMAZING

Oh I never thought to wait until night-time! I will have to try that next time I go!

Thanks for all of your information. I've been going to the site (Googled) "Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Studios" since before they opened that exhibit. It appears that the Harry Potter exhibit IS toward the back of the park, but that there is a "lake" in which you have to go around in order to get there (I think). I was also wondering which direction was the shortest way around the lake (if there is one)? I'll have to check the site again. I'm just not too sure about the map that they provide. I do know (from the sites map) that the cool rides are located toward the back of the exhibit. I was planning on going on the rides first, and then I was going to backtrack throughout the exhibit and see the other things (stores and eateries). Yes, I am planning on having their Butterbeer! I can not go there without trying it! I jump from planes, so I think I won't have a problem with the rides. I love roller coasters! I heard that if you are overweight, that you won't fit on the Harry Potter rides. Is that true? I weight 176lbs and am 5'7" tall. If that is true, then I have some exercising to do!!! Where do you get the ticket to enter the exhibit...if they still require one?

That isn't that large, really.

Also, the park itself isn't that big. It's the same distance no matter which way you go. The HP section isn't huge. There is a big roller coaster, the main 3D ride in the castle and a kiddie coaster. The wait for butterbeer was longer than the wait for the rides. In the morning, the ride wait was 90 minutes. Later in the afternoon, it was listed as 45, but took about 20.

I was just there about 6 weeks ago and here's my take:

The main ride was great. Lots of lines but there's the castle to go through. Our big issue was it broke while in line, which does tend to happen, but we got through it okay.

The "Dueling Dragons" was a disappointment. I used to go to IoA when I lived in FL and remember when it was Dueling Dragons which was part of what made it fun and crazy/exciting/scary. The coasters crossed/came within feet of hitting, etc. It was great. But apparently someone tall stuck their arm out (from what I was told) and the guy got injured so they changed the timing so the coasters can't come close anymore. Now it's just 2 coasters running at different times.

The wand thing? I was furious with my husband and daughter for wanting to do it. $75 between the two of them for a couple of plastic wands, they stood in line for over an hour, and the highlight is the box that says "olivanders". Only a few people are "chosen" for the wand thing.

He loved the Butterbeer. Hippogriff was great for the toddler. Other than that, a lot smaller area than they make it out to be in the ads, etc, but it was well done. Just too small as far as the shops - can't fit more than a few people at a time.

Enjoy and good luck!

If you go right once you hit the lake, it's a little quicker than going left.

As a Florida resident who frequents IOA & Universal...
Your best bet is to go through Seussland, which is a right. Typically, everyone tries to hit up the Incredible Hulk roller coaster as soon as they get into the park, just so they can get it out of the way, which is on the left as you walk in. Although, more & more thanks to Harry Potter's opening, people just head straight there. The mistake is that they head through Marvel Superhero Island, then Toontown, then Jurrasic Park, THEN finally hit WWOHP.

My best advice, go through Seussland, make your way through the crapload of small children, then get to The Lost Continent, then cut through to WWOHP.

Enjoy your stay!

As a Florida resident who frequents IOA & Universal...
Your best bet is to go through Seussland, which is a right. Typically, everyone tries to hit up the Incredible Hulk roller coaster as soon as they get into the park, just so they can get it out of the way, which is on the left as you walk in. Although, more & more thanks to Harry Potter's opening, people just head straight there. The mistake is that they head through Marvel Superhero Island, then Toontown, then Jurrasic Park, THEN finally hit WWOHP.

My best advice, go through Seussland, make your way through the crapload of small children, then get to The Lost Continent, then cut through to WWOHP.

Enjoy your stay!

As a fellow Florida resident that loves their year passes to Universal and Islands of Adventure, I agree with her! It does take longer to go through Marvel, Jurassic Park, and the cartoon land than it does Suess Landing and the Lost Continent area.

You will definitely not be too big for the ride. I'm bigger than you, and I have ample room on ALL of the rides.

Butterbeer is definitely good! I prefer it frozen, but both ways are good. Pumpkin Juice is a treat, too.

If you hit up Honeydukes, which is ALWAYS busy (especially if it rains!)...go there and look for what you want, but don't buy it then, unless you're heading straight home after that. It will melt..not to mention, you'll have to get a locker if you continue on with other stuff. Some of their more popular stuff like chocolate frogs, fizzing whizzbees (sp?), and others can be found at the Islands of Adventure store near the entrance/exit. That's what we do--just wait 'til we get there to buy it, since it's closer to the exit on our way out.

I've never done the wand thing at Olivander's...that line is always insanely long when I've been there. I've also heard that they really do it mainly for kids, so if an adult is wanting to be the one who the wand "chooses" in the thing, don't get your hopes up. At least that's what I've heard.

The rides are awesome! The Castle ride is amazing, Dragon Challenge (former Dueling Dragons) is always fun, though I've noticed this past year or so, every time that I go, one of the sides goes down. Just be patient, within 15 minutes, it's usually back up. Even the Hippogriff ride is fun.

Lots of opportunities for photos...it's so fun to walk around. I personally did not enjoy the restaurants, and I preferred the taste of the Butterbeer out at the barrel vendors vs. the indoor restaurants.

Go on a weekday, and avoid holidays and holiday breaks--it WILL be crowded! During Spring Break, we had to do the ticket thing, but otherwise, we've never had to.

I hope you enjoy! It's magical!

I agree with those who suggest going right. All of the most popular rides (Hulk, Spider Man, etc) are to the left, so that's the way the crowds tend to go.

I was there only a couple of months after HP opened. I'm not a fan, so I wasn't super impressed, but the lines were very reasonable so we did the rides. I have always loved Dueling Dragons (or whatever they call it now). The HP ride was cheesy, but fun.

Butterbeer is awesome!