Harry Potter Section wait times..etc About This Page:

[msnewfie]

If anyone has been there lately, what are the wait times like?
We are going in the next couple of weeks. ( july 2011)
Are any days of the week better than others?

we are planning to do the harrypotter/hogwarts area first
is that a good plan?

[WeLuvTheWorld]

I would expect that crowds will be pretty heavy there for the next month or so with the final episode of the Harry Potter movies being released this Friday and all the extra Harry Potter events occuring there so my experience may be very different from what you may experience in the next couple of weeks.

We were there on Friday, June 17th. It was an overcast, rainy day so that may have affected the park attendance some. We got there in the late afternoon and didn't get to the WWOHP until around 6. After waiting out a thundershower, we were able to just walk on to the FJ and were on the ride in less than 15 minutes. The posted wait time when we came out was only 10 minutes. The stores were crowded but not overly so. We have never done the wand show so I can't tell you anything about the wait for that other than there were people standing in the line in the rain and it was the shortest line that I've ever seen there. That is one place that always seems to have a line.

We went last year in August (the last week), in October (the middle of the month after the Columbus Day holiday), in March (the last week during spring break for the schools in Orlando) and then last month. Last month was by far the slowest we have ever seen in that section of the park. In August of last year, the weather was very similar to what we had last month and everywhere else in both parks was basically no wait, but the WWOHP was wall to wall people in the late afternoon and the wait time for the FJ was 90 minutes.

If you are staying onsite or with one of their partner hotels that offer the early entry, then going there first thing is what I'd do, as long as you are there when they let everyone in. If you're not, then I'd wait as all those other guests are already there and have the head start on you (kind of the same thing as morning EMH at WDW). Do some of the other big rides that don't have a line yet and then head over there later in the day when the crowds start to die down.

I've heard that Sunday mornings are the least crowded but have not actually gone there then to verify this.

Have fun and be sure to try the butterbeer.

[RobDVC]

Thanks for posting this question, msnewfie!
We'll be there in a few weeks, too, and are curious as to what to expect crowd-wise in the WWOHP area.

Thanks for the info, Susan!