Harry Potter World, Florida
I’m not going to lie, I’m a huge Harry Potter fan (I even listen to the soundtracks at work every week). This year, my Mark surprised me with a birthday trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) in Orlando and we had an absolute blast (better than our wedding? Maybe…)!
In short, the WWoHP was nothing short of magical. The attention to detail throughout every aspect of the park was exceptional, and the best part is simply wandering around looking at all of the shops and eating the food. You truly feel like you are a student going to Hogwarts for the first time!
This article will give you some pointed tips about how best to see the world without spoiling it too much by showing any photos or giving too much detail.
In this article you’ll find:
Quick Tips
Planning ahead
Packing
How we did it
Airbnbs near the park entrance
The Hogwarts Express (at WWoHP Japan)
We went in early February and the weather was perfect (overcast and about 65 degrees, which I think made it feel more realistic). You’ll want to buy a 2-park pass so that you can take the Hogwarts Express between the parks. The train was one of the coolest parts so you don’t want to miss it. You can spend 1 full day at the WWoHP with a little leftover time to see other parts of Universal if you want to. If you want to spend more time at non-WWoHP parts, I would recommend 2 days.
Quick Tips
Purchase a 2-park pass so you can right the Hogwarts express between the parks. One park has Diagon Alley and the other park has Hogsmede and Hogwarts. You can do the WWoHP in one full day, but if you want to spend time outside of WWoHP I would recommend an additional day for that.
Go early and start in Diagon Alley. We were able to do both parks twice which I think was great, and this way felt more like a real Hogwarts student where you start in Diagon Alley before seeing Hogwarts for the first time.
Try all of the snacks and drinks (we shared one of each so we could taste more things).
Take your time in the lines for the rides! They’re some of the best parts.
Notice the incredible details throughout the park! You’ll be more keen to notice the details with a fresh memory of the books & movies (see Planning Ahead)
We rode each ride twice and opted to use our express passes the second time around for each because it got more crowded later in the day.
The bathrooms are nice — make sure to check them both out (in Hogsmede and Diagon Alley)… :)
Take the Hogwarts Express both directions.
Don’t plan your day around the shows — they’ll happen and you’ll pass them at some point.
Lots of people wore their house robes and general Harry Potter things throughout the park. You can buy house robes there, but we opted instead to buy interactive wands (worth it!). Note: if you’re a Luna fan like I am, you’ll be disappointed to know that they don’t sell her Spectrespecs there and only have the paper version that comes in the Quibbler. I bought my own pair on Amazon here.
Planning ahead
Re-watch all the movies (and re-read the books!)
Get your 2-park passes (the express pass was nice but not necessary if you’re looking for ways to save a little money)
Book your accommodations
Download the Universal mobile app where they have a map of the different parts of the park
Other helpful links by Universal here and here, but don’t look too closely at photos of the park — you want it to be a surprise :D
If you’re inviting someone to travel to WWoHP for the first time, you can get creative by writing them a Hogwarts Acceptance letter with the date of travel (there are a bunch of printable templates or you can splurge for something like this). Alternatively you could get a little figurine of their favorite character with a note.
Packing
Comfortable shoes — you’ll be walking a lot
Small backpack for souvenirs, water, jacket, etc — there are free lockers next to every ride and you have to store your things in there. Make sure not to bring too large of a backpack unless you can smush your backpack around to fit, because the lockers are relatively small.
You can bring 2 water bottles per person, which we did. There are plenty of water stations to fill up though, so you only really need to pack 1 bottle.
How we did it
8:45am arrive at Universal Studios entrance (there’s a Starbucks in City Walk on your way to the entrance in case you want to get something while you wait in line for the park to open — we opted to eat and drink at the Leaky Cauldron, but the coffee in the park was nothing special).
Diagon Alley (9am — 11am)
Ride Escape from Gringotts
Wizard choosing ceremony (at Ollivander’s — there’s a separate entrance on the left side where you wait for the ceremony with a small group of people). Try to do this earlier in the day as it gets very crowded later.
Get interactive wand from Ollivander’s
Eat breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron
Explored some shops (look at everything!)
Shared 1 butterbeer (cold butterbeer is the best, but they also have hot and frozen) and drank it while hanging outside Gringotts (do this!)
Explored Knockturn Alley and Borgin & Burkes
Eat pumpkin cauldron cake and chocolate frog
Watch one of the shows (Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees)
Practice your magic with your wand
Take the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmede
Hogsmede & Hogwarts (11:30–2:00pm)
Explore Hogsmede
Ride the Forbidden Journey (take your time in line!)
Eat lunch at the Three Broomsticks (the shepherd’s pie was delicious — the chicken and rib plate was pretty good)
Explore the area and the shops
Watch the Frog Choir show
Take the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley (we used the express pass this time)
Explore the Knight bus
Diagon Alley (2:30–4:00pm)
We knew this would be our last time in Diagon Alley so we made sure we had seen and done everything we wanted to
Watch The Tales of Beedle the Bard show
Explore the area
Ride Escape from Gringotts again (used express pass)
We wandered outside the park to ride the Rip It Rockit roller coaster in the main Universal Studios area (super fun) and walked the long way around through the parks to Hogsmede
Hogsmede & Hogwarts (5:00–7:45pm)
Get a beer at the Hog’s Head (they’re really good! They also have Firewhiskey) and hang out outside for a while to rest
Explore some more
Eat a churro
Watch the Triwizard Spirit Rally
Ride the Forbidden Journey again (we let people pass us in line this time around as we watched different things in the castle)
Stay for the Hogwarts light show — try to get a spot on the bridge near the entrance to Hogsmede from the main Islands of Adventure Park area for the best viewing spot. I think the show we watched was around 7pm and there was a second show sometime later.
By this point we were pretty tired and we slowly made our way to the exit
We rode the Cat in the Hat ride and stopped in some of the shops on our way out of the park and then got a light dinner at the Mexican restaurant in City Walk then walked home
Airbnbs near park entrance
We stayed about 1.5 miles away and walked to and from Universal. We didn’t realize the entrance to the park was at a different location so we ended up walking almost all the way around it. It is more ideal to stay closer to the Universal City Walk area, which is near the Universal entrance, but our walk was totally fine.
1 bed + floor / sofa mattress and 1 bath closest to the park entrance (entire home)
3 beds / 2 bath 1 mile from park entrance (entire home)
3 beds / 2 bath 1 mile from park entrance (entire home)
2 beds / 1 bath 1 mile from park entrance (entire home)
1 bed + sofa bed and 1 bath 1 mile from park entrance (entire home)
Closing Thoughts
We really hope you enjoy the WWHP as much as we did. Now when we watch the Harry Potter movies we both have our wands in hand, ready for anything to come our way!
If you have any questions or think we missed something, let us know in the comments!
