There’s More To The Harry Potter Theme Park Than Just Getting Universal Studios Tickets Cheap

Time-Saving & Money-Saving Secrets About The Harry Potter Theme Park At Universal Islands of Adventure

Just like the secrets of Hogwarts Castle in the movies and the books, there are secrets to the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Islands of Adventure (Universal Studios, Florida) … secrets that will save you money and secrets that will slash hours off you time spent waiting in lines … secrets which are revealed on this web page. I will reveal the “best” way to get Universal Studios tickets cheap, but that’s just the beginning …

Here’s A Quick Summary Of Some Of The Exciting Secrets You Will Discover On This Page:

• The best way to get Universal Studios tickets cheap
• The best, unknown secrets to bypass and reduce wait times at the big attractions including the “Hogwarts Universal Studios” Castle ride (Knock at least an hour off your castle tour line)
• How to get the best experience, best pictures, shortest wait times, and special secrets for the entire Harry Potter theme park
• How to completely avoid the lines and get 12% discounts off your Harry Potter products.
• How to get 3 Free Meals and Movie tickets at the Universal Studios City Walk
• The advantages and disadvantages of Universal Studios hotel packages
• Why you should consider hotels close to Universal Studios
• Universal Studios maps including the original park and Universal Islands of Adventure (with secret access points marked)
• A surprise bonus free in this article (no purchase or registration required)!!!

NOTE:  You can click most of the images on this web page to see a full-size, higher-quality picture and in some cases more pictures.

My Initial (And Lasting) Impression Of The Harry Potter Theme Park At Universal Islands Of Adventure

It is simply fantastic! Even if you didn’t know all the secrets I am going to reveal to you on this web page, it’s well worth the wait and the price. If you are a fan of Harry Potter, or even if you have just seen one movie or read just one of the seven books, you have to see this new world created in the Harry Potter theme park.

The ride through the “Hogwarts Universal Studios” (i.e., the famous castle housing the academy of witchcraft and wizardry) is by far the highlight of the entire theme park. In a single word, it’s “Awesome!”.

Once you step through the castle doors, the adventure begins. It’s like stepping into the world of Harry Potter itself with dank, dark castle floors, walls, and ceilings. I’ve been in lots of castles in England, and this one looks and feels just like the real ones … except it’s considerably warmer from the Florida sun compared to England’s typical breezy, rainy climate.

Even though you still have a half hour of waiting in line, once you step inside the doors, the entire maze is set up with fascinating sights, scenes, and presentations all the way up to the actual ride itself. As you walk through the castle, you will encounter intriguing specimen jars, clips and holograms on screens that look like real characters from the movies, statues, passageways, the potions room, the mirror that shows you what you want most … it’s all there.

The moving and talking paintings talk about you between themselves as you precess through the hallway, and the “fat lady” responsible for opening the door to the Gryffindor chambers actually talks to you. The Sorting Hat that decides which house you will join (i.e., Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin) really moves, talks, and looks just like the one in the movie.

The Hogwarts Castle is located at the very back of the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park. Before you get to the castle, you have to walk through the entire town of Hogsmead which is like taking a step right into the movies themselves. The “3 Broomsticks” and the “Hogshead Pub” … the wand shop, Honeydukes, Zonkos, … even Hagrid’s Hut … it’s all there.

Of course, overlooking the entire town … mounted on a mountain of rock … stands the Hogwarts Castle as realistic and detailed on the outside as it is on the inside. It’s awe-inspiring just to study the architecture itself.

Just like the secrets of Hogwarts Castle in the movies and the books, there are secrets to the Harry Potter theme park … secrets that will save you money and secrets that will slash hours off you time spent waiting in lines … secrets which are revealed on this web page.

And so the adventure begins …

Getting To The Harry Potter Theme Park

The map below (scanned from the original provided by Universal Studios) is a close-up of the City Walk. You can see a blown-up version by clicking on the map below:

When you enter the whole complex, you must first walk through the Universal Studios “City Walk” to get to (and out of) the other two parks. Universal Studios City Walk includes lots of restaurants, shops, a theater with at least 8 movies showing, and it is the heart of the “night life” at Universal Studios.

After you pass through the City Walk, the original park is on the right. This section includes most of the rides and attractions based on famous movies and movie characters such as the Terminator, Jaws, Twister (you gotta see Twister!), Spiderman, and more.

If you hang to the left after passing through the City Walk, you will reach the Universal Islands of Adventure where the new Harry Potter theme park resides. The highlight of the Harry Potter ride, “Hogwarts Universal Studios” (the castle) is located at the very back of the Harry Potter theme park … it’s about as far away from the front gate as you can get!

The Best Way To Get Universal Studios Tickets Cheap

The best way to get Universal Studios tickets cheap is by getting your tickets as part of one of the many Universal Studios hotel packages available. These packages include 2 or 3 nights at the hotel; free shuttles to and from Universal Studios; a 15% discount card for food, drink, and merchandise; free admission the Universal Studios City Walk; and one-hour early admission to the Universal Studios theme parks.

There are other places where you can save money on tickets … such as the many “Buy One, Get One Free” offers scattered across Orlando … but there’s more to getting “Universal Studios tickets cheap” than just saving money. The one-hour early admission feature is absolutely crucial to get maximum pleasure from the main Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios (i.e., the castle).

If you take advantage of the “Buy One Get One Free” offers (sometimes pitched as “Get 2 Free Tickets To Universal Studios”), you will have to sit through a timeshare presentation and take the tour which will easily eat up half a day. You will be exposed to high pressure sales that will literally make you want to pay $20,000+ up front plus another $500+ per year. If you have a family of 8 or larger, this could truly be a great deal, but otherwise, in my opinion, forfeiting a half day of vacation to get a free ticket is not a great way to save money.

If you get one of the Universal Studios hotel packages, however, you can effectively get your hotel room for as little as $50 per night … saving you much more than the price of a ticket to Universal Studios.

If you still have doubts, that’s okay; keep reading, and you’ll see what I mean …

The Best Way To Find Hotels Close To Universal Studios & Universal Studios Hotel Packages

The Easiest Way To Find Hotels Close To Universal Studios

Probably, the easiest way to find hotels close to Universal Studios is to go to mapquest.com and find Universal Studios on the map.

Their address is 6000 Universal Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819. Then zoom in on Universal Studios, and enter “hotels” in the search field. The close hotels will show up on the map.

But The Best Way …

However, as I mentioned above, it’s best to get your tickets and hotel reservations all at once with Universal Studios hotel packages which you can find at Universal Studios website or perhaps in the ads on this page.

The hotels actually located on the Universal Studios campus are the “Hard Rock Hotel Universal Orlando”, “Loews Royal Pacific Resort”, and the “Portofino Bay Hotel”. I imagine all three are awesome hotels; however, there are less expensive options within a few miles of the campus.

To Get Good Pictures Of Harry Potter Theme Park:

If you want to get some pictures of Harry Potter theme park with the same ambiance as in the movies, you will need to snap your photos as you enter first thing in the morning. The park will quickly fill up with people, and you will have to hold and aim your camera high to avoid all the people in your pictures. Plus, in the morning, most of the street and buildings are shaded from the morning sun which more closely resembles the weather and the look and feel of the little towns in England.

If you choose to snap your photos on the way in, take them “on the run” or you will fall further behind in the Hogwarts line. If you took the free shuttle from your hotel, you will likely get stuck in the Uncovered Rat Maze anyway (see below), so you could go ahead and snap your pictures today, and skip the early morning photos tomorrow … when you forego the free shuttle.

Now About That “Free Shuttle” …

Since we’re touching on the “Free Shuttle” topic, here are a few details to consider. For the hotel where we stayed, the free shuttle pick up was at 7:55 am and 11:05 am, and the shuttle went to two more hotels after us. So, obviously, you can’t get to the parks by 8am (much less to the front gate of Universal Islands of Adventure) if the hotel pick up is only 5 minutes before that (it takes 5 minutes just to get from the street to the parking pay booths on the Universal Studios campus). Furthermore, we were not the first hotel on the free shuttle’s route, so my daughter got the last seat, and I rode the whole way standing up (as did everyone from the last two hotels).

I personally recommend you forget the free shuttle, and drive there yourself; parking will cost you $15. You can use the free shuttle the first day if you want, but it will not get you there before 8am and it will cost you at least an additional half hour of waiting in line … plus it’s a good 10 minute walk from the bus stop to front gate of the Universal Islands of Adventure and another 8 to 10 minute walk to “Hogwarts Universal Studios” which means you will get to the castle line about 8:30am if you’re lucky.

If getting there a little later and waiting in lines a little longer doesn’t bother you, you should also understand that the free shuttles only pick you up to return to the hotel twice during the day. The first pick up was at 6:30 pm and the second (and last) pick up was at 7:55pm (NOTE: These times were the schedule in March and may change throughout the season). That makes for a long day (7:55 am to at least 6:30pm), and you can’t leave “the campus” during the day.

Unless you stay at one of the three “on-campus” hotels, the nearest of the hotels close to Universal Studios is about 3 miles away which makes for a long walk. Regardless of the walk, ten and a half hours at a theme park without a break in the middle makes for a Long day … at least for me. And it will be especially long for you if you have small children … trust me on that one. My daughter turned 19 during our visit, but I still remember the “cute little kid” days … it doesn’t take long for little legs to get tired.

Driving To Universal Studios:

As I mentioned, if you drive, parking costs $15 for the day, and you have the added advantage of being able to come back without paying more for parking to visit the Universal Studios City Walk in the evening.

The City Walk is open until 2 or 3 in the morning, but remember the last free shuttle ride home leaves at 7:55pm. And if you take advantage of one my money-saving suggestions below, you are going to want to visit the City Walk in the evening. If you drive and get there for early admission, the time to walk from your car to the front gate will only be about three minutes longer than the walk from the free shuttle bus stop.

Here’s a helpful hint if you drive and park in the parking deck … When you get on the elevator, push the big white button that says “Attractions”. It’s not lighted, and it looks like a white “label” instead of a button, and people tend to push all the other buttons before they figure it out.

The Layout Of The “Hogwarts Universal Studios” Castle Ride & Access

Before we get into the secrets of slashing your wait time for “Hogwarts Universal Studios” (the castle) …

There are five sections of the line (by my definition anyway). Starting with the closest to the actual ride, the five sections are (1) the line inside the castle, (2) the “Greenhouse” rat maze, (3) the uncovered rat maze, (4) the line to the Castle gate, and (5) the really long outside line.

I am going to show you how to skip the long outside line, the uncovered rat maze, and most of the “inside the castle” line. Not everyone will be able skip all of these sections, but I’ll show you how each one can be skipped or reduced.

 

The Long Outside Line:

Carry nothing loose (either don’t bring it which is the best option, or lock it in the lockers just past the “Hogwarts Express” train on your right as you enter the Harry Potter theme park portion of the park. Locker rentals are free for the first 30 or 40 minutes, but it will cost you precious time opening and locking it. Furthermore, you will not make it through the Hogwarts Castle ride in 30 minutes.

By the way, when I say “free for the first 30 or 40 minutes”, I mean 30 “or” 40 minutes. The first time we used the locker, we got 40 minutes free; the second time we used the locker in the same area, we got 30 minutes free.

Anyway, whether you stow your stuff in a locker or wisely chose not to bring it at all, get in the “No Bags” line about 30 feet before you get to the statues outside the castle (see the Universal Studios map below). It will not be obvious this line exists, and you have to cross the long line to get to it. I don’t know why they did it this way, but it’s really there. If you don’t believe me (because you certainly can’t tell by looking at it and there are no signs), just ask one of the attendants.

One of these attendants will be standing right where you have to cross the line, and he or she will be saying “No Bags line is on the left!” You will probably look at it and ask yourself, “What’s he talking about? I don’t see any line on the left.” That’s why this is so great; the “No Bags” line is unknown and wonderfully short.

If you bring anything you can’t (1) affix to your body (such as small belt-mounted camera case or low-profile fanny pack) or (2) stick in your pocket, they will make you go through the locker room to store it anyway … plus you have to stand in the long line. Then on top of that, I’m not even sure how you get back to the locker room to claim your stuff after the ride is over.

If you don’t take my advice about not bringing stuff in … storing it in the locker next to the Hogwarts Express train will cost you 8 to 10 minutes before you get into the Hogwarts castle line (assuming a rental terminal is immediately available), but if you take your loose items to the castle, you will extend your total wait time by at least an hour, maybe two; that’s a total wait time of 2 or 3 hours, and it will be much longer than that later in the day.

As I stated earlier, the access to the “No Bag” line begins where the walkway juts out to the left about 30 feet in front of the statues marking the access to the Hogwarts castle. You can see this “jut out” on the Universal Studios map (i.e., the map for the “Universal Islands of Adventure”). I scanned the map created by Universal Studios and marked this access point so you can see where it is (see below).

Just walk pass the long line up to this “jut out” area. There is an iron fence on the left side of the line all the way up. There will be an attendant on the other side of the line where the iron fence cuts left creating about 5 extra feet of width to the walkway. Either excuse your way across the line, wait until the attendant makes his “No Bags Line” comment, or just ask where the “No Bags” line starts … then cut across the line and be very happy you just saved at least an hour of worthless wait time.

The Universal Islands Of Adventure Map 

Click for a full map of Universal Islands of Adventure

The Harry Potter Theme Park portion of the Universal Islands of Adventure map shown above (scanned from the original provided by Universal Studios) is provided to show you the key points. The “No Bags” line starts right about where the white “L” on a brown circle is shown in the map above. The traffic jam occurs just to the right of where the restroom symbol is displayed (white rectangle with male and female silhouettes). Butter beer is available in the Hogshead Pub where the number “8″ is shown, and the lockers and the entrance to the Dueling Dragons are located where the ”P” is displayed. You can click on the map above to get a blow-up of the complete Universal Islands of Adventure map provided by Universal Studios.

The Line to the Castle Gate:

I don’t know of any way to skip this segment of the line (without really ticking people off), but your line to the Hogwarts Castle gate will be shorter than the final segment for people in the Long Outside Line.

The Uncovered Rat Maze:

To bypass the Uncovered Rat Maze, you need to get to the “front gate by 8 am & make a beeline to the castle (it’s where everyone else that gets in early is going as well, and as you walk through, you may notice nothing else is open yet anyway). You need to be up to the castle line by about 8:15 or 8:20am at the latest to bypass this section. Once they open it up, it’s open all day long, and there may even be additional maze sections I didn’t see.

If you take the free shuttle, you will definitely miss this opportunity, and your wait time will be at least a half hour longer. Obviously, the earlier you get to the front gate, the closer you will be to the front of the line, but if you get to the front gate line by 8 am and you already have your 2-day tickets, you will probably bypass the Uncovered Rat Maze.

The Greenhouse Rat Maze:

You can’t skip this line segment either; just relax and enjoy the plants and the breeze from the fans; if you go before the 1st of April, wear something that covers your shoulders; the fans make it really cool that time of year.

The Castle Line Inside:

The only way to reduce time spent in this line is to take the “Single Rider” detour on the left just as you enter the castle from the Greenhouse. This is a very effective trick you can use throughout both parks, but there are drawbacks especially for the castle.

About The Single Rider Lines:

The “Single Rider” line is a great feature if it applies for you. If you’re there with your kids, and they don’t want to ride the “big scary ride”, then definitely use this trick for yourself. Many rides have an unadvertised Single Rider line. Ask the attendant at each ride’s access point about it. The Single Rider line takes an often-contorted, undecorated path that bypasses 90% of the line of people. It doesn’t have neat pictures, story screens, cooling fans, or any other amenities (except maybe a drinking water fountain), but it will save you a ton of time. You can easily reduce a 500-person line down to a 10-person line.

The one thing that fouls this up a bit is some people have figured out they can take their entire group in the Single Rider line and just accept they will not rider together. This of course is cheating, and it slows it down for everyone legitimately in the line. I can’t really blame them for it, but the ride attendants will absolutely refuse to let any two people in line ride together. They even have signs up warning you about that on some rides. So, if you are alone or are in a party for two and you don’t mind riding separately, you can use the Single Rider line, but I recommend larger parties refrain from clogging up the bypass.

It’s kind of annoying when you are truly a single rider and you see a group of four people ahead of you laughing and talking up a storm while they are all wearing red T-Shirts labeled, “Thing 1″, “Thing 2″, “Thing 3″, and “Thing 4″ especially if someone is waiting for you to ride so they can continue moving about the theme park.

At any rate, what the Single Rider line does is provide a line of people available to ride alone. When a 4-person seat only has a three seats filled, the ride attendant will take one person from the Single Rider line and put him or her in that 4th seat. They will never fill two seats in a 4-person car with 2 single riders however; they search through the normal lines to find pairs to match up with a pair. Furthermore, as far as I could tell, they never take anyone from the Single Rider line just because they haven’t taken a single rider for a long while.

I don’t know how much time the Single Rider line will save you in the “Hogwarts Universal Studios” castle ride, but you can’t even get in this line until you get through the Greenhouse Rat Maze. Furthermore, as I mentioned above, the Single Rider line is undecorated in general. I didn’t take the Single Rider line through the castle, so I don’t how much “decoration” you actually miss.

Once you enter the castle there is a tremendous amount of interesting stuff to see and absorb as you walk through … stuff like the talking/moving paintings, intriguing specimen jars, clips and holograms on screens that look like real characters from the movies, statues, passageways, the talking Sorting Hat, etc. … This part of the line really is part of the “ride” even though you’re still walking instead of riding.

If you take the Single Rider line through Hogwarts, you might move through a lot faster, but you may also miss a lot of this really interesting stuff. In fact, my daughter and I both wanted the regular line to move slower once we got inside the castle so we could really inspect everything as we went. Also, considering you spend most of your waiting time before you even get to the Single Rider line, I recommend you skip it for the Hogwarts Castle tour … unless you are planning to go through the castle twice.

Getting Back To The Hogwarts Universal Studios (Castle) Line:

If you follow my time-saver guidelines above, your total wait time for the Hogwarts Universal Studios ride will be about an hour. You can, of course, get to the Universal Islands of Adventure well before 8am (if you drive or take a cab, but you will have to wait outside the gate until 8am and then beeline to the castle (and they don’t let you run). Get there early enough, and your wait time at the castle could be much less than an hour … maybe no wait at all … but you will have spent a lot of time waiting outside the gate (and I don’t know how early they open the parking access).

It’s your decision where you would rather spend your time waiting (at the gate where there’s nothing to see or in the Hogwarts Castle line where you can at least absorb the fantastically detailed castle and town.

Picking Up Your Tickets

The first day you arrive, you have to pick up your pre-paid tickets at the “Access Booth” on the left of the line to get into Universal Islands of Adventure. If you got one of the Universal Studios hotel packages, then you bought “pre-paid” tickets, and you have to have your print-out receipt with you. Picking up your pre-paid tickets will probably take you 10 to 15 minutes depending on the how long the line to the Access Booths is.

If you did not get one of the Universal Studios hotel packages, take your time getting your tickets at the station on the right, because you will not get in until the regular park open time (9am when we were there), and the Hogwarts Universal Studios lines will already be long. You will not be able to skip the Uncovered Maze, but that’s okay; all the other tricks will still save you hours of wait time.

Express Pass Tickets

Express Pass Tickets:  If you can spend two days at Universal Studios, I recommend you get a “2-day, 2-park” ticket and an Express Line ticket for the first day. The Express Pass ticket costs an additional $26+per person per day, but if you buy it for the first day, you can visit all the most popular rides with much shorter wait times at both parks the first day.

Then you can visit both parks at a more relaxed pace either skipping the “big line” attractions or patiently waiting for just the ones you really want to do again. If you don’t want to spend the extra money, that’s okay; the Express Line ticket does not work for “Hogwarts Universal Studios” (the castle) anyway, but it does work on the Dueling Dragons ride in the Harry Potter theme park section. So, if you don’t buy the Express Pass or if you want to ride the castle ride again the second day (and I’m betting you will), just do it first thing in the morning following my guidelines above.

Next Step … The Dueling Dragons:

If you follow my advice about the castle tour, the line for the Dueling Dragons roller coaster (on the right on your way in and on your left coming out of the castle) will still be fairly short when you come out of Hogwarts Castle. An express pass will save you a bit of time and so will the Single Rider line, but the line is not bad anyway at this time of the morning. This is still true even if you get caught in the traffic jam just below the Long Outside Line to the castle like we did on the second day. Dueling Dragons really is a great roller coaster; even if there’s a long wait, it’s worth it.

Watch Out For This Trap:

This was “Truly” amazing … in a bad way! There is a drink cart (with pumpkin juice, water, and sodas sitting in a bed of crushed ice) right next to the buildings in the Harry Potter theme park area (it’s on the right when you’re returning from the castle). This obnoxious cart juts out from the buildings by about 6 or 8 feet. There are also buildings on the opposite side of the walkway. There is no other passage between the castle and the rest of the Harry Potter theme park.

When the castle line gets long, it begins to curl down into this area, and between that line, the drink cart, people leaving the castle and people trying to get into the castle line, there was a Massive traffic jam. It took us 15 minutes to move about 20 feet. One guy repeatedly moved his stroller so the wheels kept going under my foot every time I tried to take a step. Another guy in an electric wheel chair kept running into the back of my leg. Here are a couple of pictures.

I couldn’t figure a way through. You just have to “grin and bear it”, and trust that you will eventually get through. Also, once you get in it, you can’t change your mind and back out of it. If it happens ot you, just don’t fall down … you may get trampled. Maybe they’ll figure out how to create an alternate pathway by the time you get there.

 

What’s Your Number?

I guess this is a good place to mention, the attendants do actually count the number of people entering the Harry Potter theme park portion of Universal Studios, and when they reach maximum capacity, essentially no one gets in until someone leaves. That also means if you leave, you can’t come back in! You have to get a “Return Time” ticket that lets you in during a specific one-hour block of time later that day. You can go in (or back in) anytime during that hour, but no one makes you leave; so once you are in, you can stay as long as you like. So, it’s not really “no one gets in until someone leaves”, but it’s close.

Before You Leave Harry Potter Theme Park:

Since you can’t come back for hours after you leave, and since lockers run $3.00 per half hour, don’t leave your stuff in the lockers when you leave the Harry Potter theme park area. We had this problem the first day since we didn’t realize you couldn’t come back once you leave. I had to send my daughter back in to get our stuff while I waited outside the entry gate since we used her fingerprint to rent the locker (she thought identifying yourself by fingerprint was cool … and she’s right, it is.    :-)

By the way, don’t lock all your credit cards in the lockers either. You need them to pay the rent and open the lockers if you go past your free period. We had that problem too. Fortunately, there was an attendant there who was used to this problem.

Finally, if you do lock your credit cards in the locker, and go over your free time … don’t use your daughter’s fingerprint to rent the locker and leave the Harry Potter theme park area. She won’t be able to open the locker and then pay the rent if the cards are in your name only. Fortunately, we planned ahead for this fiasco (yeah right, we just got lucky), and my daughter had her own credit card.    ;-)

The Best Way To Get Harry Potter Products At Universal Studios:

Except for the castle ride, you will notice most of the lines in the Harry Potter theme park portion of the Universal Islands of Adventure are for the shops. I’m not really sure why everyone wants to stand in line for the shops; maybe it’s for the atmosphere or ambiance inside the store.

We went into the Honeydukes candy shop and Zonkos magic tricks shop (they are joined with a single line to get in); the line went really quick … about 5 minutes with around 20 people ahead of us. It was mostly like any typical store except it had lots of candies and tricks on the shelves … not much “ambiance” in my opinion. By the way, when you see people come out of door and there’s no line, it’s because that’s an “Exit Only” door.

However, the cool thing is we discovered you can get most of the really popular Harry Potter products in another store in Universal Islands of Adventure, the original Universal Studios, and even on the Universal Studios City Walk. That’s right, you don’t have to get your Harry Potter products in the “Harry Potter theme park” itself.

In these other stores, you can get all these Harry Potter products and more:

• Harry Potter Wands for sale at $30 (actually $29.95 if I remember correctly).

• Harry Potter cloaks ($100)

• A variety of Harry Potter T-Shirts ($30) and sweatshirts

• Chocolate Frogs ($10)

• Other candies from Honeydukes (e.g., Peppermint Frogs, Imps cinnamon hard candy, Every Flavor Beans, etc.)

• Harry Potter keychains

• Remembrals

• Brooms

• Harry Potter Journals from each of the four houses (Griffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, & Hufflepuff)

• Scarves from each of the four houses ($35)

• Ties from the four houses

• Marauder’s Maps ($48)

• Harry Potter caps

• Quill Pens (like the one that scratches blood in Harry’s hand)

• Rita Skeeter’s Pad & Quill

• Quiddich items such as the quaffle balls, bludgers, and the snitch

• Hedwig puppets (that’s Harry’s owl)

• Pygmy puffs (cute, pink fluffballs with eyes, nose, and mouth for $17)

• Stuffed rats (Ron’s pet “Scabbers”)

• Stuffed Persian cats (Hermione’s pet “Crookshanks”)

• Dragons (both figurines and stuffed)

• Time Turners

• And lots more!!!

It’s all the same stuff at the same prices, but perhaps with less ambiance than the “real Harry Potter stores”. By the way, if you get one of the hotels close to Universal Studios (or more specifically one of the Universal Studios Hotel Packages) where you get the tickets, 2 or 3 nights at the hotel, a free shuttle, and a 15% discount card for food and merchandise), you can use the 15% discount card on everything except Harry Potter products (which is probably the most expensive stuff you can buy at Universal Studios). You also can’t use the 15% discount card for food and drinks at a “cart” … which presumably is any place that sells this stuff outside a building. However, in a moment, I’ll show you how to get around this as well. Just don’t buy your Harry Potter products in the morning of the first day; I’ll tell you why later.

If you go to the first decent size gift store you come to in Universal Islands of Adventure or the original Universal Studios … or the last store on the left as you come through the City Walk …that’s where you will find all the popular Harry Potter products.

Universal Studios Map

The map below (scanned from the original provided by Universal Studios) shows the proximity of the City Walk (in the lower center of the map) relative to the Universal Islands of Adventure (on the left) and the original Universal Studios (on the right). You can see a blown-up version by clicking on the map below:

Pass Me Another Butter Beer!!

One thing I did not see anywhere in the Universal Islands of Adventure except in the Harry Potter theme park section was Butter Beer! This was another place that had huge lines, but the Butter Beer tastes fantastic and it’s worth the wait. However, here’s how you can cut your time in line by 30 to 60 minutes …

The most obvious place to get Butter Beer is from the cart that looks like a big Beer Tanker in the middle of Harry Potter theme park. It’s orange; it sells butter beer and pumpkin juice; and it has 2 lines (one on the left and one on the right). The lines get long around 9:15 in the morning (see the picture) and they get longer as the day passes. In mid-March around noon, both lines had about a hundred people in them. However, there’s another smaller cart on the Castle-side of the building on the left (heading towards the castle); the line is shorter there, but not “much” shorter.

Here’s The Butter Beer Secret …

If you want the Butter Beer souvenir mug with the frosted butter beer, it costs about $11. Unfrosted butter beer in a normal disposable cup costs only $3.75. Both frosted and unfrosted versions taste fantastic, but I personally like the unfrosted the most. Both versions come with a really tasty “head” on them. Pumpkin juice in a souvenir bottle with a cute little pumpkin lid is $6.95.

If you remember from the Harry Potter books … as my daughter remembered very well (she read the entire 5th book, over 700 pages, in less than 24 hours … the first time she read it) …Harry, Hermione, and Ron often got their butter beer in a couple places called “Three Broomsticks” and the “Hogshead Pub”. When we were ready to get in line for Butter Beer, she reminded be we should be able to get it where Harry, Ron, & Hermione got it. So, I said, “Let’s check it out!”

Turns out what’s true in the books and movies is true in Harry Potter theme park as well, but nobody seems to know it.

There are two entrances to the same building … The first entrance is on the left (facing the building); this entrance is to get a table to sit down and eat in the “Three Broomsticks”. There is often a line here especially around lunch time. The second entrance (on the right facing the building) is the “Hogshead Pub” entrance. When we were there, I never saw a line for this entrance.

 

Both entrances end up in the same building, however, if you go in the “Hogshead Pub” entrance, there is a bar (big surprise) which usually has 5 to 10 people in line. Get in that line, and you can walk away with your butter beer in less than 10 minutes. You can even entertain yourself during the wait by watching for the Hogshead (on the wall behind the bar) to move. Keep watching; it does move. An added benefit to this sneaky little tip is your 5 to 10 minute wait is inside in the shade which sure beats an hour long wait in the blistering Florida sun.

BONUS: Butter Beer Recipe’

In case you can’t wait or to re-kindle that moment you first tasted the sweet-buttery taste of butter beer at the park, here’s the butter beer recipe’ so you can make your own butter beer!

Harry Potter Theme Park Video

Here’s a brief (27 seconds) video showing the 3 Broomsticks, the Dueling Dragons roller coaster, and Honeydukes. It was taken with a handheld digital camera with people jostling around us, so the quality is not that great, but you can get a feel for the town with it.

VIDEO:   Harry Potter Theme Park at Universal Islands of
Adventure

Is This A Show Or Photo Opp?

Here’s another “tip” of less importance … There is a ground-level stone staging area on the right just before the pathway up to Hogwarts castle. At various times (unpublished as far as I could tell), characters from the Harry Potter movies show up … a choir group with singing frogs, three girls and three guys from the visiting schools during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, etc. …

So, here’s the tip: sometimes they show up to provide a show, and other times they just show up for photo opportunities (you can get in the picture with them). Find out whether it’s a photo opp or a show before you wait 10 minutes for something to happen.

The Best Day To Go:

It’s been proven that the best day to go to the Disney World is Thursday, and my bet is the same is true for the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios. I’m not sure what the published logic is on this claim, but here is my conjecture …

First of all, we’ll ignore all the locals who can get season passes and go as often and anytime they want … day or night. This leaves the vast majority of visitors who are from out of town. Most travelers vacation a week at a time so they can include both weekends for a 9-day vacation instead of just 5 days. Thus, most traveling vacationers fly on Friday night (not so many) or Saturday (the vast majority).

They may travel on a package deal which is often Saturday to Saturday, but that doesn’t really matter much for this discussion. In general, people are too tired from flying or simply don’t get in early enough to visit theme parks on Saturday … unless it’s the last Saturday of their week and they’re flying out on Sunday. At any rate, most people reason “everything” for leisure (restaurants, movies, and of course theme parks) is busiest on the weekends, so “let’s go during the week when all the locals are working”.

However, the travelers are only here for a week and the weather may turn bad, so “we should go as early in the week as possible so we make sure we get the best fun done while the weather is good”. Maybe most people aren’t this logical, but this is why I booked our trip to Universal Studios for Monday and Tuesday. So, the end of the week tends to be avoided if Universal Studios is the highlight of your trip; for others, Disney may be the highlight, so they go to Universal on Thursday or Friday.

At any rate, for any given week, there is probably a fair percentage of locals who take off a nice-weather Friday to use their seasons pass. Thus, Friday probably has more fans in the Harry Potter theme park than Thursday has. Thus, by my logic, Thursday is probably the best day to reduce time spent in line. But the real question is … “What if it rains on Thursday?”

One Final Way To Get Universal Studios Tickets Cheap … Or Get An Equally Awesome Deal

Before we begin, let me start with this one caveat: Do not take time to do this when you first get to Universal Studios. It takes too much time, and you will get way behind in the Hogwarts Castle line; plus it’s probably not even available that early. Come back at lunch time or at the end of the day instead. Now, let’s get to the point …

At the point where the walkways from the parking decks and the bus stops come together … just before the moving walkways whisk you off towards the Universal Studios City Walk … there will likely be a person standing their with a clip board looking a little bit lonely and there will be a table to the right of the moving walkway entrances with a big white banner hanging from it with computers nearby. These two stations are working together.

What they are doing is offering you an American Express card offered by GE Money Bank. In exchange for signing up (and getting approved) for the card, they will offer you some really nice immediate bonuses. If I remember correctly, one of the offers was for Universal Studios tickets cheap (i.e., either free or half-price). I don’t remember exactly what that offer was, because I bought my tickets in advance to get all the benefits (including early entry) listed above. Seriously, my net cost per night for the hotel room was only about $40 per night. If you really want Universal Studios tickets cheap, go for one of the Universal Studios Hotel Packages.

Anyway, the offer that intrigued me was the “Movie & Meal Deal”. I wish I had known about this the first day, but we discovered it on our way back to the Universal Studios City Walk the second night (since we had a car and parking was already paid that day). The “Movie & Meal Deal” lets you buy up to 3 “Movie & Meal Deal” tickets at normal price (about $22 after taxes) and American Express will match your purchase for free.

In other words, it was just me and my daughter, and we were only there for that night, so I bought one “Movie & Meal Deal” ticket for $22 (using my new American Express card which gave me an additional 2% cash rebate). Then I took my receipt to the Amex office right next to the ticket booth and they gave me another Movie & Meal Deal ticket. This let my daughter and I both eat at Margaritaville right there on the City Walk (including our non-alcoholic drinks and the tips) and go see the movie, “I Am Number Four” in the Universal Studios City Walk theater for a total of just $22.

Incidentally, you can use the Movie & Meal Deal for lots of different restaurants, not just Margaritaville, and you don’t have to use them the same day you buy the tickets. I figure two meals, drinks, and tip at Margaritaville would normally run about $30 for the two of us, and a movie for two would run about $18 for a total of $48 … but it only cost me $22.

If there are more people in your party, or if you are coming back additional days, you can buy up to 3 “Movie & Meal Deal” tickets and get a free one for each one purchased. You could potentially save yourself as much as $78 doing this, and that doesn’t count discounts for any Harry Potter products or food you buy in the parks.

But wait, there’s more …

With this American Express card, you get 2% cash rebates on anything you buy at Universal Studios (Islands of Adventure, the original Universal Studios, & City Walk) and you get 10% instant savings on anything you buy at Universal Studios … altogether that’s 12% savings off everything you buy at Universal Studios including Harry Potter products, food, and drinks. You also get 1% cash rebate everywhere else you use your Amex card. Finally, there is no annual fee either.

Here’s One More Potential Money-Saver For You

This little secret won’t save you any money at Universal Studios, but it can save you a decent amount in the Orlando area. When my daughter and I went to Universal Studios, it was during the week of my daughter’s birthday. I was looking through the colorful traveler entertainment booklets to see the fun stuff to do in the area, and I came across an all-you-can-eat lobster and crab legs ad. My daughter had never tried lobster before, so we went. When we got there, we discovered you get to eat there free if it’s your birthday.

The all-you-can-eat option that includes the lobster and crab legs was $29.95, so for $30, we both got all we could eat, and she got to try lobster tail for the first time. So, if you happen to go to Orlando, FL (and perhaps anywhere else) close to your birthday, be sure to ask if they offer anything special for birthdays. You just might get a free meal or at least a free dessert! By the way, the restaurant we visited was called, “Angels”, and it’s located in Kissimmee, Florida (on Route 92 I think).

So, You Can See There’s A Lot More To Getting Maximum Benefits From The Harry Potter Theme Park Than Just Getting Universal Studios Tickets Cheap …

Here’s An Easy Step-By-Step Checklist To Slash Your Wait Times & Save A Bunch Of Cash

Click here for an ”easy-to-print” version of the Harry Potter Theme Park Secrets

Step 1: Buy your Universal Studios tickets cheap with one of the Universal Studios hotel packages. Pick one of the hotels close to Universal Studios for best access. Get 2-park tickets (2-day tickets recommended), and get Express Passes for one day. Keep your receipt; you must take it with you to get in.

Step 2: Try to pack stuff you want to take in small unobtrusive packs you can loop onto your belt such as a small digital camera case, or put them in your pockets (Cargo style shorts are great for this, plus the Velcro pocket lids help you from losing stuff in your pockets). Make sure you include a map to get to Universal Studios if you plan to drive and a copy of this checklist. IMPORTANT: Be sure to pack your receipt for pre-purchased tickets.

Step 3: Forego the free shuttle and drive there yourself (at least on any day you plan to go the Universal Studios City Walk). You’ll pay for parking anyway, why not have the freedom and flexibility all day long. Leave so you will arrive and get the car parked by 7:45 am. Get there even earlier on the first day so you have time to get your tickets at the Access Booth (right next to the front gate of the Universal Islands of Adventure).

Step 4: Make a beeline for “Hogwarts Universal Studios” (the castle). Go through the gate and bear right passing through Seuss World, and snap pictures as you’re walking through the Harry Potter theme park area. If you brought loose items, check them into a locker on the right just pass the Hogwarts Express train. If there are 2+ people in your party, let one snap pictures while the other stores stuff in the lockers.

NOTE: If you don’t lock your camera in the locker, be sure you have a small belt-mounted case for it.

Step 5: Bypass the “Long Outside Line”, and head directly to where the iron gate juts to the left (about 30 feet before the 2 statues for the castle). Cut across the line, and head on up the path. By now, you should have secured your position to miss the “Uncovered Rat Maze”. If you are a “Single Rider”, look for the left turn just after stepping out of the Greenhouse maze and entering the castle.

Step 6: Enjoy the ride, and hope you don’t get stuck in a traffic jam coming back. Beeline to the Dueling Dragons roller coaster (on your left as you are coming from the castle). If you like, you can marvel at the Butter Beer line understanding you know how to bypass it later.

Step 7: After the Dueling Dragons, straighten up your hair and claim your stuff from the locker if you used one (these lockers are to the right of the entrance to the Dueling Dragons).

Step 8: Now, you can relax and enjoy things at your own pace. Roam around Harry Potter theme park, take pictures, if you wish check out the shops, but don’t buy any Harry Potter products just yet. You can grab your camera out of the lockers and go back up the Dueling Dragons exit path to get some great pictures.

Step 9: If you want Butter Beer (which you really must try at least once), quietly cut across the long outdoor lines to the Butter Beer Tanker and head into the Hogshead Pub where the short line is. Take a moment to sit down and relish the savory flavor of this delectable treat.

Step 10: When you are ready to move out of the Harry Potter theme park, make sure you take everything out of any lockers you rented, and head past the exit. Continue on about 100 feet or so and pick up a Return Time ticket (on the left side) in case you want to come back later (to get another yummy butter beer for example).

Step 11: Enjoy the rest of the Express Pass rides and then exit the Universal Islands of Adventure and turn left coming out of the gate to visit the original park. Remember to use your 15% discount card from the Universal Studios hotel packages for lunch.

Step 12: Enjoy all the Express Pass rides and attractions at the original Universal Studios. The rides and attractions that accept Express Passes are shown on the Universal Studios map.

Step 13: Sometime during the afternoon, exit the parks and walk through the Universal Studios City Walk to where the moving walkways began (at the intersection between the parking deck walkways and the bus stop walkways). Look for the lonely-looking guy with a clipboard, and ask him what he’s offering. Apply for the Amex card and buy your selected option (e.g., the “Movie & Meal Deal”, additional admission tickets, etc.). This process will take 20 to 30 minutes from the time you start talking to the clipboard guy.

Step 14: Now, you can return to the City Walk and the parks to get dinner, watch a movie, and buy any Harry Potter products you want at the gift shops with no lines. Use your new American Express card and get 12% total discounts (10% instant discount plus 2% cash rebate).

NOTE: By purchasing your Harry Potter products later in the day, you get the lower price, with no lines, and you don’t have to carry them around (or stuff them in lockers) all day long.

There’s A Lot More To Getting Maximum Benefits At Universal Islands of Adventure Than Just Getting Universal Studios Tickets Cheap … Save yourself time and money at the Harry Potter Theme Park here: http://secretsthatmatter.com/harry-potter-theme-park-at-universal-studios/

http://secretsthatmatter.com/ Secrets For Harry Potter Theme Park at Universal Islands of Adventure, Florida

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