Universal Harry Potter

I love Harry potter . Having said that if we had not received the tickets free it would have been a huge waste of money. The park is cool. But if you like Disney it's a disappointment. Definitely more along the lines of a six flags. Don't plan 2 days for it. One day with the park Hopper pass is plenty. Spend the other day seeing the rest of the park stuff. I will say we ate at the three broomstick and the food was really good.

You could easily spend 2 full days just doing Universal.
We did HP in one day. Your friend is right, there's not much to Hogsmeade other than the roller coaster. Diagon Alley is super cool, but it's mostly shopping and food, so a couple of hours there is plenty.

The rest of the parks have SO much. A park a day is ambitious if you tried to see everything.

You'll love it - there's plenty to do and see in both parks. Tara described it well. Hogsmeade is just one part of Universal Studios and Diagon Alley is just one part of Islands of Adventure. (Oops, I may have that backwards). You'll spend a couple hours in each, and ride the Hogwarts Express in between. Your kids will want to skip the Dueling Dragons ride - it's crazy! They make you empty your pockets out and everything, because you're flying around so much. But - it sounds like you'll really enjoy the rest of the parks also, especially Universal - there are shows and more "movie stuff" to see. Islands of Adventure has more thrilling rides, and other fun sections for younger kids. Don't worry too much about your planning, you'll hit everything, just enjoy!

We went in Nov and easily did all the rides, the rest of the park, and then returned to ride the castle ride again, in one day. But, that was during a week day in the off season, going during spring break there will be lots of people and lots of lines. In Harry Potter world there are two rollercoasters, one outside one that is like a traditional rollercoaster, and one inside the castle that is made to feel like you are flying on a broom but is all done with screens while the seats move on a single arm around the room. It was actually really cool and we went on it several times (and it was just adults on the trip, lol). The other stuff, like the wand selection and the like, was cute but better for the younger crowd I think.

If you are just going to see HP then one day with park hopper is more then enough, just keep in mind that it will be busy during spring break (beginning of March through early April).

https://www.universalorlando.com/Rides/Islands-of-Adventu...

https://www.universalorlando.com/Rides/Universal-Studios-...

If you click on each ride it tells you what the ride is like, how tall the child needs to be and if it is family friendly.

My daughter is 9 and doesn't like big roller coasters either, but we have always found something to do there aside from Harry Potter.

We did Universal last year in late June/early July. I would recommend 2 days for the 2 parks. This way you can get a feel and sense of everything. There is so much more to the Universal experience beyond Harry Potter. I say you pay all of that money ride ALL the rides and ride your favorite rides twice if time permits.

The roller coasters aren't your traditional roller coasters. Many of them are a blend of roller coaster and interactive experience.

I'm a roller coaster rider and will ride any coaster. My kids have been encouraged to be the same. It's just great fun. If you intended or insist on NOT riding these types of rides while at universal, you will miss the most special part of the Harry Potter experience. There are Harry Potter rides at both parks.

We had so much fun and I couldn't imagine going without riding the rides. They were amazing from the traditional rides to the newer interactive rides.

There are two actual parks - one containing the Harry Potter part but that is not all that is in that park... I would say two days. We did it a few years ago although we love roller coasters. If they don't like roller coasters-hmmm. Universal in my opinion is for the older kiddos who like the crazy rides. We used the single rider line a lot to avoid waiting. You don't get to ride together potentially but you can save a lot of time and do the rides more than once I would love to go back now that they have added more to the HP part.

I still say do both parks. They have descriptions of the rides and shows on-line. They have several good shows-a make up one, an animal show and a show similar to Fear Factor and the Spiderman 4-D ride was amazing. We did that many times. They have a Shrek show, a minions ride, the Simpsons area.

I really liked Universal-better than Disney in fact but to each their own. I just think if you try to hit both parks in one day-you'll regret it and not be able to do see everything you want to see.

My husband & I did Universal back in 2012. We got a 3-day park hopper pass & spent one day in each park, saving the 3rd day for the park we loved the best (the one with HARRY POTTER!!).

My hubby does NOT like big coasters, & there was still a ton of stuff to do, see & ride at both Universal parks. Some of the attractions are definitely worth waiting in line to do more than once - especially Men In Black & Spiderman - interactive rides w/o the big coaster action. There are shows that are wonderful too - Poseidon's Fury, & the Hollywood Horror Makeup show.

In Harry Potter, the Hogwarts castle ride (like riding the broomsticks) is amazing. Be smart, go in the line for single riders. It's not like you can talk to each other when the ride is going, & you'll all get done w/in a minute or so of each other. The line is 1/2 to 1/4 the wait - we went back two more times in the same amount it said we would have to wait to ride together.

Hope you have a blast! T. :)