Is Hogwart's Express worth it?

[mshanson3121]

So my son has fallen in love with Harry Potter, and naturally, we've been discussing the possibility of a trip to Universal Studios. It would cost us roughly $260 more to get the Park to Park tickets. Quite honestly, I'm fine with just doing one park per day, however I understand that the only way to ride Hogwart's Express is with this ticket. Do you feel that it's worth it? My son absolutely loves Harry Potter, and trains, so it seems as though this would be a highlight. But it's also a lot of money. What is the ride actually like for experience? How long does it last etc?

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

For a fan of HP, it is worth it. It was a great way for Uni to tie the two HP areas together - it is a slow moving train ride (don't know actual ride time, guessing 3-5 minutes) with screen that shows 2 different scenes (one each direction) that correlate with the books/movies. Plus, Kings Crossing itself is part of the allure, with platform 9 3/4. If it can be afforded, it is worth consideration.

Plus, there is something about being in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley on the same day to round out the experience.

A must? Only if budget will allow...

 

[TommyJK]

To me the value in Park to Park access is the ability to hope back and forth and the Hogwarts express is a "bonus" on top of it (as well as being really really cool for Potter fans).

The parks have an ebb and flow every day as to how busy each one is throughout the day. There will be times one side is much busier than the other and vice versa so having the option to hop to the other side that is less busy is worth it IMO.

 

[bchbetha]

Tommy's explanation of the real perk is well described.

A Harry Potter fan would be very bummed to not get to ride the train and see both halves of the WWOHP. Yes, it's worth the extra money. Skimp on something else.

 

[nkereina]

Agree with PPs. The flexibility of being able to move between parks makes it more worth it than the ride itself. We typically will spend only a few hours at IOA, so this gives us the option to hop over to Universal in the afternoon or vice versa. On our last full day, we split our time between the parks to re-ride our favorite attractions. So being able to do this makes it worth the cost to us. This coupled with Hogwarts Express for a Potter fanatic makes it a no-brainer, IMO.

 

[22Tink]

I wondered as well but didn't regret it. It was such a neat experience! If it fits your budget, I say go for it. Especially since your son is such a big fan of HP.

 

[PollyannaMom]

A must? Only if budget will allow...

This exactly. If you have the money, it's worth it! If you don't, one day in each park is still great!

The train ride is fun, and the station is full of cool details. Also, I noticed when we were there that Universal tends to open the same park early rather than switching each day like Disney does. So we did find an advantage on our second day to going into the early entry side, taking the train as soon as it was available, and already being in the back of the other side when it opened.

 

[wookiebeck]

Getting the P2P ticket is worth it to us. But not for the HE. Rather, the ability to park hop to hit a particular show time for something we missed the previous day, or just moving over to other park due to crowds and wait times. The HE is the bonus, we love it! Way better spend of time then walking out the front gates to park hop.

 

[*LittleMermaid*]

park hopping due to weather is also a consideration since it rains so much and there are many outdoor rides at Islands of Adventure.

 

[DreamIsaWish]

I wasn't going to get park to park initially. It just can't be worth it for the cost 4 tickets for one ride, at least not strictly economically speaking. My daughter really loved it (and maybe it would have been worth it to get two tickets -- one for her and one for a parent to take her), my son was OK with it (would not have been worth the cost for him, or for my husband who didn't ride due to claustrophobia).

But.... when I figured out for the cost of going to park-to-park I could get a seasonal annual pass, I was sold. Then I wasn't paying for park-to-park, I was paying for a second visit on the cheap and got Hogwarts Express as a bonus. Now that was worth it!

 

[skylock]

So my son has fallen in love with Harry Potter, and naturally, we've been discussing the possibility of a trip to Universal Studios. It would cost us roughly $260 more to get the Park to Park tickets. Quite honestly, I'm fine with just doing one park per day, however I understand that the only way to ride Hogwart's Express is with this ticket. Do you feel that it's worth it? My son absolutely loves Harry Potter, and trains, so it seems as though this would be a highlight. But it's also a lot of money. What is the ride actually like for experience? How long does it last etc?

Go to youtube and check it out.

 

[zebsterama]

Yes for a Potter fan (even if you're not a Potter fan), it's worth it. Obviously you have to account for the budget -- but if it's not THAT big a deal - I say go for it.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Theme park marketing scheme genius. I hope whoever came up with it was handsomely rewarded by Uni. We never get hoppers at Disney. I'm totally fine with doing one park per day. I had the same thoughts the first year we went to Uni, that no way was HE worth it. But we caved and got it and I have no regrets. We got park to park the second time we went and plan to for Nov.

HE is really well done in my opinion. The train is a beautiful scarlet, black, and gold. If your son loves trains that's an added benefit. The station is awesome with lots of great details.

If not for HE I wouldn't see the value in P2P. It's nice to go back and forth sometimes but not necessary, IMHO. The first year it felt like we were hopping only for the sake of getting use out of the ticket. Last year we turned the kids loose on our 4th park day and let them pick what we did. We hopped 4 times that day. The kids also like 3 broomsticks a lot so we hop to eat there. So it has it's uses and I guess we've figured out how to get some value out of the hopping without it feeling forced.

As others said, if it's in your budget I would definitely say it's worth it for HP and train fans. If not, there are lots of other great HP things to see.

 

[mamapenguin]

Worth it! I’ve pretty much always hopped though, ever since Islands was built. I go through phases where I like one side more than the other, but still seem to spend time in both. The train is super cool.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I agree if it is in your budget do it!! There is nothing like a HP fan seeing and riding that train for the first time!! We are that HP fan family and ride it a couple of times each visit.

I also agree that having the park to park is great there for weather. IOA can close a lot more in the rain and we would just hop over to the studios.

 

[Blue32]

Worth it