Universal Hollywood in only 1/2 a day on a weekend?

[pbb322]

We are arriving at LAX at 11 am on Sat. Aug. 6th, staying with a friend for a couple of days before going to DL. My son has talked non-stop about going back to US in FL after our last trip to Harry Potter weekend, so I was thinking of surprising him by going straight to USH from the airport for the rest of the day - he does not know that they opened the HP section there and he would be so happy. A few questions for anyone thoughtful enough to comment:
- What are the crowds like there on the weekends? Will all the lines be crazy long?
- Will my 4 year old be terribly bored? She actually loved US in FL even though she was not old enough for the HP stuff, they had plenty for her in the rest of the parks, but I don't see much in Hollywood.
- I am not sure I can justify paying twice as much for FOTL passes for just half a day unless it means we would basically be able to do every ride in a half day - is this possible?
- do the interactive wands from the FL parks work in Hollywood?

Any thoughts are welcome!

 

[StageTek]

That will be a crowded weekend. Lines will be long. Between 3 and 6 (when you will be arriving) has the longest wait times in WWoHP.
Not much for a 4 year old to do in USH. But still a lot for her to see.
A front of the line pass would certainly make a difference. It's possible, though.
Yes. Interactive wands from USF work at USH

 

[pbb322]

Thank you!

 

[DahliaRW]

I wouldn't do a half day without FOL, and probably not even then. We went on a Tuesday in July and it was a crazy busy, and it wasn't a weekend.

Like any park, you can get a lot of rides in in the morning (the whole lower lot is basically empty for the first couple of hours). You probably would also need to go just for the rides, not the shows (which are really great there).

Coming from LAX, you probably won't make it to the park until 1 or so, by the time you de-plane, get to your transportation, drive there, etc. It's a crazy busy airport and traffic is always terrible around the airport.

That being said, if you decide to go, I would wait and buy your ticket at the gate and cross my fingers that FOL is still available. If your flight is delayed and you pre-purchase, you may end up not being able to go at all.

There is a small area for kids (for your 4yo), but not much. You'd probably want to child swap the bigger rides anyways, which leaves your 4yo standing around a lot.

Could you possibly go one of the days you're staying with friends instead?

 

[bumbershoot]

We got into the parks around 10:30 today and walked into 95 min for Forbidden Journey and 60 min for Hipppgriff. Except it wasn't that long for H. By the time we got out of there FJ was 120 min. And I think it got up to 160.

We finally rode when it was down to 65 hours later.

We hit no shows and not even the Tour. Had a good time but it wasn't a hugely successful day lol.

Everyone we met who had the front of the line pass was very pleased with it and would do it again.