Looking to plan a trip to Hogwarts where you can drink Butterbeer and channel your inner witch or wizard? This is your ultimate guide and my complete itinerary for visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
Hogwarts 
Escape from Gringotts 
Hogsmeade
Day 1
Our alarms went off at 6am on Thursday morning and we could not wait to arrive at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios. Like the other insane people roaming the parks at 7:30am, we had early admission. Universal’s infamous Halloween Horror Nights event closed the parks early at 8, so we were given free early access. We headed straight over to Diagon Alley to ride Escape from Gringotts since that is the most popular ride in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We got there so early, the wait was only around 20 minutes — this ride is definitely a must do so it is essential to get to the parks early.
Afterwards, we went into a few shops where I purchased a Slytherin headband and lanyard. The lanyard was definitely worth it; I could put my park ticket, express pass, and debit card inside for easy access. I would recommend doing most of your shopping on the Diagon Alley side, in my opinion, they have better and more shops than Hogsmeade. If you are planning on buying a wand, the Olivanders in Diagon Alley is much better than the one in Hogsmeade.
After doing most of our shopping and Escape from Gringotts, we decided to hit a few rides in the Universal Park before heading over to Hogsmeade. Men in Black was right next to Diagon Alley and had no wait, so we got to enjoy that pretty quickly. It’s definitely a fan favorite — I mean who doesn’t love 90s Will Smith?
We were craving the Leaky Cauldron for lunch but made the mistake of waiting until prime lunchtime so the line was already out the door. Our next best bet was Fast Food Blvd in Simpsons Land. There was a pretty long wait but we entertained ourselves in line by quoting TikToks and talking to Universal employees. The pizza was pretty decent, however the famous Krusty Burger from the Simpsons series was below subpar according to my cousins who compared the patty to “rubber”. $12 and a tummy ache later, we got around to the Mummy ride which is one of our favorites.
By this point, our lack of sleep began to override our excitement so we grabbed Starbucks for an extra boost and then headed over to the Hogwarts Express beside Diagon Alley. The wait time was around 30 minutes, which was pretty lucky because depending on the time, it can be as long as 90 minutes. The ride lasted around 5 minutes and has a really cool visual outside the window of leaving Diagon Alley. You get to see Fred and George Weasley advertising their joke shop on their brooms and Harry, Hermione, and Ron searching the hall for an empty cabin on the train.
Once we arrived Hogsmeade, we made a B-line to grab some butterbeer because you cannot visit the Wizarding World without having a taste. The butterscotch cream is so delicious, and it’s served either normal, frozen, or as ice cream. I have had all three and would recommend the ice cream or the normal Butterbeer.
Hogwarts Express 
Butterbeer in Hogsmeade
After getting sugar drunk of Harry’s favorite refreshment, we rode the Forbidden Journey and the Hippogriff since they were right next to each other and did not have extreme wait times. We all loved the Forbidden Journey ride, but if you are prone to motion sickness due to stimulations then it is not for you. It is inside the Hogwarts Castle and the wait time is entertaining because you can see many cool visuals including Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and many more favorites. This is a scenic ride that has four seats and takes the cart up in the air while moving to different simulations that look like you are really flying with the characters from the series.
Universal also provides free required lockers while you ride, so if you have a bag, then you will have to put it in the locker and grab it when you are done. Make sure you take a payment method with you just in case the ride wait time exceeds the free locker time. We headed to the Hippogriff next and it is a very mild coaster that does not last long. However, it is thrilling while it lasts and you can get a great view of the Hogwarts Castle.
Hagrid’s motorbike is a new addition to the rides in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, so the downside is its long wait times. We kept checking and the wait time would always be at least an hour long, if not more. We decided to save the ride for day 2. We hit a few of the shops in Hogsmeade and all bought robes which run around $139. They are authentic Harry Potter robes that include all of the houses, but beware of the Florida heat. We finished out the day doing some of the other rides in Islands of Adventure, and then decided to call it for a day.
Hogwarts Express 
Diagon Alley
Day 2
If you are mostly visiting Universal for Harry Potter, then I would definitely say getting a 2 day ticket is plenty of time to experience everything the Wizarding World has to offer. It is also essential to get the park to park tickets, in order to ride the Hogwarts Express.
Our plan for the day was to start a little later and get to Islands of Adventure for opening at 9am, and then go straight to Hagrid’s motorbike since this line is usually the longest. It did not go as expected and the wait time was already 120 minutes; I guess everyone else had the same idea as us. They do a virtual line during the weekends so for the rest of our Saturday, we kept checking and could not find any time slots on the app. Unfortunately, we did not get to ride. I was lucky enough to be able to ride it last time I went to Universal, and can vouch that this ride is the best high speed roller coaster with surprises and magical twists — hence the fact that it always has a long wait.
Our next plan was to try and head towards the new Velocicoaster in Islands of Adventure… the wait time for this one was long but worth the wait. I have to say it was unexpectedly super intense. It has a few corkscrews and incredible high speeds. If you love rollercoasters then this ride is definitely a must do. We decided to eat an early lunch today, so after the coaster we headed straight towards the Hogwarts Express to go to the Leaky Cauldron. We arrived around 11 and this was definitely a better plan than yesterday. The line was super short and we ended up eating around 11:30. The fish and chips and the grilled chicken sandwich are definitely my two favorite items on the menu here.
Today was the day we wanted to do the interactive wand experience. There were stops all around Diagon Alley with the map they give you when you purchase your wand. My friend and I both have Narcissa Malfoy’s wand because we loved the unique engravings.
Of course after we hit some of the wand stops, we wanted to grab more Butterbeer. They have a station in Diagon Alley but the line was pretty long. I would recommend getting Butterbeer in Hogsmeade if you are wanting to try it. We decided to finish up some of our rides on our itinerary in the rest of the park, and then called it a day for Universal Studios. The wait time for the train over was 90 minutes, because the park closed in a hour due to horror nights, so we just decided to grab Starbucks and walk over.
Dark Arts Castle show 
Death Eaters in Hogsmeade
A lot of people do not know about the Dark Arts experience that Universal does in Islands of Adventure between the dates of September 18th-October 31st. This was an incredible thing to see during our trip and we saved it for the last night. Around 7:30pm, when it gets dark outside they do a Dark Arts show on the Hogwarts Castle. It can be scary for younger children, because Voldemort talks and there are light images on the castle.
The castle show was incredible and I would recommend trying to get a spot near the castle around 7pm. After the show was over we headed straight towards Hogsmeade, because there are Death Eaters that roam around and try to duel with other people. They also go inside Honeydukes to scare the shoppers inside. I thought the whole experience was so fun and even got to duel with one of the Death Eaters myself!
Overall our trip was so much fun and we got to do everything we wanted to except for Hagrid’s motorbike. We are planning on buying season passes next year so we will be able to learn from the mistakes we made this trip. Florida is mostly hot almost all year around so it is essential to pack a water bottle. They have drink stations around the parks and you are able to fill up your bottles with cold water. For both days we only ate lunch in the parks as well as snacks, and ended up getting dinner outside of the parks since it can be expensive and add up.
To see more pictures and videos from our trip, you can check out my Instagram and TikTok which are both linked below.
