Is Hogwarts worth $235?

[Bork]

We haven't been to Universal since 2004 because of the cheap extra days and Magical Express at Disney. But we ready to take the kids to Universal next year for the first time.

We never do park hoppers at Disney due to the extra cost. Is it worth an extra $235 for our family of 4 to get park hoppers just to ride the Hogwarts Express? That would be the only reason we'd get park hoppers.

 

[bchbetha]

This comes up a lot. Here are my thoughts... for a major Harry Potter fan, it's worth it. But, it's real value is the ability to go back and forth between parks. It's not like Disney where the parks are spread out- they are right there. It's so easy to bounce between them and treat it as one big park. Do ride the HE both ways as it's different.

 

[kylieelizabethhh]

If you're a diehard Harry Potter fan, then it's definitely worth it. The train ride is so fun, the walk through is amazing, AND its air conditioned! I love the train. Please splurge and do it!

 

[qemom]

It depends on if you're a Harry Potter fan. If so, then yes it's worth it since the Hogwart's Express is such a big part of the HP story. I have 2 diehard potterhead kids, and the look on my teenage daughters face when the train pulled into Hogmeade station made it worth every penny.

 

[Bork]

DS13 and DW are Harry Potter fans and park hopping could be useful for DD4, who won't be able to do the big rides. So I guess it will be worth it.

 

[nkereina]

I consider myself a more casual HP fan, so for me, it's not worth it for Hogwarts Express alone. That said, I DO think it's worth it just for the flexibility of going between both parks. As mentioned, park hopping there is very convenient. With just DH and I, no kids, we spend most of our time at Universal. It's not uncommon for us to do everything that interests us at IOA in the morning, and then hop over to Universal for the afternoon/evening. Or even park hop just for dining options too. So, we always get the multi-park ticket for this reason.

 

[schumigirl]

We always have park to park for Universal.

The HE is fun........been on it so many times we tend to use it now as transport between each park. Ideal if we're in that area and want to switch.

For hard core Potter fans.......it's a must do.....both ways.

 

[jrsharp21]

We area head to Universal for one day next month. We made the decision to get the 1 day park to park ticket so we can ride HE do all things HP. It's my daughter's 18th birthday and she wants to do all the HP stuff and doesn't care about any other part of the parks.

 

[flortlebap]

If you can afford to do it without breaking the bank, it's worth it. If you can't, then it isn't.

If you do go for it, you aren't paying for just one ride as such - you're also paying for the general hopping convenience. But it does seem like a lot of money unless you're big HP fans!

 

[JenzyHP]

Yes because it is very nice to go to both parks. It is so quick and easy to hop.

 

[cschaaf]

Not a HP fan and not a Hogwarts Express fan... but we love to park hop. I'm not sure we've ever spent a full day in a single park. With 2 or more days, we'll do AM in one park, eat lunch, maybe take a mid-day break, then go to the other park at night. The next day we do the same, but swap the parks around.

 

[TommyJK]

I'm in the same camp as many others. I consider the cost of P2P to be more worth it for the actual park hopping, and to me the HE is just a bonus on top that makes the act of hopping more entertaining and a second location to hop (the other being just walking from main gate to main gate).

As other's have noted, P2P actually has good value because the parks are directly beside each other, so you're back and forth between parks within minutes, as oppose to 45min to an hour it takes to hop from one Disney park to the next, so you're not losing precious park time.

And also to me it's invaluable if you don't have Express Pass. The crowds ebb and flow so much between the two parks. There will be times that the majority of attractions in one park have large waits while the other does not, and vice versa. So it's so nice to be able to switch things up on the fly depending on wait times in each given park.

 

[madduck]

No

 

[ExCMbeau]

IF your goal is to see everything Harry Potter than YES. If you just want to have a fun day at Universal then NO. Depends on what you want to accomplish in your one day.

 

[saskdw]

I can't imagine being at UO and not having access to everything at all times. We would never be there without the ability to enter both parks whenever we feel like it.

 

[PoohIsHome]

But it's HOW Harry and Ron and Hermione and Draco and Pansy and Luna and Neville and Ginny and Cho......

Is my nerd showing?

 

[Planogirl]

To me the Hogwarts Express isn't just one ride. Since each direction is different, I consider it two rides and I love it.