The Hogwarts Express goes both ways and takes you between Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios Florida. As such, you must have a park-to-park (dual park) pass to ride this. As a Harry Potter fan, I really enjoyed the Hogwarts Express because it really brought the books and movies to life. If you've never been exposed to either the Harry Potter books or movies, then you probably won't really appreciate this whole train experience as much. The animations while you're riding it are different depending which way you go (IoA to USF vs. USF to IoA), so if you have the time, it's interesting to ride the Hogwarts Express in both directions. read more

We waited sooo long, many years, to finally get a park to park ticket, so we could take this ride on the Hogwarts Express, and it was well worth it! I was so excited! We finally got here. I love all of the theming with the platform, so many photo opps for fans. Due to covid, there were a lot of safely measures put into place, but it worked out quite well as a family. Since we had not had the chance to take the train in the past, I do not know if they used to put more than one family in each compartment, but now it is only one party per room. That was very nice! Half of the experience is walking to the train. The actual ride is fairly short, but very detailed. Pay attention not only to the window outside, but the door leading to the corridor. They work their movie magic from both angles. This ride tends to get very busy, I recommend going early in the morning, especially if you stay on property. Getting into the park early, the wait is usually only 5-10 minutes long. If you wait until later, it could be an hour or more. This is also a nice way to get out of the elements. I look forward to riding again. read more

Brilliantly built, this train and its station are a marvel. Step on board and travel to and from Hogsmeade station. Encounter beloved characters from the movie but beware dangers found while traveling aboard this enchanted train. read more

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This is a must-do when visiting Universal Studios. You walk through a door that looks like you are walking through a wall on your way to the train. It's nuts! Have someone video you walking in (tip: Make sure the person behind you waits because the invisible brick wall only re-appears when nobody is there). You take this train from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade station. You get such a cool little show on the train so pay attention! You can only do this if you get the multi-park ticket that lets you visit Islands of Adventure, but trust me you WANT to spend a little extra to get that ticket so you can visit the whole Harry Potter experience. I recommend doing this first thing. Enter the park, walk through Diagon Alley and grab a Butter Beer and get on line for the train first off. The line gets long if you wait too long! The reason I didn't give it all the available stars is because it's a little squished and you do feel a touch "trapped" in your little compartment with the other riders. There doesn't seem to be an emergency switch or any way to get help or get out if you needed, but maybe they have eyes on you somehow and I didn't notice! read more

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A lot of hype for a 2 second ride. Waited almost two hours for a hot minute of a ride. Seriously, like fake ride with the window as a motion picture movie. So disappointed in the quality of this hyped up choo choo ride Won't ever ride again I would rather spend my time going on different rides . read more

***Do not read if you do not want to spoiled**** Simply magical. This is something you have to ride. To ride this train you must have an Annual Pass or a Park-to Park ticket. You will need to scan your annual pass/ticket before you enter the area where the train is each way. You will want to make sure you ride the train both ways because you will see a different story both ways. On the Kings Cross side if you enter the right way you can go the "magical way" on Platform 9 ¾ where someone can take a video of you disappearing through the platform. On the Kings Cross side it is very air conditioned so it feels extremely nice on a very hot day. The Hogsmeade side it can be a little warmer waiting for the train. You can get a good view of the construction of the new HP ride when you are over in this area. read more

Fun ride. It's kind of amazing how much work and expense evidently went into the exteriors of this with the mobile train while the interior effects are actually quite light in comparison. It's thematically-consistant with the franchise, and serves to "transfer guests" between the two halves of Universal, but at the end of the day it's just more flat screen images with synchronized physical enhancements, this time window sized, and it's 2D. It's actually more impressive just before you get on it. read more

I think this was a great addition when they added the second section of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Do note that there is usually a long line for it if you don't have a fast pass. I was expecting it to be just a ride on a train and not an actual ride. I'm not sure why:) When you enter your train car there are two video screens that look like windows that play the outside and inside of the train. We went from Hogsmead to Diagon Alley so the video scene on the outside took us through that journey. I assume it plays in reverse order if you go the other direction. The inside screen is very cool and play shadows and voices from charters passing your car. The car fits about 8 people so if you have a large group you can all travel together. I loved exiting into the Kings Crossing train station they did a great job recreating it! It was a great ride and I felt it was worth the wait in line. read more

Considering I've never seen the Harry Potter movies (yes, I know what you're thinking!!), I thought this train ride was really cool and creative. The line was relatively short (we waited about 10 minutes) and once we arrived to the front, we stepped into a train car with about 4 other people before the door closed. The train "moved" (probably a hundred feet away in actuality) but with the special effects that were used in the "window", it felt like we were truly exploring the world of Harry Potter. It was a bit cheesy but cute for the little ones or for those who really know the story. The effects were fun (like the moving shadows outside of the door which were supposed to be some of the HP characters) and made the 5 minute "ride" feel a little more realistic. I wouldn't mind going on it again when we go back but if the line is any longer than 10 minutes I would rather walk to Harry Potter Land. read more

Riding the Hogwarts Express was awesome! It's a quick ride but there's a lot to pay attention to. Brilliant idea to get from park to park. read more

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This is a really nice addition to the Harry Potter World. All the details inside the Hogwarts express are really cool. My whole family had a blast riding the train after a long afternoon at the park. I will definitely take it again if I have to go to universal studios from island of adventure or viceversa read more

Hogwarts Express - Amusement Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Anything from the trolley, dears? Honestly, the only thing that could possibly have made the ride from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade on the Hogwarts Express better is if there had been a real food trolley available. I mean, sure, watching the escaped chocolate frogs crawl up the door to our compartment was amazing, but getting to nosh on a chocolate frog whilst doing so would have just been so wonderfully meta. A-hem. Anyway. The Hogwarts Express serves a dual purpose at Universal Studios. It is a ride, but it also functions as an actual shuttle between Diagon Alley (in Universal Studios) and Hogsmeade (in Islands of Adventure). Thus, in order to ride this particular attraction, you do need to have a Park-to-Park ticket. Once you've cleared the line and taken in all the fun details of both King's Cross Station and the Hogsmeade Station, you board the train and are ushered into a compartment that holds 8 folks total. On one side is the "window", and the door shuts behind you offering a sort of "frosted glass" view into the hallway. The ride has two different stories that take place depending on which location you depart from. I try not to spoil everything for you, but here's a outline of what you experience on both ends (since obviously we rode it both ways... more than once. Hehehe.) Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade: you travel through the bustling streets of London, pass by Malfoy Manor in all its malevolent glory, and are greeted by a motorbike-riding Hagrid. In the hallways, you might overhear Ron, Harry, and Hermione looking for a compartment, and see the aforementioned trolley witch roll on by. Watch out for the dementors! Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley: Wave goodbye to Hagrid as the train rolls out! Fred and George will do a little advertising for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes outside your window, and the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest will give you a bit of a send off as well. In the hallways, there's an explosion of licorice spiders that sets Ron on edge, and then it's a race with the Knight Bus back to the Leaky Cauldron! For any fan of the books or movies, this ride/shuttle is a real treat. It's a very fun experience, and certainly more fun than leaving one park and walking over to the other by foot like mere Muggles! My only real complaint is that while the park was able to get the actors who played Hagrid, Fred & George, and most importantly, Ron back to film new footage for the ride, they used other folks to simulate Harry & Hermione's voices on the train. I totally get why this had to happen -- Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson are big stars now and probably had a scheduling conflict -- however, it's a really obvious difference to a huge nerd like me who knows their voices quite well, and I kinda wish they had just not included them, or at least not had them speak. Potterheads, Universal's got our number because you can't NOT get that darned Park-to-Park ticket, right? Still totally worth it. read more

In order to ride the Hogwarts Express, you'll need the park-to-park pass. You wait in an insanely long line for a pretty short ride and show. The show is on both sides and is different depending on if you're heading to Hogwarts or from Hogwarts. They've basically merged all the books together, took the highlights, and made it a mini interactive movie-type show. Don't want to ruin it for anyone, but it was underwhelming and not worth the park-to-park in my opinion. read more

Warning: this train is for those who have park to park passes only. It takes you from the Harry Potter section of one park to the other. Second warning: even Unlimited Express Ticket holders still have to wait in line. While you are waiting in line for 35 minutes, you will undoubtedly joke about how short the ride will probably be - and you'd be right. The queue/waiting area on the Islands of Adventure side has you waiting in basically something like a hot dungeon, herded like cattle through fences until at long last there's sunlight and fresh air. Hopefully the person in front of you hasn't farted and the person in back of you hasn't coughed on your neck. I got both - thanks a lot! The ride itself is pretty cool but just when you feel yourself starting to smile again, the ride is over.So if you're a glutton for Harry Potter punishment, then it may be worth the wait for you! read more

All aboard the Hogwart's Express! The only reason I had for visiting Universal Studios Orlando was to feast my eyes on Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was also the only redeemable quality of Universal. One of the best parts about my visit to these two theme parks was the Hogwart's Express. I won't go into too many details about the ride, but all I will say is that it's amazingly fun and it's worth the back and forth transportation between the two parks to be able to see both versions of the ride. read more

Hogwarts Express, you are an interesting... Ride? First you must go into the building that is King's Cross, and that building is pretty neat but relatively boring (see my review of King's Cross station here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/kings-cross-station-orlando?hrid=LISDo2bIGcXKyitsOjIOkg&page_src=shared_via_messages_or_emails) Then you wait. And you wait FOREVER. I think the minimal amount of time we ended up waiting the weekend we were here was something like... 30 minutes? I guess that still beats the walk it would take to get to the park exit and then walk across to the other park, though. (EDIT: 10/18 - Actually, that's not true. My friends and I split apart on one of our visits, and they got into the park by walking about 10-15 minutes faster than we got riding the Express train.) We rode back and forth both ways. It's a cute concept: you're stuffed in a boxcar like the Gang on the way to and from Hogwarts. You have an upper luggage rack if you have a backpack, and the interior is pretty roomy for about 6-7 people split on either side. It's a much more enjoyable concept when your car is filled with just you and your friends, so you can banter and chat. However, when a family is sitting across from you, it is pretty awkward... PROS: -Loved the interior of the boxcars! -Chilly interior. -"Luggage" can be stored above the seats. -Fairly larger interiors. Roomy enough for 6-7 to sit comfortably. -Doesn't matter where you sit--every boxcar has the same show. CONS: -I'm not convinced the voice actors are even the same actors for this ride. Hermione sounded shrill and annoyingly high-pitched, and not like Emma Watson at all. -Such a cheesy storyline. They crammed in several points from the books and movie at one time. It doesn't follow any kind of linear storyline. -It can be a little awkward when you have a smaller group, and you're forced to share a boxcar with a family of four sitting across from you. -I was sort of falling asleep in the boxcars--it just wasn't that interesting after the first time seeing it. -The line is tremendously long to get on here. Somewhere between 30-45 minutes. THE VERDICT: Does anyone else think that they're wasting potential revenue by NOT offering a Hogwarts candy trolley? I mean if they had someone selling a few lower priced items (but honestly, that would never happen in and of itself), I'm sure almost every single boxcar would get something! Pam G. is pretty accurate in her review--it's a cool little way to get between the parks, but really it's not that great or imaginative. It's geared more towards small children, and this is from someone who is a super Harry Potter fanatic. Sometimes you can get seated with other people, and while this may open you up to meeting someone really awesome, it's more likely you'll be seated across from a family with a small kid. I'm not going to filter myself for the benefit of a small child--I'm going to ignore that it's even there. Worth seeing once? Definitely. However, after I'd seen each side once, the magic wore away and I just dozed in my seat like an old lady. TIP: In order to ride back and forth like we did, you MUST have a park-to-park pass. read more

AMAZING!!! I felt like I stepped inside one of the Harry Potter movies! There are 2 different stories depending which park you depart from. If you like Harry Potter, you got to buy the park hopper just to go on the Hogwart's Express. The only thing that was missing was the food cart, albeit it may be a bit hard to squeeze in a food trolley in a 5 minute train ride. You can watch the first person's POV of this ride on Youtube, but I suggest you don't and experience it yourself. The best part is marveling at how wonderfully designed the whole ride experience is! read more

Very cool experience especially since it takes you from one theme park to another. And the experience is different each way. Tip - make sure you have 2park pass or you will not be able to ride it since it requires admission to the other park read more

The Hogwart's Express is definitely a must do for all Harry Potter fans! You can only experience this ride if you have a park to park pass. It's worth the extra cost! Be sure to ride the train both ways because each station is unique and so is the scenery outside the "window". The attention to detail is amazing! The line can get long later in the day, but so does everything in the park. read more

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I love this addition to the WWOHP! Well, this last trip to Orlando (October 2014) was my first time seeing both sides of the WWOHP, but adding the Hogwarts Express was such an awesome idea! Hello? you get to actually travel from platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station all the way to Hogsmeade Station...and back, if you wish! The attention to detail is amaaaaazing! The whole train and all the things inside and out are just like the movie! You do need a park hopper ticket (I'm sorry, I'm using Disney lingo - can't recall the US term), but I think it's worth it! read more

The whole Hogwarts Express experience is one of the best attractions at the Universal parks. Harry Potter fans will appreciate the fine detail the moment you step foot in the train station. From the attire of the employees to the switchboard showing train times and locations in London, you'll feel like you are in a real train station. They even have someone playing an instrument just inside or outside the station. As the train goes between the two parks, you will have to have a park-to-park ticket to enter. Your ticket will be checked along with your fingerprint just like when you first entered the park. The London side is made to look like a modern day train station complete with a small snack stand in the middle of the queue. The queue winds around before heading upstairs to the train platform. My wife and I attended the park at the beginning of November 2014, when the crowds are at their lowest of the year. With that being said, this was the attraction that we had to wait the longest for; the longest wait was upwards of 45 minutes. The queue can get backed up on the London side due to people wanting to take pictures of the entrance to Platform 9 3/4. Using a mirror and light trick, it is made to look like you are walking straight through the wall. There is considerably less to see, in my opinion, on the Hogsmeade side, but the building is no less impressive. I will note that by the way the attraction is built, it is pulled to both stations without changing the orientation of the train. Therefore, at Hogsmeade you can see the train coming towards you through the tunnel; at London the train is always backed into the station. I won't ruin the actual train ride, but I will say that you will have to ride it multiple times to make sure you catch everything. Not just from one station to to the other either. The experience is completely different going from London to Hogsmeade as it is from Hogsmeade to London. The train has a certain number of compartments that fit 8 people each. Depending on the size of your group, you will likely end up with other groups in your compartment. The attraction tended to be the busiest about mid-day and right before the park closed. During the time we were there Islands of Adventure stayed open an hour later than Universal Studios. Because of this, many of the people with the park-to-park tickets decided to take the train over to IOA instead of walking. This caused a large line to form and they were still taking people over even at Universal Studios had closed. My suggestion: If you have the park-to-park tickets, go to Universal Studios first. This is definitely recommended if you have early park entry as you can go straight to Diagon Alley. Spend some time there and then hop on the Hogwarts Express to go to Hogsmeade. This path follows the books and your kids will love it ( or if you are adults, in our case, you will love it too!) read more

Hogwarts Express - Hogwarts Express - London Station - Amusement Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Love it! Ride it both ways because the graphics are different. Even waiting in line at the station is fun-- soak up all the details. This is a great way to hop between parks, plus you get to experience the magic of Harry Potter. At Platform 9 3/4 there is a spot where if you take a video of someone up ahead, they actually look like they are disappearing through a solid wall. The person taking the video will have to catch up with them later, and people in line might be annoyed. You need a 2 park pass to ride Hogwarts Express, but you want to see both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade anyway right? read more

Pros: The train looks authentic. It blows steam, whistles, and has seating like you just stepped into the movie. The station has Platform 9 3/4 and if you watch carefully, you can see people "disappear" into the wall. The shows, going each way, are neat. Not amazing, but not boring either. Great for kids and adults! Cons: What I wouldn't have given to eat a chocolate frog while on the train to complete my experience! The train runs on a cable so it travels backwards one way, which while genius, looks funny. You MUST have a park hopper pass to see both sides of the park and ride the train. Translation: Universal knows they're sales are tanking so they are using the WWoHP to boost their sales, knowing people will buy the hopper to have duel access. read more

Amazing how much this place looks like the set from the movie. It looks a lot like an English trains station. It even has a kiosk that sells the same kind of things an English kiosk would sell-- English beer (Boddington), English cider (Strongbow), English candy (Aeros (even the mint one) and crunch). There is a pretty cool mirror that creates the illusion that you are running through a brick wall to get onto the platform. The train itself--though actually going through the employee parking lot. This is actually something of a utilitarian train--- it takes you from one park to the other, but you see a show rather than parked Civics and Kias, you see a screen in the window showing the English countryside. Also, shadows are projected on the doors on the other side as if the Demetors are coming to get you and Harry saves you. So bust out your chocolate frog and enjoy your air conditioned ride across the park. read more

Pretty cool and true to the movies, but this train is run very inefficiently and you're crammed into a train car with random strangers. In our case, that wasn't the most pleasant experience, as the random passengers with whom we sat were sick and had a coughing fit for almost the entirety of the train ride. Lovely. We took the Hogwarts Express both ways (from Hogsmeade Station to King's Cross Station in the morning, and then from King's Cross Station to Hogsmeade Station in the afternoon). You can't use your fast pass to get on this train and we ended up having to wait in a ridiculously long, sweltering 30-minute line at King's Cross Station. It honestly would have been more worth it to walk over to Hogsmeade at that point, with our blistered feet and all. The ride itself takes you between the two stations and you can watch a movie on the screen that shows scenes from the train ride between the Muggle World and Hogwarts. The movie is different, depending on which way you're riding. A lot of it is forest scenes. It's nice, but the second time I rode the train, I really just wanted to get to my destination and didn't care too much for the film. read more

Hogwarts Express definitely surprised me. I enjoyed it more than i expected. If you are unaware, you can only ride the Hogwarts Express if you have a hopper ticket because it transfers you between parks. So normal price admission cannot get you on this ride. The ride takes place in Platform 9 and 3/4 as you take the Hogwarts Express to a different Park. If you have seen the movies, you know what your Carriage looks like and you get put into a closed compartment. Both the door and windows have computer screens in them and they projects sounds and scenes that make you feel like you're part of the universe. I won't say what they are about but it is pretty magical and both directions has their own Journey. If you have a little extra money to spare, get the park hopper so you could enjoy this ride. read more

The station on this side isn't nearly as exciting as Kings Cross, but c'mon... Hogsmeade is a small wizarding community, not London! There are still some things to see, and you'll be saving yourself a lot of walking to get to Diagon Alley. Grab a butter beer, take a ride, and enjoy. You'll see some different things going this way, so it's worth riding at least once. read more

Make sure you ride this both ways! It's a different experience each time. The attention to detail in the train cars is excellent. You really do feel like you're on an old train where people used to travel in comfort. There's action going on all around you. Make sure you watch the "window" and the door. This is also a MUCH faster way to hop between the two parks than walking all the way around. If you're a huge HP fan, make sure you get the 2-park pass so that you don't miss this! read more

I love this so much!! It's more fun going to Hogsmeade than going to London (yes they are different experiences), but both were a fun way to get between parks. Going to Hogsmeade has a little bit of adventure to it (as we all know, getting to Hogwarts was sometimes its own adventure for Harry while going home was always calm) while to trip to London is just fun. You are going between parks here so you'll need your tickets again. read more

It's charming Universal made something like this to get you between Harry Potter attractions since they built it in two parks. However, having done it once from each direction I have no need to do it again. You're probably well aware the window of your train car displays scenery from London to Hogsmeade and vice versa. If you're not a fan I'm not sure why you waited in line but this ride veritably won't do much for you. Ultimately it's a convenient way to get between the parks. You are probably also well aware you need admission to both parks to ride Hogwarts Express. If you're pondering whether it's worth it ... I don't know. Would I ever need to ride it again? Having read all the books and seen all the movies I feel comfortable saying "nope." The wait is much more comfortable from London to Hogsmeade where the line seems to get the benefit of some AC. Leaving Hogwarts to go back "home" to London is as dreadful as it was every year for Harry. There's no miserable guardians waiting to share their disdain and disgust with you, there's just a dreadful wait where you stare at each other with disdain and become disgusted by the smell of sweat and exhaustion around and on read more

honestly, i don't know if i should call this a universal studios ride, or a magical train ride into the world of harry potter! the line is really long, so if you are staying at a universal orlando resort or hotel, you get fast pass passes, USE THEM! the fast pass cut the line maybe 30-60 min shorter for me, we went to kings cross at diagonal alley, and went back to hogsmeade the windows give you a look into the train ride that the students take to go to hogwarts and it is so amazing! read more

This doesn't have much to offer if you're coming from Hogwarts to Diagon Alley. Apparently if you go the other way, you can hit up Platform 9 3/4. read more

This look similar to the movies, so that made it that much better for me to see it. Seeing Harry's owl and all the luggage was quite imaginitive too. Plus havingthe 9 3/4 sign posted as it did in the movie was another great thing to see. read more

Hogwart Express is cool ride to experience to see the make believe London HP. Its nice inside on train cabins and see the animated trailer of HP. Cons- its a very short ride(2min) from park to park. We lucky that we did not wait in line. You have to pay extra $50 to get the 2 day parkhopper-and i dont think its worth $50pp. You can easily go to the other park the next day. For famiky of 4- it wasnt worth spending $50 just to hop coz we only spend one park at a time/day. A little over rated in my opinion. Its only worth $20!!!!! We enjoy the rest of HP rides! read more

Hogwarts Express - Train ride - Amusement Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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While the train is moving you have a 'show' to look at. A 3D version through the windows and a shadow version through the frosted glass doors. It's a lot of fun and makes you feel like you are really on the train for Hogwarts. read more

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This is one of the must go on rides. It is just a path train from one park to another but they made it in to a ride and that was brilliant! Was a fun experience! read more

Hogwarts Express - Awesome! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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My #4 ride out of my top five rides between both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks: Hogwarts Express. AUTHENTIC. I was staying with a British friend, who grew up in London and she loved the London station near Diagon. Every detail to the stations are amazing. The ride in between is really fun. The only down side is that at no point in the day was the line shorter than 25-40 minutes... and you are crammed 8 to a car - as most folks cant do an inner-park walks between Universal and Islands. On your way to Hogsmeade you see less of the city and more of the country, and as you leave Hogwarts you see completely different things. I am trying to avoid spoilers, but when you turn the bend and see Hogwarts Castle for the first time... Even at nearly 30 years old, I teared up just from the sheer excitement. If you are a fan of the books or the movies it is overwhelming. Some folks may not appreciate that different movie elements are represented..... but to the all around Potter fans... it's a dream come true! read more

The experience alone is worth the extra cost. There isn't much missing from the "ride" that is Hogwarts Express. I feel like we really dodged a bullet in regards to lines on our visit, since it was lightly raining there were basically zero lines everywhere. The distance we walked through the waiting area to get to the actual access area for the ride was shocking. If I had to wait hours to do all the fun rides I went on my reviews might. E seriously different. However, there were no lines! Getting on the train, hearing Harry, Hermine and Ron sneaking around and gazing out the window were just another plus for the whole Harry Potter experience! Like everything else Harry, the atmosphere for getting on and off the platform and getting into the train station from the London perspective was great! Do it! read more

Cool ride, its differnt each way so make sure u ride it both ways. It much cooler show on its way to hogsmead!

This is an excellent way to move between Isle of Adventure and Universal. There are ghosts that ride with you. Boo!