Hogwarts Express Photos
You might also consider
More like Hogwarts Express
Recommended Reviews - Hogwarts Express
Start your review...
Reviews With Photos
Hogwarts Express was fun. While there are four Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter around the world (Universal: Orlando, Hollywood, Osaka, Beijing), only Universal Orlando Resort has Hogwarts Express. It opened on July 8, 2014, coinciding with the opening of Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. In Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express is the steam locomotive that transports passengers between King's Cross Station in London and Hogsmeade Station in the village of Hogsmeade. What's cool about Hogwarts Express at Universal is it's actually a real-life train that physically transports you between King's Cross Station in the London area of Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade Station in Hogsmeade at Universal Islands of Adventure. In order to take full advantage of Hogwarts Express at Universal, you have to buy passes to both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. We purchased the "2-Park 1-Day Park-to-Park Dated Adult" for $194.00 per person plus the "2PK Express" for $149.99 per person. $343.99 per person total. Those gave us all-day access to Universal Studios Florida (King's Cross Station) and Universal Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade Station) and the 2-Park Universal Express Pass for express ride access (fast pass). The Express Pass saved us a lot of time. It enabled us to see and do more things. Specifically, it saved us a significant amount of time at King's Cross Station. We boarded the Hogwarts Express much faster than those without the Express Pass. Therefore, I think it's worth the extra cost. During our visit, my wife and friends rode the Hogwarts Express in both directions: (1) from Hogsmeade Station to King's Cross Station and (2) from King's Cross Station to Hogsmeade Station. I was only able to join them for the second segment, from King's Cross Station to Hogsmeade Station. My wife told me that I rode the better of the two segments. Just like in the movies, at King's Cross Station, we walked through a brick wall to get to the train station's hidden platform, Platform 9¾. The vanishing effect was cool. Here's a video that our friend shot of four of us going through: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hogwarts-express-orlando?select_video=hMDf8tLwjluH6gc2MF7UKA The outside of the train looked just like the movies. Our group of five shared a roomette (compartment) inside the train with another group; I think it was three other people. We sat across from the other group. The window to the outside and the window to the inside of the train were both video screens, simulating the outside and inside worlds as we left London and made our way through the English countryside. Along the way, characters from the series appear and hijinks ensue. The ride lasted about five minutes. While the roomette felt a bit cramped, overall, I thought Universal did a good job capturing what it must be like to experience Hogwarts Express in real life. I recommend it.
The magical locomotive that transports passengers from London King's Cross Station at Universal Studios Florida to Hogsmeade Station at Universal Island of Adventure side to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Take a 5 minute ride to see the countryside of the Wizarding World and get from one side of the part to the other.
I for real though this was going to be like the Disney train at Magic Kingdom that just took you to one place to another with not much to see. Boy, was I wrong!! This was a for real adventure. It was so cool. I literally felt like I was in my own private train car and we were passing all the Harry Potter stuff along the way. Now I've never read the books or saw the movies, so I certainly don't know much when it comes to Harry Potter, but I know this was one awesome experience and I can only imagine how off the charts awesome it is for Harry Potter fans. We went from Universal to Islands and I've heard the ride is different going from Islands to Universal. I intend on finding out about that very soon! It is wonderful they put this in place to go park-to-park. It use to be such a pain to have to go to the front of the Park and walk through CityWalk just to get to Islands or vice versa. This is so very convenient. We did wait about 25 minutes, but it would have probably taken longer than that to walk to Islands and then have to go through the front gates again with our tickets. So I'm all for this! Yay Universal!
The Hogwarts Express was definitely our longest wait when I visited Universal Florida with my mom and stepdad last month (1-1.5 hours). But it's a must do, right? How fun (and a dream!!!) to wait for a train to take you to Hogwarts?! The line was slow and very long, so I'd watch the app and try to pick the best timing based on waits. We rode it from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade (I know some people ride it both ways since it's different), and it was fun. You sit in your cabin and there are screens on both sides of the cabin (the window and the door to the hall of the train). Just FYI you have to have a dual park pass (Universal + Islands of Adventure) to take the Hogwarts Express; to save money, we paid for one day with the dual park and one day for a single park. Worth it, but be prepared for a wait!
Loved the Hogwarts Express! I like that it's a little journey kind of ride in and of itself in addition to transporting you from one side of Harry Potter World to the other! It truly gives you the feel of riding the train and is a mini adventure in and of itself. I actually wish the journey was longer so you could just enjoy it all a bit more! My favorite thing about the Hogwarts Express is that it doesn't "turn around," it just goes forward (facing Hogsmeade) and then basically backs up its booty into King's Cross Station at Diagon Alley. Since we were getting on the train at Diagon Alley, this was probably the most hilarious sight to see as the train came back to our station to pick us up. Loved everything about the Hogwarts Express!
Quick ride to get from one side of Universal to the other - however, one must have their own park 2 park pass (part of the ticket if you plan to visit both parks in a day) to ride the Hogwarts Express train. Tickets are scanned upon entry. Lines can be long to wait for the train but the ride itself is only 5 minutes and passengers must remain seated in their car and watch the animation. Saves the 15-20 minute walk from side of Universal to the other side. This is for all the Harry Potter fans but anyone can enjoy... if the wait is too long, just save yourself the time and just walk.
Universal Studios (Florida) THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER - Diagon Alley When we walked through the brick wall at King's Cross Station in London to Platform 9-3/4 to queue up for the train ride we didn't know that there was another part of the resort that it will drop us off to, which is another park!It dropped us off at Hogsmeade Station in Universal's Islands of Adventure. The resort is a 2-park resort and one must have a Park-to-Park admission ticket, it's the only way a guest can ride the Hogwarts Express between parks. Inside the train was cool. Each compartment held 8 people. This is an actual train that moves but we can't see the outside. Instead the windows had some type of a video monitor showing rolling scenes from the movie. The trip was about 4-mins long. Sorry, I cannot relate to the movie as I am ashamed to say that I do not follow the Potter World but my daughter is a big fan. There were some odd moments aboard the slowly moving train where the lights flickered, and somewhat scary events can be heard taking place. Did that happen in the movie? Didn't expect all that but it was a nice touch. The Hogwarts Express takes guests on two very different journeys, so this is one ride that Potter fans will definitely want to board twice. Unfortunately for us though we only went one way and our interests took us to a different path inside the park. Cool experience... Review #1584
A realistic red train that brings you from and to Islands of Adventures and Universal Studios. The steam bellows out of the train, the employees were dressed like train conductors. I really felt like I was going to Hogwarts. Once you're in the train station, you wait in a line that looks like you're in an actual train station. You get up to platform 9 3/4 and wait to get on the magical train. The cabin seats about 6 grown adults. I've never been in a train with cabins but I feel like this was realistic. The window is a screen of the train riding through the countryside. You'll see an owl and Hagrid fly by. The doors illuminates with the shadows of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. (And a dementor). It's truly a fun and peaceful ride and you should ride both directions.
The last time I was at the park they only had the Islands of Adventure Hogsmeade side open. There was a replica of the train that you could take pictures with but it was not on a track. With the expansion of the Wizarding World into the Universal side of the park, this became one of the rides I was most interested in experiencing. You can ride Hogwarts Express as long as you have purchased a two park pass. On the night we visited our after hours ticket for the Orlando Informer Meetup provided access to the Wizarding World in both parks so we were able to ride the train. You enter the train station at Kings Cross Station which is a quarter scale replica of the real station in London. On the wall are colorful posters for tourist destinations in London. Luggage is artfully stacked waiting to be loaded on the train for the students trip to Hogwarts. At the platform for 9 3/4 it looks like the people ahead of you are walking through a wall as described in the books. It uses the same Pepper's Ghost illusion that makes the ghosts dance in the banquet hall in the haunted mansion in Disney world. On the night we visited we rode the train both ways. You sit in a railway car that looks like the one in movies. On one side you have a screen that shows scenes and characters as you travel. On the hallway side of the car shadows of characters and the dementors pass by your closed door. At one point chocolate frogs escaped from their trolley cart and adhered themselves to our door. You can hear characters speak as they go past. Most of them sounded great except for Hermione whose voice sounded nothing like Emma Watson. The scenes and shadows were very entertaining. There is always something to look at at during the duration of the short ride. What you see and hear depends on which direction you are traveling. It changes depending on whether you are leaving Kings Cross station for Hogsmeade or going from Hogsmeade back to Kings Cross Station. If you are a Harry Potter fan you will love this ride. Like so much in the Wizarding World, great attention was paid to the details. It was quite brilliant of Universal to place the Wizarding World between the two parks in order to push people into purchasing the more expensive multi park pass. This ride allows you to stay immersed in the Wizarding world while connecting between the two parks.
The Hogwarts Express is pretty much the coolest way ever invented to get from one park to another. You can take this train from Diagon Alley (Kings Cross Station) in Universal Studios over to Hogsmeade (Hogsmeade Station) in Islands of Adventure & vice versa. While on the train, you get an amazing little show! Be sure to watch both sides while you're in your compartment. And also be sure to take it in both directions from park to park as the show is slightly different. You have to have park to park admission at Universal to get into the train stations. The ride itself is less than 5 minutes but sometimes the wait can get very long...2 hours while I was there! The earlier you ride this train, the better. I found riding right at 9am when the park opens is best, as with most rides at Universal. So...get to Diagon Alley during the first hour the park is open for early admission, then ride the train as soon as it opens one hour later with the rest of the parks. As with most rides, I don't want to ruin it for you but just know you must make this a "Must Do" while at Universal.
11 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
12 years ago
12 years ago
Oh I loved Hogsmeade Station! I absolutely loved the train, the station and the props. They had old school suitcases from like the 1940s, staged throughout the station. They even had one of those old school water fountains. I noticed the light fixtures and the architecture throughout. It was all pretty neat, I must say. They did an excellent job. Definitely worth checking out at least once. read more
11 years ago
The show is different depending on which way you go! You must have a park hopper pass to ride. Wait times can be bad at certain times but ease up. Don't wait longer than 15 minutes. read more
7 years ago
8 years ago
12 years ago
I won't spoil what happens on the ride, but will say they have thought of every last delightful detail. It's really a treat. read more
10 years ago
A great way to travel from island of adventure to universal studios. The line moves very quickly and there is a 3D show for you while your in the train. read more
10 years ago
12 years ago
I wouldn't label this as a "ride" but definitely a must see for a Harry potter fan ... I would make sure to take it both ways from kings cross to Hogsmeade and then from Hogsmeade to kings cross... As there was two story lines which I did not expect. kings cross station is also beautiful! And make sure to pay attention when people are entering station 9 3/4! read more
8 years ago
7 years ago
Really cool train, but the wait time and line is ridiculously long. I just rode it once to have the experience. The time it took for me to get on the train, I could have easily just walked over to Island of Adventure. Not worth it after the first ride to go to and from each park. It took 60 minutes to get to the train and the ride to Island of Adventure was 4 minutes. :/ There was a mini video on the screen while we were moving. It made it seem as though we were actually travelling to Hogswart, which was cool; but as I've mentioned, not something you want to do every single time you want to travel between parks. read more
9 years ago
10 years ago
12 years ago
11 years ago
10 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
8 years ago
12 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
10 years ago
11 years ago
More info about Hogwarts Express
Ask the Community - Hogwarts Express
Review Highlights - Hogwarts Express
You might also consider
Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
3 reviews that are not currently recommended
The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.
2 years ago
11 years ago
