Oh, how I love Hogsmeade at the holidays! The roofs are always snow-capped, but this time of year the buildings are swathed in festive garlands, and a snow wizard and his owl stand guard over Hogwarts at the end of the lane. It’s just plain magical.
It’s also a mob scene.
You can wander through Universal’s Islands of Adventure thinking, “Wow, there’s nobody here! This is great!” And then, when you arrive at the Wizarding World — BAM. Wall-to-wall, elbow-to-elbow people. And that’s before they start to converge on Hogwarts to watch the holiday light show projected on the castle.
It’s enough to keep me away from Universal Orlando altogether, even if I have to miss my favorite season.
But this year we found a nifty solution: Universal’s Holiday Tour.
A six-hour experience, the tour hits all the big holiday experiences at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure without any crowds, and at a reasonable price (starting at $69.99 per person, depending on the day, and not including a park ticket). I’ll tell you a bit about our experience, without spoiling all the surprises.
We arrived early for check-in, which starts a little after 4 p.m. We had just enough time to visit the holiday tribute store before returning to a reserved area to watch Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s balloons. The viewing area is in front of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. It’s not a bad view, but if you’re an annual passholder, you’ll probably get a better view in the AP area.
After the parade, our party joined two other families in a small group with a lovely tour guide — one of dozens of groups experiencing the tour at the same time. While there were hundreds of people on the tour, we rotated through most of the experiences, so we weren’t all together at the same time.
We were on a well-organized schedule that included reserved seating for the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular, a meet-and-greet with the Grinch with hot cocoa and cookies, and a visit with Santa Claus. There was a little waiting between some of the experiences, but those gave us an opportunity to explore the park’s New York section.
The most surprising part of the night may have been the Q&A with the Whos (you know, the ones from Whoville). I went in expecting a Q&A with the actors, but that was not at all what happened. It’s quite a delightful show—and yes, they will answer questions you submit earlier in the night. It’s a little scripted, a little improv, and a lot entertaining.
The evening ends at Hogsmeade, where we had half an hour or so to visit a couple of shops and grab a warm butterbeer before gathering to see the holiday projections on the castle. And although the shops were crowded and the line for butterbeer was long, we got to see the projections and enjoy Hogsmeade without any of the crowding I so dread.
Our night ended by 11 p.m. when we were escorted out of an otherwise deserted park.
We left Universal tired and happy. The tour is a lovely experience, offering holiday festivities without the stress—and isn’t that all any of us want for Christmas?
If you go
Here are a few more things you’ll need to know if you’re interested in Universal’s Holiday Tour:
- Eating: Once the tour gets going at about 5:30, there is no opportunity to eat “real” food for dinner. I recommend eating a late lunch or grabbing a quick bite between check-in and the parade. Otherwise, it’s all sugar, all the time.
- Shopping: Honeydukes and Dervish and Banges are both open once you get to Hogsmeade, but that’s about it. You can pick up a wand or robe at Hogsmeade, but don’t expect time to visit the holiday tribute store for an Earl the Squirrel souvenir.
- Rides: No rides are included on this tour.
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