Universal Studios Florida + Islands of Adventure | Diagon Alley + Hogsmeade | All the Magic in One Day
Ready to feel like you’ve stepped straight into the Harry Potter movies? This magical guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make the most of your visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort in 1 DAY! From sipping Butterbeer in Diagon Alley and riding the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade to admiring the majestic Hogwarts castle, I’ve designed this guide to help you live out your wizarding dreams and make the most of your park time. Let’s start the magic!
🪄 Before You Go: What to Know
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is spread across two parks: Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida and Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure. There’s also a third land, Ministry of Magic, coming to Epic Universe, but we’ll save that for another day (it deserves a whole day to explore!).
If you’re focused just on Harry Potter attractions, you can explore both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade in one day if you plan well!
🎟 Do You Need a Park-to-Park Ticket?
Yes! If you want the complete Wizarding World experience, a Park-to-Park ticket is a MUST. It’s the only way to ride the Hogwarts Express, which travels between Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.
✨ Pro tip: The experience is different in each direction so ride it both ways if you can!
⚡️Should You Get an Express Pass?
I recommend it, but depending on your travel dates, budget, and how patient you are in lines maybe you could go without it if you want to risk.
We visited in September and rode everything without the Express Pass, but we did wait about 90 minutes for the Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure. We also used the Single Rider lines which is much quicker, but you won’t be paired with your favorite person.
⏰ Arrive Early!
Especially if you have Early Park Admission (available for guests staying at any Universal hotel). It makes a huge difference and lets you get to popular rides before the crowds.
👉 Where to Stay at Universal Orlando: Guide to All Resort Hotels
📱 Don’t Forget the Universal Orlando App
Download the app before your visit! It’s super useful for checking wait times, mobile ordering food and finding interactive spell-casting spots around the parks.
🧙♂️ Start Your Day at Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida
Enter through the streets of London, past the Knight Bus, and look for the unassuming Leaky Cauldron entrance which is your portal to Diagon Alley.
🌟 Fan Fact: Diagon Alley is a wizarding alley full of shops and restaurants and it’s also the place where all of the Hogwarts students go to buy things from their school supply list.
✨ TIP: If you have some time, go ahead and take some photos with the Knight Bus before it gets too crowded. You can also look inside the bus through the windows and see curtains, beds, an ornate chandelier and occasionally talk to the talkative shrunken head bus conductor.
🍳 Have Breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron
Start your day having breakfast at the Leaky Caldron, a grubby-looking pub and inn that’s also the entrance to Diagon Alley in the movies. They serve Traditional British Breakfast, American breakfast, pancake breakfast, or Oatmeal, yogurt and fruits and Kids menu. Check out the breakfast menu here.
✨ TIP: Not a breakfast person or already ate at the hotel? No problem! Come back here for lunch for some delicious Fish & Chips and other British dishes!
🎢 Ride: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Head deep into the vaults of Gringotts Bank on this thrilling multi-dimensional and multi-sensory ride that takes you underground through the subterranean vaults, where you will meet Harry, Ron, and Hermione and see Voldemort, Bellatrix and other creatures. This next-gen thrill ride mixes some of the coolest tech out there: think 360° themed sets, 4K animation, mind-blowing 3D projections, and even live special effects all working together to totally immerse you in the action.
🌟FUN FACT: The massive fire-breathing dragon on top of the bank blasts out flames every few minutes that reach temperatures of 3,560°F. 🔥
📦 Lockers are available and free! Use your park ticket to open/close.
💸 Exchange Real Money for Wizard Money
Stop by the Gringotts Money Exchange to get Gringotts bank notes ($10 or $20) that can be used to shop at select stores around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. You can convert unused wizard money back to USD at Guest Services.
🍺 Try Butterbeer at The Fountain of Fair Fortune
Butterbeer is a popular wizarding beverage in the Harry Potter world. This sweet and non-alcoholic drink tastes like butterscotch cream soda and shortbread. Try it regular or frozen (personal favorite!) or the soft serve ice cream. (Check out prices and menu here). Other places where you can find it: The Hopping Pot and Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and at Hog’s Head and Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
Also, don’t miss trying the Gilly Water with the fun “potion” mix ins. Choose from: Fire Protection Potion (fruit punch), Babbling Beverage (berry), Draught of Peace (lemon) or Elixir to Induce Euphoria (pineapple & green apple). Just add your chosen flavor to the bottle of Gilly Water and feel like a real Hogwarts student!
🛍 Go Shopping in Diagon Alley
Use your Gringotts money to shop around Diagon Alley! Visit:
- Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes: A colorful joke shop full of magical mischief, like Pygmy Puffs, Skiving Snackboxes, and more!
- Sugarplum’s Sweetshop: Grab some wizarding sweets like Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans, and Cauldron Cakes.
- Quality Quidditch Supplies: Stock up on brooms, jerseys, and gear to support your favorite Quidditch team.
- Madam Malkin’s Robes For All Occasions:Find Hogwarts robes, scarves, and even Hermione’s Yule Ball gown!
- Scribbulus: A dreamy spot for writers with quills, parchment, notebooks, and magical stationery.
- Shutterbutton’s: Make a moving portrait (just like in the films!) and take home a magical photo album.
✨ Tip: Staying at a Universal hotel? You can have your purchases sent to your room! No need to carry them around!
👉 READ MORE: Where to Stay at Universal Orlando: Guide to All Resort Hotels
🪄Interactive activities throughout Diagon allley
You can purchase an interactive wand at Ollivanders or Wands by Gregorovitch, or order one online in advance. These special wands work throughout both parks at designated spots in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Just look for the golden medallions on the ground with a spell name and motion where you wave your wand, say the spell, and watch the magic happen!
🎭 Catch a Live Show
If you enjoy singing and dancing shows or just want to take a little break, go watch the The Tales of Beedle the Bard (a puppet/storytelling show) and/or Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees (musical performance). Use the Universal app to check showtimes.
🍽 Have Lunch at The Leaky Cauldron
The Leaky Cauldron has great Fish & Chips and other British dishes like Beef, Lamb & Guinness Stew, Toad in the Hole, Cottage Pie, and Bangers & Mash and they also serve sandwiches, kids menu, and Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert as well as Butterbeer Cream Puff. Check out the menu here.
🍦 Cool Off at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour
Nothing better to beat Florida’s heat and humidity then getting an ice cream at the Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour! It doesn’t matter if you’re a wizard or a muggle, you’ll want to try some of their fantastic flavors that includes: Butterbeer, Banana, Chocolate, Granny Smith, Mint, Pistachio, Vanilla, Orange Marmalade, Toffee, Toffee Apple and Strawberries & Cream.
🧃 Try Pumpkin Juice at The Hopping Pot
The Hopping Pot is a walk-up counter where you can cool off with a variety of drinks including Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, Tongue Tying Lemon Squash, Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice, Peachtree Fizzing Tea, Fishy Green Ale and more. Check out the menu here.
Head back to London (aka outside of Diagon Alley area)
☎ Take a Photo with the London Phone Booth
The famous London telephone is outside near King’s Cross Station. If you dial 62442 you will be “calling” the Ministry of Magic. The number is written on the telephone so you don’t need to memorize it.
🚌 Don’t Miss the Knight Bus
Talk to the conductor and the shrunken head, they’ll actually talk back! You can also peek inside the bus.
🌟 FUN FACT: this is one of the actual movie props used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
🚂 Take the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade
Head into King’s Cross Station in London, walk through the magical wall to Platform 9 ¾, and board the Hogwarts Express. You’ll see scenic views and familiar characters during your journey. The ride takes about 5 minutes and instead of real windows there are screens so you’ll feel like you in the movie!
🎫 Don’t forget: You need a Park-to-Park ticket to ride!
🌟FUN FACT: There are actually two trains and they’re part of a funicular system (basically a fancy cable car setup!). Both trains are connected to the same cable, leaving their stations at the exact same time and passing each other halfway through the ride. But here’s the twist: you’d never notice it because there are no real windows! Pretty cool, right?
___________________________________________________________________________
🏰 Welcome to Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure
Now that you’ve arrived at Hogsmeade, you’re ready to explore even more wizarding wonders, including the majestic Hogwarts Castle, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and more!
🎢 Ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
If you love coasters, DO NOT MISS THIS. It’s one of my favorite rides! You can choose to sit in the motorbike (like Hagrid) or the sidecar (like Harry). Both are fun! It’s smooth, fast, and full of surprises.
🌟FUN FACT: This coaster has the most launches of any roller coaster in the world with 7 total launches! It’s also the first coaster in the U.S. to feature a free-fall vertical drop and it’s the longest roller coaster in Florida, measuring nearly a mile in length (5,053 feet).
📸 Take pictures in front of the majestic Hogwarts Castle
Dream picture yay or nay? Definitely YAY! There are plenty of dreamy spots to snap a castle pic, and one of my favorites is the bridge that leads to Jurassic Park, that’s where I took the photos above! Just a heads up: this bridge is closed at night during the castle projection show, so be sure to get your shots earlier in the day!
🎢 Ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
This motion simulator is located inside Hogwarts Castle. You’ll soar above the castle grounds and join Harry and his friends on a thrilling adventure through familiar scenes and creatures. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind ride!
✨ TIP: The queue takes you through some of the most iconic rooms in Hogwarts like Dumbledore’s office and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Even if you’re not riding, you can do a castle tour to experience it!
🛍 Go shopping around Hogsmeade
Use your Gringotts money to shop around Hogsmade! There are lots of different shops with unique souvenirs! The shops in Hogmeade are:
- Dervish and Banges: Hogwarts robes, house gear and fun wizarding gadgets.
- Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods: Hogwarts-themed merch, Dark Arts items, and collectibles.
- Honeydukes: A colorful candy shop with Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and other magical sweets.
- Owl Post: Mail letters with a Hogsmeade postmark and buy owl-themed stationery and plush owls.
- Ollivanders Wand Shop: Watch a wand choose a wizard and shop for interactive wands that work with the park’s spell spots.
🎢 Ride Flight of the Hippogriff
This is a kid friendly ride and it’s pretty quick! You’ll have a nice view of the castle and Hogsmade from it.
Have time to spare? Ride the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley! It’s a different experience!
Ride the Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley from Hosmade. It’s a different experience and the film that is played on the screen/window is also different. If you have time to spare I recommend you doing it.
If you do go back to Diagon Alley…
If you decide to go back to Diagon Alley, go ride the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts again or maybe explore other parts of the park outside the Harry Potter world. Some of the BEST RIDES that you CAN’T MISS at Universal Studios are: Revenge of the Mummy and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit! And a show/ride that I super recommend is The Bourne Stuntacular! It’s a unique live show, with special effects that makes you feel like you’re in the Bourne movie! Check your Universal app for show times.
Get back to Universal’s Islands of Adventure for the castle show
To get back to Universal’s Islands of Adventure you can either take the Hogwarts Express again or walk through City Walk.
🍽️ Have dinner at the Three Broomsticks restaurant in Hogsmaede
The Three Broomsticks is a rustic tavern that serves tasty British fare including ‘The Great Feast’, Fish And Chips, Shepherd’s Pie, Beef Pasties, Turkey Legs, and fresh vegetables. Check out the menu here.
🏰 Finish the night with the Hogwarts Castle projection show
This spectacle of lights and musics is a must see in Hogsmade! Some areas of the park will close earlier because of the projection show that also includes some fireworks. The show takes less than 10 minutes and it’s worth watching it at least once! They did a very good job with this one.
You can also watch it here: The Nighttime Lights At Hogwarts™ Castle COMPLETE IN 4K IGTV
Final Thoughts
A day at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is nothing short of magical. Every corner is packed with immersive details that will make you feel like you’ve stepped right into the books and movies. While one day is enough to experience the highlights, you’ll definitely leave wanting more! Every visit brings something new to discover.
I hope this guide helped you plan the ultimate Harry Potter day at Universal Orlando. If you’ve been before, let me know your favorite moments or if it’s your first time, I’m so excited for you! ✨