A Muggle’s Guide to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Tips, Tricks, & Recommendations

There is so much to eat and drink at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, it’s almost overwhelming. But before we dive into our recommendations, here are a few tips we have.

1. Eat outside normal mealtimes: To avoid the breakfast, lunch, or dinner rush, plan your meal times outside the normal times. This’ll save you time waiting in line and hunting down a seat.
2. Try All Six Types of Butterbeer: There’s cold, hot, frozen, ice cream, potted cream, and you can even get Butterbeer fudge—we say, try them all!

Now that we have those out of the way, let’s dive into our recommendations. And lucky for you, we have a list of recommendations we know you’ll love. We tried it all so we can tell you about the best of the best here 👇

The best way to immerse yourself into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is by getting on the rides. They do such a great job at making you feel like you’re alive and in the action. There really is nothing like it. And to make sure you make the most of your trip, here are some tips and tricks:

1. Take Advantage of Single-Rider Lines: If you visit during the busy season, use single-rider lines to cut down your wait time drastically for most rides.
2. Ride the Hogwarts Express Both Ways: Depending on what way you travel, Hogsmeade to Diagon or vice versa, you will have two separate experiences. So make sure to travel both ways.
3. Don’t Skip the Lines: There are a lot of details you won’t want to miss throughout the queues.
4. Check the Height Requirements: If you’re traveling with little ones, check the height requirements ahead of time and plan your day accordingly.
5. Pack Light to Avoid Using Lockers: You will need to put large items in a locker to ride most rides, so plan ahead and skip the backpack if you can.3

As if there wasn’t enough entertainment, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter also offers incredible shows! From singing to ceremonies, they truly thought of it all. Here is a list of our favorite ones.

Hogsmeade

1. Send a Letter from Owl Post: You can visit Owl Post to purchase themed stationery and writing supplies, but you can also mail a letter or postcard from this location.
2. Watch Both of the Live Shows: Hear the musical stylings of the Frog Choir and don’t miss the Triwizard Spirit Rally.
3. Don’t Miss The Nighttime Lights: On select nights, end your day watching the light show on Hogwarts Castle with the Sorting Hat!

Diagon Alley

1. Don’t Pass Knockturn Alley: Hidden in Diagon Alley, visit Knockturn Alley and use your wand magic to watch the Shrunken Heads sing and talk.
2. Visit the Purple Knight Bus: Walk outside of Diagon Alley to speak with the Knight Bus Conductor and Shrunken Head.
3. Watch Both of the Live Shows: Groove to the tunes of Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
4. Call the Ministry of Magic: Visit the red phone booth outside of Diagon Alley and Dial MAGIC (62442) to call the Ministry of Magic.

When visiting Harry Potter World Orlando, whether it be for the first time or the hundredth time, you’re not allowed to leave without doing a little shopping. And there are a variety of note-worthy shops in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Here are a few you should add to your must-visit list.

Hogsmeade

1. Get Your Quidditch Equipment: Visit Dervish and Banges for all your Quidditch needs like Golden Snitches and brooms.
2. Get a Sweet Treat: Visit the popular Honeydukes for Acid Pops, Exploding Bonbons, and even Chocolate Frogs.

Diagon Alley

1. Visit Gringotts Money Exchange: The goblin banker can help you exchange muggle currency for authentic Gringotts banknotes that can be used while shopping.
2. Get an Interactive Wand: Visit Ollivanders Wand Shop at the beginning of your trip to take advantage of all the magical details throughout the park.
3. Create a Love Potion: Check out all the quirky things in Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes like the Love Potion you can actually drink.
4. Get a Sweet Treat: Stop by Sugarplum’s Sweetshop to get all your wizarding sweets like fudge and even Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans.

No trip to the theme parks is complete without some photo ops to spruce up your Instagram feed. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has so many amazing photo locations, you’re not going to want to put your phone down. Above are some of our favorite places for photos. If you snap a pic at one of these spots, make sure to tag us @StuffToDoInOrlando.