Whether you are a fan of Harry Potter or not you can appreciate the work the went into creating the Hogwarts Express train. Located within Universal Studios Orlando you can travel on the train between The main park and Islands of Adventure.
You will need to have the Park 2 Park admission in order to ride the train since you are entering the other park. They scan your ticket before you can enter the station, if you want to upgrade your 1 park ticket there is someone to help you do that just before you enter on both sides.
You can take the train to either park but I think the proper way is to start in Universal Studios at the Kings Cross station and ride over to Hogsmeade station in Islands of Adventure where Hogwarts is. If you rented a stroller from the park you leave it here and pick up a new one at the exit of the station in Hogsmeade.
Just like you would find at the real Kings Cross station they have snacks for purchase including my favorite British candy Bounty bar.
Before heading to the platform you get to walk between platforms 9 and 10 just like in the story. My girls loved this part, it was very magical. The corridor here that leads to the platform was narrow and we had to fold up our double stroller to fit through.
Once you are at platform 9 3/4 the workers will tell you which line to stand in. During the busier times your group may be seated with others just so they can get as many people through as possible.
There are no real windows on the train so if you don’t do well with small spaces or get motion sickness easily you may want to skip riding the train. During the ride the window has a video that makes you feel like you are traveling between London and Hogwarts.
You should ride each way at least once as the ride is different each way. Make sure you look at both the window and the doors as things are happening on both.
