Going to UO this Saturday...Update on Rope Drop?

[Mikelly1221]

Hi everyone! My family and I are going to UO this Saturday; we're staying offsite. I saw on the app that the parks open at 8am with early entry for resort guests at both parks at 7am.

We're obviously not eligible for early entry, but we do rope drop and plan to try to ride the Hagrid ride first. Usually, we're professional rope-droppers and know what we're doing but we haven't been to UO since the COVID outbreak.

Any pointers? Thanks!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You can enter the park at 7am, just not go on rides or enter Harry Potter areas if you aren't eligible for EE. You should be able to wait at the edge of Seuss Landing to be at the front of the non-EE rope drop crowd, for a reasonably short wait. Also should be able to get a virtual queue time for re-riding Hagrids if you keep an eye on the UO App.

 

[cfoxga]

Weekends have been very busy. Without EP, be prepared for long lines on a Saturday (>60 minutes) after 10am. In that case, virtual queues are your friend for Hagrid's as it will let you spend the morning doing other rides that will be long waits later (FJ, Gringott's, RRR, Hulk, Mummy, etc).

Being an hour late to Hagrid's means that there might be a decent sized queue before you get there. When we were there for Thanksgiving, they opened up the virtual queue tickets at 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm. Log into the app right at 8 am while in line at the parks and snag some times.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Does your offsite resort offer a shuttle?
Either way be prepared for a long line to enter parking garage due to spacing the cars and another long line to get temperature check. Plus security..
And Voodoo Donut line (haha)

 

[Mikelly1221]

Thank you everyone for the info! What time would be best to arrive at the parking garage to avoid that back up...is 6:30 too early, too late? We will be driving our car.

 

[jdrum3]

6:30 would be good if early park is at 7 again this weekend. Get a Hagrid virtual at 8am on the dot, that way if line is crazy when you are allowed back there, you have flexibility. Mummy also went virtual last Saturday. If you can snag a virtual for Hagrid, it's generally more pleasant. Get one around normal lunchtime and your wait will be minimal. I would recommend hitting either Spiderman, Hulk, Forbidden Journey, Mummy, or Gringott's at rope drop if any of those are high on your list especially if you can get a virtual for Hagrid.

 

[Mikelly1221]

Thank you everyone! We ended up arriving at the parking garage a little before 7am and walked right into IOA. We were stopped at the exit of Seuss Landing going towards the Lost Continent area because we didn't have early entry access. A little before 8 we were allowed to continue forward and were able to get in line for Hagrids before they shifted over to virtual only. We also were able to get a virtual spot in line, so we rode Hagrid's twice. It worked for us, but probably a more efficient use of our time would be to do other things while waiting for our Hagrid virtual time. It was all good though. It was very busy in both parks; we left around 2ish and both parks were at capacity.

Thank you again for the info!

 

[NoraRose]

Thank you everyone! We ended up arriving at the parking garage a little before 7am and walked right into IOA. We were stopped at the exit of Seuss Landing going towards the Lost Continent area because we didn't have early entry access. A little before 8 we were allowed to continue forward and were able to get in line for Hagrids before they shifted over to virtual only. We also were able to get a virtual spot in line, so we rode Hagrid's twice. It worked for us, but probably a more efficient use of our time would be to do other things while waiting for our Hagrid virtual time. It was all good though. It was very busy in both parks; we left around 2ish and both parks were at capacity.

Thank you again for the info!

Were there others like yourselves, who didn’t have early access, but got to get in line to Hagrid? I’ll be going solo, and not sure if I’ll be too embarrassed to try your strategy alone!

 

[Mikelly1221]

Were there others like yourselves, who didn’t have early access, but got to get in line to Hagrid? I’ll be going solo, and not sure if I’ll be too embarrassed to try your strategy alone!

Yes, there definitely were others. The vast majority of people were early entry people, so we just moved to the sidewalk while the early entry crowd walked in. We just sat down and waited until it was our turn.

As it got closer to time for the main park opening, more non-early entry people began arriving. I definitely think you could go and no one would think twice about you waiting.

When we were finally allowed in and made the walk to Hagrid, we were actually in line walking through the line, when we saw the line switch over to "virtual only". Apparently right at opening you can get in line without having a virtual pass, but that window is very short. That's what we did. Also, we did not have to stop for a locker as my husband didn't ride and held our bags. I don't know if stopping for a locker would have caused us to miss the short window.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Apparently right at opening you can get in line without having a virtual pass, but that window is very short. ... I don't know if stopping for a locker would have caused us to miss the short window.

No, because the locker area comes after you are already in the queue.