Hagrid’s - standby or virtual line?

[abnihon]

What is the best strategy?
Also I looked today and before park opened at 8am Hagrid’s was on virtual line.
Does that mean it never had a standby?
Or can it have both for awhile?
We’re going Tuesday April 6th so will still be pretty busy.
It’s annoying not knowing what to expect and if we want to plan to run to Hagrid’s first or start in Studios in Diagon Alley (which is my preference from a storyline perspective)

If there is standby when will they let us into the park, and when we can put things in lockers and line up for ride?

Will they be able to tell us before we enter IoA if Hagrid’s has a standby that day?

 

[Makmak]

We are passholders and go often. Hagrids is on virtual line at busy times, so as you noticed you’ll see on the app beforehand. I have gotten a time on the bus and near the entrance so you don’t have to be in the park just near it. It’s “either or” meaning they run virtual OR standby but not both. But, sometimes they start virtual line then stop it. For example we had a time of 1:00 and showed up to be told “we went off virtual because we aren’t busy so you have to wait standby” I had svreenshotted my return time (bc it will disappear from the app if they stop it) so I showed it and they let us go in a short que. if I had not we would be stuck in the hour long wait. I’m not sure if you are on property but if you are the resort guests get in early as do some passholders. You can check the website regarding what the early entry is. The early entry is key to getting multiple rides in, if you qualify.

 

[abnihon]

Thank you!
Forgot to mention, not staying on site this time.. and not getting express pass. So I know we’ll be limited in what we can do.
But I was told still good to line up early even without early entry?
Do virtual lines open right at opening time or a few min before?

I mostly want to do the Harry Potter stuff and a few other rides.
I’ll keep checking over the next few weeks to see what they do with Hagrids and virtual line over spring break.
If it’s only virtual then I would change my plan and start the day with Diagon Alley (maybe getting a ride on Mummy in first before line gets crazy there).
I like the idea of starting in Diagon Alley from a storyline perspective. Then we could ride Hogwarts Express to IoA and do everything we want there and then maybe back to Universal (I want to ride ET and that line doesn’t seem bad later in the day)

 

[Makmak]

The virtual line starts exactly at official park open. So be clicking right away
The early entry starts exactly at posted time. Non early entry people could line up I suppose but the early entry crown can be HUGE and the lines are clogged after actual park open.

 

[Makmak]

One other suggestion, some people get a “dummy” reservation to get early entry or express pass. The new resorts in low tier go for as little 100$ a night and you would get early entry day of check in AND day of check out. You’d just need to “check in” and get your room keys for early entry. I know some do this at top tier hotels for express as well. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

 

[abnihon]

I looked into that but with spring break prices are crazy. Over $200 for the low tier and $600 for top tier!! No way!!
Regular entry is 8:00 that day which may be early enough for us coming from Disney. Lol.

 

[TreeFalls]

Thank you!
Forgot to mention, not staying on site this time.. and not getting express pass. So I know we’ll be limited in what we can do.
But I was told still good to line up early even without early entry?
Do virtual lines open right at opening time or a few min before?

I mostly want to do the Harry Potter stuff and a few other rides.
I’ll keep checking over the next few weeks to see what they do with Hagrids and virtual line over spring break.
If it’s only virtual then I would change my plan and start the day with Diagon Alley (maybe getting a ride on Mummy in first before line gets crazy there).
I like the idea of starting in Diagon Alley from a storyline perspective. Then we could ride Hogwarts Express to IoA and do everything we want there and then maybe back to Universal (I want to ride ET and that line doesn’t seem bad later in the day)

We were just there this past week and were able to get in hagrids virtual line every time we set an alarm on our phones and checked right away. (They posted at 11, 2, and 4, and also right at park opening on the more crowded days.) On mon, Tues, and wed this past week, they didn't turn the virtual line on until sometime after the park opened (but might not have been long after).

 

[shawthorne44]

For example we had a time of 1:00 and showed up to be told “we went off virtual because we aren’t busy so you have to wait standby” I had svreenshotted my return time (bc it will disappear from the app if they stop it) so I showed it and they let us go in a short que. if I had not we would be stuck in the hour long wait.

This is very helpful. We are going end of April, when they hopefully won't be so busy. I could totally see that happening to us. Particularly on the weekend when they will still be busyish.

 

[abnihon]

Looks like they opened Hagrid’s virtual line before 8am opening today and all were gone at 0756. That’s nuts. The inconsistencies drive me crazy. So I guess I have to be in place and obsessively checking from 0740?

 

[shawthorne44]

I noticed yesterday morning that Hagrid's had some spots left a few minutes after the hour and Jimmy Fallon ?!? had none. And Mummy wasn't on the list. In what planet is Jimmy Fallon preferred over Hagrid's

 

[abnihon]

I don’t get the Jimmy Fallon thing either. I haven’t ridden it - but since we have limited time I think we’re going to skip it.
Why is it always on virtual line?? I watched a video and I don’t get it.

 

[shawthorne44]

I don’t get the Jimmy Fallon thing either. I haven’t ridden it - but since we have limited time I think we’re going to skip it.
Why is it always on virtual line?? I watched a video and I don’t get it.

I rode it and don't get it either. I think you have to be a fan of his and/or the show to be interested. There seemed to be lots of inside jokes that I didn't get. Part of the show's queue is supposed to make you feel like you are waiting to go on the show (or something) so, for example, they have you wait in a green room. So that somewhat explains why the virtual line because waiting in a long line would spoil it. But why lots of people would want to ride it?

 

[abnihon]

Ok I decided to stay one night on-site...

So now I have a question about Hagrid’s and early admission.
If it’s a busy day and Hagrid’s will be on virtual line (which I assume it will be the week after Easter) will it have a standby during early park admission?

 

[JayhawkFans]

We were there today and did stand-by for Hagrid’s with a posted 90 min wait. Think it was about 8 am when we got in line. Line moved quick and we were off in less than an hour. Ride must have gone down shortly thereafter as Virtual Que kept saying “delayed” and we stopped by ride around 1:30 and they didn’t have an estimate of when/if ride would re-open today. Never checked back after so don’t know if it did.

 

[abnihon]

Now I’m even more confused because I looked at the app this morning just before 8am and it said virtual queue with no wait time!

 

[JayhawkFans]

I wish I could remember exactly what time we got in line. We are AP so we were in the park at 7 but did a couple other things first .. guess it must have been shortly before 8 when we jumped in stand-by because once we wound around in the que and came back near the point where we entered we could see the swarm of people upset that they cut the stand-by line and told them to check the app for virtual cue and everyone was complaining that nothing was available ...
We plan to go back on Thursday so I will keep better notes that day

 

[ClapYourHands]

If it's virtual queue, how long should I expect to wait when I get to the ride? Is it basically a walk on, a minimal wait, or should I expect an hour in the physical line after returning with my virtual line time?

 

[Ross Kratter]

If it's virtual queue, how long should I expect to wait when I get to the ride? Is it basically a walk on, a minimal wait, or should I expect an hour in the physical line after returning with my virtual line time?

It depends on how many of the switchbacks they have open. I don't think I've ever waited more than 30 minutes, though, usually less, but I tend to go on weekdays at non-busy times.

 

[abnihon]

Ok I think I’m getting a better understanding from watching the app this morning.
There definitely is standby during early park admission but it is LONG during spring break (unless you’re at the front of the line which probably means getting there at 6am)
At 7:04 today the wait was 65 minutes!
It briefly stopped showing a time (maybe line was so full they closed it?)
At 7:30 it was 90 minutes.
At 7:40 it was 120 minutes.
At 7:45 the virtual line opened and spots were gone in about 5 min.

We’re definitely choosing virtual line over standby!
We’ll be driving over from Disney that morning and checking into Royal Pacific.
And the idea of standing in the dark from 6-7 sounds awful. Lol.

A few more virtual line questions!!
If we’re still checking into RP or walking from there to parks at 7:45 are we at a disadvantage?
I assume we need location services on?
What about park WiFi?

At the 7:45 drop can we select an afternoon time if that works with our schedule better?
Or will only 8-11 times be available at that drop?
Thank you!!

 

[NorthernCalMom]

Sorry, if my adding my own Hagrid/Virtual Line questions is seen as hijacking the thread, but I figure it is on topic, and if I’m wondering about this, then others may be, too. Feel free to school me, if you think I’m out of order here, or to provide a link if any of this has already been answered elsewhere, ok?

—> We’re Universal/IoA newbies & HP fans, so Hagrid is of course high on our list. We are not staying on site, so no early admission, and we won’t have Express pass either. Should I gently prepare my kids for this ride being a long shot that might or might not happen for us, depending on if fate decides to smile on us that day or not, or is it very likely that we do manage to get to ride it, as long as I’m doing my homework here and elsewhere?

—> Is anybody here able and willing to explain the differences between Universal’s VL & Disney’s ROTR boarding passes to me? Is there a way to “practice” from home? When I looked at the app at 8am today, it said that VL slots were gone for that drop and gave the times for future drops. However, around 8:05, the yellow flag that signifies VL are gone for now disappeared, and clicking on the link for me not to the “next drop time” message but to one that instead said I couldn’t get a VL slot because I’m not in the park right now! So, are their ever rogue, between drop times VL slots, through cancellations maybe, do they release at least some for general opening out of mercy for non early admission people like us, or was that just the app being glitchy? Do they ever scan people who don’t have early admission in early, or is there no way that we can make the 7:45am drop and have to hope for the later drops?

—> What are typical return times if we do get a VL slot? How long is the return window? How strict are they about accommodating people who mistimed other rides, got stuck in another unexpectedly long line, and come late?

Thank you in advance, you wise and experienced ones for any pearls of inside knowledge you may have for us!!