Hagrid's Coaster Queue Updates / Questions / Reviews

[Fall1]

We just got back from a 3 day trip and we didn't get to ride it. We all really wanted to, but it was closed all day one of the days. The other 2 days we never saw the wait less than 120 minutes and on the app it said that it was closing at 3pm.

Too bad they are promoting the ride so much without all the kinks worked out. We had a great trip and decided just to forget it, but it's a shame it's such a disaster.

 

[Disxuni]

We just got back from a 3 day trip and we didn't get to ride it. We all really wanted to, but it was closed all day one of the days. The other 2 days we never saw the wait less than 120 minutes and on the app it said that it was closing at 3pm.

Too bad they are promoting the ride so much without all the kinks worked out. We had a great trip and decided just to forget it, but it's a shame it's such a disaster.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. It seemed to be getting better and better than it was attack of the honey bees. However, we do not have the fully story (at least one here) on why it was closed for that whole day. Either way, it seemed to be getting better and last week was definitely a step back, especially since it seems to be going back to closing early (or should I say earlier) as well. So, I'm thinking there is a new development of something they're working on. I guess we shall see this week what Hagrid's has in store for guests. Once again, sorry it didn't work out.

 

[disneywithfive]

We were there on Saturday and they announced almost immediately that it was down for an extended delay and they didn't know when or if it would be running that day. We hadn't planned on riding it but I could tell MANY others where. Once we got over to Universal, after lunch, there was a sign at Hogwarts Express saying it would be closing early that day. Didn't see that sign at IOA though.

 

[fujamaga]

We were at the park 4 days, the first day it was shut down completely because of the bees, the second day I think it opened for a little bit, but we didn't know. The third day it opened up mid-day, but the lines were posted at 180 minutes. We rope dropped the last day we were there (Sunday) and we were told there were extended delays. People were able to leave and go so long as your neighbors in the line agreed. They finally opened up the ride at 11:30am. I liked the ride, but it was a huge hassle for one ride.

 

[acarsme123]

This ride sounds like a disaster. Maybe universal needs to shut it down until they can get with the manufacturer to figure out how to make it more reliable. Sounds like really poor planning on their part to make a ride that’s so unreliable.

 

[pepperandchips]

This ride sounds like a disaster. Maybe universal needs to shut it down until they can get with the manufacturer to figure out how to make it more reliable. Sounds like really poor planning on their part to make a ride that’s so unreliable.

Since nearly everyone who’s waited to ride have reported back that it was worth it, the scope of the disaster is personal perception. Things like bees are totally outside Universal’s control. I’m glad they haven’t shut it down entirely as thousands of people are glad for the opportunity to wait to ride it.

 

[acarsme123]

I guess what worries me is that we will be going in March. I’m trying to figure out strategy for definitely getting on this ride. We will be there for two full days and two half days. But it seems like the opening and closing times of this ride are all over the place from what I’m seeing. Just trying to come up with a strategy

 

[pepperandchips]

I guess what worries me is that we will be going in March. I’m trying to figure out strategy for definitely getting on this ride. We will be there for two full days and two half days. But it seems like the opening and closing times of this ride are all over the place from what I’m seeing. Just trying to come up with a strategy

Honestly they are still working out the bugs so I think it is way too early to be working on a strategy for March. I don’t say that to be unkind or to troll in any way - this ride has new technology and I’m sure that the operations schedule will change a lot over the next 4-5 months. It’s good to keep an eye on this thread but I think this month’s short hours and delays and so forth probably won’t inform your March decisions too much. Who knows, there might even be Express by then! I’m certainly hoping that it will be operating for the full park open hours by spring.

 

[The Pho]

Since nearly everyone who’s waited to ride have reported back that it was worth it, the scope of the disaster is personal perception. Things like bees are totally outside Universal’s control. I’m glad they haven’t shut it down entirely as thousands of people are glad for the opportunity to wait to ride it.

A great ride shouldn’t give them operational leeway. It should be far more reliable than it is, and it’s certainly come a long way in the past few months. But there is only so much they can do about the bees unfortunately. Definitely better open a few hours a day than closed for months though.

 

[Disxuni]

Going along with everyone is saying about the bees. It seemed that Hagrid's for the most part seemed to be on track. We were getting a lot of reports on here that (for the most part) Hagrid's was opening with the theme park and while it was still closing prior to the parks official closing, it wouldn't close as early as it's been recently reported, as well as was frequently reported that the actual wait times were either half, or more than half of the wait time Universal would inform the guests.

However, that changed when the bees got into the picture. Bees have no relation to the operation to the physical ride themselves and they cannot exterminate them since bees are at high risk of extinction.

I won't admit that Hagrid's was perfect prior to this, but Hagrid has come far along since where it has been and was getting dramatically better, but this kind of threw it off. For anyone who keeps getting worried about their future trips, especially those that are projected to be more than a couple of weeks away I feel they should not worry. If they want a more accurate assessment of what the ride's status will be like when they arrive they should check on reports, or this post (if it still exists then) within a week, or two, prior to their actual trip.

 

[georgina]

Went to US at 7 this morning, rode Minions, Gringotts 2X, MIB, Mummy, and RRR. Had breakfast at Today Cafe and caught the train to Hogsmeade at 9:30. Hagrids line said 60 at 9:30, 90 when I got on the train, and 120 when I got off. In line now, up to 150. There was a sign in the Kings Cross station that said Hagrids would be closing early today. Says enter queue before 3. App says 180 now!

 

[tony67]

Was able to ride it 3 times over a week - never saw the wait below 90 - but it usually took about 70.
They do a good job of breaking it up IMO, there is a "show" early in the line and a few other areas to break it up.
The ride itself was much better than I expected, I am glad I waited.
After riding it I dont miss dueling dragons as much.
Never saw the single rider line open - I think it was always full .

 

[mfly]

Went to US at 7 this morning, rode Minions, Gringotts 2X, MIB, Mummy, and RRR. Had breakfast at Today Cafe and caught the train to Hogsmeade at 9:30. Hagrids line said 60 at 9:30, 90 when I got on the train, and 120 when I got off. In line now, up to 150. There was a sign in the Kings Cross station that said Hagrids would be closing early today. Says enter queue before 3. App says 180 now!

How long did the line actually take you at 9:30?

 

[georgina]

How long did the line actually take you at 9:30?

Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the line until 10 AM when it turned 120 minutes. Then after we had wound around for about 40 minutes we were told it would be 180 for us. I decided to stay since I wanted to ride and rain was predicted in the afternoon. It did start to rain lightly around 11:30 but not enough to stop the ride. I made it to the single rider line by 11:45, and got on the ride around noon, so 2 hours using single rider. There were only 10-12 people ahead of me in single rider line. I got lucky being paired with a woman with some mobility issues who wanted the sidecar. I’m sure it was at least 2.5 hrs if not 3 for the regular line. It was a great ride but I won’t wait that long again for it.

 

[DD6334]

Rode yesterday morning (Wednesday Oct 9)
-Arrived pre park open around 8:25
-Was about 20 people back on one of the entrance lines for park.
-they began letting people into park at 8:50 or so
- went straight to Hagrid (as did everyone else)
- when we arrived at ride we were told the ride was not currently running but they were only expecting a short delay, they let people line up outside of cue - we were outside of Hogsmead by the lost continent theater at that point, when we settled in to wait.
- After 15 mins a loud cheer ahead of us and the ride was opening.
- Crowd was allowed to enter the actual line at ride at this point- We past the lockers at about 9:30 (the sign at that point was posted with a 60 min wait)
- the wait took about 45 mins from there
- we were off the ride by about 10:25

First time riding and we made it a top priority the first day of our trip, in case it didn’t work out we would try again another day.

All agreed it was a great ride and worth the wait and hassle. Glad we made it.
May try it again Friday morning.

 

[emmabelle]

We're doing Universal on 10/26 and we're trying to decide if we should just bail on the whole plan to try and ride Hagrids. I know my husband and daughter probably side more with quantity of rides over quality. We have preferred AP's so I'm trying to figure out a plan of attack since we can get into USO at 7am. Any advice?

 

[Disxuni]

We're doing Universal on 10/26 and we're trying to decide if we should just bail on the whole plan to try and ride Hagrids. I know my husband and daughter probably side more with quantity of rides over quality. We have preferred AP's so I'm trying to figure out a plan of attack since we can get into USO at 7am. Any advice?

Unfortunately, I (personally) still do not see a particular method that is a clear cut answer so I'll explain the pros and cons for each method:

• If you go early, you could get on relatively immediately, or there could be a slight delay, however, if you go early, you know you'll at least be one of the many firsts in line to be able to get onto the ride regardless of whether you get on immediately, or there is a little bit of a delay. Where as anyone who hops on once they realize it's open are behind you. If anything goes wrong you're at least more than likely to get a ride than those behind you. However, if something too drastic does happen that means you waited for nothing (although some of that waiting is prior to park opening).
• If you go later, you have the potential of having a lesser wait time than projected. Before the bee situation, a lot of guests were reporting that their wait times were significantly less than reported. It's been suggested the reason is they add more time in case there is delays and if there aren't any, you'll be able to get on quickly. However, you have the risk of there being a delay and you're behind more people so you're waiting longer, or if they decide to close early for the day, it means you wasted an opportunity to be one of the few who got on, or if you're in line, you just waited that time for nothing.

It all depends on how much time you have in the parks and what chances you're willing to take. Either way you'll have to wait, so it really depends on what you think is the less risky, or what time you prefer to ride all the other rides you're wanting to get on.

 

[wisblue]

Rode yesterday morning (Wednesday Oct 9)
-Arrived pre park open around 8:25
-Was about 20 people back on one of the entrance lines for park.
-they began letting people into park at 8:50 or so
- went straight to Hagrid (as did everyone else)
- when we arrived at ride we were told the ride was not currently running but they were only expecting a short delay, they let people line up outside of cue - we were outside of Hogsmead by the lost continent theater at that point, when we settled in to wait.
- After 15 mins a loud cheer ahead of us and the ride was opening.
- Crowd was allowed to enter the actual line at ride at this point- We past the lockers at about 9:30 (the sign at that point was posted with a 60 min wait)
- the wait took about 45 mins from there
- we were off the ride by about 10:25

First time riding and we made it a top priority the first day of our trip, in case it didn’t work out we would try again another day.

All agreed it was a great ride and worth the wait and hassle. Glad we made it.
May try it again Friday morning.

Thanks for the first hand report.

I have been following the wait times on Touring Plans for the last few days in anticipation of a visit to Universal on Tuesday, the 22nd. It looks like your experience is what has happened the last 3 days with TP showing the ride as Offline at opening but with a posted wait of about 120 by 9:30. So, the ride has been opening sometime between 9 and 9:30.

So, my advice is to not plan on going to IOA on Tuesday the 22nd. Because getting to ride the Hagrid ride is our top priority, we plan to get to the park early, go right to Hagrid, and wait it out if there’s a delayed opening. That will likely be the day the delayed opening will last for hours.

I should add that, checking from time to time during the day, the posted times at most of the other rides seem to be pretty low, especially if you’re willing and able to go single rider. So, using up 90 minutes or so when the park first opens to ride Hagrid should still leave a lot of time to do other things the rest of the day.

 

[Nanceliz319]

following this....Is Hagrid always a delayed opening? Are they working out the kinks or is this expected to be the norm? Thank you!

 

[Disxuni]

following this....Is Hagrid always a delayed opening? Are they working out the kinks or is this expected to be the norm? Thank you!

I cannot say 100%, as we do not get knowledge of what happens every day, but before the bees showed from the reports it was relatively consistent with opening on time in the morning for the most part. An occasional report in being delayed.

However, it seems the past week, or so, there have been more reports than usual of delayed openings. However, there is differences into how long, or short that may be. I do not know if it's due to bees, or something is going on and it's just a coincidence that this started around the time when the bees started to become an issue.