Hagrid's Coaster Queue Updates / Questions / Reviews

[Mercenary]

We were there for a private party last Thursday and I made the mistake of doing other attractions first and waiting for the Hagrids line to die down. I was literally the last person they let in line before they cut off the queue. After about 30 minutes, sure enough as I expected, it broke as usual. I waited another 60 minutes because I really wanted to ride and I have no plans to visit Universal again anytime soon. But at 11:45 pm(party was over at midnight) they cleared the queue. I was chatting with the cast member closing the ride behind me. We were together a long time so I asked him what the deal was. He says 99% it's the brake fins getting stuck and they simply pushed the limits too far with this and over engineered it when it was designed. When the fins are stuck they begin software analysis and check code for possible reasons. He says a lot of the time a system reboot fixes the issue. But of course until the fins are released by the computer it can't run again. This night sadly even after 60 minutes they couldn't get them to release. He did give me, and 3 others that had been chatting with him, skip the line passes but I dont have a Universal ticket to go with it

Bummer sorry to hear. I am heading there in 2 weeks going to be interesting, I can always take your pass. lol

 

[Disxuni]

* Arriving early and getting in line immediately is a big investment that may not pay off.

Only if you decide to wait until you either get on, or until they hand out passes if they announce there is a "delay".

If things work out essentially the only thing you'll be investing is if you have EE and decide to sacrifice it by waiting at the gate at IoA. Other than that, all the waiting for the most part is during non-operational hours at IoA when you do it that way. If things work out and you're able to get onto the attraction relatively quickly (if you're one of the first several in line) you should be done with the ride at most by 9:30, by 10, if there is a minor delay, or if you didn't get in line early enough before opening.

It's only a "big investment that may not pay off" if you decide to wait if they announce there is a delay, especially if they announce it prior to opening. Which to me, if anyone has a only a certain amount of time to enjoy the parks I wouldn't suggest sticking for that long and bail out. It sucks for those who do not get to do this often. However, if someone genuinely doesn't have much time to waste and wants to enjoy the park(s), it's best to wait as little as possible, and move on.

 

[AaronRif]

Is this correct? --
* Wait times are significantly overestimated IF it doesn't shut down and hasn't had a long shutdown that day that resulted in lots of return passes. So a 120 minute posted wait time could be a totally manageable 40 minutes or 240 minutes if it shuts down.

* It goes down frequently at all times of day and night, and only sometimes they give out return passes.

* Arriving early and getting in line immediately is a big investment that may not pay off.

* No one knows when there will be either EP or early entry at IoA.

* Single rider is only sometimes available.

We will have an entire week in early January. The first full day of our trip is a 9/10 crowd but the other days range from 3-5 on the crowd calendars. Winter hours of 9-7 pm start the second full day of our trip. We will have express passes for basically everything else on this trip. We don't mind one or two early mornings. We can handle one long wait but only if we actually get to ride, and I know we'll want to ride more than once if possible. My kid is an expert single rider and wants the sidecar anyway, so that is an option. Do we just keep an eye on the line and shutdowns, or is there any time of the day when our odds are better or worse?

I can answer your first and third points but only anecdotally from my experiences today and yesterday.

Yesterday my friend and I got to Islands at 8:00 am, they let everyone into the Hagrid’s line around 8:45 am even though the Team Members were warning everyone that the ride was experiencing delays. We sat it out until 10:30 am (so that’s almost an hour wait outside Islands and a 1.5 hour wait in line for Hagrid’s) and then left since it wasn’t open and the line wasn’t moving. If you leave early without them clearing the queue you won’t get the Ruby Express Pass. The ride didn’t open until about 12:30 pm, but it actually stayed open throughout the day (past the normal 3:00 pm closing).

Today, we got in line at 12:00 and 1:00 pm respectively, and waited about 40 minutes each time (yes, two times with a 40 minute wait back to back). The ride did not go down the entire time, and I assume there was a limited amount of Ruby Express Pass holders going through during this time as well. The first time we rode the posted wait was 120 minutes and the second was 90.

I’d currently recommend going in the middle of the day and chancing a 90 minute wait knowing that the ride is fully open rather than chancing it at the morning and wasting valuable park time or early hours in Diagon Alley.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Only if you decide to wait until you either get on, or until they hand out passes if they announce there is a "delay".

If things work out essentially the only thing you'll be investing is if you have EE and decide to sacrifice it by waiting at the gate at IoA. Other than that, all the waiting for the most part is during non-operational hours at IoA when you do it that way. If things work out and you're able to get onto the attraction relatively quickly (if you're one of the first several in line) you should be done with the ride at most by 9:30, by 10, if there is a minor delay, or if you didn't get in line early enough before opening.

It's only a "big investment that may not pay off" if you decide to wait if they announce there is a delay, especially if they announce it prior to opening. Which to me, if anyone has a only a certain amount of time to enjoy the parks I wouldn't suggest sticking for that long and bail out. It sucks for those who do not get to do this often. However, if someone genuinely doesn't have much time to waste and wants to enjoy the park(s), it's best to wait as little as possible, and move on.

By big investment, I was including the time spent standing at the gate to be somewhere near the front, time that could be spent having a relaxed breakfast or wandering Diagon Alley during EE. We don't mind the experience of waiting at the gate, as long as our odds are pretty good that the ride will be operating.

 

[Disxuni]

By big investment, I was including the time spent standing at the gate to be somewhere near the front, time that could be spent having a relaxed breakfast or wandering Diagon Alley during EE. We don't mind the experience of waiting at the gate, as long as our odds are pretty good that the ride will be operating.

I understand, that's why I can think of the only investment being something along the lines of sacrificing EE, which a lot of guests one way, or another has access to. In the end, it depends on how much someone wants it and if they have the time to do it.

If someone is really questioning it that much and has limited time in the parks the safest way is waiting at the IoA gates first thing in the morning. Either way, it's a coin toss. However, at least your time isn't cutting into actual park hours and any other time it's a coin toss in terms of whether the posted time is going to be less, the exact wait, or longer and if it will be operational, or close by the time you give it a chance.

This ride's history of operation is a roller coaster itself. It has a lot of good times and bad times. For anyone it's a choice of whether they want to try, or not, then it's a decision of what chances are they willing to bet on in terms of timing. There's pros and cons to both choices.

 

[Linkura]

Is this correct? --
* Wait times are significantly overestimated IF it doesn't shut down and hasn't had a long shutdown that day that resulted in lots of return passes. So a 120 minute posted wait time could be a totally manageable 40 minutes or 240 minutes if it shuts down.

* It goes down frequently at all times of day and night, and only sometimes they give out return passes.

* Arriving early and getting in line immediately is a big investment that may not pay off.

* No one knows when there will be either EP or early entry at IoA.

* Single rider is only sometimes available.

We will have an entire week in early January. The first full day of our trip is a 9/10 crowd but the other days range from 3-5 on the crowd calendars. Winter hours of 9-7 pm start the second full day of our trip. We will have express passes for basically everything else on this trip. We don't mind one or two early mornings. We can handle one long wait but only if we actually get to ride, and I know we'll want to ride more than once if possible. My kid is an expert single rider and wants the sidecar anyway, so that is an option. Do we just keep an eye on the line and shutdowns, or is there any time of the day when our odds are better or worse?

Sounds about right.

Arriving early isn't nearly as big of an investment if you have Express Pass. I think that is your best bet at this point.

 

[tweak89]

I think the rush to have the latest and greatest attractions will be an ongoing issue.

Theme park developers are in a no win situation. Look at Galaxies Edge for example. Is it popular? Yes. Is it the runaway train success that everyone thought it would be? Not yet. IMO, the main reason is the delay in Rise of the Resistance (Smuggler's run was never meant to anchor that new land). Disney took the tact of waiting to make sure it's right and it's affected the perception of how successful the new expansion really is.

On the other hand, Universal got Hagrid's done very quickly and maybe jumped the gun on opening and are now having issues that maybe could have been avoided with prolonged testing.

Different decisions, similar results: unhappy customers.

I'll be heading back to Universal early next year and hopefully they'll have it all fixed and more reliable as I've been looking forward to it since it was announced. I'll also be headed to Disneyland late next year and hope the wait for Rise works out in my favor.

 

[AaronRif]

Sounds about right.

Arriving early isn't nearly as big of an investment if you have Express Pass. I think that is your best bet at this point.

We had (unlimited) Express and still felt like we wasted an hour and a half in line since we weren’t doing other rides or eating breakfast.

 

[SweetestHoney86]

Is this correct? --
* Wait times are significantly overestimated IF it doesn't shut down and hasn't had a long shutdown that day that resulted in lots of return passes. So a 120 minute posted wait time could be a totally manageable 40 minutes or 240 minutes if it shuts down.

* It goes down frequently at all times of day and night, and only sometimes they give out return passes.

* Arriving early and getting in line immediately is a big investment that may not pay off.

* No one knows when there will be either EP or early entry at IoA.

* Single rider is only sometimes available.

We will have an entire week in early January. The first full day of our trip is a 9/10 crowd but the other days range from 3-5 on the crowd calendars. Winter hours of 9-7 pm start the second full day of our trip. We will have express passes for basically everything else on this trip. We don't mind one or two early mornings. We can handle one long wait but only if we actually get to ride, and I know we'll want to ride more than once if possible. My kid is an expert single rider and wants the sidecar anyway, so that is an option. Do we just keep an eye on the line and shutdowns, or is there any time of the day when our odds are better or worse?

Exactly right. Also from what I've learned talking to cast members during the 2 breakdowns I waited through; they are really trying to get everyone on the ride and one day I was there the breakdown seemed to be caused by them running 10 trains for the first time. With all of the trains running the queue was moving extremely fast before the breakdown. So if they can get through the technical issues, the wait times should never be over 90 minutes.

 

[Linkura]

We had (unlimited) Express and still felt like we wasted an hour and a half in line since we weren’t doing other rides or eating breakfast.

There's a pretty good chance you're going to be wasting time in line if you want to experience this attraction. You just need to eat it, get lucky, or just skip it.

Exactly right. Also from what I've learned talking to cast members during the 2 breakdowns I waited through; they are really trying to get everyone on the ride and one day I was there the breakdown seemed to be caused by them running 10 trains for the first time. With all of the trains running the queue was moving extremely fast before the breakdown. So if they can get through the technical issues, the wait times should never be over 90 minutes.

It has a very good capacity if it's actually working.

 

[Matthew81]

My family rode it 3 days last week during rope drop. Would have been 4 times but later found out we bailed one day about 10 minutes before they opened it. Every time worth it and the running to the ride and waiting was part of the fun. Even met a nice man by himself we rode mummy with twice after hagrids.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Thanks for the different perspectives and info. I will keep checking here to see how things seem to be going. Our Universal vacations are intentionally low stress and not very scheduled, so I appreciate just having a general idea of our options and what might be easiest. My girl who takes life too seriously thinks that everything is always magical at Universal, even though our trips don't go perfectly. Waiting in line and talking about Harry Potter for two hours is one thing, but the ride breaking down frequently after waiting in line is not so magical.

I do really feel for guests who have limited time and may not be coming back for a long time.

 

[georgina]

Thanks for the different perspectives and info. I will keep checking here to see how things seem to be going. Our Universal vacations are intentionally low stress and not very scheduled, so I appreciate just having a general idea of our options and what might be easiest. My girl who takes life too seriously thinks that everything is always magical at Universal, even though our trips don't go perfectly. Waiting in line and talking about Harry Potter for two hours is one thing, but the ride breaking down frequently after waiting in line is not so magical.

I do really feel for guests who have limited time and may not be coming back for a long time.

As far as your single rider line question, yes they open and close it depending on the ride flow. You also have to wait in a large portion of the line before the single rider line splits off. I was there a month ago on a solo trip and waited 120 mins using the SR line, and also maybe 90 minutes a second time, when the SR wasn't initially open but they opened it up and let me in it just before entering the building.

 

[CPanther95]

Trying again today. 7:40am here and first at the turnstile.

Let us in about 8:35. Walked fast and off ride by around 9am.

Incredible ride!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Let us in about 8:35. Walked fast and off ride by around 9am.

Incredible ride!

I’m really hoping we have that luck in 2 weeks. Planning to be there by 8.

 

[sharona]

Ugh! I haven’t really been on these boards much recently and had no idea Hagrids was having so many issues. That totally stinks. We have a single day planned for US/IoA coming up on 12/7. We’ll have express so wasn’t really worried about our Universal day - been focusing on the chaos that is Planning for WDW these days. I guess we’ll need a plan. sigh

 

[DLo]

Rode today. Got in line @ 10:45. Posted 120 minute wait - waited @ 70 minutes. What an amazing ride. Well worth the wait.
Side note - there was a sign that said it would close early today.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Ugh! I haven’t really been on these boards much recently and had no idea Hagrids was having so many issues. That totally stinks. We have a single day planned for US/IoA coming up on 12/7. We’ll have express so wasn’t really worried about our Universal day - been focusing on the chaos that is Planning for WDW these days. I guess we’ll need a plan. sigh

With express the good news is you really don’t need a plan. Just show up at 8am (or a touch earlier if possible) and rope drop it. If it doesn’t open by 10am move on and come back in the early afternoon if it later reopens. You aren’t sacrificing anything since you can skip every other line with express.

For people without express, this can cause real issues since they can’t afford to get “off plan”.

 

[Erica_Haley]

I rode again yesterday. Got in line at 11:50, and went to the single rider line. I made a mental note of the girls who were in front of us to see if I saw them later. After the staircase when we joined in at the last room, they must have been in an earlier room because we never saw them. We were getting on the ride at 12:40 with no delays. The posted wait time was 120 minutes, a huge difference!

 

[CPanther95]

Rode again today at Noon. Posted wait time was 90 minutes. Took 42 minutes.

Still a fantastic ride!