Hagrid's, Crowds, and More

[DisPhanatic]

I am leaving on Friday 8/21 and traveling with my two sons. This trip has seen some twists and turns - we were originally scheduled for April, we were rescheduled for August with a Disney / Universal split stay, we finally landed on Universal only. We are so looking forward to getting away and I was really encouraged by everything I was reading.

Now, we are a few days out and the tide has turned on what I have been reading. It looks like crowds and wait times are up, two hotels are now closes and guests are being moved to where we are staying (Cabana Bay and RPR), and Hagrid's has been closed. I'm hoping to hear some positive news about recent experiences.

- Does anyone anticipate Hagrid's staying closed through next week? We are there for 8 nights 8/21-8/29.
- Are crowds really that bad? We will have 6 days of FOL passes. Is it manageable with increased attendance and reduced hours?
- Are the hotels super busy?
- How has Volcano Bay been? We plan to spend a few days there and have preferred seating booked on 8/23.

Thanks so much - I'm trying to stay positive and know we will have a good time. I just want to adjust my expectations before we get there if we need to.

 

[SPSRAS]

Following! We leave tomorrow and I am feeling all the same things! I am just crossing my fingers. Hagrids is currently showing a wait time 75 minutes but not listed as an option on the Virtual Line. I am hoping that means its open. But 75 minutes does not make me very happy...

 

[TommyJK]

Hagrid's had an electrical fire last week so they had to close if for a few days for repairs. It's up and running now.

As it relates to crowds, this past weekend many I have seen are calling likely the last "hurrah" of summer as Florida schools are going back in session this week and next week (depending on county). So thoughts are that weekday crowds will be better this week, and even better next week.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Hagrid's just opened about an hour ago!

We're on site now & crowds are very manageable today, too .

 

[DisPhanatic]

Following! We leave tomorrow and I am feeling all the same things! I am just crossing my fingers. Hagrids is currently showing a wait time 75 minutes but not listed as an option on the Virtual Line. I am hoping that means its open. But 75 minutes does not make me very happy...

It sounds like we are in the same boat for sure. The one thing I did hear about Hagrid's and the virtual line was that VL will not be available during the week but should be continuing on the weekends. Good luck!

 

[DisPhanatic]

Thanks for the positive vibes! This isn't our first trip and we do have an extended stay to play with. However, the hotels change and the shortened hours will put some pressure on what we can accomplish. I hope the trend is now toward some lower crowds and gets even better next week when we are there. Happy to hear more shared experiences if you have any!

 

[Mr. Drauer]

They have only been doing the VQ on weekends for Hagrid. Still - it has not even been close to the posted wait time. We have not waited longer than 25 minutes this summer. Crowds on the weekends have increased, but it is still nothing close to what it would be during "normal" times. Hogwarts Express has been the longest wait we had all summer (Local AP). The hotels are only at 50% capacity still, but you will find the pools seem crowded with less chairs and the social distancing guidelines. Volcano Bay has been "crowded" on Saturdays - several times it has reached capacity and closed, but if you get there early, you can still walk on to several rides before even needing to tap in. Just be aware - at VB, you wear a mask to get in, and then once getting seats, its masks off for the park, with the exception of standing in line for the bar, restaurant, or shops. They will not serve you if you don't have a mask. You are not required to walk around with it on, and you are not permitted to wear them on the water rides. This can be problematic for some (same thing with hotel pools). Week days have very little crowds at the parks, and by mid afternoon are basically empty.

 

[puffkin]

We were there 2 weeks ago (over a weekend). The resorts were a ghost town (we stayed at Hard Rock). Wait times were nowhere near posted, unless a ride went down for a mechanical issue. Hagrids, wait was mostly walking the queue. The only place we had issues was counter service food was a wait (but not too bad). I would expect weekends to continue to be busier than weekdays.

 

[missnic]

We got back from a weekend at HRH yesterday. The resort was pretty quiet. We utilized EPA at USF on Saturday and wandered around until riding HE over to IoA when it opened. We're not huge on rides, so we only did a few, which were walk ons with EP. By the time we left IoA around noon, it was packed in some areas. CityWalk made me very uncomfortable - there was zero mask/distance enforcement.. there were quite a few groups of people not even bothering with masks. They did a great job enforcing it inside the parks, though.

 

[3darlings]

We were there a few days ago. Just don't go on the weekends. Otherwise, if you have EP, you will be fine. Just keep in mind that the rides/ shows are operating at a much lower than normal capacity (less than half) due to COVID restrictions. That slows things down considerably and try to get to shows earlier than normal. We had to wait for a 2nd Bourne show because the first filled up. We made sure to get there alot earlier for the 2nd one. It is very nice to have a row/compartment/ride vehicle to your party but it severely limits the numbers who get through. That is my guess why Hogwarts Express is so slow these days.

 

[Monykalyn]

There yesterday (out of state APs). Crowds definitely higher than in June. Wait times also much higher by late morning although you can see times fluctuate greatly during the day. For instance- FJ rose to 45 minutes not too long after opening, but couple hours later was down to 10 minutes.
Hagrids opened yesterday. We got in line pretty quick- wait time said an hour, and it was an hour from first stepping in line (including the time getting a locker) to walking off and grabbing the picture.
Wish they’d go back to VQ when wait times creep up! Was so nice in June when that happened! Especially in this heat. Or to limit amount of time spent in indoor queue.

 

[mrd7896]

i travel over labor day, going to the parks two times, saturday the 5th and wednesday the 9th.
pretty nervous about the crowds leading up to labor day but we have that bonus hour to hopefully take advantage of a few attractions. If it's true that Hagrid's will be virtual on weekends from now on, i'm not mad about that for purposes of getting that VQ and being able to put that time towards other attractions.

we don't have EP but highly considering it. just feel a little silly dropping even more money at this point in the game but if crowds keep looking scary the next two weekends (not too worried about weekdays) i may have to splurge

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Just got off Hagrid's! Entered line at 10:30. Posted 60 min wait. On my bike at 11:00 - walked thru the whole time.

 

[DisPhanatic]

We got back from a weekend at HRH yesterday. The resort was pretty quiet. We utilized EPA at USF on Saturday and wandered around until riding HE over to IoA when it opened. We're not huge on rides, so we only did a few, which were walk ons with EP. By the time we left IoA around noon, it was packed in some areas. CityWalk made me very uncomfortable - there was zero mask/distance enforcement.. there were quite a few groups of people not even bothering with masks. They did a great job enforcing it inside the parks, though.

Very nervous to hear about Citiwalk. We were planning dinners here most evenings and have reservations at a few places.

 

[DisPhanatic]

Just got off Hagrid's! Entered line at 10:30. Posted 60 min wait. On my bike at 11:00 - walked thru the whole time.

This is excellent news! Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[DisPhanatic]

We were there a few days ago. Just don't go on the weekends. Otherwise, if you have EP, you will be fine. Just keep in mind that the rides/ shows are operating at a much lower than normal capacity (less than half) due to COVID restrictions. That slows things down considerably and try to get to shows earlier than normal. We had to wait for a 2nd Bourne show because the first filled up. We made sure to get there alot earlier for the 2nd one. It is very nice to have a row/compartment/ride vehicle to your party but it severely limits the numbers who get through. That is my guess why Hogwarts Express is so slow these days.

Good advice on the shows. Thank you!

 

[DisPhanatic]

Regarding the wait times being inaccurate or fluctuating, has anyone used the Touring Plans app for this? Have you found it helpful or unnecessary because I have FOL access?

 

[LSUfan4444]

We don't return to school until mid September so we've decided to head over from Thursday 9/3 - Monday 9/7. Planning on IoA/Hagrid on Friday morning in hopes of catching some weekday relief since we won't have EPs.

 

[DisPhanatic]

We don't return to school until mid September so we've decided to head over from Thursday 9/3 - Monday 9/7. Planning on IoA/Hagrid on Friday morning in hopes of catching some weekday relief since we won't have EPs.

That sounds like a great plan. I'll report back how we make out. We arrive late Friday 8/21 and are planning a relaxing Saturday, Volcano Bay Sunday, then USF and IOA Monday-Thursday, Discovery Cove Friday, then hitting some favorites Saturday before we head home.

 

[SPSRAS]

We just got back from the most fantastic day (8/19)! I was so worried about the crowds but I couldn’t have asked for better. My number one take-away is get there early. It did get crowded later in the day.
We arrived at the parking garage at 8:15. Stopped at Voodoo on the way in. There was a small group waiting for the gates to open and there was a minute of crowd squeezing through. It was our first visit and we actually had to stop and ask if we were going the right way to Diagon Alley because there was literally not another person is sight to follow! We stopped at Ollivanders to sign up and then got on Gringotts and did not see another person until the loading platform. We were the only people in most of the shops. We walked on the HE and had to wait just for the next train. Hagrids was posted 60 min. We waited 35 constantly moving. I loved that ride! We walked on to FJ twice, ate lunch at 3 Broomsticks - walked in. When we came out from lunch there was about 10 groups waiting to get in. We wanted to do Hagrids again but the line was back out to the talking fountain. It was pretty hot so we took a break in Suess land and rode the trolley. We then went back to Hagrids and the line was even shorter than the first time - we waited 15min. We then took HE back -waited about 10 min. We did Jimmy Fallon and Minions on the way out. I was super impressed with Universal and the guests. The employees were attentive and constantly cleaning. Other guests were generally respectful in lines and paying attention to the spacing. I honestly didn’t see more than a few people without masks on correctly. But they were always far away. A couple of times I passed too close with someone but it was really negligible. I hated wearing the mask - worst part of the day Anyway I hope this gives hope to those of you with upcoming trips! I think if you avoid weekends it should be good.