Rope drop results--Hagrid's and Volcano Bay

[Calidisneyfam]

I got so much great information from these boards, I wanted to share a little bit about our experience and hopefully help out some other folks.

We travelled during our spring break, and stayed at the Portofino Bay hotel March 28-April 1. It was a beautiful hotel and we had no issues at all. I even survived no housekeeping, which I thought would be a hassle. They were great about bringing fresh towels and picking up old ones and trash.

We rope dropped Islands of Adventure 3 of our days, and did Volcano Bay for 1 day. We did early entry for all of our days.

Here is the schedule we followed, which resulted in a different wait time for Hagrid’s each day, but overall we got on without issues and were very happy we rode it first thing, and made the effort to get up early.

6:15 took the ferry boat to City walk
6:28 arrived at the lines at the entrance
6:45 guests started to be let in

Here is where things varied each day.

Day 1: as we walked up to the lines, we were directed to the far left, which seemed to be an auxiliary entrance area they had set up due to crowds. This was a HUGE mistake that we went to the left. Avoid at all costs! They had two people scanning tickets/fingerprints, and it seemed nearly every person had a problem and had to scan the finger over and over. We glanced back at the main line and saw people just streaming in; we considered moving lines (and in hindsight we should have), but it seemed we were so close. We weren’t in the park until 7:10, arrived to the Hagrid’s line at 7:20, boarded the ride at 8:50, so a 90 minute wait. It was OK; it was our first day and we were excited. But man, was it hard watching so many get in ahead of us, when we worked so hard to be there at 6:30.

Day 2: we ignored the direction to get in the line to the left, and got in the main line (which many other people were also doing). We got very close to the front, walked almost all the way through the Hagrid line area with no wait, and were boarding the ride by 7:15.

Day 3: we joined the main line area again, walked through the queue and were just about to enter the castle at 7:00am, and they announced the ride was down. We waited it out, since we were so close, and it was down until 7:40am, and we got on pretty soon after that.

Overall, we had excellent rope drop experiences and loved the ride.

Volcano Day was our “sleep in” day, and we got on the bus to go to the park at 8:45, arrived at 8:55am. There was a short line at security, and they opened security at 9:00am. We were second in line at the ticket check; we got our tapu tapu, put wallet and phone in a locker, and went to the Kraka Toa. It was awesome! We walked right on, then got off and did it again with about a 2 minute wait. The wait quickly went to 70 minutes, and then 120 minutes. Definitely worth getting there early to get it in. The virtual waits are good, but you can only have one at a time; so, while you wait for your ride you really can only do the wave pool or lazy river.
We did all we wanted to do by 12:30, and took off for lunch and then back to the other parks. The park was at capacity when we left at 12:30, with a large crowd waiting to get in. Food lines were insane; I recommend leaving to eat elsewhere. We ate at Sal's at our hotel, and it was very good.

That is my short report. Thanks for everyone’s help with planning this trip. It was great! We might go back next year, since my annual pass is 15 months. Now I’ll know what I’m doing!

 

[Vacation_Commander]

This is great.
We had a similar experience with Hagrid's as well.
Both morning we rode it, we left the Royal Pacific Resort and walked there. We would leave hotel by 6:30, be in line a the parks right when the gates opened. One day we were through before 7, the next day a little after 7, by the time we walked to Hagrid's it was a 30 min. wait one day and 40 the next. So, pretty similar for our 2 times. I really think it depends on which line you get in, but you don't really know who is going to have an issue and who isn't.

 

[mamamelody2]

Thanks for the info!
It is very helpful!

 

[the46zone]

This was great information and will help us plan when to show up for our upcoming June trip! I really like the not going left part.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Thank you so much for sharing your report! Did you have any favorites you'd like to highlight?

 

[Calidisneyfam]

Thank you so much for sharing your report! Did you have any favorites you'd like to highlight?

Hagrid’s was our favorite! Also loved the other Harry Potter rides, and The Mummy. My kids liked the Hulk and Rip Ride Rocket. My son liked the three water rides but got soaked all the way through. We were expecting that, but his shoes and socks were uncomfortable and he wanted to go back to the hotel fairly soon after that.

We really enjoyed the lanyard for Marci Gras food stations. I think they just extended it again. It’s a good value, and more important for us, almost no lines! Food lines and waits for mobile order were really bad, so one day we just got food with our lanyard and found a shady spot on the grass.

 

[Erica Ladd]

We are leaving in just under 2 weeks for 4 days and was coming here to post asking about the lanyard. Was it a good value for you?

 

[Calidisneyfam]

We are leaving in just under 2 weeks for 4 days and was coming here to post asking about the lanyard. Was it a good value for you?

we found it valuable. I have a season pass, so for $65 we got 15 tastings, which comes out to $4.33 per item. My son got the shrimp boil from new orleans which was $11. We got chicken that was $8, and several others that were $6-$9. At one point we all wanted the Belgian waffles, and I think those were only $4-$5 each, so not our best value choice, but we wanted them and it was nice to not think about if we wanted to spend $20 on waffles. We just used the lanyard.

you should have better lines when you go, but we really liked the lack of lines at just about all Of the food booths. So for time savings, it was definitely worthwhile. Some of the items are small, so you probably need 2 to cover a lunch, but it was fun to try so many different items.

I didn’t try any of the alcohol since I was the only adult with my three kids, but some of the drinks were a good “value.”


Favorite items: shrimp boil, poutine fries, spiral potato thing from New Orleans, belgian waffle, empanada.

least favotire: Bavarian pretzel from Germany. Looked good but so dry and stale.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Thanks for the info! I have been studying the menus and want to try many of the things you listed! We have seasonal APs as well so I’m going to get the $65 lanyard too. This might help me get my ‘planning’ fix as well, since the last time we went to Disney I had all my plans ready for F &G festival!!!

 

[Calidisneyfam]

Thanks for the info! I have been studying the menus and want to try many of the things you listed! We have seasonal APs as well so I’m going to get the $65 lanyard too. This might help me get my ‘planning’ fix as well, since the last time we went to Disney I had all my plans ready for F &G festival!!!

As a fellow Disney person, I hear you about the planning! It’s so fun!

The only dining reservations I made were for two dinners in City Walk— Chocolate Emporium and Hard Rock. Both were very good, although I’d skip the shakes at the Chocolate Emporium!

 

[cookiemonster80]

I got so much great information from these boards, I wanted to share a little bit about our experience and hopefully help out some other folks.

We travelled during our spring break, and stayed at the Portofino Bay hotel March 28-April 1. It was a beautiful hotel and we had no issues at all. I even survived no housekeeping, which I thought would be a hassle. They were great about bringing fresh towels and picking up old ones and trash.

We rope dropped Islands of Adventure 3 of our days, and did Volcano Bay for 1 day. We did early entry for all of our days.

Here is the schedule we followed, which resulted in a different wait time for Hagrid’s each day, but overall we got on without issues and were very happy we rode it first thing, and made the effort to get up early.

6:15 took the ferry boat to City walk
6:28 arrived at the lines at the entrance
6:45 guests started to be let in

Here is where things varied each day.

Day 1: as we walked up to the lines, we were directed to the far left, which seemed to be an auxiliary entrance area they had set up due to crowds. This was a HUGE mistake that we went to the left. Avoid at all costs! They had two people scanning tickets/fingerprints, and it seemed nearly every person had a problem and had to scan the finger over and over. We glanced back at the main line and saw people just streaming in; we considered moving lines (and in hindsight we should have), but it seemed we were so close. We weren’t in the park until 7:10, arrived to the Hagrid’s line at 7:20, boarded the ride at 8:50, so a 90 minute wait. It was OK; it was our first day and we were excited. But man, was it hard watching so many get in ahead of us, when we worked so hard to be there at 6:30.

Day 2: we ignored the direction to get in the line to the left, and got in the main line (which many other people were also doing). We got very close to the front, walked almost all the way through the Hagrid line area with no wait, and were boarding the ride by 7:15.

Day 3: we joined the main line area again, walked through the queue and were just about to enter the castle at 7:00am, and they announced the ride was down. We waited it out, since we were so close, and it was down until 7:40am, and we got on pretty soon after that.

Overall, we had excellent rope drop experiences and loved the ride.

Volcano Day was our “sleep in” day, and we got on the bus to go to the park at 8:45, arrived at 8:55am. There was a short line at security, and they opened security at 9:00am. We were second in line at the ticket check; we got our tapu tapu, put wallet and phone in a locker, and went to the Kraka Toa. It was awesome! We walked right on, then got off and did it again with about a 2 minute wait. The wait quickly went to 70 minutes, and then 120 minutes. Definitely worth getting there early to get it in. The virtual waits are good, but you can only have one at a time; so, while you wait for your ride you really can only do the wave pool or lazy river.
We did all we wanted to do by 12:30, and took off for lunch and then back to the other parks. The park was at capacity when we left at 12:30, with a large crowd waiting to get in. Food lines were insane; I recommend leaving to eat elsewhere. We ate at Sal's at our hotel, and it was very good.

That is my short report. Thanks for everyone’s help with planning this trip. It was great! We might go back next year, since my annual pass is 15 months. Now I’ll know what I’m doing!

Thanks for all of this info. I’m confused- we have EPA for 2 days this week but it shows that it starts at 8- everything in this thread indicates 7 was the EPA while you were there- was that an unusually early EPA or am I losing my mind??

 

[cschaaf]

Thanks for all of this info. I’m confused- we have EPA for 2 days this week but it shows that it starts at 8- everything in this thread indicates 7 was the EPA while you were there- was that an unusually early EPA or am I losing my mind??

EPA is an hour before opening. Most of this coming week, IOA (which is the park that currently has EPA) will open at 9, so those with EPA access can get in at 8. Saturday and Sunday, IOA opens at 8, so EPA is at 7.

 

[shawthorne44]

As a fellow Disney person, I hear you about the planning! It’s so fun!

The only dining reservations I made were for two dinners in City Walk— Chocolate Emporium and Hard Rock. Both were very good, although I’d skip the shakes at the Chocolate Emporium!

I agree with you on the shakes. The presentation is awesome. The non-ice cream part of the shakes was awesome. But the ice cream itself was like generic grocery store. We get the non-ice cream desserts there and eat in reverse order and family style. So we start with a dessert and share. By the time the thing we ordered has arrived, we've decided on the next thing to order and share.

 

[shawthorne44]

We will be there end of April to early May. I suggested to Universal that they extend the food booths. One, because I had Mardi Gras envy. Two, because they need more food capacity because of social distancing. I told the friend going with us that I take full credit for the extension She said next I need to get rid of the mask mandate. I told her that I'm not a superhero.

We were at last year's Mardi Gras but we never ate at the food booths even though I'd planned on it. We aren't into food enough to walk a decent distance just for food. So, I am thrilled that the booths are scattered throughout the park. I copied the Mardi Gras tasting menu into word and saved it. Then I removed the alcohol choices and printed a food-only version. I am glad I saved the version with alcohol on it because some looked interesting. We don't normally drink at amusement parks because of the outrageous prices and the last thing I need is something dehydrating me. But we might have a few of those.

I am most looking forward to the Schnitzel slider. I showed my printout to DH and he was unimpressed. Then I told him that everything was $4 and change if we use a lanyard. Then he had a list of things to try.

 

[ClapYourHands]

we found it valuable. I have a season pass, so for $65 we got 15 tastings, which comes out to $4.33 per item. My son got the shrimp boil from new orleans which was $11. We got chicken that was $8, and several others that were $6-$9. At one point we all wanted the Belgian waffles, and I think those were only $4-$5 each, so not our best value choice, but we wanted them and it was nice to not think about if we wanted to spend $20 on waffles. We just used the lanyard.

you should have better lines when you go, but we really liked the lack of lines at just about all Of the food booths. So for time savings, it was definitely worthwhile. Some of the items are small, so you probably need 2 to cover a lunch, but it was fun to try so many different items.

I didn’t try any of the alcohol since I was the only adult with my three kids, but some of the drinks were a good “value.”


Favorite items: shrimp boil, poutine fries, spiral potato thing from New Orleans, belgian waffle, empanada.

least favotire: Bavarian pretzel from Germany. Looked good but so dry and stale.

Yes to the time savings! Most booths were walk up or close to it, while the lines for QS were ridiculous! Unfortunately my youngest doesn’t really do anything adventurous, so I still had to get her a kid meal, but New Orleans (shrimp and crawfish boil for me) was no line, and Canada (short rib fries and maple donut for my boys) was minimal wait.

They are definitely appetizer-sized portions, so you could probably spend the equivalent of a meal buying a few items to fill you up, but the variety is better.

 

[Calidisneyfam]

Yes to the time savings! Most booths were walk up or close to it, while the lines for QS were ridiculous! Unfortunately my youngest doesn’t really do anything adventurous, so I still had to get her a kid meal, but New Orleans (shrimp and crawfish boil for me) was no line, and Canada (short rib fries and maple donut for my boys) was minimal wait.

They are definitely appetizer-sized portions, so you could probably spend the equivalent of a meal buying a few items to fill you up, but the variety is better.

I have a similar child, who will not try anything interesting. I was able to buy pizza by the slice at a little kiosk just outside Louie's Italian restaurant.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I have a similar child, who will not try anything interesting. I was able to buy pizza by the slice at a little kiosk just outside Louie's Italian restaurant.

That’s good to know. We were right on the precipice of Mt Hangry, and I didn’t want to deal with the lines for quick service, so we are back at Cabana Bay right now having pizza in the room. The Bayliner diner has reasonable prices, and no lines midday, so we are chilling here and giving our feet a rest. I have my eye on the Cuban sandwich for later, and a crepe from France, too.

Crowds aren’t as bad as last week, but I definitely need to work on feeding the kids before they get hungry. They just keep going and going to do just one more thing, and then we find ourselves in breakdownville. A quick slice pizza place might turn the tide next time.

 

[KGolf31]

Forgive me for a noob question - is Hagrids not a virtual queue in the first hour of EA?

For the times I'll be there (May 14-16) it appears IOA is no EA...so I'd have to leverage virtual queue in that case?

 

[shawthorne44]

Forgive me for a noob question - is Hagrids not a virtual queue in the first hour of EA?

For the times I'll be there (May 14-16) it appears IOA is no EA...so I'd have to leverage virtual queue in that case?

When IOA has Early Entry it is standby line.
When the standby line gets long they close the standby option and switch to VL. During Spring Break with the crowds that was at official park open.
You will probably have to use VL for your trip.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Forgive me for a noob question - is Hagrids not a virtual queue in the first hour of EA?

For the times I'll be there (May 14-16) it appears IOA is no EA...so I'd have to leverage virtual queue in that case?

During EPA Hagrid’s starts out as standby and moves to VQ when it fills up, which is before EPA is over. I was there this week, and it was standby for about the first half hour of EPA, and then went to VQ, usually when the standby time sustained at 120 minutes, though one day didn’t switch over until after the listed wait climbed to 150 minutes.

I don’t know if Hagrid’s will start at standby and fill the queue during a regular opening or not. It’s possible. Usually the VQ return times we saw started an hour or two out (so the 8:30 VQ drop saw return times starting at like 9:30 or 10:00). Probably a good idea to check back in a couple of weeks after the EPA changes over to US to see what they do. I’m sure someone will report.