What order should I try to ride VC & Hagrids this wkd and why?

[TigerLaw]

So I have been given a free day pass at IOA with express pass privileges and am going this saturday. Park opens at 8am. I will be lined up at the gate by 7am.

So here's my issue. I truly can't decide how to approach rope drop between Velocicoaster and Hagrids (have never been on either)? I would think it matters if hagrids is opening with Virtual Line turned on right away or not, but i am not sure.

Can any if you park experts help me figure this out? Thanks in advance fir the help!

 

[Bethany10]

Well, I’m no expert but we were in line an hour before park opening on Monday. They let us in 20 mins early and DD hit velocicoaster right away- HAgrids wasn’t even open.
My suggestion is shoot for velocicoaster first then HAgrids. Virtual line didn’t even open until after park opened at 9. Spots are going in seconds once VL opens up

 

[DisBuckMan]

I feel the opposite of the poster above. We were there Sunday and Monday, and never got to ride Hagrid's. So, I'd suggest heading straight for Hagrid's at rope drop. They would start out with a normal line, then switch over to virtual within the hour. The virtual line is a complete crap shoot. Good luck with that.

Velocicoaster line is easily managed, and was never as long as posted. We rode it 3 times, and never waited over 30-35 minutes in line, although posted wait times were anywhere from 45-60 minutes.

 

[TigerLaw]

I guess i could see if hagrids is running w/o any issues first, and if it is doing okay, head there first and do its stand by line, then head over to VC.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

You are going to get into the park before official opening time, so it is best to just go right to Hagrids. If it is running at opening, then you will get through the line in less than 15 minutes, assuming you are lined up close to the gates at 7:00. VC did not open at park opening on Sunday, but maybe 15 minutes later. They drop VQ for Hagrid right around 8:00, so you can have the app open and checking for it to move from standby to VQ and grab a time, which should give the chance for 2 rides in the first hour. VC has a single line which helps, but the early crowd is not going to it, with the majority of families heading to one or both HP rides. Sunday we hit it a 8:15 and it was 10 minutes (listed as 40 minutes) and then got back in line (said 50 minutes) and we were off again in 15 minutes.