Hagrid's Coaster Queue Updates / Questions / Reviews

[Mysteryincorp]

We rode yesterday (Monday) in the afternoon and the posted wait was 75 minutes. We waited 50. Today the wait was posted at 60 but then jumped to 120minutes while we were in line, I checked the app. Actual wait was 60 exactly. The ride is so much fun, I was willing to get right back in line and wait again but my family wanted to move on. Seriously, so fun, so thrilling.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

Oh and the line was almost always consistently moving which really helped make it seem like a shorter wait

 

[chimoe]

What’s the consensus on getting to park 1/2 hr before opening? Is Hagrids opening every morning on time now? We have a trip planned soon and trying to figure out how to tackle this ride.

 

[WaterLinds]

What’s the consensus on getting to park 1/2 hr before opening? Is Hagrids opening every morning on time now? We have a trip planned soon and trying to figure out how to tackle this ride.

It’s definitely still not consistent. We were there Thursday to Sunday this past week and I think it only opened at 9 two of those days. We got lucky and the day we picked was one of them! We lined up at the gate around 8:20–it was a busy day and the lines were long already. They opened the park about 8:45, and everyone was pretty courteous about speed walking and not pushing or running.

By the time we got scanned in and back to the line it was a few minutes to 9, and the app had switched from “opens at 9” to “delayed” so I thought we were going to be out of luck. But they were letting people line up, and the line was moving, so we jumped in. Right after 9 the app switched to showing 120 minutes.

The line mostly kept moving and we were off the ride a bit before 10, so not too bad. I do feel like they could have added a few more interesting bits to the queue given how long it is, but I imagine they’re assuming it will die down at some point. My 8 year old survived the wait without much complaint, which surprised me!

The next day it didn’t open until around lunchtime , and one day it didn’t open until close to 3 pm. Those delays then lead to inflated waits everywhere else...we were going to try for a second ride on hippogriff one of those days, but as soon as Hagrids was announced as closed that line jumped to about 90 minutes.

 

[chimoe]

What’s the best recommendation for people who want to ride if we can’t rely on opening time?

It’s definitely still not consistent. We were there Thursday to Sunday this past week and I think it only opened at 9 two of those days. We got lucky and the day we picked was one of them! We lined up at the gate around 8:20–it was a busy day and the lines were long already. They opened the park about 8:45, and everyone was pretty courteous about speed walking and not pushing or running.

By the time we got scanned in and back to the line it was a few minutes to 9, and the app had switched from “opens at 9” to “delayed” so I thought we were going to be out of luck. But they were letting people line up, and the line was moving, so we jumped in. Right after 9 the app switched to showing 120 minutes.

The line mostly kept moving and we were off the ride a bit before 10, so not too bad. I do feel like they could have added a few more interesting bits to the queue given how long it is, but I imagine they’re assuming it will die down at some point. My 8 year old survived the wait without much complaint, which surprised me!

The next day it didn’t open until around lunchtime , and one day it didn’t open until close to 3 pm. Those delays then lead to inflated waits everywhere else...we were going to try for a second ride on hippogriff one of those days, but as soon as Hagrids was announced as closed that line jumped to about 90 minutes.

 

[ninafeliz]

What’s the best recommendation for people who want to ride if we can’t rely on opening time?

I was there 3 days in early December, one of the days it didn’t open until very late morning, I didn’t specifically notice the other days but I think it opened at least roughly on time. I noticed that late morning/early afternoon the waits usually dropped down some from the initial times, and would be a decent time to jump in line. Threading the needle between opening crowds and avoiding the risk of a very delayed opening and thus ruining your entire AM, and an early closing.

 

[Disxuni]

What’s the consensus on getting to park 1/2 hr before opening? Is Hagrids opening every morning on time now? We have a trip planned soon and trying to figure out how to tackle this ride.

If people do the rope drop it is recommended to go not a half hour, but an hour prior to opening. If you get there only a half hour before officially open you'll have a ton of people in front of you. It is the intention to open with the park, but as others clearly stated, sometimes there is a delay and it doesn't happen right away. Also, while you did not ask do not take the train. While I do not know if you have EE, or not, just letting you know ahead of time that is not a good method and you'll be behind everyone.

What’s the best recommendation for people who want to ride if we can’t rely on opening time?

If you do not want to ride when it opens, just go about your day, and try in the afternoon. People seem to have good luck early afternoon. As sometimes there are signs that point out that Hagrid will be closed early. So watch out for that sign. Also, typically, wait times are over estimated in the case there is weather, or a delay, so if there is one, it's part of the wait time and not a surprise. However, if there are no weather issues, or a delay, the wait time is typically much shorter than estimated.

 

[MeridaAnn]

Has Hagrid's gotten any better with regard to staying open later into the day? Does it typically stay open until close to the park closing, or is it still being shut down much earlier than everything else?

 

[Twinsmom2009]

Is there any thought as to when this ride might start accepting the express passes? Fingers crossed it will by our Spring trip!!

 

[Disxuni]

Is there any thought as to when this ride might start accepting the express passes? Fingers crossed it will by our Spring trip!!

A lot of us thought it could have been by now when it first came out. However, it seems Hagrid's is still adjusting to be 100% operational and the queue wait times are still quite high. A ride has to at least be pretty solid in terms of operation and a wait time to be manageable prior to starting EP. So, I am not confident it could be by spring, especially since that is a peak season. I would imagine Universal probably was shooting for it, as by spring it would be a little less than a year since opening and it would help with the peak season with spring break, but I doubt it. It is not impossible as spring is technically a couple months away and lasts until May/June. Perhaps at minimum the end of it? But who knows, I have a feeling it'll be awhile.

 

[flowergirl45]

No spoilers please, but is this ride jerky or have sudden jolting stops? Trying to decide if my husband can ride or not. Thank you!

 

[jmv5010]

No spoilers please, but is this ride jerky or have sudden jolting stops? Trying to decide if my husband can ride or not. Thank you!

It’s the smoothest coaster I’ve ever been on. The stops aren’t sudden — the ride slows down to see some of the scenes but nothing was jarring or jerky.

 

[Disxuni]

No spoilers please, but is this ride jerky or have sudden jolting stops? Trying to decide if my husband can ride or not. Thank you!

Can't state from experience, but as @jmv5010 reports as well as others this is a relatively smooth roller coaster. However, I do remember in the past that one person mentioned that if in the bike it is best and more comfortable to lean forward on the bike, as you would naturally on a real bike. There are a few surprises along the way, so I do not know what else he can, or cannot handle, but that's all I'll say since you said no spoilers.

 

[MeridaAnn]

No spoilers please, but is this ride jerky or have sudden jolting stops? Trying to decide if my husband can ride or not. Thank you!

The coaster parts are very smooth, but there is one element that has a sudden movement, that could be a concern. Even its existence could be a spoiler, so I'll put it in tags, but it's not something you would expect from a normal roller coaster, so if there's a health risk, at least one of you should be aware of this element.

Spoiler

There is a freefall drop straight down at one point in the ride. Not a hill, but a straight-down drop, track and all. It only lasts for a moment, but it is far enough that it brings the cars down to link to a new track directly underneath the original track and then drives underneath where you were before. The cars are at a standstill when the drop occurs.

 

[damo]

The coaster is smooth but the accelerations are quite forceful. No sudden stops.

 

[flowergirl45]

Thank you all very much for the helpful information!

 

[WaterLinds]

Has Hagrid's gotten any better with regard to staying open later into the day? Does it typically stay open until close to the park closing, or is it still being shut down much earlier than everything else?

It was open until close some days of our trip, but not every day.

Basically it’s unpredictable, if you have multiple park days you can try a few strategies and one will likely work for you...but if you only have one day you need to get lucky.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

Today was a bad day for Hagrids....thankfully we had no intentions to ride but I checked throughout the day and it showed closed, not even delayed, closed. If you are going for only one day, it’s really just luck of the draw. Today was the first day since Saturday that I have seen it consistently closed.
Saturday/ Sunday the line ranged from 120- 150 minutes most of the day
Monday-Thursday it showed 60-90minutes and I Only noticed it delayed a few times.
Like i said, today (Friday) it was closed pretty much all day. I feel horrible for anyone that only had today to ride.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Closed due to weather

 

[mlayman7]

Is there a rider switch here like at some of the other rides where you have one child not tall enough and another who is so both parents can ride once?