What does it look like at Universal now with the new masking policy?

[NYHeel]

Is there a good resource either here or somewhere else online in terms of the virtual lines? We're going to be in Universal for two days on 6/21-6/22 with Express Pass. We've never been to Orlando during the peak periods so the major crowds will be a new experience for us. With Express Pass I'm not really worried about most of the rides, just Hagrid's and Velocicoaster. Just want to read up as much as possible on the ins and outs of virtual lines so I'm as prepared as can be.

 

[yeheyprincex2]

Hagrid's may not go virtual at all on a given day, it depends on the crowds/how long the line backs up, etc. It'll start out as stand by only initially. Best shot is to get in line about an hour before park open & ride standby first thing.

IAO opened today at 9am, our goal was to ride hagrid with less than an hour wait. We got at the IOA gates at 7:30 waited, gated open about 8:45 we power walked to hagrids had a 20 minute wait. it was awesome !!

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Is there a good resource either here or somewhere else online in terms of the virtual lines? We're going to be in Universal for two days on 6/21-6/22 with Express Pass. We've never been to Orlando during the peak periods so the major crowds will be a new experience for us. With Express Pass I'm not really worried about most of the rides, just Hagrid's and Velocicoaster. Just want to read up as much as possible on the ins and outs of virtual lines so I'm as prepared as can be.

Hagrid is on VQ most days. VC has not gone to a VQ at all. At this point they haven't said what status VC will have when its officially open on June 10. There are many threads already asking the same question. So to make it simple: Hagrid typically opens as a standby, and if it is a crowded day (i.e. the line backs up out of the normal que and down into the talking fountain area, they switch it over to VQ. Last Sunday, this happened at around 8:10. Immediately there were VQ spots put out for the next two hours. You hit the button, click how many guests, and confirm the time. They are 30 minute windows. Be aware that for the first few hours, this might mean you come back during your window and still wait an hour in line. Additional drops are at 11 and 2, and then likely 4, or sometimes even later if the ride is having a good day. Other rides that may go VQ during the day (Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, FJ) still take EP, so you don't need to worry. Best idea is to be at IOA an hour before official park open and just speed walk to Hagrid. They often open up the gates 30 minutes early if a crowded day so plan accordingly. In my experience, the only time that Hagrid is different is if there are early entry at IOA - in this case, it starts standby and switches to VQ before official park open, which makes it hard to get that first VQ drop unless you are already in the park or watching the app closely. VC did not open with the park on Sunday but rather about 20 minutes after - you can put a watch alert on the app to notify when it opens. We got in line at 8:23 and were off in 10 minutes (posted wait said 40) and then immediately back in line (posted wait 50 minutes) and off in 15. VC does have a single rider line that can help if you want to go that route.

 

[RocketCityMama]

WWoHP was almost wall to wall people yesterday at 5:30-5:45 pm. We went in for our Hagrid time and could barely make it to the bathroom before hopping in line. The butterbeer cart line is insane. Anyway no masking that I could really see minus my 2 kids.

 

[Bethany10]

The lines for food have been endless. All 3 parks. We’ve been mobile ordering and even that has been slammed

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

It’s a wrap! We stayed at HRH from Friday 5/28 and checked out this morning (At AK Jambo House now). Quick breakdown for the week. Saturday and Sunday leading up to Memorial Day the parks were packed at Universal. We had no problem booking dining but did have a problem when it came to just grabbing a drink. The lines at every walk up was crazy long. It was very crowded and maybe 1 out of 100 had on a mask. Monday was resort day as I was not about to deal with the holiday crowds. Tuesday - Thursday we did parks every day and it was very manageable. No mask, every seat filled, WWoHP was insane every day. But, the team members were awesome! The parks were super clean, even the bathrooms were clean every time we used them. We had only one issue the entire trip. The Bourne show broke down twice in a row. They gave us passes that were good on Hagrids so me and dd10 rode it 4 times back to back with no wait. We also rode Velocicoaster 4 times. 3 times on our last day. So to put crowds into perspective, on Thursday we got to ioa at 10:30 ish. We park hopped from ioa to uo and back to ioa. All in all we rode Rip ride rocket twice , Fallon, fast and furious, simpsons, mib, spider man, Hagrids 4 times, Velocicoaster 3 times, dr doom, twice broke down Bourne show, mummy twice, gringots, ate lunch at Finnigans. We did have express and did one virtual line for Hagrids but it was a fantastic day. With no masks.

 

[J'aime Paris]

The lines for food have been endless. All 3 parks. We’ve been mobile ordering and even that has been slammed

Agreed! All the stands/carts have been overwhelmed, with normally only one person working. It's slower than slow.

If you don't have a reservation for a sit down restaurant, you will most likely be turned away. We had a reservation at Mythos, and it wasn't even full. It's a staffing issue. They cannot find enough workers to run the restaurants at full capacity currently.

 

[NYHeel]

Hagrid is on VQ most days. VC has not gone to a VQ at all. At this point they haven't said what status VC will have when its officially open on June 10. There are many threads already asking the same question. So to make it simple: Hagrid typically opens as a standby, and if it is a crowded day (i.e. the line backs up out of the normal que and down into the talking fountain area, they switch it over to VQ. Last Sunday, this happened at around 8:10. Immediately there were VQ spots put out for the next two hours. You hit the button, click how many guests, and confirm the time. They are 30 minute windows. Be aware that for the first few hours, this might mean you come back during your window and still wait an hour in line. Additional drops are at 11 and 2, and then likely 4, or sometimes even later if the ride is having a good day. Other rides that may go VQ during the day (Mummy, Jimmy Fallon, FJ) still take EP, so you don't need to worry. Best idea is to be at IOA an hour before official park open and just speed walk to Hagrid. They often open up the gates 30 minutes early if a crowded day so plan accordingly. In my experience, the only time that Hagrid is different is if there are early entry at IOA - in this case, it starts standby and switches to VQ before official park open, which makes it hard to get that first VQ drop unless you are already in the park or watching the app closely. VC did not open with the park on Sunday but rather about 20 minutes after - you can put a watch alert on the app to notify when it opens. We got in line at 8:23 and were off in 10 minutes (posted wait said 40) and then immediately back in line (posted wait 50 minutes) and off in 15. VC does have a single rider line that can help if you want to go that route.

Thanks for the help. We're going to be in Universal on 6/21-6/22 so those are early park admission days at both IOA and US. They will also presumably be busy days or at least a lot busier than what I'm used to seeing when I'm there in late January. Regarding the VQ process, do you need an account to make a VQ reservation and if so does it need to have tickets linked to the account? Just wondering if each of our group of 5 can try and go for a VQ reservation to increase our chance of success? Also, can you make a VQ reservation from a Universal hotel like HRH?

I guess we'll have to wait and see what they do with VC. I can't imagine they'll use Express Pass on VC and I just assumed they'd use VQ but I could be wrong. It might change overall strategy on which of those two rides it make sense to try and hit first thing in the morning, especially with early admission in IOA.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Thanks for the help. We're going to be in Universal on 6/21-6/22 so those are early park admission days at both IOA and US. They will also presumably be busy days or at least a lot busier than what I'm used to seeing when I'm there in late January. Regarding the VQ process, do you need an account to make a VQ reservation and if so does it need to have tickets linked to the account? Just wondering if each of our group of 5 can try and go for a VQ reservation to increase our chance of success? Also, can you make a VQ reservation from a Universal hotel like HRH?

I guess we'll have to wait and see what they do with VC. I can't imagine they'll use Express Pass on VC and I just assumed they'd use VQ but I could be wrong. It might change overall strategy on which of those two rides it make sense to try and hit first thing in the morning, especially with early admission in IOA.

Yes you need to have the Universal park app to get the VQ, but unlike Disney, each of your group who has the app can get a VQ - you just click on the number in your group and then a time, so you could get an 8:30 - 9:00 on one device, and someone else in your group can get a 9:30 - 10:00, etc. We have had 3 VQ's in a morning a few times. VC does not have the same level of family interest as Hagrid - so it might not need to be on VQ. We will see. Also - you can get the VQ from anywhere on UO property - hotels, citywalk, parking garage.

Again - if you get to the gate 45 - an hour early, you will walk on to whichever ride you choose to go to.

 

[NYHeel]

Yes you need to have the Universal park app to get the VQ, but unlike Disney, each of your group who has the app can get a VQ - you just click on the number in your group and then a time, so you could get an 8:30 - 9:00 on one device, and someone else in your group can get a 9:30 - 10:00, etc. We have had 3 VQ's in a morning a few times. VC does not have the same level of family interest as Hagrid - so it might not need to be on VQ. We will see. Also - you can get the VQ from anywhere on UO property - hotels, citywalk, parking garage.

Again - if you get to the gate 45 - an hour early, you will walk on to whichever ride you choose to go to.

Does that rule apply when IOA has early admission at 8:00? We can probably try and get there at about 7:30-7:45 but earlier might be tough. But I don't even know if Hagrid's will open early anyway.

Also, we had some bad experiences on our last visit in January 2020 where we arrived early and waited really long, (I think it was 3 hours total, 4 hours if you include the early arrival) but that was mostly due to breakdowns.

 

[Mamabun]

Yes you need to have the Universal park app to get the VQ, but unlike Disney, each of your group who has the app can get a VQ - you just click on the number in your group and then a time, so you could get an 8:30 - 9:00 on one device, and someone else in your group can get a 9:30 - 10:00, etc. We have had 3 VQ's in a morning a few times. VC does not have the same level of family interest as Hagrid - so it might not need to be on VQ. We will see. Also - you can get the VQ from anywhere on UO property - hotels, citywalk, parking garage.

Again - if you get to the gate 45 - an hour early, you will walk on to whichever ride you choose to go to.

I assume each person must have their own Universal account and be logged in on their phonevto get multiple VQ reservations fo4 our group? I’m still a little confused about how to, or even if, to link tickets to everyone and creating multiple accounts, etc. Are linked tickets at all involved in VQ? This has been a very helpful thread so far - thanks all.

 

[Bethany10]

Does that rule apply when IOA has early admission at 8:00? We can probably try and get there at about 7:30-7:45 but earlier might be tough. But I don't even know if Hagrid's will open early anyway.

We were in line at 7:30 for a 9:00 park opening and they opened the gates at 8:40 or so, allowing everyone in but stopping us at the entrance to superhero island- I went left, my daughter went right and they stopped her right before Seuss. She ran for velocicoaster but I can tell you I was checking the app for Hagrids and it was down. She did walk on to Velocicoaster.

 

[Sara W]

We were there last week. We did the VQ for Hagrid's and waited 90min in line even with the VQ. Waited in line for VC and it was less than the wait for Hagrid's (I think 110min). We did VC later in the day after a pool day. I almost bailed last minute, so glad I didn't.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

I assume each person must have their own Universal account and be logged in on their phonevto get multiple VQ reservations fo4 our group? I’m still a little confused about how to, or even if, to link tickets to everyone and creating multiple accounts, etc. Are linked tickets at all involved in VQ? This has been a very helpful thread so far - thanks all.

actually no - one account is fine. and it is not related to linking tickets or how many tickets you have. you just move the slider to the number you want for the vq. each of my daughter's has the app and have been able to get a VQ for us, and we had some friends we were meeting on Sunday not with our family, so we just got the vq for 7 and all went on. It is not like Disney's app.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Does that rule apply when IOA has early admission at 8:00? We can probably try and get there at about 7:30-7:45 but earlier might be tough. But I don't even know if Hagrid's will open early anyway.

Also, we had some bad experiences on our last visit in January 2020 where we arrived early and waited really long, (I think it was 3 hours total, 4 hours if you include the early arrival) but that was mostly due to breakdowns.

Well, people will line up for EE early and they open the gates pretty close to the actual EE time. Unfortunately, only a couple of rides open for the EE (at USO - typically Gringotts, Minions, maybe Shrek, for IOA, Journey, Hulk, maybe Spidey, and Hagrid if it is running well) - you have to look at the app to see what it says. If it doesn't open early, the line builds as people stand around waiting to see if it opens. In this case - hit VC and watch the app for the VQ going active. But as i've said, the early VQ times will still be stacked in line behind those at rope drop, so it will be at least 45 minutes to an hour for all the VQ times before 10:00. If it is running well, those later in the morning and afternoon will get through the line in 20 - 25 minutes. I find it easy to get a VQ (as I've said, we get multiple with each drop), so I don't think you need to overthink it. Either try at opening, or hit VC and wait for a VQ drop (8:00, 11, 2, and 4).

 

[NYHeel]

It seems that they haven't been using the VQ much or at all for anything but the Fallon ride the last few days. I wonder if they're just not going to use VQ much anymore.

 

[Mamabun]

actually no - one account is fine. and it is not related to linking tickets or how many tickets you have. you just move the slider to the number you want for the vq. each of my daughter's has the app and have been able to get a VQ for us, and we had some friends we were meeting on Sunday not with our family, so we just got the vq for 7 and all went on. It is not like Disney's app.

Perfect - thanks!

 

[Mr. Drauer]

It seems that they haven't been using the VQ much or at all for anything but the Fallon ride the last few days. I wonder if they're just not going to use VQ much anymore.

Fallon is the only ride on it every day. VQ has been implemented to keep lines from running out into the main walking paths, and that is specifically important in Hogsmeade - so why we see it more often at Hagrid and FJ

 

[tony67]

So now that things are getting somewhat back to normal and there is a single rider line is it worth it for a solo traveler to book a hotel with EP
In the past I have tended to stay at Aventura when traveling alone since I can use the single rider line and I'm their for HHN.
Probably looking at a difference of at least $1000 for the week.

Thoughts

 

[NYHeel]

Fallon is the only ride on it every day. VQ has been implemented to keep lines from running out into the main walking paths, and that is specifically important in Hogsmeade - so why we see it more often at Hagrid and FJ

Hagrid's is currently at a 120 minute wait and still no VQ. You'd think they'd turn it on at this point if they were going to.