Hagrids - No Virtual Line

[1911]

Cast members told me that Saturday they hit capacity and today they were close. Most rides on the universal side were at an hour wait for most of the day today we hopped over to Islands at 3 but didn't even bother to ride as wait times there were worse.

 

[andieb0602]

Cast members told me that Saturday they hit capacity and today they were close. Most rides on the universal side were at an hour wait for most of the day today we hopped over to Islands at 3 but didn't even bother to ride as wait times there were worse.

Ugh. I'm hoping wait times during the week go back down and weekends get a bit less busy next month. Part of what we loved last month was that we didn't need to worry about getting to the parks early to rope drop rides and that we could sleep in. IIRC staying on-site doesn't guarantee entry and I'll be frustrated if we can't get into the parks the afternoon after we check-in (or any other time). 8 hours is a long time to drive to hang out in a hotel room or at a pool.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I'm curious which park "hit capacity" on which day. We hopped back a forth a couple of times on Saturday and I never saw them turning anyone around. It didn't every seem overly crowded either but the lines were definitely longer than I have seen in awhile. Wait times were down today but nothing like it has been lately. I would think it is likely to go back down in Sept. once most schools have started back, especially locally.

 

[Leigh L]

No luck with VQ today, but went on standby when it dropped to posted time of 60 min. Was 35 minutes including the ride itself. I think this was around 2 pm? We walked almost all the way through and they had parts of the queue roped off. DD and I rode again around 4:45, time posted was 60 minutes, we were off by about 5:30. Queue went slower the entire queue was open, but not too bad a wait at all.

Parks were not by any means empty but much quieter than yesterday!

 

[1911]

I'm curious which park "hit capacity" on which day. We hopped back a forth a couple of times on Saturday and I never saw them turning anyone around. It didn't every seem overly crowded either but the lines were definitely longer than I have seen in awhile. Wait times were down today but nothing like it has been lately. I would think it is likely to go back down in Sept. once most schools have started back, especially locally.

I was chatting with team members at Islands, they did not specify which parks. They did say that a lot of them complained to management about the conditions on Saturday.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I was chatting with team members at Islands, they did not specify which parks. They did say that a lot of them complained to management about the conditions on Saturday.

Yes, I was telling my DH that it was obvious UO did not expect the crowd that showed up this past weekend. All of the team members looked overworked. We didn't see very many that looked overly happy. Not that anyone was rude at all but it appeared they were stretched thin.

 

[dreynolds1982]

Back from our trip. Did both parks on Monday. Re: Hagrids, was told by a TM that they are only doing the Virtual Line on weekend right now. Monday-Friday is standby only. We rode 3 times....

• 10:30 a.m. - Posted 75 min, actual 45.
• Mid afternoon - Posted 30 min, actual 15 (the ride had been down with issues and I think we got lucky and caught it shortly after it reopened.
• Right before close (5:45 p.m.) - Posted 60 min, actual 20.

Long story short, don't be intimidated by the posted wait times. Was told that with the social distancing measures, the posted times are typically far higher than actual waits. Even for the 45 min wait, the line kept moving and it didn't feel that long.

Ride was amazing BTW. Tons of fun!

 

[SPSRAS]

Back from our trip. Did both parks on Monday. Re: Hagrids, was told by a TM that they are only doing the Virtual Line on weekend right now. Monday-Friday is standby only. We rode 3 times....

• 10:30 a.m. - Posted 75 min, actual 45.
• Mid afternoon - Posted 30 min, actual 15 (the ride had been down with issues and I think we got lucky and caught it shortly after it reopened.
• Right before close (5:45 p.m.) - Posted 60 min, actual 20.

Long story short, don't be intimidated by the posted wait times. Was told that with the social distancing measures, the posted times are typically far higher than actual waits. Even for the 45 min wait, the line kept moving and it didn't feel that long.

Ride was amazing BTW. Tons of fun!

Thank you for the update - this is great news! We will have only one day at Universal- next Wednesday the 19th and I was getting really worried after these weekend reposts. We plan on doing just Harry Potter - do you think one day is enough?

 

[dreynolds1982]

Thank you for the update - this is great news! We will have only one day at Universal- next Wednesday the 19th and I was getting really worried after these weekend reposts. We plan on doing just Harry Potter - do you think one day is enough?

Are you doing just one park or both? We did both parks in one day, from 8:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. We did have Unl EP and early entry since we were staying at RPR. It was a lot of walking for sure, but we rode everything we wanted to ride in both parks at least once, and a couple of things more than once (Hagrids 3x, Mummy 2x, Hogwarts Exp (both directions), HPFJ 2x). We even stopped for an awesome full service lunch at Mythos. I think even w/o Express Pass, most rides would have been walkons or very short waits. EP really helped on Mummy, Hulk, Kong, Gringotts and Hogwarts Express. If you're just doing HP stuff, even both parks, I think you'll likely run out of things to do faster than you think if you're doing a full day. I'd check out a few other things too if I were you.

 

[macraven]

Thank you for the update - this is great news! We will have only one day at Universal- next Wednesday the 19th and I was getting really worried after these weekend reposts. We plan on doing just Harry Potter - do you think one day is enough?

If you plan to only do the Potter sections, you’ll be fine.

 

[wareagle57]

Back from our trip. Did both parks on Monday. Re: Hagrids, was told by a TM that they are only doing the Virtual Line on weekend right now. Monday-Friday is standby only. We rode 3 times....

• 10:30 a.m. - Posted 75 min, actual 45.
• Mid afternoon - Posted 30 min, actual 15 (the ride had been down with issues and I think we got lucky and caught it shortly after it reopened.
• Right before close (5:45 p.m.) - Posted 60 min, actual 20.

Long story short, don't be intimidated by the posted wait times. Was told that with the social distancing measures, the posted times are typically far higher than actual waits. Even for the 45 min wait, the line kept moving and it didn't feel that long.

Ride was amazing BTW. Tons of fun!

This is actually one of the few queues I don't mind waiting in at all, especially since reopening. I wish they'd never have the virtual queue. You can pretty much eyeball this one now and know how long your wait will be. I've counted the markers from the entrance to the ride and it's about 130, meaning only 130 groups are ahead of you. As fast as this ride loads, even if you're backed all the way up to the entrance (which I almost never see), you'll be on in less than 30 minutes most of the time. And you're always moving. We will never wait for most things longer than 15-20 minutes but in a constantly moving interesting queue like Hagrids, the time just flys.

So I'm guessing since no one here is talking about the closure, it must have reopened today after being closed yesterday?

 

[andieb0602]

I've counted the markers from the entrance to the ride and it's about 130, meaning only 130 groups are ahead of you.

You are my hero.

 

[wareagle57]

You are my hero.

Lol I know I’m a nerd but it’s been one of my favorite things about the new normal. I can finally analyze throughput and wait times in a somewhat accurate way. My favorite is Slinky dog because with that right I can actually monitor how fast each train is dispatched in real time and compare to how many markers we move on average. Lol

 

[SPSRAS]

Are you doing just one park or both? We did both parks in one day, from 8:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. We did have Unl EP and early entry since we were staying at RPR. It was a lot of walking for sure, but we rode everything we wanted to ride in both parks at least once, and a couple of things more than once (Hagrids 3x, Mummy 2x, Hogwarts Exp (both directions), HPFJ 2x). We even stopped for an awesome full service lunch at Mythos. I think even w/o Express Pass, most rides would have been walkons or very short waits. EP really helped on Mummy, Hulk, Kong, Gringotts and Hogwarts Express. If you're just doing HP stuff, even both parks, I think you'll likely run out of things to do faster than you think if you're doing a full day. I'd check out a few other things too if I were you.

We are doing both UO and IOA. Harry Potter is our main priority and if we have time for other rides then that will be a great bonus. We’ve just booked a last minute trip and unlike previous Disney trips will play it by ear. Depending on the first day we may purchase more Universal days or may do a day at Disney or maybe just lay by the pool. We are just trying to stay flexible and see how it goes. Fingers crossed we have a good trip. Thanks again

 

[SportsDoc]

At both parks today. Day 4 of 4 trip. Crowds seemed to build though week but always seemed safe and manageable. Weather closures also pushed people to indoor rides for periods of time. Hagrid was down all day today.

 

[dreynolds1982]

We are doing both UO and IOA. Harry Potter is our main priority and if we have time for other rides then that will be a great bonus. We’ve just booked a last minute trip and unlike previous Disney trips will play it by ear. Depending on the first day we may purchase more Universal days or may do a day at Disney or maybe just lay by the pool. We are just trying to stay flexible and see how it goes. Fingers crossed we have a good trip. Thanks again

If you have Express Pass you will definitely have time for other rides, and most likely even if you don't based on my experience. Either way still lots to enjoy at both HP sections. They are still doing some of the stage shows too which is nice (I noticed both the goblet of fire and frog chorus shows while we were there.) We didn't spend too much time in the shops but didn't find them to be overly crowded when we poked our heads in. Busiest time we saw anything was Diagon Alley (mostly around Gringotts) during the 8-9 a.m. UO resort early entry time. Hope crowds are manageable and you guys have a blast!

 

[butterscotchcollins]

FYI for anyone going any time soon (like this weekend) https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando...l-orlando-hagrid-coaster-small-backstage-fire

 

[wareagle57]

FYI for anyone going any time soon (like this weekend) https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando...l-orlando-hagrid-coaster-small-backstage-fire

The article is from Wednesday. I'm surprised there hasn't been an update, and that it's taken this long to get it ready. The app just says "virtual line closed" instead of closed, which seems unnecessarily misleading considering it's just plain closed.

 

[SPSRAS]

The article is from Wednesday. I'm surprised there hasn't been an update, and that it's taken this long to get it ready. The app just says "virtual line closed" instead of closed, which seems unnecessarily misleading considering it's just plain closed.

Oh no! I hope they get it running by next Wednesday

 

[snowpack]

Yes, I was telling my DH that it was obvious UO did not expect the crowd that showed up this past weekend.

It must be hard for them to staff with the attendance fluctuating so much. I hate to hear about overworked staff though. I can attest it wears thin quickly and the service will suffer.

Does anyone know when they can increase capacity. I havent been following the covid numbers lately outside of our own county.