Hagrid's Coaster Queue Updates / Questions / Reviews

Yeah, they need to take a cue from Disney and use the Virtual Line for this. It's ridiculous and ROTR proves that a virtual line/boarding group can work with a unreliable, popular attraction.
Except that all the slots are gone so quickly after opening. At least folks can choose to wait stand by for Hagrid vs being shut out if they arrive at the oh so late hour of 8am. That just doesn’t seem fair.
 
Except that all the slots are gone so quickly after opening. At least folks can choose to wait stand by for Hagrid vs being shut out if they arrive at the oh so late hour of 8am. That just doesn’t seem fair.
Good point. Maybe they could distribute throughout the day instead of all chances at once. There's gotta be ways to tweak the system.

Though Hagrid is 6 months old at this point; I doubt slots would be gone so quickly honestly.
 
We rode Hagrids this morning and it was amazing!! We were on the first boat to leave Portofino around 7. We were third in line at the gates. They started scanning around 7:45. We had about a 5 min delay as 2 tickets wouldn't work. We walked at a normal pace towards Poseidon where they held us in a queue for about 20 or so minutes. Then we heard the ride running around 8 and we stared moving. Went under the arch into Hogsmead around 8:15 and boarded at 8:38. It was such a great experience and we really lucked out they started the ride so early. Yesterday it didn't start until 9. Hopefully this bodes well for future days.
We’re staying there in a couple weeks. Do they have the express pass for that ride? Is the resort noticeably under construction? Thanks!
 


We’re staying there in a couple weeks. Do they have the express pass for that ride? Is the resort noticeably under construction? Thanks!

No EP for Hagrid's so get to park early and head straight to ride if you want the shortest wait.

No noticeable construction at Portofino when we were there although we didn't use the pools so not sure if there is anything going on around those.
 
I showed up at the park this past Saturday (1/18/20) around 8 am with no plan. Initially I was going to wait in line at IoA but saw a lot of people waiting already, so I went into early admission at the Studios and headed to Hogwart's Express. Seemed like a lot of other people had the same idea. I wouldn't do this again as it didn't save any time.

The ride wait in the app was 60 minutes the second the park opened. When I exited the train into Hogsmeade I was delayed because the queue for Hagrid's extended back to Mythos and blocked the path. I had to wait a few minutes until they let us move into Hogsmeade. I saw the Single Rider Line was open but no way to access it without going to the back of the queue, so I wandered around behind Ollivander's and saw, near the second set of lockers on the left of the entrance to Hagrid's, an opening and walked right in and went straight to the single riders line. There were maybe 25 single riders in front of me and I was on/off the ride in about 20 minutes. When I exited at 9:50 am the wait time was 150 minutes.

Totally awesome, thrilling, amazing. I had no idea what to expect and LOVED it!
 
. I saw the Single Rider Line was open but no way to access it without going to the back of the queue, so I wandered around behind Ollivander's and saw, near the second set of lockers on the left of the entrance to Hagrid's, an opening and walked right in and went straight to the single riders line. There were maybe 25 single riders in front of me and I was on/off the ride in about 20 minutes. When I exited at 9:50 am the wait time was 150 minutes.
Can you explain this a little more? When I have done the SR line I had to wait in the regular line until the split in the path before the building. So was there a new opening (not the regular entrance) that went straight to SR? Was it marked as such?
 


Sure! When I got off the Hogwart's Express, this is the is route I took to get on the ride. I didn't need to stow anything in a locker and I just wanted to see if the single rider line was open before I got in line. There was nothing marking this as an entrance, I just noticed that the queue snaked around there and I wanted to see how far back it went. That's when I noticed that there was no chain, fence, or any barricade to prevent me from walking past the lockers and getting into the single rider line. I'm not sure if I was supposed to do that, but it was so chaotic, hectic, and crowded that no one noticed or said anything.

In the very middle of this picture, there is a recycling bin with a blue lid. Directly above that to the left you see the man in a blue shirt? That's where I basically walked in and was able to get into the single riders line.
 
Sure! When I got off the Hogwart's Express, this is the is route I took to get on the ride. I didn't need to stow anything in a locker and I just wanted to see if the single rider line was open before I got in line. There was nothing marking this as an entrance, I just noticed that the queue snaked around there and I wanted to see how far back it went. That's when I noticed that there was no chain, fence, or any barricade to prevent me from walking past the lockers and getting into the single rider line. I'm not sure if I was supposed to do that, but it was so chaotic, hectic, and crowded that no one noticed or said anything.

In the very middle of this picture, there is a recycling bin with a blue lid. Directly above that to the left you see the man in a blue shirt? That's where I basically walked in and was able to get into the single riders line.

Erm, yeah, so that empty line behind Olivander's is only supposed to be for people returning to get their bags out of lockers after completing the ride. There's usually a TM watching that line to make sure people go back out after coming in that way, but I guess they had stepped away for a moment or didn't notice you. Nothing in the area is labeled, so I can maybe understand getting mixed up, but the end result was that you definitely ended up cutting the line. Also, the start of the single rider line is not visible from there, so you must have gone through the Express Pass line for a while as well before getting to the actual single rider line.

So, please, no one else try to copy this route - that's definitely not how it's supposed to work and I would hate to see anyone accidentally get in trouble for cutting.
 
Thanks, MeridaAnn, that's what confused me. I have always had to wait in the whole queue to get to SR.
 
Showed up at 10am to the ride each morning on Jan 17 & 18th, was down at some point both times we were in line but got on within 90 minutes both days. Absolutely brilliant ride! Front row motorbike is the absolute best spot, didn’t love the sidecar though. Worth the wait.
 
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Is rain still a problem for this ride? Is it only down while it rains, or for a period afterwards as well? We have one park only tickets, but we have 2 days set aside for IOA, so I was wondering if I should plan around weather next week.
 
Is rain still a problem for this ride? Is it only down while it rains, or for a period afterwards as well? We have one park only tickets, but we have 2 days set aside for IOA, so I was wondering if I should plan around weather next week.

It had some difficulties resulting from the cold as well.
 
I don't believe light rain is a problem (as others have noted they've been on in the rain). I think it goes down for rain when it's heavy down pour and/or lightning is showing on the radar within 10 miles.
 
Erm, yeah, so that empty line behind Olivander's is only supposed to be for people returning to get their bags out of lockers after completing the ride. There's usually a TM watching that line to make sure people go back out after coming in that way, but I guess they had stepped away for a moment or didn't notice you. Nothing in the area is labeled, so I can maybe understand getting mixed up, but the end result was that you definitely ended up cutting the line. Also, the start of the single rider line is not visible from there, so you must have gone through the Express Pass line for a while as well before getting to the actual single rider line.

So, please, no one else try to copy this route - that's definitely not how it's supposed to work and I would hate to see anyone accidentally get in trouble for cutting.

I think a TM got distracted doing something else, or abandoned the position briefly. It doesn't take much for a TM to do so. I'll tell a story without too much detail. As I'm not sure if anyone from Universal does read these things, or not. A couple of weeks ago I noticed one of the doors in an area where doors aren't meant to be open was in fact open (sounds weird, but these doors are not intended, or at least from what I thought never to be opened) and was filled with packages and other things. No TM in that area. So I walked not too far to the next TM to let them be aware as I didn't know the sensitivity of the packages, since these doors are not intended to be opened (or at least not during guests hours I'd imagine), and no TM in sight. Without hesitation they started walking towards the area I reported it being, didn't radio in, or anything, and abandoned their post.

I agree that this maneuver shouldn't be replicated, especially since someone could get in trouble and I believe it was done on purpose. The OP stated they kind of found it, but it seems they were looking pretty thoroughly for another way. All attraction entrances and SR lines are labeled accordingly. If someone genuinely wants a non-rule breaker way of getting into the SR line they can ask a TM, "Hey is there another way to get to the SR line without getting into this line?" It would be the same if someone was looking for EP. If it's not labeled EP then it means that isn't an EP line. Ask a TM where it is, then they can tell you, "Oh, here it is over there," (which once you get to the line will be labeled as EP), or "There isn't one."
 
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I was fully prepared to wait 120 minutes or whatever it is these days for Hagrid, but the cold weather actually ended up working in my favor today. Originally I showed up outside the entry archway at 9-something a.m. Phalanx of TMs posted out front were telling people ride was down for weather, probably wouldn't be open for hours. (And this after RotR was down 7+ hours yesterday and I had to wait for that.) So I wandered off to Kong, Spider-Man, High in the Sky, Poseidon (that last one an excellent choice on a cold day, btw). Lunch at Doc Sugrue's and came back at maybe 1:15 p.m. Still closed, but as I and many other disappointed Hagrid-ites stood around, the TMs started to disperse and the ride opened up right in front of us! Waited in queue maybe 15-20 minutes and got the motorbike seat as well. We walked past a presentation screen that I gathered was supposed to be a preshow, but it was not performed, sadly.

Ride was a bit much for me, not being a young person any more, but overall it was excellent and definitely a must-do for coaster enthusiasts.
 
I was fully prepared to wait 120 minutes or whatever it is these days for Hagrid, but the cold weather actually ended up working in my favor today. Originally I showed up outside the entry archway at 9-something a.m. Phalanx of TMs posted out front were telling people ride was down for weather, probably wouldn't be open for hours. (And this after RotR was down 7+ hours yesterday and I had to wait for that.) So I wandered off to Kong, Spider-Man, High in the Sky, Poseidon (that last one an excellent choice on a cold day, btw). Lunch at Doc Sugrue's and came back at maybe 1:15 p.m. Still closed, but as I and many other disappointed Hagrid-ites stood around, the TMs started to disperse and the ride opened up right in front of us! Waited in queue maybe 15-20 minutes and got the motorbike seat as well. We walked past a presentation screen that I gathered was supposed to be a preshow, but it was not performed, sadly.

Ride was a bit much for me, not being a young person any more, but overall it was excellent and definitely a must-do for coaster enthusiasts.

I'm jealous! We saw the ride come back up on the app, but I was in rider swap at The Hulk, waiting for my husband to finish his ride. By the time he got off, the wait was already at 120 minutes. We jumped in line at 6:55 (five minutes before park close) and got on around 8:15. It was totally worth it!

That queue is tricky, there are several times that you think you're getting close only to go through more and more switchbacks.
 
MIChessGuy.....
With your good luck for a short wait for Hagrids, you should change your tag of

Proud, But Not a Redhead

to

Proud Redhead
 
Is the wait time listed in the app accurate for Hagrids? I am 3 weeks out from my trip and have been randomly going in the app to see how waits are overall (yes I know it can all change) and noticed that wait times have been 60-90 mins midday during the week. Are those realistic? I am in the mindset if I get on I get on, but if the wait is showing under 90 I have no issues in waiting, IF that is true. This is baring any shut downs due to weather. But if I were to get inline on a clear normal weather day and the app shows 60 mins, can I believe that? TIA
 
Is the wait time listed in the app accurate for Hagrids? I am 3 weeks out from my trip and have been randomly going in the app to see how waits are overall (yes I know it can all change) and noticed that wait times have been 60-90 mins midday during the week. Are those realistic? I am in the mindset if I get on I get on, but if the wait is showing under 90 I have no issues in waiting, IF that is true. This is baring any shut downs due to weather. But if I were to get inline on a clear normal weather day and the app shows 60 mins, can I believe that? TIA

Most have observed that it's actually usually the "opposite" in that if it's showing at 90 minutes, then you're wait will likely be considerably lower than that as long as the ride doesn't go down (mechanical issue, weather etc.).

The observations for a long time as been that they are over-estimating ride waits to take into consideration/compensate for ride delays for the most part.
 

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