Our Tips from 5 Days in July

[thevolcanogod]

Wait - is there no more early standby at all for Hagrid's (meaning rope drop)? Are you now required to use VQ at all times?

i believe it is open for early access - when it’s open. I only have one day that I saw that would support this because it was delayed start due to weather a couple days and just plain down for whatever reason - mechanical or other - for a couple days too. If I had to guess I’d say you can EA this with virtual queue starting around 10am.

 

[thevolcanogod]

Also if you didn’t see the news - the ride lead for ET was sadly killed with his son on July 4th in a traffic accident. The ride was down on July 5 en memoriam. I only found out because I was looking at the ride history and happened to see the news story.

 

[asuburbanman]

Every time I look at the app it shows delayed or virtual line over the past few days

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Every time I look at the app it shows delayed or virtual line over the past few days

Same here except for the early entry hour - then switched to this new VL shortly after regular park open .

 

[KatieCharlotte]

To address a couple of points based on our recent experience:

At the Kebab House in IOA, they don't have a fountain soda pop machine to give out free cups of ice water, but they had the same little plastic cups and directed us to get water from the nearby freestyle machines. We were definitely able to get free water without our refillable mugs.

Yes, some counter service places ran out of food by 6 p.m., including Thunder Falls Terrace, and many were closed after 6 p.m. , including Kebabs, Comic Strip Cafe, and Captain America Diner.

 

[wdwrule]

Every time I look at the app it shows delayed or virtual line over the past few days

I agree with @DoryGirl1963 … I’ve been noticing as well (on the app) actual wait times for Hagrid‘s during the early entry hour and then it switches to virtual queue after early entry hour.

 

[maverik85]

Ok thanks! Yes I’m curious too. I was planning on buying the refillable mugs for the family but I’m a huge water drinker and didn’t know if I could just refill my own bottle/refillable cup or if I can get free water at the quick service places. I’m so used to Disney where they have trays of cups of water at all the QS places which is so convenient. Never been to Universal yet so I’m a bit clueless.

tap water is generally free at any park. It would be a huge liability to not offer it, as if someone passed out from heat/dehydration it would fall on the park a lot if they didn't offer water to guests to keep them hydrated. If you want bottled or something nicer than tap you will usually have to pay though.

 

[wdwrule]

tap water is generally free at any park. It would be a huge liability to not offer it, as if someone passed out from heat/dehydration it would fall on the park a lot if they didn't offer water to guests to keep them hydrated. If you want bottled or something nicer than tap you will usually have to pay though.

Tap is totally fine with me. I’ve seen some videos recently where the freestyle machines do allow you to access water from it with a non-activated cup. I’m fine with finding water fountains and refill stations too. I’d just rather not wait in an hour line for a quick service cup of tap water though.

 

[yayornay]

We just returned from 7 days in the parks. You can get water from the Freestyle machine, but the lines were often very long. We'd fill up our thermoses at the hotel's Freestyle machine and try to refill at some point during the day or at lunch. Moe's had a huge water dispenser you could access without having to get in the purchase line.

We did early admission most days and Hagrids was typically an hour wait prior to park opening. In my opinion, virtual is the way to go! We returned at our time, scanned in, and waited 20 minutes max (usually less) to ride. It was great.

 

[maverik85]

Tap is totally fine with me. I’ve seen some videos recently where the freestyle machines do allow you to access water from it with a non-activated cup. I’m fine with finding water fountains and refill stations too. I’d just rather not wait in an hour line for a quick service cup of tap water though.

Yea lines suck for that. an if you don't have a refillable cup it's usually a tiny cup of water, not even a normal soda cup. i tend to hit the water fountains more but the water usually tastes terrible at them

 

[wdwrule]

We just returned from 7 days in the parks. You can get water from the Freestyle machine, but the lines were often very long. We'd fill up our thermoses at the hotel's Freestyle machine and try to refill at some point during the day or at lunch. Moe's had a huge water dispenser you could access without having to get in the purchase line.

We did early admission most days and Hagrids was typically an hour wait prior to park opening. In my opinion, virtual is the way to go! We returned at our time, scanned in, and waited 20 minutes max (usually less) to ride. It was great.

Thanks! And thanks @maverik85 We will have a combination of refillable park Freestyle mugs and our own reusable bottle (Bobble with filter) so this is great to know. Great idea to fill up at hotel in the morning and the set up at Moe’s sounds great!

 

[Cuchman]

8. Smile and be positive. It was hard when we saw a whole week of rain in the forecast but I realized if I look for the positive then my family will too and the trip will be more fun. This is your vacation. Don’t spend it angry and picky about stuff.

This is always SO key, thanks for sharing. If only everyone heard and absorbed this message

 

[heidijanesmith]

How does the VQ work for Hagrids?

DH and I are getting older and do not rope drop as much. If we could do a VQ, I would!.

I just do not know how to do it at Universal. Help!

 

[Jessem1133]

How does the VQ work for Hagrids?

DH and I are getting older and do not rope drop as much. If we could do a VQ, I would!.

I just do not know how to do it at Universal. Help!

https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-virtual-queue-for-hagrids.3844353/page-4#post-63180383