Best Time for Hagrid's on a Crowded Day?

[Grasshopper2016]

We will be at Universal on December 29. Expecting a very crowded day. Unfortunately, we don't have early entry.

My initial thought was to arrive well before opening and head to Hagrid's as soon as the park opens for regular guests. But I have heard reports that Hagrid's often sees its longest waits of the day at rope drop.

I know that waiting until just before park close is usually the best strategy. But that won't work for us. We will need to leave the park around 4:00--maybe 5:00 at the latest.

I know we'll be dealing with a long line no matter what, but do you think the lines would be comparatively shortest at rope drop, late morning, early afternoon, or mid-afternoon?

 

[boswelliseinhorn]

10am or so. When the crush from EE starts going to other rides. I can't ever get there for EE because I live too far away so this has been a great time for us. It's still going to be an hour, maybe 90 minutes.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I'm hoping this works, if not I can post a screenshot but here were the wait times on 12/29/2022 according to Thrill Data:

https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/a...magicalcreaturesmotorbikeadventure/2022/12/29

Looks like lowest posted wait during the time you'll be in the park was 135 minutes at 11 am.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

Thanks! And yikes! That's a huge chunk of our day. I wish they had some kind of Individual-Lightning-Lane-type pay-to-play option for this ride. . . .

 

[boswelliseinhorn]

Thanks! And yikes! That's a huge chunk of our day. I wish they had some kind of Individual-Lightning-Lane-type pay-to-play option for this ride. . . .

Yeah that is the problem with Hagrids. It's usually not as long as they post, so thats a positive, but it's going to be the longest wait of your trip. It's also totally worth it and should not be skipped.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We've seen it get lower right around lunch time. Noon to 1 often has lower times. We saw70-90 mins the weekend before Thanksgiving last year. The day your going is probably not going to get less than 90 minutes, I would guess. I would also look the week before Christmas and kind of stalk the app to see when the lowest times are. You can also have it give you an alert when the wait time falls to a certain level which can be helpful.

 

[tx911]

I was there recently and also found lower times around lunch.

Posted wait time was 150 minutes at 9am park opening, down to 70 minutes before noon.

My actual wait time was closer to 50 minutes.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I usually get in line about 15 minutes before the park closes. Hagrid's is better at night

 

[ClapYourHands]

Since you're going to be lining up around lunch time, my suggestion is to get your lunch to go, and use the wait time to eat in line. Obviously eating won't occupy you for the whole wait, but at least it will allow you to make the most of the rest of your day by not having to stop for lunch before or after - you can just get on with whatever else you want to ride. Maybe try a kebab or gyro from The Kebab House or Fire Eater's Grill in the lost continent section just before crossing over into Hogsmeade.

 

[Hopscotch]

Is there a single rider line for Hagrids? I swear we did that a couple years ago.

 

[tx911]

Is there a single rider line for Hagrids? I swear we did that a couple years ago.

There is a single rider line. In my limited experience, it is not much faster than the regular line, I believe because it’s a two person ride.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Is there a single rider line for Hagrids? I swear we did that a couple years ago.

Yes but in my experience it is not faster than the standby line. Often times you're waiting the length of time standby is posted at or even longer. Also you typically don't get to choose which seat you'll be in so you will be in the sidecar 99% of the time.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

There is a single rider line. In my limited experience, it is not much faster than the regular line, I believe because it’s a two person ride.

Yes but in my experience it is not faster than the standby line. Often times you're waiting the length of time standby is posted at or even longer. Also you typically don't get to choose which seat you'll be in so you will be in the sidecar 99% of the time.

Plus it's a boring staircase that you stand in barely moving, as opposed to getting to slowly meander through the various rooms & see the easter eggs throughout the actual queue.