Editor’s Note: This piece is written by Luke Fouyer, a special correspondent for the Boardwalk Times.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (God, that’s a mouthful) just opened last Thursday, June 13th at Universal’s Island of Adventure, and it made headlines with its 10 hour wait times.
Yeah, you heard that right. Thankfully, I didn’t wait all that…
I waited for eight and a half hours. And let me just say, it was completely worth it.
I got in line at 6:30 am. At this point, the line was already close to the park entrance.
They soon announced that the ride would be opened with the rest of the park at 9 am, and then the wait time would be around 4 hours. Thankfully, the line moved quite a bit even before park opening. Part of the line went through Universal’s backlot, which was nice, it’s a part of the park we don’t usually see.
That backlot “tour” walked us by the back of the old Voyage of Sinbad building and led us to the Mystic Fountain at Lost Continent (“You’ve been waiting four hours? I’ve been asleep the whole time,” said the fountain). There we were held a little before heading to Hogsmeade, where many people (including me) couldn’t resist not buying some Frozen Butterbeer to cool off.
Although it was hot, the clouds made it bearable. That still doesn’t mean these clouds were the good guy. They were signs of evil yet to come. But more on that soon.
Before getting to the queue, we had to leave our bags and belongings outside. Thankfully, for the mental health of people who would still wait many hours waiting in line, phones were allowed in the ride, which allowed me to take my favorite picture from the queue:
The outside of the queue allows from some very “instagrammable” pics of the ride, the Hogwarts castle, Hagrid’s hut, and of course, some selfies with the beautiful trees.
While inside the queue, I saw there was indeed a single rider line, but I didn’t go through it since that would skip all of the queue. The Universal Express
— Uni’s FastPass system — section was present, but empty, as Universal Express for this attraction will only come at a later date.
As expected, those dark clouds started to work their evil ways. Weather (and ride malfunctions) stopped the ride — and the line — many times (at one point, some riders were stuck on the ride for ten whole minutes). Luckily, no strong rain happened while I was in the outside part of the queue.
The inside of the queue is nice, although nothing spectacular like Gringotts. It is all a real nice refurbish of the Dueling Dragons queue. The walls have various writings and drawings from students, showcasing some Dueling Dragons easter eggs. The various underground hallways got the people in line making various jokes (“is this Hagrid’s Magical Hallway Adventure?”) and cheering when whenever we finally got to a room.
There was a pre-show scene, with Hagrid and Arthur Weasley showcasing the ride’s vehicle. There are some nice elements in it, but it seemed too short, and after watching a video online, I realize I only watched 25% of it. Guess they were in a hurry to get people to “class.”
After a long 7 hours, I finally got on the ride. Well, sort of. As soon as I sat on Hagrid’s beautiful motorbike… They made us leave. They placed us on a corridor near the exit, where we had to wait for almost two hours. And when the ride finally got working again (even though the weather seemed to only worsen), they placed another group in front of us. That led to a bunch of screaming, from guests to TMs and vice versa. A complicated mess that got cleared up once Universal finally put us back in the ride. And off we went on our Motorbike Adventure™.
Finally, after making you wait as much as I did, I can tell you about the ride. It is in the outside for the most part, and the rain was getting pretty heavy. But that still didn’t distract me from having a GREAT time. Because Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (still too long of a name) is one of the best rides I have ever been on. No joke.
The coaster part was the highlight. Mostly just long, straight lines with accelerating speeds with some nice, soft curves. I got to ride in the motorbike (you can choose between that or the sidecar) and the feeling of riding through the forest at full speed while holding at the handlebars like an actual motorcycle… Just, wow.
And you know what else is incredible? No screens. The ride is basically a big middle finger to the people who say Universal can only do screens (not that there is any problem specifically with screens, but that is a conversation for another day). The animatronics for all those magical creatures (and one Hagrid) were amazing and the scenes, together with the spike and the drop (which, if you are afraid of drops, don’t worry, it’s really quick) blend really well with the story and the rest of the coaster.
I got off the ride feeling ecstatic. And before leaving, I was stopped by a Universal Team Member, who gave me a re-ride ticket, to make up for that complicated mess from earlier.
So, let me finish this post by actually congratulating Universal, not only for creating such a beautiful and incredible ride, but also — and hang in there with me — for their crowd management.
Yes, some people didn’t get to ride, and ten-hour waits are not… exceptional. But congratulations are in order specifically for those Team Members who worked hard at the park, managing really well what seemed like an impossible crowd. The time I waited, however long it was, was not a torment. Water was available everywhere, DJs played some music, even ice cream stands were located in the lines.
Universal has already announced that they will soon start using a virtual line which will, in turn, get you to the actual line. That by itself will definitely make waiting for the ride a bit better.
But if it’s long lines you are waiting for, August’s new land opening at Universal’s neighbor is not that far away. May Hagrid bless our souls.
Luke Fouyer is a special correspondent for the Boardwalk Times. You can find him on Twitter @FouyerLucas.
