General Discussion - Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure

[Mad Dog]

I can't recall any attraction at Universal, since Express has been available, that has as consistently extremely long standby lines as Hagrids. This is over four years old now and the lines are as long, if not longer, as when it opened. I'm guessing no 'regular' Express for the near future.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Oh wow, I didn't realize only 14 people went in at once. That is insane!

Of course, it runs anywhere from 9 to 11 trains at once when everything is working properly -- there's literally a train loading right after another

 

[HandsomePete]

Of course, it runs anywhere from 9 to 11 trains at once when everything is working properly -- there's literally a train loading right after another

Dispatch interval is about 35 seconds - in visual terms that’s a vehicle making the sharp left by the queue after initial launch at the same time one is going up the hill/through the building after leaving Hagrid’s hut.

35 second dispatch interval works out to 1,440/hr, which for a ride of that popularity is very low especially considering that’s theoretical-ish. Same situation as Frozen Ever After. And it replaced two B&Ms that were probably 4,000/hr combined.

Also, and this gets into the behavioral economics of it all… I think people are conditioned to just take their medicine and wait in the line. I would say the rest of the wait times in the park usually aren’t that bad (60 for a ride of VC’s quality is perfectly reasonable to me), it’s just that Hagrid’s is the one where people are like, well the internet told me I need to wait an eternity to go on this so might as well. Same with Flight of Passage.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Dispatch interval is about 35 seconds - in visual terms that’s a vehicle making the sharp left by the queue after initial launch at the same time one is going up the hill/through the building after leaving Hagrid’s hut.

35 second dispatch interval works out to 1,440/hr, which for a ride of that popularity is very low especially considering that’s theoretical-ish. Same situation as Frozen Ever After. And it replaced two B&Ms that were probably 4,000/hr combined.

Also, and this gets into the behavioral economics of it all… I think people are conditioned to just take their medicine and wait in the line. I would say the rest of the wait times in the park usually aren’t that bad (60 for a ride of VC’s quality is perfectly reasonable to me), it’s just that Hagrid’s is the one where people are like, well the internet told me I need to wait an eternity to go on this so might as well. Same with Flight of Passage.

Yeah... and that 35-sec dispatch is if both drop tracks are running correctly. Hagrid unfortunately suffers from a combination of low capacity (for its popularity), tech issues, IP power, height requirement in a park that doesn't offer too many for the younger ones, and most importantly... isn't too intense or a simulator that can be nauseating for some.

I also think it suffers from USF closing earlier than IOA and people rushing over to get another ride.

 

[Jake S]

IP power, height requirement in a park that doesn't offer too many for the younger ones, and most importantly... isn't too intense or a simulator that can be nauseating for some.

I think this hits the nail on the head. It's an incredibly popular character in an incredibly popular IP with a limited thrill component and low(ish) height requirement. I think the attraction is good-not-great and I am extremely in the minority among the friends and family I've traveled to Orlando with.

 

[IzzyB]

Yeah... and that 35-sec dispatch is if both drop tracks are running correctly. Hagrid unfortunately suffers from a combination of low capacity (for its popularity), tech issues, IP power, height requirement in a park that doesn't offer too many for the younger ones, and most importantly... isn't too intense or a simulator that can be nauseating for some.

I also think it suffers from USF closing earlier than IOA and people rushing over to get another ride.

It sounds like another Frozen debacle, putting a popular IP in a ride that can't handle it. I also think in general IOA needs to replace lost Continent faster because that was also a people eater. They got rid of 3 things that ate people. Well Fury a little less, but the other two one being a show was a lot of capacity and 2 of the 3 was no height restriction capacity which is vital in a park. I don't know when parks will realize that lower height capacity is really a separate category. Certain new rides will be more popular because they have a low to no height restriction which means more people entering the park can and will ride it. Velocicoaster will always be more popular than Hulk and HRRR even when they are all old because of that 51" height. Outside of IG (48") it has the best height restriction for intensity in the Central Florida area.

Honestly they are not adding enough to IOA quickly enough and it annoys me that the replacement for lost continent is so far off. If Disney shut down an entire area 4 to 5 years before its replacement we would be all over them, but people are all, it is OK, we will eventually get Zelda. Kong opened in 2016, since then (8 years in July) they have added 2 things (Hagrid's and VC) and lost 3 things. But the issue is that 2 of the 3 were no height restriction and 2 of the 3 were people eaters. It has put too much stress on the other rides causing the long lines. Now the two they added (unlike Studios additions) are AMAZING (one I am going by reviews since I haven't been on it) and I give them props there, but that only adds to the lines of those two things. VC and Hagrid's were VERY rarely under 100 minutes over the holidays. Sometimes peaking at 180. For rides that are several years old, the lines should be coming down a little. When they don't (like Mine train and Frozen over at Disney) it normally means a capacity issue or not doing new things often enough in that park.

I love Universal and I can't wait to go to Epic, but I sometimes wonder if they tried to grow too fast. They really needed to stabilize their parks and I feel history is repeating itself as their competitor down the street did the same thing. Because when you look at numbers Disney has actually added way more capacity over the past 8 years than Universal and way more net positive new rides/shows. The number of 100+ minute rides at Universal was pretty insane to me.

 

[dxwwf3]

It sounds like another Frozen debacle, putting a popular IP in a ride that can't handle it. I also think in general IOA needs to replace lost Continent faster because that was also a people eater. They got rid of 3 things that ate people. Well Fury a little less, but the other two one being a show was a lot of capacity and 2 of the 3 was no height restriction capacity which is vital in a park. I don't know when parks will realize that lower height capacity is really a separate category. Certain new rides will be more popular because they have a low to no height restriction which means more people entering the park can and will ride it. Velocicoaster will always be more popular than Hulk and HRRR even when they are all old because of that 51" height. Outside of IG (48") it has the best height restriction for intensity in the Central Florida area.

Honestly they are not adding enough to IOA quickly enough and it annoys me that the replacement for lost continent is so far off. If Disney shut down an entire area 4 to 5 years before its replacement we would be all over them, but people are all, it is OK, we will eventually get Zelda. Kong opened in 2016, since then (8 years in July) they have added 2 things (Hagrid's and VC) and lost 3 things. But the issue is that 2 of the 3 were no height restriction and 2 of the 3 were people eaters. It has put too much stress on the other rides causing the long lines. Now the two they added (unlike Studios additions) are AMAZING (one I am going by reviews since I haven't been on it) and I give them props there, but that only adds to the lines of those two things. VC and Hagrid's were VERY rarely under 100 minutes over the holidays. Sometimes peaking at 180. For rides that are several years old, the lines should be coming down a little. When they don't (like Mine train and Frozen over at Disney) it normally means a capacity issue or not doing new things often enough in that park.

I love Universal and I can't wait to go to Epic, but I sometimes wonder if they tried to grow too fast. They really needed to stabilize their parks and I feel history is repeating itself as their competitor down the street did the same thing. Because when you look at numbers Disney has actually added way more capacity over the past 8 years than Universal and way more net positive new rides/shows. The number of 100+ minute rides at Universal was pretty insane to me.

Excellent points. You also have the most recent additions to USF pretty much all being flops, it doesn't help distribute crowds in that park and probably doesn't move the needle enough to draw people away from IOA to begin with. I know most of my time at UOR is spent at IOA right now and has been that way for a few years.

 

[IzzyB]

Excellent points. You also have the most recent additions to USF pretty much all being flops, it doesn't help distribute crowds in that park and probably doesn't move the needle enough to draw people away from IOA to begin with. I know most of my time at UOR is spent at IOA right now and has been that way for a few years.

Agreed. When you look at Studios over the past 8 years the numbers are even worse. You have lost 2 bigger shows (FF and Beetlejuice), 2 continues run shows (terminator & Shrek) and 2 rides (Disaster & Twister). Many of these were people eaters and you only gained 1 really good continues show (Bourne) and 3 mediocre to awful rides (F&F, Fallon, and Minion). Again a net loss of things to do and capacity. Which you are right that then pushes more people to IOA.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

What's interesting is that Universal has done a pretty decent job at having ride-based attractions with high capacity... problem is that a lot of them have either operational issues/slow loading(Fallon) or are flops and that capacity goes to waste (aka F&F).

While I love E-tickets, having something you can easily walk-on with huge capacity needs to be added back into the park. Shrek doesn't count, didn't have the monster capacity of something like Muppet*Vision or the Tiki Room.

Speaking of capacity, some of you might be surprised about this... Epic has a similar ride throughput to DAK. About ~13.3K, with DAK having 12.8K. This excludes the animal trails and play areas from DAK. Safaris & Tough to be a Bug are huge people eaters.
Yes, Epic has more to do but some of Epic's attractions are fairly low on the capacity side. We will have to wait and see, but based on what previous models have done... Donkey Kong will struggle to even reach 1K riders an hour, SkyFly is going to struggle barely getting 400 guests an hour in the best possible scenario, and Yoshi isn't the people eater an Omnimover should be at only 1K an hour thanks to how far they spread out each Yoshi (10-sec intervals). Thankfully Starfall should make up as (if they reach Velocicoaster-esque dispatches) will get up to a whopping 2.4K riders an hour.

 

[Eckert]

Speaking of capacity, some of you might be surprised about this... Epic has a similar ride throughput to DAK. About ~13.3K, with DAK having 12.8K.

Off-topic I know, but I am a little worried about Epic being a half day park.

 

[Mad Dog]

Off-topic I know, but I am a little worried about Epic being a half day park.

The lines will be way too long for that. ......,.Just my opinion with no insider info....but my guess is that if the actual attendance comes in higher than projections, there's going to be some real capacity issues.
*First 12 months attendance 7 to 9 million...Capacity fairly sufficient. But long lines during holiday weeks, long holiday weekends, mid spring break, and most all weekends.
*9 to 11 million.....Long lines continuously for all the D/E tickets, except during the slow seasonal crowd weeks of the year.
*11 to 13 million....Super long lines. Hagrid length lines for the D/E tickets during usual seasonal moderate and high crowd weeks, plus most every weekend.

 

[sonoma15]

Off-topic I know, but I am a little worried about Epic being a half day park.

I feel like I could spend a full day in Nintendo alone.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Off-topic I know, but I am a little worried about Epic being a half day park.

If Epic Universe is a half day park, than Animal Kingdom is a 2 hour dinner show.

EDIT: Isn't this the Hagrid's thread?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Off-topic I know, but I am a little worried about Epic being a half day park.

I'm not worried about that at all, there's more than enough things to do... but capacity is a definite concern.

 

[Jake S]

If Epic Universe is a half day park, than Animal Kingdom is a 2 hour dinner show.

EDIT: Isn't this the Hagrid's thread?

It sure is! We can fret about how long we'll want to hang out at the brand new amusement park in the Epic Universe thread. Thank you!

 

[HandsomePete]

What's interesting is that Universal has done a pretty decent job at having ride-based attractions with high capacity... problem is that a lot of them have either operational issues/slow loading(Fallon) or are flops and that capacity goes to waste (aka F&F).

While I love E-tickets, having something you can easily walk-on with huge capacity needs to be added back into the park. Shrek doesn't count, didn't have the monster capacity of something like Muppet*Vision or the Tiki Room.

Speaking of capacity, some of you might be surprised about this... Epic has a similar ride throughput to DAK. About ~13.3K, with DAK having 12.8K. This excludes the animal trails and play areas from DAK. Safaris & Tough to be a Bug are huge people eaters.
Yes, Epic has more to do but some of Epic's attractions are fairly low on the capacity side. We will have to wait and see, but based on what previous models have done... Donkey Kong will struggle to even reach 1K riders an hour, SkyFly is going to struggle barely getting 400 guests an hour in the best possible scenario, and Yoshi isn't the people eater an Omnimover should be at only 1K an hour thanks to how far they spread out each Yoshi (10-sec intervals). Thankfully Starfall should make up as (if they reach Velocicoaster-esque dispatches) will get up to a whopping 2.4K riders an hour.

DAK is higher than 12.8K.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

DAK is higher than 12.8K.

I excluded the trails, meet and greets, and Wildlife Express Train if that's what you're referring to. Didn't count those as attendance for those are sub-par and not well attended outside the Gorilla Falls trail.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

DAK is higher than 12.8K.

I'm still baffled as to how DAK could have comparable capacity to Epic. Does Kilimanjaro Safaris just eat 4,000 people an hour or something?

Also where are our Epic capacity numbers coming from? EDIT: (I'm presuming MOM and Monsters are just calculated by comping in the FJ and Spider-Man capacity?)

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I'm still baffled as to how DAK could have comparable capacity to Epic. Does Kilimanjaro Safaris just eat 4,000 people an hour or something?

Also where are our Epic capacity numbers coming from? EDIT: (I'm presuming MOM and Monsters are just calculated by comping in the FJ and Spider-Man capacity?)

Ministry is the only one on here I'm not too confident.

Epic has more rides than Animal Kingdom... but a lot of those rides (Donkey Kong, Sky Fly, Yoshi) are low in actual THRC.

Edit: Starfall should be showing 2.4K

 

[Mad Dog]

Gonna be lots of long lines. Two theaters each resort also, but that's probably a wash....Go during the slow seasons.