Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Construction Discussion

[Brian G.]

So I’m sure that hagrid won’t have soft today but is there any chance I would be able to see it running today? And it so where is the best place to view it?

By Hogsmeade Station, you can see it pass by trees a little bit; and over near the JP side Hogsmeade entrance, you can see it zip up through the Ruins.

 

[MartyMcFly]

Lockers (both the requirements to use them and the cramped, hot spaces they occupy, continue to be one of the most common complaints at Universal guest services so I'd be sad if this ride opens with the same circle of hell scenario that Forbidden Journey still has.

If Universal's legal team insists on remaining stricter and more paranoid about being sued than every theme park operator on the planet (including Disney which is no small feat) they have got to find a way to make the process seamless. The relocation of the Mummy lockers to the Paradise Theater and the removal of the fingerprint scans were steps in the right direction but then they went ahead and shrunk down the free lockers to the size of a postage stamp which was kind of one step forward, two steps back. And then of course there is the absolute hilarious hypocrisy of requiring lockers on a ride like Men in Black in the name of safety while at the same time having thrilling and highly turbulent water rides that would effectively ruin your belongings if brought on-board with "optional" lockers that you have to pay for. I'd argue backpacks placed in the bottom of a log on Dudley is far more "unsafe" than some of the other rides that require lockers.

Meanwhile at Disney you can hop on Rock N' Rollercoaster, Dinosaur, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror with an army backpack, shopping bags, a pet carrier, a beach umbrella, and an antique bedroom credenza and cast members will just say, "please place everything on the floor at your feet."

Also it’s the most infuriating thing in the world when a a family of 5 all insist on standing in the locker room. Wish these people would engage their brain, or get the TM’s to drill it into guests.

 

[Riler]

Ive never really understood the locker complaints. Forbidden Journey was the worst from my memory, but other than being a mild inconvenience and my lousy eyes not being able to see where I was going, I didnt really see much of an issue. I totally prefer the finger print lockers as well, I love the peace of mind of not having my ticket in and out of wallet and tucked away safely. I cant ever recall having a problem re-opening my locker with them either. I do remember observing others struggling to follow the clear instructions for doing so though.

 

[SailwiththeTide]

Meanwhile at Disney you can hop on Rock N' Rollercoaster, Dinosaur, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror with an army backpack, shopping bags, a pet carrier, a beach umbrella, and an antique bedroom credenza and cast members will just say, "please place everything on the floor at your feet."

Haha so true. Disney operations are so smooth because they don't deal with loose article BS.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

If Universal's legal team insists on remaining stricter and more paranoid about being sued than every theme park operator on the planet (including Disney which is no small feat)...

They're not. Lockers are mandatory on several attractions throughout Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and (I believe) Busch parks.

 

[Alicia]

They're not. Lockers are mandatory on several attractions throughout Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and (I believe) Busch parks.

Lockers, or leaving items with non rider, are mandatory for nearly all coasters at BGT and SWO, yes. And they all cost money.

EDIT: They do have free cubbies at the load areas, but that's for glasses, hats, and flip flops. They don't usually let bags get that far in line.

 

[Writing Rides]

Lockers, or leaving items with non rider, are mandatory for nearly all coasters at BGT and SWO, yes. And they all cost money.

EDIT: They do have free cubbies at the load areas, but that's for glasses, hats, and flip flops. They don't usually let bags get that far in line.

I appreciate that they have a "one day locker price" at SW, so you can transfer your locker all day instead of buying a new one each time. It's a rather manageable system if you're there all day

 

[Fluffy's Caretaker]

No idea, but in the behind the wall photo that was removed, there was just one sign for lockers pointing to the left at the building in question.

I know there are lockers in the location on to the left of the entrance and I think there are still some in the old spot for Dragon Challenge.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Sooooooo anyone in the park today?

 

[SpatulaShack]

Also it’s the most infuriating thing in the world when a a family of 5 all insist on standing in the locker room. Wish these people would engage their brain, or get the TM’s to drill it into guests.

From my experience the TMs typically do tell large groups that they should send only one or two members of their party into the locker room area but that isn't always tenable depending on the type of group.

Ive never really understood the locker complaints. Forbidden Journey was the worst from my memory, but other than being a mild inconvenience and my lousy eyes not being able to see where I was going, I didnt really see much of an issue. I totally prefer the finger print lockers as well, I love the peace of mind of not having my ticket in and out of wallet and tucked away safely. I cant ever recall having a problem re-opening my locker with them either. I do remember observing others struggling to follow the clear instructions for doing so though.

I also never had a problem with the fingerprint scanner lockers but it's undeniable that plenty of average guests did which caused a snowball effect on everyone else trying to retrieve items. Honestly, no matter how perfectly they design the lockers the very process of diverting such a large number of guests into an area to store and retrieve items will always be an uphill battle based on volume alone.

They're not. Lockers are mandatory on several attractions throughout Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and (I believe) Busch parks.

Per Cedar Fair and Busch Gardens rules, "Items must be safely secured in a sealed pocket, a waist pack, left in a locker or with a non-rider." The official policy is "loose items" are not permitted but you can absolutely have a small fanny pack with your wallet and keys so long as its secured. At Great Adventure the only two rides that don't allow personal items are Kingda Ka (for VERY obvious reasons) and El Toro due to the insane amounts of ejector negative Gs produced on the ride. Every other ride including massive coasters like Nitro allow small backpacks, phones, and anything else for that matter as long as they are "secured" at all times during the ride. This is different than the current TSA style measures in place at Hulk and Rockit where three pennies zipped in a cargo pant have to be removed.

 

[Mad Dog]

Also it’s the most infuriating thing in the world when a a family of 5 all insist on standing in the locker room. Wish these people would engage their brain, or get the TM’s to drill it into guests.

On FJ the TM's constantly scream to the guests arriving, only one in the locker room and the rest of the family or party are to stay out and stand to the left. Universal really needs to 'move' the lockers to another area, but the TM's are basically doing the best they can under the circumstances......Hulk & Mummy lockers are pretty easy & smooth now.

 

[Alicia]

Sooooooo anyone in the park today?

Some of the walls *were* down for filming I think, but they're probably back up now. I wonder what they were filming/photographing for? May have just been photos of the empty entrance to use on the official website or something. WDW tends to do that, photograph rides early in the morning as the sun comes up, that way there aren't any guests in the pics.

I haven't seen confirmation yet, but I have a feeling the walls are still up today.

 

[SpatulaShack]

I haven't seen confirmation yet, but I have a feeling the walls are still up today.

I've been creeping all over twitter and while I haven't gotten a definitive answer, I'd say you're right since people are less likely to post pictures of the status quo. Soon!!!!!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Per Cedar Fair and Busch Gardens rules, "Items must be safely secured in a sealed pocket, a waist pack, left in a locker or with a non-rider." The official policy is "loose items" are not permitted but you can absolutely have a small fanny pack with your wallet and keys so long as its secured. At Great Adventure the only two rides that don't allow personal items are Kingda Ka (for VERY obvious reasons) and El Toro due to the insane amounts of ejector negative Gs produced on the ride. Every other ride including massive coasters like Nitro allow small backpacks, phones, and anything else for that matter as long as they are "secured" at all times during the ride. This is different than the current TSA style measures in place at Hulk and Rockit where three pennies zipped in a cargo pant have to be removed.

Just, no. I've been to ten parks this summer so far and no (including Steel Vengeance which I had to walk through a metal detector to ride).

 

[Grits0808]

Sooooooo anyone in the park today?

Currently sitting by Dervish and Banges. Walls are still up

 

[Mad Dog]

Currently sitting by Dervish and Banges. Walls are still up

Thanks. :thumbsup:

 

[SpatulaShack]

Just, no. I've been to ten parks this summer so far and no (including Steel Vengeance which I had to walk through a metal detector to ride).

Interesting. I had no idea about Vengeance requiring metal detectors since I haven't been to Cedar Point in a few years but I was quoting Busch Gardens official website regarding their policy and I visit Great Adventure every year so I'm not pulling this out of my bum. Every ride at Cedar Point per their website EXCEPT Steel Vengeance allows personal items on board as long as they are placed in "secure" cargo pockets or waist packs. Straight from the site: "All loose items not able to be stored in cargo pockets or waist packs must be left in a locker or with a non-rider prior to entering the line." In the end, even if the damn Ferris Wheel at Cedar Point forced you to use lockers I don't think Universal should be trying to mimic these parks when Disney is the clear market leader and manages just fine without them on rides like Everest, Space Mountain, RNR, Dinosaur, Tower, etc. and when you blatantly allow back packs and loose articles on rides like Dudley which is clearly more intense and less secure for personal items than others (and then you charge for THOSE lockers knowing people will want to use them to avoid their items getting soaked) strikes me as dishonest and hypocritical. Is it about safety or is it not about safety? Is a phone dropped from Dudley (which travels directly over and under guests both on-ride and off) less of a concern than a purse falling 3 inches to the ground from a Men in Black ride vehicle?

Anyway, I'm getting off topic as I tend to do. Back to Hagrid.

 

[Andysol]

Just did a quick check through the recent permit bot tweets and came across this one:

So that *might* be for this small building, and if so, this related electrical permit seems to indicate they're putting lockers in there:

It appears that the lockers are in an even smaller building now - the former merch storage building that was immediately to the left of the Dragon Challenge entrance.

Here's the beginning of the discussion about the new location from a few weeks ago:

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Construction Discussion

Thanks! Everyone just blew by your comment on that discussion, didn't they? Hah

Looks like 3 entrances/exits based on that overhead shot. Is that where the ride exit will occur also?
If so, there might be a 4th on the backend. If not, then riders will have to walk back to that location. Why, oh why didn't they make that building larger? They had the room around it.

Ive never really understood the locker complaints.

I never minded them either... until my last two/three trips. Have anything bigger than a wallet? Like, say, I don't know... a wand? You're screwed. You have to pay for whatever locker you use if you need the larger (formerly regular) size. They downsized the lockers to a tiny size and are nickel and diming like a Six Flags would. Not a world class theme park. It's embarrassing, actually.

All I can do is do the survey at the end of the day sharing those sentiments. But it's pathetic and cheapens the park a ton.

 

[RFRees]

I never minded them either... until my last two/three trips. Have anything bigger than a wallet? Like, say, I don't know... a wand? You're screwed. You have to pay for whatever locker you use if you need the larger (formerly regular) size. They downsized the lockers to a tiny size and are nickel and diming like a Six Flags would. Not a world class theme park. It's embarrassing, actually.

All I can do is do the survey at the end of the day sharing those sentiments. But it's pathetic and cheapens the park a ton.

That seems like a huge exaggeration. Maybe your magic staff doesn't fit in there but I'm fairly certain all (or nearly all) of the wands fit.

During my visit yesterday (specifically Mummy), I stuffed my medium sized backpack in there, along with my large water bottle and phone, and still had room for more. When I visit with my GF, we take two lockers if needed and remove items from the backpack if necessary.

I can't wait til the change comes to FJ*.

Edit*: fixed

 

[devinp267]

That seems like a huge exaggeration. Maybe your magic staff doesn't fit in there but I'm fairly certain all (or nearly all) of the wands fit.

During my visit yesterday (specifically Mummy), I stuffed my medium sized backpack in there, along with my large water bottle and phone, and still had room for more. When I visit with my GF, we take two lockers if needed and remove items from the backpack if necessary.

I can't wait til the change comes to FB.

^^FJ