Reviews & Media - Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure

[belloq87]

Was able to get on this at rope drop this morning.

This is an excellent ride!

Yes, it's a shame there's a giant pole sticking out of the skrewt's underside, and I think it will be an even better experience in about five years once the trees grow a bit more, but overall it was an absolute blast. Fast, smooth coaster sections, fun creatures, and those launches! I was smiling the entire time (well, after the weird skrewt, anyway), and I'm very impressed with what Universal pulled off.

The ride went down for several hours in the afternoon, so I didn't get a chance to ride it a second time, but it's surely in my Top 5 Universal attractions. Islands is now comfortably solidified as the superior Universal park.

 

[Mad Dog]

Finally, my full review. First, my personal policy on doing full reviews of attractions is that I want to get a minimum of three rides in and preferably 5 or more. That helps me get past new ride expectations, good or bad, and allows me time to catch the nuances and feels of an attraction better with repeat rides. Also, it gives me the opportunity to see if an attraction improves with repeat rides, or loses it's newness luster. Hagrid was a tough read for me, mostly since I am not a coaster fanatic. I like coasters but don't love them. I also couldn't care less about all the coaster jargon and technical aspects you'll hear from some of the coaster experts. To me it's all about fun and entertainment, so that's my bottom line. And my ratings are always based on the 'Totality of the Experience', so that includes setting, facade, queue, pre shows and actual ride.
*The setting and facade is excellent. Hagrid's Motorbike winding through the forest and ruins are quite beautiful and full of kinetic energy. The winding outdoor queue provides an excellent view of the ride and really gives you a thirst to ride it. The area of Hagrid's Hut is interesting and provides an early taste of the attraction. And the 'ruins' towering above it all are striking and full of detail.
*I liked the queue a lot. It's better than I expected and really under rated, in my opinion. The queue is not on the level of FJ or Gingotts, but what is. But it is one of the top five queues at Universal Orlando. The pre show is quite good, especially when the doors are closed and you get to see the entire show. My favorite part of the queue was the pre load area. The shadows and sounds of the motorbikes racing above you, and the giant spiders crawling on the roof present one of the best queue areas anywhere.
*The ride is totally awesome and provided me with more continual thrill than I've experienced on any other themed attraction. I'm not really a thrill junkie, but it dominates Hagrid. And it's all in the launches. Oh, these launches are so superlative. I felt like I was riding a real motorbike. And though I know this isn't the technically 'fastest' coaster I've ever rode, it actually 'felt' like the fastest coaster I've ever been on. The first launch really sets the tone of the ride. The absolute speed is unexpected and jarring. Riding through the fabulous themed area elevates this so far above any unthemed thrill coaster that there is no comparison. The first moving scene with Hagrid and the Skrewit is good, but it would be better if they'd put some high bails of hay around the skrewit to hide it's base. That base is, unfortunately, a bit cartoonish. Loved the launch into the 'ruins' It felt really really fast. And launching past the dogs was really cool, as well as the launch into the upward track. Even though I knew ahead of time that it would be launched backwards, it caught me so quickly that I was surprised by the backwards speed. And then into the cave. Great atmosphere and the short stop helped the pacing and set the stage for...."The Drop'. Loved it. But the best was reserved for the last. The launch out of the cave seemed the fastest I've 'ever' felt on a ride....and I've been on Dragster. Like I said before, Hagrid may not technically be the fastest, but it sure 'felt' to 'me' the fastest most thrilling effect I can recall at the end of the ride. What a way to finish a most excellent adventure, saving the best for last. And then winding down with a slow crawl past the Unicorn and it's baby.
* Is it the best ride at Universal. Not quite, but that's because two of the best rides ever, FJ and Spider Man, are in the same park, IOA, as Hagrid. I would rate Hagrid as the number three ride at Universal Orlando. Now, 'Totality of the Attraction' it would tie with Gringotts, since the Gringotts amazing queue pulls the attraction rating up. Bottom line though, Hagrid's was great fun, entertainment plus and the highest of thrill levels. Awesome intensity. And, it gets better with repeat rides. After my first two rides, I would have given the ride a 8 1/2 score, but after my additional four rides in January, I elevated the ride portion to a 9 1/2.
*RATING:: Setting/Facade/Queue/PreShow: 9...Ride: 9 1/2....."TOTALITY OF THE EXPERIENCE" : 9 1/2

 

[TommyJK]

So I got to ride this for the first time twice this weekend before the parks shut down.

Some preamble - I was at the parks on Saturday and Sunday before we cut our trip short to get back to Canada (upon the newly updated directives from our government to come back asap).

The ride was running flawlessly that I could tell (opened at park open, closed at park close, no delays or closures that I could tell throughout the day). Line was always moving and even some of the smaller things that weren't working recently from reports (like the first Blast Ended Skrewt fog machine, both of fluffy's moving heads etc.) were working. So it seems like they might have recently got the kinks sorted out, and they also now have extra time for anything else that might be necessary to fix.

As for my thoughts/review. While I really, really, really like it, It didn't blow me away like I was hoping it would. Perhaps I had been hyping it up in my head for too long in anticipation. It's a fun and thrilling ride. Perhaps my slightly less than perfect thoughts are due to my first ride waiting ~90 minutes to ride; we slept in and were a bit late on rope drop our first day. Second day we rope dropped and were off by 9:30.

I was most impressed with all of the physical themeing. Top notch seeing the first Skrewt and Hagrid. Fluffy up close was awesome. Unicorns at the end were cute.

The ride itself reminded me most comparing it to Maverick at Cedar Point, but that ride is much faster with it's twists, turns and banks giving it a higher thrill.

So in the end, I still loved this ride a ton, just not as much as I was hoping/expecting. Will definitely ride again, but wouldn't want more than 30 minutes for it.

 

[Map Monster]

7 out of 10... "Roller Coaster Tycoon brought to life"
Lets start with me saying this October I finally had the opportunity to ride in both seats multiple times. I only rode it 1 time in October 2019 and wanted to save my judgement for more rides. Now that I have accomplished that my opinion has not changed from my initial experience. This ride is FUN and the track layout is GREAT but it reminds me of how I would build a coaster in Roller Coaster Tycoon. Start with a track layout then drop random theming and/or characters throughout. Hagrids feels very disconnected to me and lacks any real flow. Not to mention some of the AAs already look like they've been around for 10 years. Overall Hagrids is a Coaster that ill wait for every time I visit the parks. Ive never exited the ride without a smile on my face. Just think that its lacking as a complete "story telling" experience.

 

[mandstaft]

I love this ride-! (And I love the variety of attractions for Harry Potter.) The number of launches makes it great fun. The banked turns are just a blast. The story is well explained for those of us who haven't read the books. It's more than a worthwhile replacement for Dueling Dragons. (Which I rode in 2009 on my first, and up until last year only, visit to Universal Orlando.)

 

[tyro]

Hagrid was actually running the preshow yesterday not sure if it ever has, as that was the first time I saw it.

 

[Nico]

Hagrid was actually running the preshow yesterday not sure if it ever has, as that was the first time I saw it.

The Arthur/Hagrid one?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Hagrid was actually running the preshow yesterday not sure if it ever has, as that was the first time I saw it.

They stopped during COVID but they started it up a while ago. Usually, they preload the queue during early entry then start the preshow for regular guests, so if you arrive early enough you could miss it.

 

[Alicia]

They stopped during COVID but they started it up a while ago. Usually, they preload the queue during early entry then start the preshow for regular guests, so if you arrive early enough you could miss it.

If they’re understaffed they don’t show it. (And they’re understaffed a lot.)

They’re trying to show it more though, rotations are being reworked I think.

 

[Skold]

Went on it four times the first week of June; got two preshows. It seems to me that it may be about how the line is moving. There can be hold-ups, so maybe they radio that back?

The preshow is a ridiculous opportunity to skip the line, though. :whistle:

 

[anihilnation]

If they’re understaffed they don’t show it. (And they’re understaffed a lot.)

They’re trying to show it more though, rotations are being reworked I think.

Does understaffing add to the long wait times?
At Ripsaw there are still a lot of new people being trained or are to be trained soon, so hopefully Hagrid's will get staff increase too.