Posted February 13, 20196 yr comment_262822 I had a look and apparently we don't have an IoA thread? How? I'll just drop this leaked concept art of the new Potter coaster that's replacing Duelling Dragons, and maybe fill in some more details later...
February 21, 20196 yr comment_263067 Looks great, but the name could’ve been a little better if I’m being super honest here!
June 12, 20196 yr Author comment_264929 So this opens tomorrow! There's been a couple of previews for people and, unsurprisingly, it's all been incredibly positive.. If spoilers are your thing, some queue line stuff (I haven't watched it, cos spoilers like, so don't know the quality)... And a video of the loading instructions / loading: Apparently, it has 14 trains, which will be dispatched at 35 second intervals. And, of course, this ride features seven launches in total and has a length just over 5000ft.
June 12, 20196 yr comment_264930 That queue looks lavishing. Shame they will probably not allow phones in there though, assuming they have metal detectors like Hulk and Rip Rocket.
June 13, 20196 yr comment_264946 On 6/12/2019 at 10:53 AM, Loggers Creek said: That queue looks lavishing. Shame they will probably not allow phones in there though, assuming they have metal detectors like Hulk and Rip Rocket. Metal detectors? Bit of an over reaction to loose items on rides there...
June 13, 20196 yr comment_264952 6 hours ago, Benin said: Metal detectors? Bit of an over reaction to loose items on rides there... Unless I stand corrected, Universal have used these in queue lines for Hulk and Rip Rocket, where guests couldn’t bring phones with them in person. Most rides require bags and loose items to be put in lockers as I am aware.
June 14, 20196 yr comment_264953 Good article over the ridiculous queue on opening day and how it was manufactured by the park for publicity: https://themeparkuniversity.com/universal/universal-orlando-uses-guests-as-pawns-in-hagrids-opening-pr-stunt/?fbclid=IwAR384fVrhee-JoNjUaRoOxBCq-wxKCzpjTc0aYt88p99KFjhACJMj1bX4ws
June 14, 20196 yr Author comment_264955 An interesting take on things. I certainly don't doubt that the park could have done more to reduce the queue time, but in fairness: -Opening a ride 3 hours early isn't exactly a feasible thing to do -It's sometimes better to not introduce added complications like virtual queues at first -Weather was affecting ride availability, which no doubt contributed to the high queue time -There were many rumours about the ride actually being delayed, and a murmur that it's fortunate this opened on time. That could explain reduced capacity/number of trains Certainly not saying it's good or excusable, and I've no doubt they did it for a marketing thing, but I don't think it's all as doomy and gloomy as that article makes out. On a side note, this whole investment supposedly cost $300m. Just wow.
June 15, 20196 yr comment_264956 Just to clarify, they could have opened the ride three hours earlier (Disney down the road are opening Galaxy Edge at 7am with Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom also opening at 7am to try and spread the demand and attract People away from a Hollywood studios). But also to add, Universal could have done more to keep down the nine hour queue down. Look at the way Disneyland opening Galaxys Edge, severely restricting access to the area and advising guests on just how busy it could be. I'm not to clued up on the exact ride, however was this ever soft opened? If there was chances of huge downtime, should they have delayed it by just a little bit to soften the impact.. because ten hours is just way to long for an intamin family coaster no matter how you spin it. None of this is a problem and obviously different parks and different situations. Just the approaches for guest experiences are vastly different.
June 15, 20196 yr comment_264957 Disney opened Galaxy's Edge with restricted time slots. Everyone had a coloured wristband. When your time was up you had to leave and they let in the next group. Universal telling people who waited 10 hours to effectively "Go Away" is not acceptable. If the queue reaches closing time, you close the queue and let everyone waiting ride within the park's hours.
June 15, 20196 yr comment_264958 I don’t think they told people who were in the queue to go away did they? Dont believe it soft opened. It’s open now with an advertised 8 hour wait ?
June 16, 20196 yr Author comment_264970 21 hours ago, Mark9 said: Just to clarify, they could have opened the ride three hours earlier (Disney down the road are opening Galaxy Edge at 7am with Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom also opening at 7am to try and spread the demand and attract People away from a Hollywood studios). I guess I should have worded what I said differently. Opening a ride / part of a park 3 hours early is an incredibly difficult thing to do which isn't always going to be feasible. Of course, given the popularity of Harry Potter, it's something which should have been seriously considered, but I don't think it's 'bad' thing against the park that they couldn't; just a 'not good' thing. Hagrid never soft opened. It had its press preview and that was it. The plan had been to soft open it (I believe around the beginning of June), but there have been plenty of issues which stopped that happening. I did hear there was a possibility it may not even open on time. And since opening, there have been quite a lot of teething problems and it's still running on reduced capacity. It shouldn't be a surprise that an Intamin with 7 launches, omnimover station, special track features and the possibility of running 14 trains is having teething issues. But that would normally be ironed out during a soft opening. So it's a lose-lose situation for everyone at the moment.
June 16, 20196 yr comment_264973 I have to roll my eyes every time I see someone say "It looks good but not worth the queue". It's brand new and the queues won't remotely resemble that later. From what I've seen the ride looks great! Edited June 16, 20196 yr by Hethetheth Spelling mistake
June 16, 20196 yr comment_264975 On 6/14/2019 at 6:12 PM, Stuntman707 said: Good article over the ridiculous queue on opening day and how it was manufactured by the park for publicity: https://themeparkuniversity.com/universal/universal-orlando-uses-guests-as-pawns-in-hagrids-opening-pr-stunt/?fbclid=IwAR384fVrhee-JoNjUaRoOxBCq-wxKCzpjTc0aYt88p99KFjhACJMj1bX4ws Personally I think this article is a tonne of BS and more of an opinion piece from someone who was probably jealous they didn't get an invite to the press preview. Remember most of these park run off guest satisfaction KPI ratings and the last thing they want is bad reviews on trip adviser. I would be very interested to see if the marketing and operations teams even work that closely together to conjour up a plan for a bad user experience to create a 10 hour queue.
June 16, 20196 yr comment_264979 Indeed - whilst obviously I’m sure Universal wanted crowds of people turning up - a 10 hour wait is a logistical nightmare for any attraction to manage - If the ride could have ran with more trains I’m sure it would have.
June 17, 20196 yr comment_264987 That article did make me laugh, I'm sure Universal would want guests roaming the park and spending money, rather than standing in a queue the whole day. Galaxy's Edge at Disney is much easier to implement a virtual queue system for (it's a glorified indoor motion simulator) than #Hagride (complicated Intamin coaster opening during storm season in Florida). Weather and technical delays could have turned the virtual waiting system into a nightmare with backlogs. Calling the whole process "inhumane" is a massive overreaction IMO, nobody forced guests to wait as long as they did for a coaster. The queue times were heavily advertised, and there's screens outside the park advertising when the ride is at capacity. Universal did a very good job of keeping guests in the queue happy and safe, free bottled water was dished out, toilet breaks were permitted by giving guests leaving the queue a password to get back in and entertainment put on. Regarding capacity, they have been running more full cars (some rows audio was not working, which has now been fixed. and Spoiler Both drop track sections have been in use Despite the long queues, guests have been coming off this ride absolutely singing it's praises. It appears Universal/Intamin have struck gold with this ride!
June 17, 20196 yr comment_264997 9 hours ago, Ryan said: That article did make me laugh, I'm sure Universal would want guests roaming the park and spending money, rather than standing in a queue the whole day. Galaxy's Edge at Disney is much easier to implement a virtual queue system for (it's a glorified indoor motion simulator) than #Hagride (complicated Intamin coaster opening during storm season in Florida). Weather and technical delays could have turned the virtual waiting system into a nightmare with backlogs. I'd call Hagrid a glorified, everything but the kitchen sink family coaster myself but we can all be brutal at times. ? Just to clarify, I don't think either approach is perfect, Galaxys Edge at Disneyland has seen a massive attendance drop across the resort because of how Disney overplayed just how busy it was going to be. Universal seem quite happy with everyone piling into Hagrid based on how quiet the rest of the park was on those ten hour queue days.
June 18, 20196 yr comment_264998 8 hours ago, Mark9 said: I'd call Hagrid a glorified, everything but the kitchen sink family coaster myself but we can all be brutal at times. ? What I meant was that it is pretty much Star Tours on another level, Disney are very familiar with the simulator type ride and with it being indoors, it is less likely to have as much downtime as Hagrid's.
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