Hagrid’s Muggle Mug-off
 

Been to IOA today and attempted to ride Hagrids. Unfortunately it was broken for the first 3 hours we were there, but when it finally reopened, there was a minimal wait time of only 120 minutes. So naturally we couldn’t believe our luck and jumped head-first into the queue. Exactly 120 minutes into the queue, a ‘brief delay’ followed by ‘inclement weather’ in the area, followed by another ‘brief delay’ meant that we found ourselves still in the queue over 4 hours after joining. With the ride still down and our patience wearing particularly thin, we spoke to a team member who said it was our choice to stay in line and no one was holding us against our will. A few more stern words later led to us being led around the corner by the same staff member, whereby he glanced round to make sure no one else was watching, before handing us two ‘golden tickets’, which we could use to return to the front of Hagrids ride at any time of our choosing. Earlier in the day guest services had categorically insisted that these don’t exist under any circumstances! So please, if the same happens to you and you find yourself at or near the front of the queue faced with long delays due to technical issues, don’t take no for an answer! (Caveat: they won’t issue them for weather delays).

We noticed a lot of people buying the VIP tour which gives front of line access to the ride. We queued at opening and got to the front at 1015am. A VIP tour then went ahead of us. Not sure how much it costs but if you have limited time (and an unlimited budget) that’s an option.

I couldn't resist having a look at the website to see how much the VIP tour costs. It varies depending on which day of the week and when, but the current cost for one day/one park is $279 plus tax. The lowest price I could find for any date during the rest of 2019 was $189 rising to $429 pp for a tour on Christmas day. The majority of dates were all in the range $229-$279.

Debra

We did the Universal VIP tour recently and if you can afford it - it is definitely worth doing - not just for getting onto Hagrid's but for the knowledge and experience of the tour guides too.

Yes they get you onto the rides (usually through a variety of back stage routes) but you'll also get to learn a lot more about the parks and the ride history, see some of the ride operations and staff areas etc. I'd definitely recommend it.

Is it an add on? I mean do you need to have a regular park ticket as well? Might do it next year if not.

If staying on site. Can you queue for this ride on early entry.

At present early entry is only for Universal Studios, not IOA.

I don't think IoA has had early morning entry since the ride opened, the ride itself was opening later than everything else too for a while.

I think we were quite lucky- I saw on the dibb that the wait time had dropped to 100mins due to weather- so dh, dd and myself went over to ioa from rpr. Typically everyone else thought to do the same so when we got there it was back to 210 mins. As we were there we decided to join the line- we were on and off in 2hrs- so not too bad at all really.

When I went a few years ago, I got the keys to the park VIP card. It was all down to a children’s cancer charity, so well deserved for my boy.
We were able to walk up to a park attendant, show them the card and taken to the front of the queue. I actually remember a VIP tour had to let us go first!
We had a brilliant two days, think I did the Harry Potter ride 4 times in a row.