Analysis of the first week of Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

[Stu]

Analysis of the first week of 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts'.
We have been carefully monitoring Universal's newest ride since opening day a week ago and it's interesting to note the peak and average wait times.

On opening day Tuesday 8th July, as expected there were very long waits for 'Escape from Gringotts' ride. However I think Universal managed the crowds very well, certainly much better than they did with 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' over in IOA a few years ago.

Opening day saw a peak of 460 minutes (7hrs 40min) with an average over the whole day of 368 minutes (6hrs 8min). The ride seemed to brake down several times but was quickly reset each time. One interesting point to note was the Single rider line was around 60 - 80 minutes until universal closed this line mid morning.

The second day, Wednesday 9 July, carries on with high wait times again, however the peak times (320 mins) and average times (290 mins) were lower than opening day. The wait times were consistent over most of the day

The third day Thursday 10 July saw a peak of 390 mins with an average of 300 mins, however the peak is slightly skewed due to the ride being down for a significant period.

The fourth day Friday 11 July saw a peak of 300 mins and average of 260 mins, so for most of the day guests were experiencing 4 hour waits. This day shows the peaks from 10 am to 4pm, after that period the wait times dropped off, but this is mainly due to Universal closing the line otherwise the wait time would go beyond closing time of the park.

The fifth day Saturday 12 July saw a lower peak time of 245 mins and lower average wait time of 190 minutes. In an almost complete opposite to the day before 1pm to 5pm shows a dip in wait times.

The sixth day Sunday 13 July was the best day of the week in wait time terms. For those following the DIBB Busy Day Guide this was the day we recommended for Universal. The peak time was 300 during the morning but again this was skewed by ride downtime. The average for the day was 165 minutes, however the average for the afternoon was actually below 120 mins (2 hours)

the seventh day Monday 14 July saw a peak back to 330 mins and an average for the day of 190 mins. Again looking at the afternoon figures show a lower average.

Ignoring the first day, the average wait time for the week is 230 minutes.
Average peak time is 315 mins

Apart from the early entry route and those with special passes it seems the best strategy of the week was the single rider line, when available, however this misses out much of the pre show.

[Hangfire]

Great analysis thanks guys I'll be there on Sunday 20th July so will let everyone know how the family gets on… looking at your graphs it might well be worth trying to get on the ride around 4-5pm rather than try first thing….

[gforce_iom]

Best strategy... give it a wide berth and either go on the other attractions in that park... or go to Disney!

[Disneyfool]

Hopefully with early Park admission and it being in October our wait time won't be more than an hour!

[Guest]

Going to leave it until as late in the holiday as we dare as hopefully things may have died down a bit...

[Goldie24]

We were there on Wednesday 9th. Stayed at Hard Rock Hotel so we had early entry. Got to the park for 6.50 (early admission was 7am), to discover that they had opened the gates early - 6.30, so there was already several hundred guests in front of us already. Universal managed the crowd control well through the park round to diagon alley and when we got to Gringotts, wait time was already at 210 minutes. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Due to the ride breaking down constantly the queue hardly moved - by 9.30 we had hardly moved at all. However as we had already invested so much time, we waited it out. Eventually got on the ride at 1.10pm! I would love to say it was worth it, but unfortunately for us the ride broke down a further three times during our ride. Universal gave us all passes to return again without the majority of the wait, valid for a few days, but I have no faith in the ride at the moment now, nor any more patience to wait out. I'm sure overtime it may become more reliable, but the amount of ride breakdowns we witnessed personally over our three day stay, makes me think they rushed the opening.

Free Gringotts pass still valid till the 16th so we may go back.

[annedawso]

Thanks Goldie24. I can't imagine any ride that I would queue that long for. We would have been the same though and thought being there for 6:50 would have meant a much shorter wait.
Don't know if we will manage to get on it, staying at RPR at end of holiday so may try then.
Though being at gates for them opening at 6:30 isn't a nice thought.

[triffid]

Very helpful thanks - We are intending to give it a go when we visit in August... We are staying for a single night at The Royal Pacific, and plan to go on a Sunday! Is our best option still to head to the ride as soon as our early admission allows? Thanks, Paul PS my son had a tearful moment today because he is looking forward to staying at the AKL so much! Disney Magic..

[Guest]

Like you we are staying one night at the Royal Pacific to gain early entry. Thanks for the graph it will make it much easier for me to pursued my family of the best time to queue

32 to Disney

[Carol_G]

The queue times for this are just scary. Well done to the previous poster for holding out until 1.10pm after begin there from early entry. Not sure I could have held out that long.