Islands of Adventure Report: Hagrid’s Magical Morning
For this park report, we’re heading over to Universal Orlando Resort to do Islands of Adventure. Crowds have been picking up at Universal over the last couple of months, with the parks hitting capacity multiple weekends in October. In this photo report, we cover wait times and some of what we did throughout the day. Let’s start with Universal’s post-reopening successes.
I’ve been really impressed with the way Universal Orlando has handled its reopening. In many ways, their approach has been better–or at least preferable, in my view–to Walt Disney World’s. While still adopting the same health safety protocol, Universal opted not to require reservations and didn’t overcomplicate things. The proactive communications, clear policies, and the way Universal has demonstrated that they value their customers are all commendable.
Universal Orlando has also offered a variety of ticket, Annual Pass, and hotel deals that really make all the changes and cutbacks more palatable. And truly, not as much has changed at Universal, as the key on-site and AP perks among other offerings were never cut. Obviously, the style of Disney’s and Universal’s theme parks are very different, so it’s never an apples to apples comparison. Nevertheless, the value proposition remains strong at Universal Orlando right now, which makes it easier to recommend.
Consequently, we’re once again toying with the idea of covering Universal in greater depth. We’ve contemplated and discussed doing that many times. We’ve been Universal Annual Passholders to the parks in Florida, California, and Osaka and have a Guide to Universal Studios Hollywood and Guide to Universal Studios Japan in addition to our Universal Orlando Planning Guide. Obviously, we’re big fans of the Universal parks (and hotels).
Still, we’ve never gone all-in on more granular coverage. We could blame you for that, and a lack of interest among readers. 😉 That’s only partly true–it mostly comes down to a lack of time on our end. It’s impossible for us to cover everything. Meaning that if we spend more time at Universal, that’s less of our hard-hitting Disney journalism. To that end, we’re curious if you want to see more Universal coverage and, if so, what? (Park reports like this, itineraries, dining, hotels, etc.)
Selfishly, I’m hoping there’s some interest in this Islands of Adventure report and our upcoming Universal Studios Florida report. For one thing, I’ve really enjoyed our hotel stays thus far at Universal and “needing” to book the more expensive resorts “for the sake of research” is a great excuse for doing more.
Second, each visit to Universal Orlando is at least one ride on E.T. Adventure, which is right up there with Country Bear Jamboree on the list of potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central Florida. With things on earth not going so hot, I’m ready to relocate to the Green Planet.
Now that the long-winded preface is out of the way, let’s get down to the brass tacks of this visit to Universal Orlando. Due to the drive, line at the parking booths, and getting into the park taking longer than expected, we didn’t enter Islands of Adventure right at rope drop.
So basically, Universal already shares something in common with Disney’s Hollywood Studios–taking longer than expected to enter–despite being about 30 minutes farther away from us. Once we did get into Islands of Adventure, we headed directly to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter…
The Universal Orlando app indicated that the wait time for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was already 90 minutes, but wait times boards in the park said 60 minutes, as did the Hagrid’s marquee.
Even if the wait time was trending upwards and it ended up being somewhere in between, we figured this was going to be about as good as it got. Wait time data suggests no drop-off over the course of the day.
The queue wrapped all around the Lost Continent, including into the theater that previously housed the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad stage show.
This whole area isn’t currently used for much of anything, so overflow queue for Hagrid’s seems like as good of a use as any. Plus, the venue could probably house a lot more of the extended queue if necessary on busier days, as we only entered the upper area of the amphitheater.
Regardless of whether the posted wait time was 60 or 90 minutes, the actual wait for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ended up being much lower–only 35 minutes.
Given that this was Orlando’s second-biggest new attraction debut of last year (after Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) and is the best themed roller coaster in Central Florida, I’d say that’s not too shabby. I won’t willingly wait 35+ minutes for much, but Hagrid’s is definitely one such attraction.
After wandering around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for a bit, we figured it was time for lunch.
With crowds peaking in Hogsmeade and already a long line for Three Broomsticks, we thought it might be a good time to take the Hogwarts Express Train over to Universal Studios Florida. Posted wait time was 60 minutes; our actual wait was 25 minutes.
We’ll have a separate report on Universal Studios Florida very soon, but for now let’s fast-forward to late afternoon when we returned to Islands of Adventure.
Rather than doing a play by play of our afternoon, I’m just going to offer some photos and stray thoughts in the captions…
Universal Orlando is doing a great job with the socially-distanced selfie stations.
This one probably is not the best example as these costumes look like they’re knockoffs from the clearance aisle of Party City. Nevertheless, there are a variety of options with little to no wait…which is probably because no one wants to meet any of these characters. But still. Points for effort.
“Knockoffs from Party City” might be an apt way to describe the aesthetic of Marvel Super Hero Island to anyone only familiar with the movies, and not the comics.
However, one undeniably top-tier component of the land is the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which is one of the best theme park attractions in the world. It honestly shocks me that Imagineering chose Spider-Man as the character for a DCA attraction because it’ll inevitably invite comparisons to this twenty year old attraction–and I doubt most objective assessments will be favorable towards Disney.
Universal does this thing where it oscillates between flavor of the month IP and characters no one born this century has ever heard of. Maybe Walt Disney World does the exact same thing and I’m just too close to the subject to have a clear view.
Or, maybe I’m still bitter that Universal removed all but one of my childhood favorites. To add insult to injury, Universal then had the nerve to replace the new cult classic Disaster with Fast & Furious Supercharged. That abomination was literally one of the worst theme park attractions/segments of all-time years before it even began construction in Florida.
Speaking of childhood favorites, let’s turn to the park’s King Kong attraction. While this blog (rightfully) sings the praises of E.T. Adventure, my all-time favorite Universal Studios Florida attraction is Kongfrontation. As a child, this was a top 5 of Orlando for me–not in the same league as Journey Into Imagination, but close.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong is no Kongfrontation. However, it is better than the similar segment during the Universal Studios Hollywood tram tour, so there’s that. Skull Island: Reign of Kong’s end scene is undeniably impressive, and offers a brief shot of nostalgia. The queue is also normally a highlight, but not as much right now.
Jurassic Park is also a really solid land, and one that is improving with age.
The Raptor Encounter is fun, bringing some of the magic from the Discovery Center into a standalone experience.
I’m also really looking forward to Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which Universal recently announced opens in Summer 2021.
The track layout looks tremendous, as does the rockwork and thematic elements. It also looks like VelociCoaster won’t introduce the same type of clutter to the land as the Flying Dinosaur. If it’s even half as good as that (very different) roller coaster, VelociCoaster will be a top-tier addition to the Jurassic Park/World land.
Ultimately, it was a really fun day at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. A long day, but we got a ton accomplished and the visit had great flow (thanks to park hopping) that we haven’t experienced recently at Walt Disney World. This “great flow” may not be readily apparent here since this Islands of Adventure park report is clunky and disjointed.
In my defense, it’s not easy to write something like this since I don’t know really know where to begin. Do I assume most people reading this have no experience with Universal, and start from square one with a bunch of background that would be absent from our comparable Walt Disney World park reports? Or do I assume the primary audience is Universal fans who have said knowledge, and simply leave those who don’t behind in the dust? In retrospect, it would seem I’ve chosen a “worst of both worlds” approach that makes a range of assumptions and confuses or alienates everyone. Perhaps we’ll find our footing in the Universal Studios Florida park report. Or perhaps not, and this will end up being a very short series of interest to no one. We shall see!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you visited Islands of Adventure in the last couple of months? Did you rope drop Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure? Stay until park closing? What was your experience with crowds and wait times? If you’ve visited both Disney and Universal post-reopening, which do you think is doing better? Do you have any questions about the current modified Universal experience? Will you be attempting to visit Central Florida this holiday season, or are you waiting until 2021 or beyond? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Please do more universal reports! I’ve been going to those 2 parks for 20+ years and may be planning a trip next February so this insight into how crowded the universal parks are is great! Keep them coming!
We have done both post-Covid. We did three days at Universal in July and then a week at Disney in September with 2 nights/1 day at Universal added on because we became passholders. I would agree that Universal is doing a much better job of everything (except their distribution of hand sanitizer which is required and smells horrible). We had a very enjoyable time in July when crowds were still pretty low and Hagrid’s has become our favorite ride in Florida except for FOP. We stayed at Surfside in July and Cabana Bay in September. I was extremely pleasantly surprised at passholder rates and in September actually wished we’d split our stay in favor of more nights at Universal (we stayed at Caribbean Beach when at Disney and other than Skyliner access, were not impressed…and it was not our first time there). We were easily able to ride everything we wanted to at Universal and the masks were bearable even in July. You can’t really compare July to September at either park, but I will say that the one day we spent at Universal in September still felt “easier” than at Disney. Less stressful. It was nice to be able to park hop and have more options. I felt like there were more food options at Universal than Disney (which seems crazy but Springs keeps being at capacity) and I felt like there were a lot of passholder perks. We are Georgia residents, but the seasonal pass was more cost effective than and other park ticket for us. I feel like Disney is really losing out by all but abandoning their passholders instead of pampering them. We felt much more valued at Universal than at Disney (as guests, not even necessarily as passholders) and Disney cost at lot, lot more. We are more of a Disney family and as enjoyable as Universal can be, as much as we love Harry Potter, and despite the fact that I have 15 & 18 year old sons, we still usually favor Disney. But we did not enjoy our experience at Disney at all this time (except when we got a boarding pass for Rise). Lines were long (though we didn’t have really bad wait times, that wasn’t a major issue), people were grumpy, and our biggest problem was we had a really hard time finding food and quickly tired of our resort fare. We very much missed park hopping and we went basically the last week before park hours increased so we were bored at night. It’s going to be a bit before we return (we usually visit 1-2 times a year). I thought late next year but based on your other report it may even be 2022. We will, however, we going back to Universal. Our passes (which cost less than our 5 day Disney passes), don’t expire until October of 2021.
More Universal coverage please! Last year we spent 6 days at Disney and 1 at Universal. Fast forward one year and we are Universal Passholders after being stunned with the cleaning changes and being welcomed so warmly! I believe it’s possible there was a team member stationed in bathrooms. Maybe not, but we were never in a bathroom in five days that wasn’t actively being cleaned! Interested in food reviews
Thank you for the report and updates. I’m very disappointed and frankly shocked how Disney handled reopening versus Universal and Sea world.
We stayed at Bay Lake Towers late June through the 4th. This reservation was booked in January and then everything shut down. We were optimistic for our trip as central Florida announced plans for reopening; Universal, Sea World, and then finally Disney. Wow! What a difference in Disney’s reopening plan versus the others. Needless to say, Bay Lake was amazing as usual. The cast were as friendly and attentive as always. The most pleasant thing was total serenity and the missing crowds. I’ll admit it felt a little awkward when we were the only ones in the pool and the lifeguards outnumbered our party. The same can be said for the outdoor movie, awkward. It was a completely different Disney experience than what we were use to, eerily quiet and a little awkward.
With Disney’s parks still being shut down, we headed over to Aquatica and Sea World. It had been a while since our last visit there and had a wonderful time reacquainting ourselves with the two parks.
Even now, late October, it just seems like Disney would rather not have anyone visit their parks at this time. Universal is really capitalizing on Disney’s caution so we will be heading to Universal later this fall. I’m confident we will have a wonderful time reacquainting ourselves with their parks as well.
So, in a long winded explanation, more content on Universal would be a welcome read. Thank you, and stay safe as you do all this research for your readers.
Definitely interested in more Universal coverage!
Another vote for more Universal content. We’re considering trips to Universal and Disney in early-mid December and are very interested in crowd sizes, mask compliance, itinerary suggestions to beat said crowds, and food recommendations. We currently have a res at Royal Pacific. You mentioned maintenance of perks. Does that include Express Passes at the top tier hotels?
I would love to read more about Universal! I had originally avoided Universal after a not so successful trip with my then 4 year old and 9 mo old because there was almost nothing they could do in comparison to Disney which offered a lot for toddlers and young children. Now my kids are getting older (7 and 4) and we booked our first on-site stay for Universal at Royal Pacific for spring of 2021 so I’m trying to build up my Universal knowledge base and I’d like to stick to the same tried and true bloggers if I can 😉 Also, how on earth did I go this long not realizing how much cheaper universal resorts were in comparison to Disney…and their premier resorts include unlimited express pass! Is Disney paying someone to hide this information?
You’ll love Royal Pacific, very family-friendly and you can walk it if you don’t want to take the boats.
They’ve upped the child-friendly offerings I’d say. Dr. Seuss land would have been there the last time you were there but your kids will appreciate it more. There’s also a Curious George area at the Studios to play at and there’s a great play area and you’ll be able to ride the Pteranadon Flyers at Jurassic World. Adults can only ride that with a child.
I am a big fan of both Disney and Universal. I live in Chicago, but have been an AP at Universal in the past. I would love more detailed info about Universal! There is a lot that I haven’t done there, as I usually focus on Harry Potter. I don’t even know what type of ride Spider-Man is! I hope to see more content in the future!
Thanks!
Just purchased season passes for Universal this summer, so I would absolutely love if you covered more Universal content. As much as I want to return to Disney asap, I don’t think we will until I feel like the experience is worth the expense.
Totally agree about ET Adventure. The biggest lack Universal has is the number of rides people prone to motion sickness, like me, can enjoy.
We spent 3 days at Universal at the end of our first Disney trip a year ago. We liked Volcano Bay a lot more than Typhoon Lagoon but otherwise thought the parks had nothing on our extremely enjoyable couple of weeks at Disney.
However I would take any fun theme park content you want to post and really like seeing your perspective on things that we clearly just didn’t understand. Nostalgia might have helped but I’m willing to admit that it’s entirely my fault that we hated Spiderman and didn’t even manage to ride E.T. I hope one day we can return and make up for what we’ve lost.
Also, you were spot on about those costumes. I was waiting for my boyfriend to finish riding Hulk for the 6th time when they did their little performance with the motorcycles and it was really…something…
More content please! Whatever you feel like 🙂
Another vote for more Universal content. During my last two trips, I spent time at both Universal and Disney and I think I -might- have enjoyed Universal more. Cabana Bay blows away anything at Disney at it’s price point!
During our visit in August, we found UO to have a much more “normal” feel vs. WDW. More food outlets open, fewer rides closures/downtime, and more pleasant staff. First time I would genuinely say our UO experience exceeded our WDW experience. And I’m no Universal fanboy.
Having been to UO a fair amount as well as disney and worked UO, disney is far smoother. Their social distancing is clearer, their mask protocols are stricter, and the reservation system prevents the mad dash to the entrances that occur on Saturdays when it’s announced one of the parks is about to hit capacity. I do wish disney was better about cleaning rides and commonly touched surfaces and requiring hand sanitizer before getting on rides like UO is but with this virus primarily being airborne or contracted by direct contact with someone who has the virus (around 50% of which are asymptomatic) they need to be more on top of masks and social distancing
Yes please, more Universal content! We always make at least a one day trip there when we go down to visit Disney. It’s good to see that wait times seem to be inflated there as well, we will be down there the week of December 14th.
Country Bear Jamboree side note
I also love this show – but one thing that bothers me. The three mounted trophy characters on the wall make so much noise. Through out the show they are moving around – click, click, click just ruins the show. Can’t they fix that – is it age or technology thing?
Love more coverage of Universal, but Tom……
“each visit to Universal Orlando is at least one ride on E.T. Adventure, which is right up there with Country Bear Jamboree on the list of potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central Florida’…..
That’s just disturbing.
Really enjoyed this. Count this as another vote for more Universal coverage! Especially Volcano Bay – one can debate the merits of the main theme parks, but I think it’s hard to argue that Volcano Bay doesn’t beat out the Disney water parks. Disney may have the edge on theme, but VB’s attractions are all 20 years younger and it shows.
We did Universal for the first time in August and really caught our eye. Our daughter loved the HP elements and although I couldn’t fit on Hagrid’s based on height, my wife and daughter loved it and were able to ride it multiple times. Please add some Universal coverage as we felt out of place based on Disney trips and this blog would help us learn the local knowledge of Universal as we will no doubt be spending more of our time and money within those walls.
The current state of “Toon Land” is baffling. You said it perfectly Tom. I’m assuming this is just a holding place while they finish up the deal with Nintendo to house their new land there in 5 years.
Nintendo is going either into epic or over where woody woodpecker is. If epic was going to open in 2023-2024 I’d say most likely there but they’re talking as late as 2028 or 2029 at this point and Nintendo wouldn’t be happy with that. I think they should make toon lagoon dreamworks/illumination themed and retirement the current minions ride.