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!
We visited Islands of Adventure for the first time in June when our May WDW trip was cancelled. We were able to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike using the virtual line. Loved the ride and butterbeer! During that visit, we walked on almost every ride. The Universal team members were very friendly and attentive, We felt very comfortable with the COVID protocols. Now
we are counting the days to our rescheduled WDW trip November 14-21. We will be able to catch the end of Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival and the beginning of the Christmas season. We have reservations for Minnie’s Holiday Dine and plan to try your self-guided Yuletide Tour of WDW Resorts. Do you have a modified version for the resorts that will be open at that time?
Would definitely love to see more reviews on everything Universal, as in the last year or so it has become as big of a destination (if not bigger) to our family than Disney! We will be visiting both again the first week of November, making for our third Universal trip this year, one at the end of January, the other at the end of August, which we were a bit apprehensive about, but we felt they did a fantastic job of keeping distance between visitors, and were enforcing mask rules. Looking forward to comparing the two soon. Please do more Universal!
We were at Disney last week and happened to get to Citiwalk as Universal was emptying out. From the sheer number of people and the lack of safety precautions (and nonexistent social distancing being observed), we will be sticking with Disney until this mess is over, as during our time there they are doing a great job.
FYI – if you stay one night in a Universal Resort that offers Universal Express Unlimited passes, you get two days where you can use these. So you can use them on the day you arrive and also the day you leave. If your budget is tight, you can always stay somewhere cheaper the night before and/or after.
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Also, if you do stay at one of the resorts that offers Universal Express Unlimited passes, they are good for everyone in your room!
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Check me on this, but I believe the resorts that offer these passes are Loew’s Royal Pacific and Loew’s Hard Rock Hotel (also Loew’s Portofino Bay, but it is closed due to COVID). FYI: Priceline has rooms at Loew’s Royal Pacific during weekdays in early December for $299 plus tax.
More Universal, please! I would love you to make detail-oriented Universal posts in the same way you do your excellent detailed Disney posts. There are all sorts of sources on the internet for overarching reviews. But I’d so enjoy reading your thoughts on various restaurants, snacks, shows…and behind-the-scenes goings-on and rumors too.
Though it looks like you have plenty of other positive responses, I’m still adding my name to the ‘want to see more Universal posts’ hat. I had actively avoided it on my last trip down because I kept seeing comments about the mask usage not being so great, but if it’s comparable to Disney then I’d like to know more about how to experience and strategize the parks! It’s a live-saver to know where to eat and what crowds to avoid, as well as what attractions are worth it or not worth it. Your ride ‘reviews’ are enjoyable reading content on their own, so more of them is never amiss. Plus, staying at those deluxe resorts might help me determine the value, as I’m game for paying more for a quality experience that includes skipping many lines~
Our family has always loved Disney but we have only gone to Universal once. We loved our first trip there which happened right before the pandemic hit and our boys (9 &11 when we went) had the best time! My husband actually found the rides much more exciting at Universal than at Disney. The Harry Potter world is truly amazing and felt like it took you straight into the movie but we did feel unprepared going into Universal not really knowing restaurant recommendations or how the park flow would work along with the best way to tackle the two parks in the two days we had there. We’d love to keep reading more of your recommendations for Universal as well! Your blog has honestly made a huge difference in how we plan when we visit Disney World, we just love all the helpful information from the daily recommended park schedules to follow to restaurant and snack reviews and recommendations, your blog is such an amazing resource and we always look forward to what’s to come next. Keep up the awesome work!!
I would like to see more about Universal. We love Disney and Universal but I was so impressed with Universal’s customer service. My son and I have season passes and didn’t get to use them due to travel restrictions and Covid-19. They extended them for another year. It’s hard to get Disney to budge on anything. Universal is smart to do this because people spend a ton in the parks.
Hey Tom, I’d love to see more articles on Universal. In the last decade we ‘discovered’ Universal and find it to be a much better bang for your buck than Disney. Better food overall, nicer hotels at a better price point, a little more adult… and less of the feeling you’re constantly being gouged. Plus, while Disney clearly leads in number of attractions, the quality of some of the Universal attractions (two of which you mentioned in your article) were a huge surprise. More please!
Haven’t been to Universal since Thanksgiving last year. I’ll happily read all the trip reports for both Disney and Universal. We have done trips where we went to both and some for just Disney OR Universal. Last year we had enough opportunity to warrant APs for Universal. We are not locals but it was totally worth it. Keep reporting on both please.
Loved this report – please do more reports and more universal content in general. Even for Hollywood and Japan in future! Would really enjoy your 1 day itinerary or attraction rating articles for Universal along with a review of some of the newer attractions like Hagrid. I’ve only been to Florida a couple of times in the last decade but I remember Disney’s dining being far superior to Universal, would be good to hear if there are ‘hidden gems’ at universal and city walk. Thanks as always for the great content!
WE have the best AP to universal and wdw. WDW more but still really enjoy universal for other reasons. Thank you for the coverage and yes would like it continued. Though different in what each offers for AP holders, I feel universal has handled it great. Offering us premier holders a free ticket due to no horror nights and increasing weekday express pass to 2pm instead of 4pm. Disney has offered nothing. Plus with the early Park for AP HOLDERS is great At universal. . At wdw if you drive there or aren’t at bus stop 2 hours early then you’re already late.
My family has only visited Universal once, in 2019, but have been to WDW 10+ times. We really enjoyed Universal and will definitely go back. We stayed on-site and loved being able to walk to the parks and having unlimited “fast passes”. We were actually already booked for Universal Hollywood in June 2020 before the pandemic hit. I enjoy trip reports from both Universal and WDW.
We’ve always stayed at the value resorts at Disney and only gone during the free dining promo so maybe I’ve been spoiled price-wise and that’s why Universal hotels seemed to cost more. Also, it seemed easier to choose tickets for Disney as it seems like there are so many different options for Universal and I got confused. A gal at work told me those special passes are a must so when I’d add those, the price skyrocketed. I’m not sure I’m ready to travel yet (I’m all the way across the country from Florida) but I would love your info for when I am.
I will give you that, all of Universal’s tickets are confusing lol! I think your friend was talking about express passes, they can make your ticket prices increase significantly and then your whole package will increase! You also have to be careful about what options are checked off, half that stuff you probably don’t need! Let me help you when you are ready to travel, I promise I will work to get you the best deal and still make sure you have what you need for an enjoyable trip!
My email is [email protected]. You can also follow me on Facebook or Instagram @jetsetrosette. I share all the latest promos for Universal and Disney on my social media sites.
We were booked initially one if the top tier Universal resorts thus summer, but cancelled due to Covid. Running the numbers, it was actually a better deal to book the high end resorts which throw in the Express pass, than it was to go lower tier and pay for the Express pass.
We are hoping to do Universal during our 11 year old’s spring break in 2021 (if you know your Potter lore, you know the significance of that age), which is the whole reason we had booked for summer 2020 originally.
I would love more tips and tricks for touring Universal. There’s just not that much out there for these parks in order to learn how to tour most efficiently. Thanks for the IOA report and looking forward to USF!
We have been hard core Disney fans and were never interested in Universal Studios, but the girls are getting older and we have a boy almost 5. So Harry Potter, Jurrassic World, Spiderman, Minions, Transformers, I could go on. So we have purchased a ticket special buy 2 days get 2 free to use before 12/17/2021. Thinking of Spring Break 2021. Our dilemma is purchasing Unlimited Express Pass. Not sure we want to risk waiting for a majority of the rides. Seems worth the cost staying at the hotels that offer Unlimited vs buying outright for 5 people. Would love your insight on Universal Orlando!!
I would love more reports regarding Universal. We do enjoy our Disney visits, but are mixing it up with a trip to Universal in the next few weeks. Advice on what to expect and strategy are much appreciated.
I’d love to see more info on Universal. We haven’t been since 2010, it are definitely considering it instead of Disney right now. I’d like to know more about the hotels, dining, COVID procedures, and even attractions. Do they have something like fast pass? I read every email I get from you – and appreciate all the helpful information!
Tom,
Two summers ago our extended family spent the better part of two weeks at WDW (with one day at Sea World) and loved every minute. It was the grandkids’ – ages 1, 6 and 8 – first time in Florida, so that it made it super special. We intend going back to the Orlando area in 2022 or 2023, hopefully after this COVID mess is far behind us, and with my grandsons being 10 and 12 by that time we are contemplating two or three days at Universal in addition to our time at WDW (and, maybe, Legoland).
While I consider myself a semi-pro with regard to WDW – my bride and I first stopped there in 1972 while on our honeymoon – I know absolutely nothing about Universal and would appreciate whatever knowledge you could pass on, especially if it is slanted towards a newbie.
Thanks so much for your blog. I read every issue, soak up all the info you present and delight in viewing your masterful photos. Great work. Keep it up.
How were the crowds with social distancing and mask wearing? Or is that just Disney now that they’re in phase 3. Would like to know as I’m hesitant going if they are allowing maskless people wandering around now
How have the shops in WHOP been, Tom? Wondering how they are managing those book-authentic, teeny tiny shops in the times of social distancing. Is it just long queues outside each shop now?
I’ve taken my boys to Disney several times but never to Universal. I would love to take them and think they are great ages for it (10 and 12). Problem is, I don’t know anything about Universal so I’m afraid we will not really get our money’s worth. Also, I saw someone post that they thought the Universal hotels were cheaper. Anytime I’ve looked into it, they’ve been more expensive. Thoughts? Ideas?
Im surprised to hear that you found resorts to be more expensive! The endless summer resorts can be less than $100/night (which ive never seen at Disney). Cabana Bay which is so much better than Pop is often less than $150/night (last I checked Pop was pricing around $175-200). And the premier resorts are never more than $350-$400 a night and they come with unlimited express (so basically unlimited fastpass!). Im a Disney girl through and through, but its really really hard to compare resort prices and perks with Universal, Universal has them beat 100%.
As much as I hate promoting my services in blog comments because it feels sleezy, I am a TA and I can price out a trip for you if you want, because you are right, your boys are the perfect age for a Universal trip and I think I can find you a really great deal.
This is for Rosette. Sorry if it posts twice. I’m not good at this stuff.
We’ve always stayed at the value resorts at Disney and only gone during the free dining promo so maybe I’ve been spoiled price-wise and that’s why Universal hotels seemed to cost more. Also, it seemed easier to choose tickets for Disney as it seems like there are so many different options for Universal and I got confused. A gal at work told me those special passes are a must so when I’d add those, the price skyrocketed. I’m not sure I’m ready to travel yet (I’m all the way across the country from Florida) but I would love your info for when I am.