Universal Orlando removes Express pass for Hagrid's
It looks like the Universal Express experiment is over for one of Universal Orlando's most popular attractions.
Universal Orlando Resort has removed Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure from the list of eligible attractions for the Universal Express pass. In social media replies, Universal's official account said that the change comes into effect on July 1, but the roller coaster is no longer listed as an Express attraction on Universal's website as of today.
(If anyone is Islands of Adventure today, please let us know if the Express lane is open for the ride or not.)
The addition of a Universal Express queue has been awful for fans waiting in the standby queue for Hagrid's, which was already one of the longest waits in the park, due to the ride's popularity and its capacity. Standby wait times for the ride routinely stretched into multiple hours, which could not have been good for the guest satisfaction scores at Islands of Adventure.
Hagrid's opened in 2019 but did not initially offer Express, so it's been a late addition to the Express package. Universal made money on Express before Hagrid's, and I am sure that it will continue to do so within the Harry Potter-themed coaster in its Express line-up.
My biggest problem with line-skip passes such as Universal Express is overselling. To paraphrase Syndrome, when too many people can skip a queue, no one does. A line-skip pass used by more than 10% of a park's visitors becomes an operational impediment, IMHO. From my ex-ops perspective, an ideal line-skip pass would provide only one use per attraction and be priced at a point where about five percent of park visitors would buy it on any given day. That would allow for true line-skips on the pass, as there would be next to no express lane waits, and the express lane would not substantially inflate the standby wait time.
With its higher prices, Universal Express long has come closer to my ideal than Disney's cheaper-priced Lightning Lane. But Hagrid's could not handle the volume of people using Universal Express, given its free use by guests of Universal's original three hotels as well as those who purchased it each day. So, as a fan of the coaster, I am happy to see Express go away at Hagrid's so that the vast majority of Universal fans again can enjoy shorter wait times on this highly rated coaster.
Replies (10)
As an out-of-state annual passholder, I'm biased, but I'm bummed. I'll admit, the express line would almost instantly climb to an additional 20+ mins right at 4 pm most days.
Dealbreaker. They can kiss our 8 grand goodbye. The only ride my wife likes, and we pay through the nose for Hard Rock / Unlimited Express. Sent an email directly to Universal since they send us questionnaires and surveys constantly.
The change is definitely a blow for pushing Express upgrades, but I applaud Universal for putting guest service first.
I would expect it to return once Pokemon or whatever opens up at the former Lost Continent.
This seems like an extremely radical move for something that probably just needs to be tweaked. I have long advocated and taken advantage of the Unlimited Universal Express perks given to guests staying at Hark Rock, Portofino Bay, and Royal Pacific, but if those guests and others purchasing UE are overwhelming Hagrid's, why can't they simply eliminate the "unlimited" privileges on that specific attraction? If you only get one shot to skip the line, I feel like those guests will be a lot more strategic in using it, and it would not mob the line at the busiest times of the day, which is what is happening now and dragging the standby line to a crawl.
It is good to see Universal listening to guests and making sure everyone can have an opportunity to ride what is widely considered one of the best coasters in the world, but I feel like they've pulled back too far on this to the point where they are now pissing off some of the most loyal and biggest spending guests who made summer plans expecting to get on Hagrid's with minimal wait.
IMHO, moving to a single shot paid Express Pass for Hagrid's would be even worse, and undermine Universal's reputation that they are not looking to profit from preferred access, like Disney has done post-COVID. It may be on the other side of the country, but on our upcoming trip to Southern California, we are spending 2 days at USH, one of which we'll be doing the park's VIP Tour (includes valet parking, breakfast, lunch, and guided backstage tour of the studio and sound stages beyond the standard tram tour). Those 2 days are costing us LESS than the following 2 days we're spending at Disneyland with LLMP (no ILL or VIP tour). Universal has always made their queue avoidance products financially accessible, and if they're going to sell a single use Express Pass to Hagrid's at a price point needed to not overwhelm the attraction (most are positing $30+), it would scream as being greedy.
If you want a perfect manifistation of the K-shape economy look no further than NB Creative's post. "I DEMAND you allow me to pay to skip in front of all the poors, or you will lose my business forever!"
In all seriousness, Universal (and every other park) brings these problems on themself when they create these line skip perks. There is no solution to this problem. There no practical way to increase the capacity of the ride, and they won't get rid of express because they make so much money off of it, so no matter what they do a lot of people are going to be pissed off.
the_man26 - Completely agree. I am impatient, wasteful, and have been coddled by the Unlimited Express perk. Sorry, not sorry.
Unlimited Express access makes no sense for Hagrids to begin with. A one-time option (like APs have) seems much more reasonable. One and done. But I guess they are marketing it as Express Unlimited, so it is all or nothing.
They should disable the unlimited option for Hagrid's but let express holders do it one time. We dropped a lot of money on the passes for our upcoming trip and they're making them less valuable now. Pretty disappointing.
This feels like an overcorrection that will probably result in a massive loss of Express revenue. Personally, what I would have done is made it so that Unlimited Express gets one ride on Hagrid's (per day for those with multi-day Express) and the regular Express can choose either Hagrid's or VelociCoaster. While data suggests that Express has increased standby waits by 40-50% at Hagrid's compared to the 20-30% increase typical of other attractions, I suspect a large amount of that is due to many users riding the coaster several times in a day, which is much less of an issue at the park's other attractions. I'm personally not a fan of these types of passes at parks in general, but if the park is going to offer it, they need to allow for skipping the longest lines in order to justify the upcharge.
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In addition to the ride's fluctuating operational capacity, I think the Unlimited option (provided at no extra charge to guests of certain hotels) probably doomed Express at Hagrid's.
Universal has been testing a single-ride Express pass that's similar to the Individual Lightning Lane functionality, but generally priced higher. I could imagine Universal turning on an exclusive single-attraction Express option for Hagrid's, but priced uber-competitively. I'm talking $50-$60 at least. That way those that really want (and are willing to pay for) an Express option can get it. Express purchasers who buy the standard options may even double-dip.