Universal Orlando Removing Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure from Express Pass Starting July 1
Breaking news out of Universal Orlando Resort. Starting July 1, there will be a major change to the Universal Express lineup as Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure will no longer be included with the service. This comes as a surprise to many guests, especially since the attraction was only added to Universal Express not too long ago.
At this time, guests can still use Universal Express at the attraction, but beginning July 1, Express access will no longer be available. The only exception will be during attraction downtime or operational delays, where previously issued Express access may still be honored.
While Universal has not officially confirmed the reason behind the change, there are several possible factors that may have contributed to the decision. With the current closure of Jurassic Park River Adventure, there has been increased demand for attractions located in the back half of the park, especially major headliners like Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
Another possible factor could be operational concerns related to the balance between Universal Express and the standby queue. Guests have frequently reported slower-moving standby lines, which may stem from the ratio of Express riders being accommodated throughout the day. In addition, Hagrid’s unique locker process — which requires all loose articles to be stored before riding — can further impact overall queue efficiency and guest flow.
As we can see from the chart above, courtesy of our friends at Thrill-Data.com, wait times increased dramatically following the holiday season and the closure of Jurassic Park River Adventure for its extended refurbishment project. At the same time, the family-friendly Pteranodon Flyers has also experienced significant downtime due to unrelated refurbishments, putting even more pressure on the remaining attractions in the area.
This now raises even more questions about the future operations of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Could we see the full return of the attraction’s single rider line to help improve capacity and overall guest flow? Or is Universal preparing to reconfigure the queue entirely to better handle an “evens and odds” loading system similar to the one currently used at Jurassic World VelociCoaster? Only time will tell, but this change is sure to have a major impact on how guests experience one of Islands of Adventure’s most popular attractions moving forward.
