On a day where Universal Studios Florida has early opening can you ride Hogwarts Express to IOA and beach the crowd to Hagrid’s?
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No.
Guests are usually let in prior to IOA opening (around 15 minutes or so) while the Hogwarts Express only starts running at official IOA opening - this means front gate gets a 15 minute head start.
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It can actually be faster to walk back out and go around than to take HE. The line at park opening can grow really long quite fast. So I agree with @josephmatt.
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So if I have one night at UOR and only one early entry, there is a chance that early entry will be for USF? And if Hagrid is my goal, what’s my strategy?
“Universal Orlando’s on-site resort transportation to the parks via buses and water taxis begins 2 hours before official opening, or 1 hour before Early Park Admission (see page 65). Guests staying on-site during peak periods will want to catch the first ride of the morning (or start walking around the time it leaves) to be the first into The Wizarding World during the early-entry period.”
https://touringplans.com/universal-orlando/rope-drop
I’m not sure exactly when IOA gates open for EPA, maybe 15-30 minutes early?
I’ve seen recent reports of the gates opening at precisely 15 minutes before the hour. In order to be near the front of the line to enter, folks are arriving 45 minutes to 1 hour ahead of early entry time. So if early entry is at 7am, people start lining up at 6-6:15 and they open the gates at 6:45.
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If USF has early entry at say 8am, but IOA is at 9 and you want to ride Hagrid’s first, I’d be at the IOA gates no later than 8:15 am. It doesn’t work to go to early entry at USF and ride the Hogwart’s Express over. Well, you can do it but you’ll be behind the regular crowd.
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Thank you. Makes sense and lines up with the TP rope drop info.
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