What the hell is “Counter” Service?
WDW, UOR, & TP websites all call it “Quick” Service.
Besides. Minion’s Cafe, Three Broomsticks, and many others deliver the food. There’s no counter involved.
I love picking on Joe
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All counter service is quick service, but not all quick service is counter service!
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I deffinatley used them synonymously and I agree quick service is a better overall term but “counter service” fits better against “full service” when doing these comparisons. I still count Minion Cafe as counter service, for example.
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Loved this article! I was so surprised by the results. And of all the comparisons where cost ended up swinging the other way … let’s just say I guessed wrong.
Great tips, too. However, Butterbeer (frozen to be specific) is absolutely non-negotiable for me when I go to Three Broomsticks. And if I for some reason was able to resist getting it inside the restaurant, I would immediately queue up at the cart outside. 
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Hi - will be my family’s first time at UOR after doing WDW for the past 3 years (we’re still planning to hit some favorites at WDW 
). Family is more interested in Harry Potter than the thrill rides, so no interest in RRR, Hulk, Velocicoaster, for example.
Did UOR change the EPA hours for Christmas week? Earlier on, I could’ve sworn I saw both IOA and USF were included during 12/23-12/31 (and you can still see references to this on blog posts that haven’t been updated on various sites), but now it seems that USF is only 12/26-12/30. We are staying offsite, but tentatively have a night at RPR to get EPA and Express Passes for 12/23-12/24.
@darkmite2 @bebe80 would you still recommend NOT attempting Hagrid’s using EPA during the peak Christmas time? Looking at last year’s data, doesn’t seem like there was much of a lull during the day.
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You are right. They recently shortened the USF EPA dates. Bummer.
It’s still a good option if you arrive to the gates at least 45 minutes prior to EPA time. The risk is a potential delayed opening because of low temps, and getting run over. 
Right before park close is another good option.
Thrill Data only shows the posted wait times, so harder to figure what the actuals would be.
I did find 1 actual wait from last Christmas time of 75 minutes at 11:53am:
I think the 11am-noon time frame will still be a bearable wait before another spike after lunch. So far this December, crowd levels have been lower than last year. Which is consistent with most of 2023. So hopefully waits are a little less.
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Oh well, hopefully that means that Universal expects lower crowds? Or is it going to be the same level of crowds, but not enough staffing 
Original plan was to use EPA and visit a less-crowded Diagon Alley as seems to be recommended here.
Yes, that is a concern too. How bad can the “running of the bulls” be? Also I forgot where I read about a general guideline of gauging the line, i.e. if you are not early enough to be past a certain spot for Hagrid’s during EPA, then bail and do something else first.
This reminds me of ROTR planning… risk of the ride going down early and getting your day shot, or taking a gamble at night with the risk that if it goes down and doesn’t come back up.
Is UOR like WDW where if you’re in the line before park close, you’re good? Or do they close the line earlier than official park close?
Low temps - I was wondering why there was no wait time data in the graph until 1pm for 12/24 and 12/25 last year - then I remembered what the temperatures were last year 
Since we’re generally not early risers (other than for BGs / G+ / ILLs), probably not planning to use EPA on the first day (check-in) day. Think that should be fine, since everything else should be do-able with the Express Pass?. So maybe for the first day we’ll take it easy and look out for a lull for Hagrid’s and/or try at night, and if that doesn’t work out, go for it during EPA on the next day.
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First timer here. I’m creating touring plans for my visit after Christmas and the touring plan instructions say “Check Universal’s app for Virtual Line reservations for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure starting 15-30 minutes before park opening; get a return time around sunset if available.”
Virtual Line reservations are no longer a thing, right? I need to figure out when to work it into my plan.
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They are rare but if they are going to use a virtual queue, it would be during the weeks around Christmas. Check for it when you first get in the park and reserve whatever time(s) you want using different peoples’ phones in your party (it’s not tied to your ticket so each of you can make a VQ reservation for your whole party at various times as a contingency).
However, in the more likely event that there is no VQ, hop in line around 11am or any time the posted wait is around an hour. You can rope drop but that only seems to help if you’re at the very front of the pack. I often ride around sunset because it’s fun when it’s dark and it’s better waiting in line when it’s not hot.
Good luck!
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Hagrid’s hasn’t used VL in 4 years. I had asked TP to remove that language from the touring plans, but they insist it should be there “just in case”.
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Than last year, yes
Yes usually
That sounds like a great plan!
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I’d say at least one hour. If you aren’t in that first 25% of people near the entry, you’ll get stuck in an 60+ minute wait.
No one pushes or shoves. However, you can see the people that are in full “Thunderdome” mode as they rush past you!! I no longer full on “run” to it at EPA. However, I still power walk past a lot of people…
I was just there last week during an early morning delay. This isn’t my first time it’s happened. However, you can tell if it’s going to be a long delay or not by IF they even allow you to enter the queue. If it’s just a short wait you’ll still be able to get in. If they really don’t know if it’d going to open during EPA they won’t let you in the queue…
Yes. However, don’t push it right to the end. I’d say get there with no less than 5 minutes until close. I have been at rides about 2 minutes to closing only to be turned away…
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That’s not quite true - they were using it when we were there Labor Day 2021 - but may not have since then.
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Ah. I believe that’s when they were testing a new VL system for Hagrid, which failed for whatever reason.
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A couple of Volcano Bay maintenence closures:
Ko’okiri Body Plunge: January 2 - February 14, 2024
The Reef (small pool): January 2 - February 14, 2024
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According to multiple sources, paper park maps will be leaving the parks on Jan. 1, 2024.
I forgot to get one from my last trip! I just paid $3 on eBay for one…
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