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10-hour wait times reported for new Hagrid roller coaster at Universal Orlando

The ride officially opened at 9 a.m. Thursday, and within 20 minutes the park's app reported a 10-hour wait time for the attraction.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The excitement to ride the new Harry Potter roller coaster on the opening day resulted in 10-hour wait times reported within 20 minutes of the ride opening.

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure officially opened Thursday morning at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure. The 3-minute, 7-launch coaster surges you up to 50 miles per hour through a Care of Magical Creatures class and the Forbidden Forest with the beloved Hogwarts groundskeeper.

While the ride officially opened at 9 a.m. Thursday, people arrived at the park hours earlier. Around 8:20 a.m., Universal replied to a guest the wait time was already at 8 hours.

Within about 20 minutes of opening, the Universal Orlando app reported a wait time of 600 minutes (10 hours) to get on the ride.

Florida's summer weather had the ride shut down for lightning a couple of times, but in the afternoon the wait times had dropped to around 6 hours.

A week before the ride's opening, Universal shared tips for managing opening day on its blog. The parked ended up opening earlier than usual to accommodate those lining up in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Then beginning Friday, Universal said there may be times team members will have guests use a virtual line for the Hagrid coaster. To get in the virtual line, tap the icon for the ride in the app, select how many people are in your party and then select a return time to join the line.

When your return time arrives, the remainder of your wait time will be posted at the ride's entrance. A team member will scan your virtual line pass so you can join the physical queue. 

Universal Express passes are not valid for Hagrid Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure: Universal opens new Hagrid-themed "story coaster"

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