7/16 Gringotts this morning

[SharkyGoddess]

i think people will be complaining loudly if they limit the deluxe guests to an alternative system for EE.


there are always long lines and waits when a new ride is first opened.
it dies down eventually.

What she said.

 

[zebsterama]

Was there at 5:45 am waiting for EE. About 20 ahead of us.

Gates opened at 6:20ish.

Controlled / mad dash to London --- waited there --- about 30 deep.

6:40 was let in. Walked on. Posted wait time 20mins.

INCREDIBLE ride. Off at 7:05am.

Single rider --- all four in the family got on right away - same cart .

Done by 7:18.

By 7:30am -- 120min posted wait time.

Well worth getting up early.

DA (have been now a few times during this trip), especially at night -- spectacular!

 

[damo]

Was there at 5:45 am waiting for EE. About 20 ahead of us.

Gates opened at 6:20ish.

Controlled / mad dash to London --- waited there --- about 30 deep.

6:40 was let in. Walked on. Posted wait time 20mins.

INCREDIBLE ride. Off at 7:05am.

Single rider --- all four in the family got on right away - same cart .

Done by 7:18.

By 7:30am -- 120min posted wait time.

Well worth getting up early.

DA (have been now a few times during this trip), especially at night -- spectacular!

Woot!!! I've been waiting to hear what you thought. So glad you really liked it.

 

[zebsterama]

Went this am. Much more chaos than yesterday. Universal security dropped the ball today IMO. Will post more later.
Bottom line - was there at 5:25 am (yup I'm crazy)
First in line with my son.

Due to the rudeness of others ended up in 30th position. Uni staff kind of blew it too.

Let people via turnstiles in at 6
On ride at 7
Off ride 7:20

Wait time posted at 7:23 --- 180 mins


Crazy morning.

 

[Tiggr88]

We will be there 8/16 - 8/20. Our first morning will be 8/17 when the hours change so opening is at 9, ee at 8. Should I just add an hour to the times people are arriving today, expect to be at the gates by around 7 and be in good shape? We'll be at HRH so we should be able to get there by then.

By the way, does anyone know why IOA closes at 6PM on 8/16? It is 9 or 10 every other night and US is 10 that night. That's what the US site has for the hours.

 

[Metro West]

By the way, does anyone know why IOA closes at 6PM on 8/16? It is 9 or 10 every other night and US is 10 that night. That's what the US site has for the hours.

Private function more than likely.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Was there at 5:45 am waiting for EE. About 20 ahead of us.

Gates opened at 6:20ish.

Controlled / mad dash to London --- waited there --- about 30 deep.

6:40 was let in. Walked on. Posted wait time 20mins.

INCREDIBLE ride. Off at 7:05am.

Single rider --- all four in the family got on right away - same cart .

Done by 7:18.

By 7:30am -- 120min posted wait time.

Well worth getting up early.

DA (have been now a few times during this trip), especially at night -- spectacular!

Great little review!

So sorry to hear your second morning was less than magical. I'll be looking for your post explaining what all happened. Had that been me, I would have been

 

[zebsterama]

We will be there 8/16 - 8/20. Our first morning will be 8/17 when the hours change so opening is at 9, ee at 8. Should I just add an hour to the times people are arriving today, expect to be at the gates by around 7 and be in good shape? We'll be at HRH so we should be able to get there by then.

By the way, does anyone know why IOA closes at 6PM on 8/16? It is 9 or 10 every other night and US is 10 that night. That's what the US site has for the hours.

I would show a solid 1.25 hours before on a weekday, maybe a little more on a weekend.

I'm no expert, but based on what I've seen over the last couple of days - that's what I would do.

 

[zebsterama]

Great little review!

So sorry to hear your second morning was less than magical. I'll be looking for your post explaining what all happened. Had that been me, I would have been

In the end the difference was relatively minor, being first or being 20th. Essentially I may have been able to squeeze in a single rider / extra ride --- but who knows … single rider line was down the staircase when we were loading & I was part of the first of second load of the day.

What changed this am you ask?

1. Came from HRH pathway - 5:25am - my son and I are told by the security person that we cannot line up at the turnstile until 6am (we we're the only ones there). I'm like 'really'???? I explain, I was there yesterday at 5:45am with the whole family & there were realistically 20ish people there already at the turnstile. Clearly the security guard thought I was 'full of it' --- until others started to arrive with the same story. It was then that we found out, this guy only works weekends …. and after some thought … wasn't really sure. He radioed down to someone and confirmed …. ok good enough I'm thinking as long as, other park people potentially coming from the other two walkways -- CityWalk & from the IOA side -- are playing by the same rules. In fairness -- he was a nice guy & this did not happen. Still kind of not a good idea, but in fairness this never happened, so I can’t complain / good on Uni.

Here are the problems:
Problem 1 - was that the security guard wasn't enforcing others that came later than 5:25 to really get in any kind of line, however I did stand my ground in front (other, nice families behind us [one all the way from Scotland Day1] got the short end of the stick). This was followed by a 6am mad rush to the turnstiles to the main entrance. My son and I made it to the front of one of the turnstiles -- side by side -- but there were families behind us that got really screwed. Had my daughter and wife been there, we too would have been out of luck. Families sent their kids (one was a mother) running ahead then the rest of their party casually budded their way forward to the front of the turnstile. Disgusting! First the security guard was a bit of a meat head (nice guy, but a meat head who couldn’t organize a one man parade), and secondly, had Universal just let everyone wait at the turnstiles (like they did the day before) -- problem solved.

Problem 2 - the running after the turnstiles. Yes you guessed it, same people (and others - who likely see the ones who are running, panic, and do the same). Uni lacks "the stones" to do proper crowd control. Not enough security/staff along the path to London -- a very simple don't run warning (that has no teeth) and you have poorly organized chaos -- angry people, etc. etc. happen before your eyes. I'm in my mid 40's --- I could have easily out-sprinted the little punks who's parents sent them forward (more about this in a second) --- but I walked very briskly with my son, and bloody FUMMMMED most of the way --- ruining my mood and raising my blood pressure. Shame on me -- but that's how I felt.

Universal managers, before turnstiles open should, IMO, firstly graciously welcome everyone - then read out the riot act, --- something to effect of "We know you're all excited; we are all excited to have you here as well. For the safety of everyone, if we see you running, we will stop you, pull you out of line, and place you at the back of the line; no exceptions; the safety of our patrons is more important than anything."

Then DO IT! Just my 2 cents.

Karma --- luckily came to the rescue.

Get a load of this. One of the punk kids who ran ahead of the everyone (was at the front of the line) as the line walked into Gringotts - these people followed the wrong route during the snaking of the queue, taking many of his party and other budders in another direction (the open/outside area before you walk into the bank with the Goblin tellers). Oddly Universal screwed up again - but this time it worked out. I noticed the group in front of us was going unnecessarily through the snaking queue.

No one from the ride was helping guide the line.

My son and I took a right turn via the properly open/unchained line and started walk up. The punk's (leader at the front of the line) father figures out the mistake (he was lagging behind), and stood in front of me and my son -- I told my son to just walk pass him … and we did …. he tried to stop me with an "EXCUSE ME" -- I asked him where the "heck" that excuse was when his son and wife fired passed everyone from the back of the line, both at 5:30 and 6:00am. I didn't really stick around for an answer.

AGAIN another family -- similar situation -- this time the father was further up front -- his son who came out of nowhere at the 6am queue and ran past everyone except for the first punk --- was separated and was urging the rest of his family to move forward. This is all happening past the tellers in Gringotts – down near the elevator area. Like a bit of jerk (my apologies to the human race) I turn to my 12 year old son (I admit I'm not always the best role model -- but there was something to learn here) and say rather loudly in front of this man (who is standing right in front of us).

"Son, do you know what Karma is?"
My son replied in a rather perplexed voice "no."

"Karma is what happens when you screw other people over, to your benefit, and then get screwed yourself," I said, before pausing "Like this man here" gesturing to the man/father, now just ahead of us in the queue.

I continued: "His teenage son, ran past a whole bunch of families, some with little children, waiting long before his family was this morning, so his family could get in line in front of all these other people. But now the rest of his family is further back, and he seems to think that I'm going to let them move past me. But I'm not, because that would be wrong. That (insert my son's name here) is Karma."

I then proceeded to walk right past the man with my son. Everyone was looking. He didn't look me in the eye, he could only look down; he didn't say a word. Because it was true.

Anyway, I likely went overboard. I likely embarrassed myself and my son (he seemed happy) a little bit. Honestly I don't usually pull one of these in public -- but I was peeved.

I guess it worked out in the end. The 3 or 4 families that I talked to earlier at 5:30 (including the people from Scotland) that were right behind us were now ahead of us --- I was ok with that /was happy for them.

Oh yeah, the ride was cool too.

OK -- that was a good therapy session for me. Thank you.

 

[pcstang]

I had to walk away from the grill and go to my desktop to reply! You absolutely did the right thing from beginning to end and I applaud you! I have and will do the same thing. That is what some people need as a wakeup call that their behavior is not acceptable no matter vacation or not! Good job!!!!

 

[damo]

In the end the difference was relatively minor, being first or being 20th. Essentially I may have been able to squeeze in a single rider / extra ride --- but who knows … single rider line was down the staircase when we were loading & I was part of the first of second load of the day.

What changed this am you ask?

1. Came from HRH pathway - 5:25am - my son and I are told by the security person that we cannot line up at the turnstile until 6am (we we're the only ones there). I'm like 'really'???? I explain, I was there yesterday at 5:45am with the whole family & there were realistically 20ish people there already at the turnstile. Clearly the security guard thought I was 'full of it' --- until others started to arrive with the same story. It was then that we found out, this guy only works weekends …. and after some thought … wasn't really sure. He radioed down to someone and confirmed …. ok good enough I'm thinking as long as, other park people potentially coming from the other two walkways -- CityWalk & from the IOA side -- are playing by the same rules. In fairness -- he was a nice guy & this did not happen. Still kind of not a good idea, but in fairness this never happened, so I can’t complain / good on Uni.

Here are the problems:
Problem 1 - was that the security guard wasn't enforcing others that came later than 5:25 to really get in any kind of line, however I did stand my ground in front (other, nice families behind us [one all the way from Scotland Day1] got the short end of the stick). This was followed by a 6am mad rush to the turnstiles to the main entrance. My son and I made it to the front of one of the turnstiles -- side by side -- but there were families behind us that got really screwed. Had my daughter and wife been there, we too would have been out of luck. Families sent their kids (one was a mother) running ahead then the rest of their party casually budded their way forward to the front of the turnstile. Disgusting! First the security guard was a bit of a meat head (nice guy, but a meat head who couldn’t organize a one man parade), and secondly, had Universal just let everyone wait at the turnstiles (like they did the day before) -- problem solved.

Problem 2 - the running after the turnstiles. Yes you guessed it, same people (and others - who likely see the ones who are running, panic, and do the same). Uni lacks "the stones" to do proper crowd control. Not enough security/staff along the path to London -- a very simple don't run warning (that has no teeth) and you have poorly organized chaos -- angry people, etc. etc. happen before your eyes. I'm in my mid 40's --- I could have easily out-sprinted the little punks who's parents sent them forward (more about this in a second) --- but I walked very briskly with my son, and bloody FUMMMMED most of the way --- ruining my mood and raising my blood pressure. Shame on me -- but that's how I felt.

Universal managers, before turnstiles open should, IMO, firstly graciously welcome everyone - then read out the riot act, --- something to effect of "We know you're all excited; we are all excited to have you here as well. For the safety of everyone, if we see you running, we will stop you, pull you out of line, and place you at the back of the line; no exceptions; the safety of our patrons is more important than anything."

Then DO IT! Just my 2 cents.

Karma --- luckily came to the rescue.

Get a load of this. One of the punk kids who ran ahead of the everyone (was at the front of the line) as the line walked into Gringotts - these people followed the wrong route during the snaking of the queue, taking many of his party and other budders in another direction (the open/outside area before you walk into the bank with the Goblin tellers). Oddly Universal screwed up again - but this time it worked out. I noticed the group in front of us was going unnecessarily through the snaking queue.

No one from the ride was helping guide the line.

My son and I took a right turn via the properly open/unchained line and started walk up. The punk's (leader at the front of the line) father figures out the mistake (he was lagging behind), and stood in front of me and my son -- I told my son to just walk pass him … and we did …. he tried to stop me with an "EXCUSE ME" -- I asked him where the "heck" that excuse was when his son and wife fired passed everyone from the back of the line, both at 5:30 and 6:00am. I didn't really stick around for an answer.

AGAIN another family -- similar situation -- this time the father was further up front -- his son who came out of nowhere at the 6am queue and ran past everyone except for the first punk --- was separated and was urging the rest of his family to move forward. This is all happening past the tellers in Gringotts – down near the elevator area. Like a bit of jerk (my apologies to the human race) I turn to my 12 year old son (I admit I'm not always the best role model -- but there was something to learn here) and say rather loudly in front of this man (who is standing right in front of us).

"Son, do you know what Karma is?"
My son replied in a rather perplexed voice "no."

"Karma is what happens when you screw other people over, to your benefit, and then get screwed yourself," I said, before pausing "Like this man here" gesturing to the man/father, now just ahead of us in the queue.

I continued: "His teenage son, ran past a whole bunch of families, some with little children, waiting long before his family was this morning, so his family could get in line in front of all these other people. But now the rest of his family is further back, and he seems to think that I'm going to let them move past me. But I'm not, because that would be wrong. That (insert my son's name here) is Karma."

I then proceeded to walk right past the man with my son. Everyone was looking. He didn't look me in the eye, he could only look down; he didn't say a word. Because it was true.

Anyway, I likely went overboard. I likely embarrassed myself and my son (he seemed happy) a little bit. Honestly I don't usually pull one of these in public -- but I was peeved.

I guess it worked out in the end. The 3 or 4 families that I talked to earlier at 5:30 (including the people from Scotland) that were right behind us were now ahead of us --- I was ok with that /was happy for them.

Oh yeah, the ride was cool too.

OK -- that was a good therapy session for me. Thank you.

The running is strange. They never let anyone run in IOA heading to Wizarding World.

It's funny how trying to get on a new ride can bring out the worst in people.

 

[MMitchell29]

Would anyone happen to know what's the age or height limit for Gringotts.

 

[FargoBear]

No age limit. Height is 42 inches.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Karma

That. Was. Awesome. They deserved the little nudge and you should not be embarrassed, my hubs would have done the same thing

So very glad the rest of your day turned out well for you and the kiddo!

 

[Mad Hattered]

In the end the difference was relatively minor, being first or being 20th. Essentially I may have been able to squeeze in a single rider / extra ride --- but who knows … single rider line was down the staircase when we were loading & I was part of the first of second load of the day.

What changed this am you ask?

1. Came from HRH pathway - 5:25am - my son and I are told by the security person that we cannot line up at the turnstile until 6am (we we're the only ones there). I'm like 'really'???? I explain, I was there yesterday at 5:45am with the whole family & there were realistically 20ish people there already at the turnstile. Clearly the security guard thought I was 'full of it' --- until others started to arrive with the same story. It was then that we found out, this guy only works weekends …. and after some thought … wasn't really sure. He radioed down to someone and confirmed …. ok good enough I'm thinking as long as, other park people potentially coming from the other two walkways -- CityWalk & from the IOA side -- are playing by the same rules. In fairness -- he was a nice guy & this did not happen. Still kind of not a good idea, but in fairness this never happened, so I can’t complain / good on Uni.

Here are the problems:
Problem 1 - was that the security guard wasn't enforcing others that came later than 5:25 to really get in any kind of line, however I did stand my ground in front (other, nice families behind us [one all the way from Scotland Day1] got the short end of the stick). This was followed by a 6am mad rush to the turnstiles to the main entrance. My son and I made it to the front of one of the turnstiles -- side by side -- but there were families behind us that got really screwed. Had my daughter and wife been there, we too would have been out of luck. Families sent their kids (one was a mother) running ahead then the rest of their party casually budded their way forward to the front of the turnstile. Disgusting! First the security guard was a bit of a meat head (nice guy, but a meat head who couldn’t organize a one man parade), and secondly, had Universal just let everyone wait at the turnstiles (like they did the day before) -- problem solved.

Problem 2 - the running after the turnstiles. Yes you guessed it, same people (and others - who likely see the ones who are running, panic, and do the same). Uni lacks "the stones" to do proper crowd control. Not enough security/staff along the path to London -- a very simple don't run warning (that has no teeth) and you have poorly organized chaos -- angry people, etc. etc. happen before your eyes. I'm in my mid 40's --- I could have easily out-sprinted the little punks who's parents sent them forward (more about this in a second) --- but I walked very briskly with my son, and bloody FUMMMMED most of the way --- ruining my mood and raising my blood pressure. Shame on me -- but that's how I felt.

Universal managers, before turnstiles open should, IMO, firstly graciously welcome everyone - then read out the riot act, --- something to effect of "We know you're all excited; we are all excited to have you here as well. For the safety of everyone, if we see you running, we will stop you, pull you out of line, and place you at the back of the line; no exceptions; the safety of our patrons is more important than anything."

Then DO IT! Just my 2 cents.

Karma --- luckily came to the rescue.

Get a load of this. One of the punk kids who ran ahead of the everyone (was at the front of the line) as the line walked into Gringotts - these people followed the wrong route during the snaking of the queue, taking many of his party and other budders in another direction (the open/outside area before you walk into the bank with the Goblin tellers). Oddly Universal screwed up again - but this time it worked out. I noticed the group in front of us was going unnecessarily through the snaking queue.

No one from the ride was helping guide the line.

My son and I took a right turn via the properly open/unchained line and started walk up. The punk's (leader at the front of the line) father figures out the mistake (he was lagging behind), and stood in front of me and my son -- I told my son to just walk pass him … and we did …. he tried to stop me with an "EXCUSE ME" -- I asked him where the "heck" that excuse was when his son and wife fired passed everyone from the back of the line, both at 5:30 and 6:00am. I didn't really stick around for an answer.

AGAIN another family -- similar situation -- this time the father was further up front -- his son who came out of nowhere at the 6am queue and ran past everyone except for the first punk --- was separated and was urging the rest of his family to move forward. This is all happening past the tellers in Gringotts – down near the elevator area. Like a bit of jerk (my apologies to the human race) I turn to my 12 year old son (I admit I'm not always the best role model -- but there was something to learn here) and say rather loudly in front of this man (who is standing right in front of us).

"Son, do you know what Karma is?"
My son replied in a rather perplexed voice "no."

"Karma is what happens when you screw other people over, to your benefit, and then get screwed yourself," I said, before pausing "Like this man here" gesturing to the man/father, now just ahead of us in the queue.

I continued: "His teenage son, ran past a whole bunch of families, some with little children, waiting long before his family was this morning, so his family could get in line in front of all these other people. But now the rest of his family is further back, and he seems to think that I'm going to let them move past me. But I'm not, because that would be wrong. That (insert my son's name here) is Karma."

I then proceeded to walk right past the man with my son. Everyone was looking. He didn't look me in the eye, he could only look down; he didn't say a word. Because it was true.

Anyway, I likely went overboard. I likely embarrassed myself and my son (he seemed happy) a little bit. Honestly I don't usually pull one of these in public -- but I was peeved.

I guess it worked out in the end. The 3 or 4 families that I talked to earlier at 5:30 (including the people from Scotland) that were right behind us were now ahead of us --- I was ok with that /was happy for them.

Oh yeah, the ride was cool too.

OK -- that was a good therapy session for me. Thank you.

I seriously LOVED this post!!!! Good job, Dad!!! You sound pretty cool to me!

 

[Davey Jones II]

It is still a perk though. Yes you get there at EE opening and have a 4 hour wait but imagine getting there at regular opening. Now you have a 4 hour wait but that is a full 4 hours you could have been doing something else. With EE the first hour of your 4 hours could only have been used for sleeping if you wanted to do that but not something inside Universal. So it is a perk when you look at it that way because you are only wasting 3 of your park hours in line instead of 4.

That's like saying, "I'm only going to punch you in the face once instead of twice, so that's a perk!"

Those Universal on-site hotels are pretty damn expensive, when you compare them to numerous quality hotels in the area, many of which offer free shuttles to Universal. The advantages of staying on-site should be a real perk! But they sell this "advantage" to everyone and his cousin, so how is it still an advantage?

I don't want to bash Universal, but they've been milking the early entry stuff ever since the first WWOHP opened. They continued to do so long after the wait times became reasonable (and you can breeze into FP through the single rider line). Not worth it, IMHO.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Just returned from a 5 night/6 day stay on site at PBH. We did't go to any earl yours since we had heard the stories of mounds of people waiting and waiting. Here is what DD (17) and I did and it worked well, at least for us.
1 Go to IOA first and do stuff there and of course FJ and Harry Potter. We usually slept in , ate lunch and then went around 1:00 or so.
2. Ride Hogwarts Express from IOA to Diagon Alley at US, early evening 5 or 6 pm.
3. Do a few things at US and then go to Diagon Alley. Less crowded, no waits for the stores or at least very small waits! We walked right in at Ollivanders! Ice cream shop small wait!
4. Ride or at least get in line for Gringotts BEFORE 7 or 7:30- They close the line very early because of the so called wait! We tried to wait until 8 one night when they closed at 10 and couldn't! Single line is much shorter so maybe second ride you might pick that option if you don't have small children.
5. Go later for less crowds and same fun! Usually cooler too!
6 . Have fun and enjoy!

So if you get in line in the evening, how long does it take before you actually get on the ride?

 

[hpfan100]

So if you get in line in the evening, how long does it take before you actually get on the ride?

The line was consistently 120-180 minutes in the evening this past week.

 

[damo]

That's like saying, "I'm only going to punch you in the face once instead of twice, so that's a perk!"

Those Universal on-site hotels are pretty damn expensive, when you compare them to numerous quality hotels in the area, many of which offer free shuttles to Universal. The advantages of staying on-site should be a real perk! But they sell this "advantage" to everyone and his cousin, so how is it still an advantage?

I don't want to bash Universal, but they've been milking the early entry stuff ever since the first WWOHP opened. They continued to do so long after the wait times became reasonable (and you can breeze into FP through the single rider line). Not worth it, IMHO.

Gringotts is the only thing right now that still has a line during early admission. FJ, Ollivanders, Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff, etc are all basically walk ons during EA. There have been many reports of people riding Gringotts 3 times during EA, you just have to get there earlier than 15 minutes in advance.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Those Universal on-site hotels are pretty damn expensive, when you compare them to numerous quality hotels in the area, many of which offer free shuttles to Universal. The advantages of staying on-site should be a real perk! But they sell this "advantage" to everyone and his cousin, so how is it still an advantage?

I have to agree with you on this part right here. It does irk me that Uni makes EE available to other hotels (Cabana Bay included). I know I am a complete snob, but I feel that EE should only be available to the onsite, original three.