What time to get there for early entry?

[allimaree]

HI! We have only one day at USF and IOA and want to make the most of it. We'd love to rope drop Hagrids (like everyone else) for EE. What time should we get there to put ourselves in the best position to do that? The park opens at 9:00, so early entry starts at 8:00. We are staying at the Royal Pacific. Thanks!

 

[Jangles]

HI! We have only one day at USF and IOA and want to make the most of it. We'd love to rope drop Hagrids (like everyone else) for EE. What time should we get there to put ourselves in the best position to do that? The park opens at 9:00, so early entry starts at 8:00. We are staying at the Royal Pacific. Thanks!

The security gates on the pathways usually open an hour before EE, so I would get to that point by about 6.50 and then walk with purpose to the turnstiles. Remember to pick an empty one and not queue behind others. UOR usually scan the first group at each turnstile as a group, just before the turnstiles open.

 

[ChrisM]

Here are my suggestions:

1) Try to arrive at the turnstyles ~1 hour prior to Early Entry. Note that boats from the resorts almost invariably will either leave the dock at the resort 1 hour prior, or arrive to the dock at the resort 1 hour prior. Based on boat loading and travel time that can take 10-15 minutes before you're actually at the turnstyles.

2) If necessary, sending one person ahead to stake out a space in line for opening never hurts. I've rarely seen any issues with slightly later arriving folks joining their parties in line at opening and seems to be a generally accepted practice (unlike lines for attractions). The only issue here is, especially at IOA, there seems to be a pinch point that develops once the lines get long enough and it might be impossible to navigate through it.

3) I'm going to out myself a bit as "that guy", but I have no problem whatsoever jogging to my preferred attraction once inside the park. Security and park staff will yell at you to walk, not run, but usually I just slow down to a fast walk when approaching them/they yell at me, and then just pick it back up afterwards. As long as you're able-bodied and safe - not taking stupid chances and giving other guests a wide berth - I don't see any issues with it (although I certainly understand why Universal wants to dissuade guests from doing this).

 

[allimaree]

Here are my suggestions:

1) Try to arrive at the turnstyles ~1 hour prior to Early Entry. Note that boats from the resorts almost invariably will either leave the dock at the resort 1 hour prior, or arrive to the dock at the resort 1 hour prior. Based on boat loading and travel time that can take 10-15 minutes before you're actually at the turnstyles.

2) If necessary, sending one person ahead to stake out a space in line for opening never hurts. I've rarely seen any issues with slightly later arriving folks joining their parties in line at opening and seems to be a generally accepted practice (unlike lines for attractions). The only issue here is, especially at IOA, there seems to be a pinch point that develops once the lines get long enough and it might be impossible to navigate through it.

3) I'm going to out myself a bit as "that guy", but I have no problem whatsoever jogging to my preferred attraction once inside the park. Security and park staff will yell at you to walk, not run, but usually I just slow down to a fast walk when approaching them/they yell at me, and then just pick it back up afterwards. As long as you're able-bodied and safe - not taking stupid chances and giving other guests a wide berth - I don't see any issues with it (although I certainly understand why Universal wants to dissuade guests from doing this).

Thank you for this! Will we be a boat ride coming from Royal Pacific? Or can we walk?

 

[ChrisM]

Thank you for this! Will we be a boat ride coming from Royal Pacific? Or can we walk?

We usually stay at Portofino Bay, so take the boat - but from Royal Pacific I would walk. The entry to IOA is really close.

 

[Jangles]

I'm going to out myself a bit as "that guy", but I have no problem whatsoever jogging to my preferred attraction once inside the park. Security and park staff will yell at you to walk, not run, but usually I just slow down to a fast walk when approaching them/they yell at me, and then just pick it back up afterwards. As long as you're able-bodied and safe - not taking stupid chances and giving other guests a wide berth - I don't see any issues with it (although I certainly understand why Universal wants to dissuade guests from doing this).

I don’t run. I am generally at the front of the turnstiles and although I am in my 70s, I walk with purpose and I am often first at the ride and always in the first group. My observation is that the majority of people who try to run to Hagrids can’t keep up a running pace, or get separated from their group and are held back by the CMs until the rest of the group catches up with them.

 

[cschaaf]

For rope dropping Hagrid's 30 minutes prior to EE rope drop is the absolute latest that I'd recommend. We typically aim for 45-60 minutes early. If I remember right, the boats start running 1 hour before EE. The boats launch from right in front of RPR, so RPR and Sapphire are the first ones to get their boats. I think it's about a 10-15 minute trip from the boat launch to the dock at Portofino, putting those folks at a slight disadvantage if they don't want to hoof it.

45 minutes early should put you within sight of the turnstiles. The crowds will slowly build for the next 10-15 minutes, then rapidly build. A few minutes difference at the 45 minute mark isn't a big deal. A few minutes difference at the 30 minute mark is.

We're neither runners nor elbowers, and we walk on the slower side, so we lose a lot of that advantage once the gates open.

 

[bearette]

We got to the turnstiles just before 8am (20 people deep), we scanned in right at 8am, and made it to Hagrad's line by 8:08am and had a 90 minute wait. Those early entry people know where to go. There isn't much open so those cues get packed quickly.

 

[hammie59]

Thank you for this! Will we be a boat ride coming from Royal Pacific? Or can we walk?

From RP to IoA, definitely walk. You’ll be so close and it’s much faster than the boat.