How To Get On Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure

Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is one of the newest rides at Universal Orlando, and subsequently one of the most popular.

Located in the Islands of the Adventure theme park, this ride is part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

It’s a high-speed, immersive thrill ride roller coaster that takes you deep into the Forbidden Forest and into the path of rare magical creatures.

This ride allows you to join Hagrid on a wild motorbike adventure beyond the reaches of Hogwarts in a fun and thrilling experience.

Due to the popularity of Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure, wait times are often extremely long (between 60 and 200 minutes).

Can You Use Universal Express Pass on Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure?

Universal offers two types of Express Passes which start at $89.99 per day;

Universal Express Pass – This pass lets you skip the line for most attractions once per day.

Universal Express Pass Unlimited – This pass allows you to skip the line for most attractions an unlimited number of times per day.

While you can use Express Passes to skip the majority of lines at the Universal theme parks, you cannot use them for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

It’s one of the few attractions excluded from the Express Pass system (along with the Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Pteranodon Flyers.)

Early Park Admission

As a result, Early Park Admission is one of the best ways to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.

However, Early Park Admission is only available to guests staying in Universal Orlando on-site hotels.

• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn and Suites
• Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites
• Universal’s Aventura Hotel
• Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort
• Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
• Loews Royal Pacific Resort
• Hard Rock Hotel
• Loews Portofino Bay Hotel

Additionally, certain Universal annual pass holders also get Early Park Admission.

Pass holders with Premier Passes can take advantage of Early Park Admission anytime, while those with Preferred Passes have access to Early Park Admission on most days (although some blackout dates apply).

With Early Park Admission, you will be able to enter one Universal theme park one hour before its regular opening time.

However, the theme park with Early Park Admission rotates every few weeks, so you will want to ensure that Islands of Adventure is the park with early opening hours during the dates of your visit in order for this option to work.

To ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure during Early Park Admission, you will want to arrive at Islands of Adventure at least 15 minutes before its early opening time and make your way straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The majority of other guests also admitted during the Early Park Admission will also be doing the exact same thing, so you will still likely wait in line.

However, the line will likely be significantly shorter than later in the day when the park opens to the general public.

Virtual Line

Joining the Virtual Line is another way to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.

However, this option is only available on select days, typically during the busiest times of the year, such as Spring Break and the Christmas holidays.

When the Virtual Line is available, it’s a good method to use to ride Hagrid’s. However, it does require some work.

To join the Virtual Line, you will need the Universal Orlando mobile application which is available for free for both iOS and Android.

You can search for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure in the app, and if the Virtual Line is available, you’ll be able to select the number of people in your party and reserve a return time for the ride.

This will generate a QR code, which you will then scan when you enter the ride at your designated return time. 

The wait time is generally much shorter if you use the Virtual Line, with the added benefit of being able to do whatever you want elsewhere in the park while you wait for your return time to come up.

When the Virtual Line is offered, it may be the only way to ride Hagrid’s if the Virtual Line system remains in place for the entire day.

As such it’s a good idea to check right when you enter the park to see if the Virtual Line is available.

If you miss joining the Virtual Line in the morning, you can check the app periodically because more time slots are released throughout the day.

Single Rider Line

The seating for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure is in a 2-person formation with one person riding the motorbike and another person in the sidecar in each row.

As a result, single spaces on the ride occasionally become available when an odd-numbered group of people is riding.

For example, if a group of three boards the ride, then there will be one open space in one of the two rows.

Depending on the time of year and how busy the park is, a Single Rider line may be offered for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.

The Single Rider Line typically opens on very busy days in peak season when the park is crowded.

This line is open to solo guests or groups who don’t mind getting split up.

When you join the Single Rider line, you are agreeing to ride alongside another person from outside your party when there’s one space available. 

The purpose of the Single Rider Line is to speed up the regular standby line and make the ride capacity more efficient by filling all available spaces.

You won’t be able to choose your seat as a Single Rider, and you’ll typically be placed in the sidecar.

If you want to ride on the motorbike, or if you want to be able to sit with other members of your party, the Single Rider line is not a good option.

However, if you don’t mind where you sit, this can be a good option when it’s available. Although it’s not a guarantee, the Single Rider line can often have a shorter wait time than the regular standby line.

Stay Late

If the Virtual Line or the Single Rider line are not available and you either don’t have access to or missed Early Park Admission, then the next best thing to do to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure is to stay late until park closing.

During the last couple of hours of the day, the Universal parks naturally become quieter with people leaving the park and heading out for dinner or back to their hotel.

As a result, the parks get quieter and the lines for rides get shorter which makes this an ideal time to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.

Wait In Line

The final way of getting on Hagrid’s is to simply wait in line regardless of the time of day. 

The standby line for Hagrid’s is offered at all times, except for when the Virtual Line system is in place.

Since the Virtual Line is only used on select peak season days, chances are the standby line will be available when you visit Universal.

Depending on when you’re visiting Universal’s Islands of Adventure, you may experience wait times of up to 200 minutes for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.

In the hours after the park opens, wait times steadily increase. As such you’ll typically find that the line is at its longest during the morning and early afternoon.

However, they usually start to decline in the late afternoon and early evening.

Since most people make a beeline for Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure when they enter the park, it makes sense that the wait time for this ride is most inflated during the morning and early afternoon. 

To avoid the worst of the crowds, you can plan to wait in line for Hagrid’s later in the day. 

You can also check the Universal Orlando app throughout the day to see what the current wait times are for the ride.

The app also has a little-known feature that allows you to set an alert for wait times for a specific ride.

You can search for Hagrid’s, then input a specific time (such as 80 minutes) to receive a notification when wait times drop below that specific threshold.

This is a great way to find out when the wait for Hagrid’s is the shortest without constantly checking the app all day.

Although just waiting in the standby line may end up taking the longest amount of time compared to the other options on this list, it’s worth it to experience this thrilling and unique attraction.