Islands of Adventure Hagrid and Velocicoaster (600!) 11/13/23

I'm down in Orlando for the week and brought the Cleveland weather with me. It's for work, but no, not for IAAPA.

I decided to come down a bit early and do a couple of park visits to round up a few credits.

11/13 - Islands Of Adventure

This was the real reason I came down early. I've been wanting to ride Hagrid's and VC for what seems like forever and this was the perfect opportunity.

Despite buying a full priced ticket, I also knew I wanted to keep this visit relatively short so I headed straight to Hagrids. Wait time was posted at 35 minute and I asked the guy at the entrance if Single Rider was better and he laughed and basically said "Don't do it Bloodbath!" So I took his word and waited the regular queue and it was indeed 35 minutes. Not bad. The single rider I got paired with said he waited 70 minutes, yikes!

I knew I'd like this ride a lot, but man did I love this ride! Just so much fun! It's like if Maverick had ended up the family coaster it was supposed to have been and was good. The right amount of speed, turns and hills. The "surprises" of the ride, which I knew about from POVs, were also great. If I ranked coasters, this would almost certainly be top 5. Rode in Row 6, Motorcycle seat.

The biggest drawback, and this can go for a lot of rides at true Theme Parks, is that the soundtrack, in this case Hagrid narrating a story, gets repetitive. While I wouldn't complain if I had this coaster in my home park, honestly, given the option, I'd turn the sound off after my first ride and never bother with it again.

From there it was a beeline to my next Must Ride, and also my 600th credit, Velocicoaster. Another much hyped coaster that lives up to every bit of it! It's like if Maverick were bigger and actually good, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Waited in the full queue and it was about 70 minutes. I asked the single rider I was paired with and he said he had waited 70 as well. This being my first ride, I asked if I could wait for the front and surprisingly they said yes. As I said above, absolutely amazing! While I'd heard how intense VC can be, which honestly worried me a bit, I was surprised to find it about perfect. This ride alone is worth the cost of admission, but having Hagrid right next door makes IOA a must visit park.

Upon exiting VC I noticed the regular line had gotten longer, but the Single Rider line had shrunk so I got right back as a Single this time. About 40 minutes later I was shown to a seat about 3/4 of the way back. WOW! What a difference a seat can make! While still not *too intense, this was a completely different ride experience. Everything felt faster and the forces were definitely stronger. Still absolutely amazing, but were I to ride again, I'd definitely aim towards the first half of the train.

Back to Hagrids for a 2nd ride. Slightly longer line, but still got on in about 40 minutes. Got assigned the same row as last time, row 6, but I asked the Single I was paired with if he minded if I took the sidecar and he was happy to take the main seat.

Ate a soggy salad and took a ride on the HP motion sim ride, mostly because it was a walk on. Meh. I like the tech, but in the end it's another Universal "Screen Ride" and, you guessed it, blah blah blah queasy....

Hagrid and VC were now posting even longer waits and I was getting the itch to start making my way out of the park. 2 rides each will have to do, and I was quite satisfied with them.

I hopped on the Jurassic River Adventure because even though I cannot stand getting wet on rides, I was excited to see the new overlay with the newer dinos and the new climactic battle scene. Uumm... at least I didn't get too wet. (For those that don't know, the new version is in CA, not FL, oops.)

Quick walk to the front, a spin on Hulk because why the heck not, mandatory coffee mug purchase (Velocicoaster,) impulse buy of Homer Simpson "You don't win friends with salad" T-Shirt, and I was outta there.

Despite the Ride / Admission ratio, I was extremely satisfied with my day. VC and Hagrid were everything I hoped for, 2 of the best coasters I've ridden. (Which as I mentioned is now an even 600.)

Two final thoughts because I didn't know where they fit in the TR:

1) VC and Hagrid are, at their core, very similar rides. They both kind of do the same thing, just at much different levels of intensity.

2) I wonder how Taron compares to VC. It's another one on my must-ride list. Looks amazing and VC makes me want to ride it even more. [takes a break to watch Taron POV] I'm thinking while Taron looks amazing, VC gets the edge because it's 2 halves are completely different from each other, while Taron's 2 halves are essentially the same.

When I rode Taron it was relatively new, both in age and concept. And it accomplished everything for the park that was desired- reliability and throughput was excellent and a huge crowd lined up for it all day. However, in the end (for me, anyway) it turned out to be not my favorite out of the park’s line-up. One of the places where the ride absolutely excels over any other experience anywhere is the placement. Picking up from (but going even further than) nearby Black Mamba, observers are treated to a maze of pathways that interact with the ride in a fashion unlike any other, and non-riders can find themselves over, under, and occasionally a mere arm’s length away from speeding trains as they walk along. It’s about the only place where IOA’s ride falls short. The best audience interaction/observation area on Velocicoaster is occupied by outdoor queue and hard to get to just to observe the ride’s best moments. But we all know the proof is in the riding and on the end IOA is the clear winner.
I’m a big fan of Hagrid’s- it’s a sweet combination of family ride with just enough thrill factor mixed in. I think you hit upon an interesting point about the narration and really, how rides with highly-themed story lines endure as far as repeatability goes. During multiple rides, the soundtrack is like a tik tok reel left to play over and over. Eh- I suppose some would argue that the casual visitor to a great theme park may or may not take multiple rides and if they do they spend the time enjoying and absorbing the themed elements even more. So there’s a place.
I’m in agreement about Forbidden Journey. It’s probably the best dark ride anywhere in terms of story, thrills, and innovation, but 90% of the time it sends me out to sit on a nearby bench with my head between my knees. I also chalk that up to age.
Congratulations on your 600th ride, you planned that well. Did you disrupt loading platform activities to get them to take your picture while holding up a piece of paper that said “600” ? Because we demand proof.

Tommytheduck:

Maverick were bigger and actually good

Shots fired?

Taron is a completely different experience than VC. VC has a lot of slow airtime and near misses and ends with arguably its best moments where Taron is generally just a lot of speed and scenery.

Tommytheduck:
I asked the guy at the entrance if Single Rider was better and he laughed and basically said "Don't do it Bloodbath!"

Wise decision.

The onboard audio is even funnier when there's a mid-ride breakdown. It happened to me on VC and Hagrid's. On VC, which does not have continuously running onboard audio, we had a rollback on the tophat, and Chris Pratt came over the PA to apologize for the malfunction and assure everyone that it was normal and that the ride would be restarting momentarily. Once it did, we were launched backwards at first to get enough momentum, then forward again to clear the tophat. It was pretty cool.

On Hagrid's, I think we stalled out on the launch just prior to the hold for the switch track. Once we came back, there was no audio for the rest of the ride. It was as if Hagrid fell asleep or something. After the second malfunction, my daughter started complaining that Intamin just can't get it right. I've trained her well.

Tommytheduck:

2) I wonder how Taron compares to VC. It's another one on my must-ride list. Looks amazing and VC makes me want to ride it even more. [takes a break to watch Taron POV] I'm thinking while Taron looks amazing, VC gets the edge because it's 2 halves are completely different from each other, while Taron's 2 halves are essentially the same.

I rode Taron before VC, and Taron easily was in my top rides of all time. After riding VC a bit over the course of a few visits, in my mind VC was the stronger ride... The first half on VC is fun but the rides second half really shines, of course. It does not get much better than the second half of VC in terms of complete madness. Shockingly, my favorite part outside of the stall which is always a fun time is the mid-helix direction change off-axis airtime thing. Probably the highlight for me.

But earlier this year, was back at Phantasialand and really was curious what I would think after having been on VC since... But honestly, Taron still holds its own and it's really splitting hairs for me. Both are just such amazing rides. I think Taron rides better than the POV suggest, especially in terms of some lateral surprises and just the great airtime and near-misses everywhere. But yeah, really love them both and honestly, just get to Phantasialand and go ride it! That park is just unreal in every way and well worth it... Also, if you do go, make sure to stay at Hotel Charles Lindbergh... It does not get any better...

As far as Hagrids, I've only been on it twice I think, but both times I was just like "huh, that's a ride I guess". It does not really do anything for me and question why people highly regard it so much. It's obviously a good attraction, but beyond that? Dragons was 1,000 times better, no question at all if comparing the same plot of land. It's not even about it being a 'thrill' ride or not, I'd take a bunch of dark rides over Hagrid's, personally.

Tommytheduck:

It's like if Maverick were....actually good

Tommytheduck:

Hagrid narrating a story, gets repetitive

As a local, I've probably ridden this a dozen times or so. I had no idea the ride audio was a story being narrated.

Bakeman31092

...we had a rollback on the tophat, and Chris Pratt came over the PA to apologize for the malfunction and assure everyone that it was normal and that the ride would be restarting momentarily. Once it did, we were launched backwards at first to get enough momentum, then forward again to clear the tophat.

Now that is the rare ultra-cool credit I would love to get.

That rollback experience is really cool. I've never seen it rollback though. It seems to just crank through trains all day long when I am there. Nice that they thought through that.

BrettV:

I had no idea the ride audio was a story being narrated.

Really? I mean it's not some dramatic piece of fiction but Hagrid is clearly narrating your "journey".

I think Hagrid's is just a complete theme park attraction that's rideable by just about everyone. It's a fun roller coaster AND a fun dark ride. It's my wife's favorite Universal coaster.

I knew there was audio narration, but I didn't realize it was an actual story being told. I'll have to pay more attention next time!

BrettV:

Now that is the rare ultra-cool credit I would love to get.

As a credit, yes, it's cool. But it was a bit of a downer while riding. The slower paced, twisty-turny first half is a great lead-in to the second half, where you just mash the pedal to the floor and go balls out for rest of the ride. Having an interruption right in the middle of that, where you just sit motionless for 5 minutes or so, is a buzzkill.

SteveWoA:
I think Taron rides better than the POV suggest

Impossible. Nay, blasphemy! Don't you know the POV tells you all you need to know about a roller coaster?

I've not been able to understand most of the audio on Hagrid's. It's not a great audio system. (Also, the volume in the queue is ridiculous... my poor kid has to cover his ears through most of it.)

Okay, so not a "story" per se, but the ride itself follows the typical Universal attraction "storyline." As far as I can tell, you set out with Hagrid on his motorcycle in search of magical creatures. All is going well, you find some creatures, something goes wrong, or sends you flying off course or something, it gets a little muddy, you end up falling backwards into a spooky cave but manage to escape, (thanks to a dragon?) then you make it safely back to school and Hagrid says "you can be my wingman any time."

TBH, I'd pick Hagrid over VC if I could have one lifted up and transported to my home park. Alternatively, If I could only take one ride on one of the two, I'd pick VC. Both are amazing.

Yes, Maverick sucks.

I'll just say I join in everyone else's outrage in your Maverick slander...

Thanks for reporting on the single rider line on Hagrid's. My buddies and I debated using that line since we didn't care if we rode together, but decided on the regular line instead. It would have sucked to have waited longer for no reason.