Park adjusted opening time to allow for planned ride maintenance
Guests rushed to Universal Studios early Friday to try and get a close spot in line for the new "Harry Potter"-themed coaster. The only problem -- the ride was down when they got there.
Aerial footage caught the ride zooming around the track with no guests on board. Universal's mobile app had the ride labeled as delayed with no wait time estimated.
"We extended our operating hours yesterday until after midnight so that we could accommodate as many guests as possible," a spokesman with Universal said. "We then adjusted today’s opening time to allow for our planned daily ride maintenance."
Universal did not use Virtual Line Friday causing backups, longer waits, and lines winding all throughout the park.
Around 3:30 p.m. Friday Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was at capacity for the day. Which meant that no more guests would be allowed to stand in the line for the day.
The new attraction opened Thursday and was immediately swarmed. The highest wait time noted was around 600 minutes -- 10 hours -- to ride the new coaster. Universal team members passed out thousands of bottles of water to guests waiting in line.
The ride allows guests to board Hagrid's beloved motorbike and sidecar to fly on a family-friendly roller coaster ride through the wizarding world and witness some of the land's most magical creatures.
Guests can experience a freewheeling coaster flight where you twist, turn and rush forward -- and backward -- at speeds up to 50 mph into the dark forest.