Though we are of the opinion that Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure is one of the most impressive attractions ever created for a Universal park, this ride hasn't been without its problems. As we saw on opening day during a 14 hour wait, this attraction isn't running smoothly at all, and though at the time we chalked the long line and frequent downtime up to opening day kinks, after a return visit this past weekend to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure again, we encountered frequent downtime yet again, with Team Members turning guests away several times during the day while the ride wasn't running. And though we finally got on the ride in the early afternoon, we ended up waiting four hours after we entered the queue, with the line stalled for over half that time due to technical issues and downtime. 

And while we were willing to wave this off as more opening jitters, it looks like this issue is a lot more serious than we thought, as Universal has announced that they will be taking an unprecidented step with this ride, effective immediately... 

Universal will keep Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure closed until midday until further notice

Image: Universal

According to an official statement released by Universal Orlando Resort, the massive demand for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, as well as weather issues and technical difficulties have made it necessary for the park to run this new ride on a very limited schedule. Though no official times were given, Universal has said that they will start opening this attraction at midday, every day, and will be using the morning hours to perform maintenance on the ride to ensure it runs as smotthly as possible for as long as possible before they close the ride for capacity (this has been happening lately around 6:00 PM)

This new policy will go into effect immediately, and Universal anticipates running this attraction on a limited schedule for the next few weeks at least. But why is this even happening?