Failing to test a new attraction

Image: Universal

One of the most exciting things to be a part of as a frequent theme park-goer are soft openings, where theme parks allow a limited number of guests to experience an attraction as a way to test an attraction before its grand opening. Though they haven't really said as much, the reservation system for Disneyland's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge land is essentially a giant soft opening period, as Disney controls exactly how many guests are in this land at a time, and how many have access to the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run attraction so that nothing gets overloaded and they can control guest flow.

However, perhaps a more relevant example might be the 2017 opening of Pandora - The World of Avatar, at Disney's Animal Kingdom where extensive passholder and DVC previews were scheduled to ensure that both attractions in this land ran as stably as possible in the run up to its grand opening. And while there will still some problems at launch, Disney did a good job scaling up demand for their new rides and making improvements where they could during an almost month-long preview period. 

Image: Disney

Though Disney has had great success with this policy, over at Universal when it comes to soft openings, previews, and scaling attractions up for demand, this resort has had a pretty spotty record, especially when it comes to Harry Potter attractions. Both Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey as well as Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts had significant issues when they opened, and it looks like Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure will be the same. However, this is the first time Universal has limited the availability of a new ride, which points to how extreme the issues surrounding this new ride are.

However, a simple soft opening/test period could have helped Universal identify these issues before the ride's official grand opening. By allowing a limited number of people to experience the ride and then ramping up capacity slowly, Universal could have ensured a smoother rollout of the ride on its grand opening day (avoiding any and all 14-hour waits) and kept this ride going all summer long, instead of limiting its availability during the busiest part of the summer. 

Image: Universal

Sadly we don't know how long Hagrid's Magical Motorbike Adventure will be on this limited schedule during the summer, and it looks like Universal doesn't really know much either. But if you have your heart set on riding this ride this summer, we'd suggest still heading to the park early, grabbing a Butterbeer and hanging out in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade until the ride opens for the day, and then getting in line as soon as possible.