The queue for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure starts just behind Hogsmeade village. During our visit we experienced both the standard wait time and the virtual visit options. On our first weekday ride, the wait time was posted as 75 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, but we breezed through in less than half an hour. On Saturday morning at 11am, we logged into the Virtual Line section of the Universal Orlando App and secured a 1:15pm start for our 1-hour timeframe to return to the queue. Ironically with the virtual queue we actually experienced the 75-minute wait time that had been posted the day before.

For the ride itself there is a motorbike or sidecar option. I preferred the motorbike for the novelty of it, but felt like I saw more of the Magical Creature details from the sidecar. It’s a very long and smooth ride; without giving too much away, be prepared to go backwards for a long portion. Alice knew her limits and chose not to ride, and the child swap area was conveniently located just after the ride loading area.

We skipped The Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron this trip. (In part because we were still trying to dine primarily outdoors, but also because the lines were exceptionally long we felt like we could skip revisiting them.) Ride times for The Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff were much shorter than in 2019, and on the weekdays we didn’t need Express Pass to wait less than 20 minutes. This allowed us to experience the entire queue inside Hogwarts Castle (The Express Pass Queue skips a large portion) and enjoy it more.

We took advantage of staying onsite for early morning hours in Diagon Alley. During this visit, lines were long for the Ollivander’s Wand Shop experience (Hogsmeade’s smaller shop had an onsite reservation system that filled very quickly and still required a 30-minute wait once your returned.) We chose to focus on the details around Diagon Alley and in the shops. We tested our wand skills at the interactive storefronts (small, quick, intentional wand work is required.) On our Sunday evening visit, the streets cleared out as we toasted the end of our trip with a shot of Fire Whisky and a Dragon Scale IPA from the Hopping Pot.

Diagon Alley has it all! Butterbeer and ice cream for breakfast, singing wizards, farting plants, and an alley filled with the Dark Arts. The small details are even more fun if you’ve recently read the books or seen the movies. Shops hold both for sale items and displays that mimic those found in the book’s pages.