Just an update for those interested. . . We arrived on Sunday morning before park opening and camped out in a makeshift queue. At around 9:45, empty train cars started running. At 10:15 am, I asked a park employee stationed outside the ride with a measuring stick what his best guess might be and he said another 90 minutes, as there had been some issues with the ride overnight. He mentioned the braking system.
Another park guest next to me in the queue was staying on property at Royal Pacific and she said she had been told the ride doesn't usually open until 10:00 am.
We didn't wait any longer for the ride, as we only had one day to make the most of both parks, but right around 11 am, the ride was open with riders.
I would have liked to have seen it, but with park hours 9a - 6p at Islands of Adventure, I couldn't burn the whole morning waiting to ride. The ride does look terrific. Maybe next time. :shrug:
Two other things - when you get there first thing in the morning, you have to camp out in an unshaded area in front of a stage. Emphasis on "unshaded" also no fans. Bring a hat, because the sun was brutal!
The other: This one exchange sums up my feelings about the difference between Disney cast members and Universal employees. When I approached the operations guy to ask his opinion on when the gates would open, a little girl of about 8 to 10 years of age was asking him the same question. As I stood there and listened, he told her it would still be a while before it opened, and she asked, "Could you tell them its my birthday, and see if they can open it sooner?" The guy gave her a sarcastic, smarta$$ answer along the lines of "What's your name? Haley?" He then pulled out his radio, indicating he was going to contact someone. "Okay, Haley, how about if I tell them that since it is YOUR birthday and you don't want to wait, just skip all the safety testing, open the ride not knowing if it is safe and maybe people will get seriously injured, but go ahead and open the ride because it is HALEY's birthday?"
That went right over the head of the little kid, who got excited because the guy told her he would try and get the ride open sooner for her birthday.