How Not To Wait 254 Minutes For Harry Potter And The Battle At The Ministry

Getting There

Rope drop is vital if you’re going to cut your time spent in line at Epic Universe. This isn’t a shocker to anyone who has used a TouringPlan in the past. If you’ve seen the sun come up as you’re hustling down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, this is the same thing, and we’ve got the time stamps to make sure you’re ready. We’ve tested a few methods of park entrance to understand Epic’s opening procedures.

Early Entry access staying at Helios Grand. This resort is inside Epic, so guests can walk right into the park from the hotel.
Early Entry access staying at Terra Luna via resort bus.
Regular entry using standard parking.
Regular entry using preferred parking.
Regular entry using valet parking.

We’ve learned a few things about the entrance procedures for a 10 am opening:

Parking signs say opening is 8 am, but we’ve seen them open at 7:45 am every time we’ve been for testing.
There isn’t a parking tram, so if you’re planning to rope drop and you aren’t one of the first cars in, consider preferred parking.
Valet is included with certain annual passes, but it isn’t advised if you’re trying to get the most out of your day at this park.
Resort buses don’t have any advantage over drivers at Epic.
Security opens at 8:15 am.
Guests are held between security and the ticket scan/entrance until 8:30 am.
All portals open at 8:55 am after the opening ceremony.

Unlike the valet at City Walk, where they have a dedicated security line, you’ll have to go through central security if you park valet at Epic. The process of handing over your car will leave you behind the folks who are parking in preferred. This is why we don’t recommend it.
Once guests have scanned in to the park, they scatter to their portal of choice.

Super Nintendo World opens for early entry, but Mine-Cart Madness is almost never open until 10 am. We say “almost” because we’ve witnessed it loading and running during early entry. It’s rare, and your touring plan won’t send you there until 10 am. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventure are open for early entry.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk is not open for 9 am early entry, but guests will begin lining up as soon as the gates open and they make their way to the portal.
Dark Universe is open during early entry. You’ll be able to access Curse of the Werewolf and Monsters Unchained during this time.
Celestial Park attractions Stardust Racers and Constellation Carousel are open during early entry, too.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic has one ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. You don’t need early entry access to get on this ride early. All guests are allowed to enter the queue at 8:55 am after the portal welcome ceremonies are complete.

What to Know About Touring Plan Changes

There is 1 free Touring Plan for Epic and 6 Premium Plans for subscribers. For this example, we’ll be using the One-Day Epic Universe for Adults Premium Plan.

Select your plan and edit the date for the day of your visit.
Pick your entrance. We’ve tested Ministry rope drop from the main entrance and Helios, and the wait difference is not significant if your hustle is the same and you follow the plan. Stay with us. We’re getting there.
Choose the “Use ETPE” button to tell the plan you’re using Early Theme Park Entry at 9 am.
Press “Enable Rope Drop Mode” after you’ve set your date and start time. If you do not select Rope Drop Mode, your plan will not send you to Ministry first, and you’ll risk not riding unless you’re cool with 3-4 hours in line.

Once you’ve edited the plan date, times, and rope drop mode, you’ll see Ministry at the top of your plan after you optimize. You’ll note that it has you arriving at 9:04 am even though the ride doesn’t officially open until 10 am. It has opened at 9 am every single time we’ve tested, and our actual wait times are always in the area of 30 minutes when we rope dro,p as you can see from a real testing screenshot below.
Team Members of the Wizarding World will walk all of the guests at the portal through the streets of Paris to the ride. This is a very brisk walk, so make sure you have good shoes and you aren’t stopping for pictures. You can do that after you check off the best ride in the park.

We are always making adjustments to our plans, and having testers in the park is making this easier. Once you’ve completed your Battle at the Ministry, make sure you optimize your plan to get your next step. Our testers have had great success using this plan, and we hope you do, too.
Thank you to everyone who submitted feedback on our early Epic plans. Your data prompted us to increase testing to seek solutions to those gaps in our expected and actual waits. Hence the new plan changes. Please continue to submit your actual waits so that we may continue to improve.

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