Universal Orlando has updated its official website with new language indicating that its Virtual Line system could be utilized for entry into the portals of Epic Universe. This covers the latest change, along with our commentary about the likelihood of a VQ being deployed for accessing the worlds/lands of the new park–and not just rides–in heavy crowds.
Note that this differs from the spectacularly awful Virtual Line system already in place for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. That attraction is using a virtual queue because it’s plagued by unreliability and downtime woes. Because of that, we’ve advised that the most important Epic Universe planning post you can read is our VL guide: How to Join the Virtual Line for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
Universal’s Virtual Line system is worse than even Walt Disney World’s first generation of Virtual Queue. There are already horror stories about the VL for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, and those will only get worse. It’s a simple numbers game. On a good day, we’d hazard a guess that fewer than one-third of all guests are experiencing Battle at the Ministry.
This is still during previews, when park capacity is capped pretty low. Meaning that later this year, it could be ~15% of guests experiencing Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry on a regular day if uptime doesn’t improve. For all of these reasons, the ride is currently using a virtual queue and is hard to access.
As much as we dislike virtual queues–and this is an especially awful implementation of one–it’s also a necessary evil at this point. Some days, Battle at the Ministry has significantly delayed openings, is down for hours on end, and closes early. Allowing people to queue up in a physical line would give them a choice, sure, but it would waste countless hours of their time and wait times would be impossible to measure and post.
That specific Virtual Line is one of the reasons for our recent article discussing Why You Should Skip Epic Universe, or rather, why you might want to wait to visit Epic Universe until this holiday season, winter or sometime in 2026. A couple of the biggest reasons for waiting basically revolve around unpredictability.
This comes into play with crowds, which mostly have been manageable and are expected to remain that way throughout most of the summer season due to a mixture of low attendance caps and soft demand. It also relates to ride reliability and breakdowns, as several attractions have had extended downtime on a daily basis at Epic Universe.
As we also pointed out, these are interconnected issues. There have already been some really rough days at Epic Universe. Multiple headliners going down has a cascading effect even during previews, causing congestion in restaurants with long delays for mobile orders, and spiking the wait times of the rides that are open.
Keep in mind that this is during days when attendance is heavily capped. Epic Universe’s estimated full capacity is around 40,000. Based on leaked data that paints an incomplete picture, we’d estimate that Universal Orlando is currently releasing 15,000 to 20,000 tickets each day.
Suffice to say, you’re not going to want to be in Epic Universe the first time there’s an operational meltdown with the park operating at or nearer full capacity. It’s going to be a nightmare. Enter the possibility of Virtual Lines for lands/portals/worlds in Epic Universe.
This was first hinted at when Epic Universe was first added to the Universal Orlando Resort app back in February. For a few hours after the UOR app update, there were Virtual Line icons for each of the lands in Epic Universe. That was quickly removed, but it nevertheless led to fan debate. Did Universal get ahead of itself in revealing a crowd control failsafe? Or was it a mistake?
It was unclear to us. On the one hand, Universal is no stranger to using Virtual Lines to enter its lands. Both versions of Super Nintendo World, in Hollywood and Osaka, have timed entry systems that have been and can be deployed in heavier attendance to manage entry. Prior to that, Universal Studios Japan also used a timed entry system for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I ‘fondly’ remember racing to kiosks to grab slips for returning ~5 years after that land opened.
On the other hand, there was also a Virtual Line icon for Celestial Park back when that app update was made. This is the central hub of Epic Universe, and it makes zero sense for that land to require a virtual queue. It would be the equivalent of a VQ for Main Street at Magic Kingdom or World Celebration at EPCOT. (Not a perfect comparison, but close enough.) Were it not for that VL icon over Celestial Park, we probably would’ve written this article back then. But its inclusion cast doubt on the whole thing.
Fast-forward to May 2025, and new wording on the Virtual Line page of the Universal Orlando website once again raises the specter of Virtual Lines being used for accessing the four individual lands:
What Experiences Are Using Virtual Line Now?
Virtual Line return times may be used for various experiences, including select attractions and entertainment throughout Universal Orlando Resort as well as world entry at Universal Epic Universe. Be sure to check our App for the most up-to-date details!
Whether Epic Universe will use Virtual Lines to enter lands and when it’ll happen are the big questions.
Fans might assume that if opening day comes and goes without VLs to restrict access, it won’t happen. The worst of the storm has passed. I would disagree. It’s my understanding that the capacity caps continue after Epic Universe opens, with the park gradually scaling up to full capacity. That will not happen in the first month of operations.
After the first month, ticket availability is still okay, so even if 30,000 to 40,000 tickets are available for purchase, it doesn’t mean Universal is selling that many. Perhaps ticket sales will pick up thanks to positive word of mouth from previews or media events, but Universal still faces headwinds with their initial rocky rollout of restrictive vacation packages, economic uncertainty, slowing international travel, etc.
Also, positive word of mouth is not guaranteed–this last weekend has brought about a higher volume of negative reports with preview tickets now available to the general public. If that becomes a trend, Universal might find the wow-factor of its new park overshadowed by the yikes-factor of its operations.
Honestly, the near-term pain of soft bookings and mixed reviews might be a silver lining in the long term.
In theory, this could kick the can down the road until October before Epic Universe sees its first heavy attendance days and individual land capacity is tested. The potential mitigating factor for October or beyond is ride reliability and downtime–these growing pains aren’t going to exist forever, so is ~5 months enough runway for the park’s attractions to be running smoothly, for the most part?
Of course, there could be situations necessitating Virtual Lines for the lands before then even with capacity caps if there’s a confluence of bad circumstances–fairly high attendance, excessive breakdowns, etc. But if this stuff just happens on a random day, will operations be ready to deploy a Virtual Line to manage congestion?
Ultimately, all of these are open questions with unknown answers. No matter what Universal’s current plan is for Virtual Lines are Epic Universe, it is nevertheless noteworthy that they’ve built in this option, presumably as a fail-safe. Hopefully, it’s never needed! That there are no ‘meltdown’ days when the park starts hitting higher attendance limits, and that Epic Universe is able to “outrun” its growing pains before the typical late year crowds arrive.
My view is that it’s probably about 50/50 as to whether Epic Universe has to use Virtual Lines for the lands at this point. If it does happen, the most likely candidates are Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic and Super Nintendo World, both of which are high demand and could have issues with congestion. I wouldn’t expect issues with How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk or Dark Universe, and obviously not with Celestial Park.
If Epic Universe does end up using Virtual Lines for the lands with regularity, the silver lining is that Comcast will probably green light park expansion sooner rather than later. There are plenty of expansion pads, and also ways to connect the lands should the current portal system create excessive congestion. It’ll be an interesting saga to watch–hopefully all for nothing, much like the virtual queue for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios that was used for like a grand total of 2 hours, ever.
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more.
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Epic Universe potentially using Virtual Lines to control crowds in Super Nintendo World, Ministry of Magic, or the other lands? Concerned about unreliable rides, excessive congestion, or anything else discussed here? Think any virtual queues for Epic Universe will be short-lived, or could they still be utilized in 2026 due to capacity and other issues? Think Epic Universe will be a third gate that’s a worthy addition to Universal Orlando Resort…and potentially on par with Disney’s best lands? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
