A FIVE-Hour Line Is Now at a Standstill in Epic Universe on Opening Day

We’ve been lucky enough to explore the portals at Epic Universe with some early previews! Exploring the five immersive lands, experiencing rides and attractions, checking out the entertainment, and of course eating the food. Well, now it’s time for you to visit the thrilling land, cause it’s finally OPENING DAY!

Epic Universe

The one thing that you can always anticipate, but will always hit you with the unexpected, is long lines. We were preparing for long lines and high wait times for the opening of Epic Universe. However, the longest line so far might be longer than you’d expect!

Everybody, we made it! The long wait is FINALLY over! It’s time to open up those portals, because Epic Universe is welcoming guests in.

Opening day crowds

So, yes, technically the park has been “open” for a few weeks in a way. It’s allowed us to try everything, and look at everything before it’s official opening. With that we thought we could get an idea of how things would work, how wait times would look, and see if we could find a way to help you with a smoother day at the park!

Isle of Berk crowds

Well, nothing could have prepared us for this! The wait times are all INCREDIBLY low in Epic Universe on opening morning. But mostly, that’s thanks to one ride taking up the majority of guests.

Park entrance

When the park opened, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry seemed to be the hot ticket for most people. This ride started with a virtual line during previews, and then changed to a standby queue after a short refurbishment a few days ago. The standby line has been pretty long recently, so it’s no surprise that people BOLTED here first thing.

That’s a LONG line

At the very beginning of the day, the wait time started at 150 minutes for Battle at the Ministry. But since then, it climbed all the way to 300 minutes…that’s FIVE HOURS.

It’s quite busy over here

But here’s the kicker — the ride hasn’t ACTUALLY opened yet. From what we’ve discovered by talking to Team Members, no guests have been able to board the attraction this morning, and the 300-minute wait is a prediction of how long the line will be when it eventually does open. So many, many people are currently waiting in a standstill line.

Unfortunately, there’s a delay

Because of this, Battle at the Ministry is eating up a good portion of the park’s crowds. Other wait times around the park have mostly been 30 minutes or less! Good news if you’re hoping to hit up the other portals today.

UPDATE: All guests have been removed from the queue at this time. If you’re in the park, monitor the Universal Orlando app to see when the ride reopens.

The wait time sign first thing this morning.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation throughout the day and keep you updated. The last we checked, the line was stretching throughout the land. If you’re not already in line, you may want to save exploring the Wizarding World until a little bit later!

Standby line for Battle at the Ministry is already estimated at 150 minutes! ⏰🪄 pic.twitter.com/84gxJxlUAB

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 22, 2025

We’re going to be covering the full, exciting opening day of Epic Universe, and you won’t want to miss it! Be sure to stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for all of it!