NEWS: See the Lines, Crowds, and MASSIVE Wait Times at Epic Universe on OPENING DAY

Today’s the day! What day? We’re glad you asked — we’ve been itching to talk about this with anyone who will listen. Universal’s new theme park, Epic Universe, is officially OPEN to the public. Of course, this historic occasion comes with one big question: What are the crowds like on opening day?

Although the park officially opens today, May 22nd, we have a few visits under our belt already thanks to special theme park previews. During these previews, we encountered long lines for popular snacks and even a FIVE-HOUR wait for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. We’re in the parks all day today to see how the new park officially works at full capacity, since opening day is sold out of park tickets.  We’ll admit — we walked in a little nervous.

Entrance

We got to Epic Universe bright and early….along with a bunch of other people. Here’s the line for security. Be patient!

There was also a line forming at the entrance. Is this a preview of what the rest of the day will look like at Epic Universe, or will the crowd disperse once all the portals open?

I cannot believe we are actually here! It’s officially opening day of Epic Universe!! ?? pic.twitter.com/Tzn6yVIIRP

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) May 22, 2025

Universal Team Members were SO friendly and welcoming. Nothing hypes you up for a day at Epic Universe like a team of EPIC employees. Let’s DO this!

The music REALLY set the scene as we entered the park. Did we get a little emotional? Yes, yes, we did.

I am truly pinching myself! This song always makes me tear up, so naturally I am crying right now ?✨ pic.twitter.com/svV5aQ7Onq

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) May 22, 2025

Now, before we go any further, we need to point out an important caveat about the crowds today, May 22nd. According to an Epic Universe Team Member, Universal intentionally capped the park capacity “so that things would run smoothly” on opening day. This means that the park could look more crowded in the future, and the wait times may increase as park capacity is expanded.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic

First thing in the morning, we headed straight towards one of the most popular rides in the whole park.

Unsurprisingly, we weren’t the only ones with this plan. The crowd at the portal entrance for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic was quite large. Be prepared to be VERY close to a bunch of strangers.

Once the portal was officially open, we followed the masses. Where is everyone headed?

The new Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry attraction, of course! At 8:30 AM, the ride was up to a 240-minute wait.

By 9 AM, the ride hit a 300-minute estimated wait time.

We’re off to a busy start!

UPDATE: Around 10 AM, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry was marked “delayed,” and, according to Epic Universe Team Members, the ride may be down for a while. It’s unclear if the ride actually opened at all this morning, but we’ll be on the lookout for updates.

NEWS: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry Hits 300 MINUTE WAIT (!!!) Without Virtual Queue System in Epic Universe

Celestial Park

Now THIS is where to go if you want to avoid crowds! We passed through around noon and found that it was a nice break from the crowds and hustle in the portals.

We noticed people moving through the land to get to the other lands, but this is definitely the place to visit if you need to escape the crowds. Even the speedy new roller coaster, Stardust Racers, only reported a 15-minute wait!

On to the next stop!

Dark Universe

We encountered more surprises in Dark Universe! Believe it or not, this section of the park was pretty open and empty. Keep in mind that Universal Team Members told us that the park is operating at a capped capacity, so it might be a little less crowded today than the park will be in a month or two.

But for now, we’re seriously enjoying all these low crowds and short lines! Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment has hovered between a 10–20-minute wait  since 8:30 AM.

Overall Crowds

We will continue to update this post as we make our way through Epic Universe. Is it possible to maneuver through the park on a sold-out day? Are the crowds really that bad? That’s what we’re here to find out!

Around 11 AM, we noticed that the wait times for nearly every ride in Epic Universe were surprisingly low (except Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry). Even Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (an INCREDIBLE new ride) only reported a 20-minute wait at 11 AM. The highest wait around this time was for the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge attraction in Super Nintendo World — sitting at 45 minutes before noon.

Around 1:45 PM, the highest wait time in the park was still for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, though now, the wait time was down to 25 minutes. Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry was still marked as delayed.

Even though the Harry Potter attraction is marked as “Delayed” on the Universal app, it seems many fans are waiting for it to reopen. In fact, around 1:45 PM, Team Members opened the queue to Battle at the Ministry for visitors to experience the stunning queue. The attraction itself was NOT back up and running at this time — the queue was simply reopened for fans to walk through and observe.

UPDATE: Ataround  3 PM, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry FINALLY opened!

The wait time has been a consistent 240 minutes since reopening. Clearly, this is where EVERYONE was headed at Epic Universe.

The Harry Potter Ride at Epic Universe FINALLY Opened After OVER 6 Hours!

If you’re looking for a travel agent to help with your vacation, we recommend our friends at Mouse Fan Travel. They’re experts in the field with over 20 years of vacation planning experience, and they can help take a bunch of the stress out of the entire booking process for you!

 

In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Epic Universe news, so stay tuned for more.

I Tested Epic Universe’s Exclusive Hotel Entrance and I’d 10/10 Recommend

Are you planning to rope drop any particular attraction? Tell us in the comments!

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