Our Favorite Ride Hack FAILED at the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry Ride in Epic Universe

Universal’s new MEGA-ATTRACTION is drawing in huge lines at Epic Universe…and one of our favorite ride hacks is far from a guarantee to work here.

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry

We’ve shared many tips for shortening wait times at Disney and Universal parks over the years, including taking advantage of closing time. Basically, the queue of any ride that’s open until the park’s technical closing time is traditionally open until that closing time. Meaning that, for example, if you were at the Magic Kingdom and the park was scheduled to close at 10 PM, you could hop on line for TRON: Lightcycle / Run at 9:59 PM and be guaranteed to ride. However, that’s not always the case for Epic Universe’s new Wizarding World extravaganza.

In the short time since Epic Universe has opened, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry has — unsurprisingly — been the park’s marquee attraction. The ride, during which guests join Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they “journey deep into the Ministry’s many departments” during the trial of Dolores Umbridge, is arguably one of the best rides in the world. It’s also often currently one of the busiest, with wait times jumping above the two-hour mark, sometimes higher.

Opening time at park opening

Now, that made us think of our closing time ride hack; however, on some nights, Battle at the Ministry doesn’t allow it. On some occasions, those trying to hop on the line just before park closing are met with the message that the ride is “at capacity” for the day and not accepting further riders to the line, even though the park is open.

According to our wait times data, this has been the case on May 27th, May 28th, June 2nd, June 3rd, June 4th, June 5th, June 6th, June 9th, June 12th, June 15th, June 16th, June 17th, and June 18th through the park’s first four weeks of operation.

©Universal

So, if you’re heading to Epic Universe, don’t count on being able to jump on the line for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry minutes before the park closes, as it’s not a given you’ll be able to.

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