No One Talks About This Frustrating Ride Problem in Universal Orlando

I love Universal Orlando as much as I love Disney World (sometimes a little more — THERE, I admitted it!), but I will admit that the difference in rules between the parks can sometimes catch me off guard.

Living that Universal Orlando Annual Passholder life!

While I’ve been to both Universal Orlando and Disney World countless times, especially in the past few years, but there are still some things each time I visit that catch me off guard. The bag rules are different, the lockers are sometimes a little more involved (especially at Epic Universe), and I just learned the hard way that sometimes those mistakes can cost you more time than you realize.

I had just a few hours to spend in Universal on one of my last trips, and was trying to hit all my favorite attractions in Universal Studios before it closed just an hour before Islands of Adventure. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is easily one of my favorite rides in the park (although I wish those 3D glasses would actually fit on my face, they never do), and so I knew I had to make time for it.

Harry Potter and the Escape From Gringotts

This is one of those attractions where anything larger than a belt bag has to be put in a locker. The lockers are free (unless you need a larger locker) and located to the right of the entrance to the ride. I had a small sling bag with me that hadn’t caused any issues before, and my Owala water bottle was hanging off of it with a hair tie (I didn’t have a carabiner — lesson learned, because hair ties are NOT very sturdy).

When I walked into the Single Rider line, the Team Member just told me that all parties would be separated, which is what they tell every group to ensure people realize they won’t be able to all stay together to skip time in line by using the Single Rider Line. However, she didn’t mention any issue with my bag or water bottle, so I assumed it wouldn’t be a problem when I got to the front of the line.

Single Rider Line at Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Fortunately for me, the Single Rider Line was TOTALLY empty — I literally walked right up to the top of the staircase and was awaiting being told what row to go in when things came to a stop. As it turned out, my water bottle hanging off my bag WAS an issue, and as my bag wasn’t big enough to put the water bottle inside, I had to go BACK to the lockers before I could ride. This wasn’t a big deal, because safety is the number one priority, and I certainly didn’t want any of my items to fly away and get lost. But it was a bit of a pain to have to walk all the way across the loading area, through the other door, down some stairs to get to the lockers by child swap, then walk BACK up stairs to arrive back at the platform (now on the opposite side of where people generally come up).

I’m grateful that the Single Rider line didn’t suddenly get super backed up iwhile I was taking care of this, but it did teach me a valuable lesson I’d like to pass onto you all — if you have ANY concerns about your, bag, or perhaps something hanging off it, ask a Team Member, or just put it in a free locker to be safe. At Universal Orlando, you won’t be able to keep your larger bags with you on:

Revenge of the Mummy
Men in Black Alien Attack
Escape from Gringotts
Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Harry Potter at the Forbidden Journey
Jurassic Park VelociCoaster (ALL items need to go in a locker!)
The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Personally, I make sure to bring the smallest bag I can into the park to avoid using lockers whenever I can. It just adds some extra time to your day that you could instead be spending in line, or walking to your next attraction, and that time adds up!