Why You SHOULDN'T Use This Ride Hack at Universal Orlando

If you know me, you know that when I’m headed to the Orlando theme parks, I’m usually headed there alone.

Unless I’m filming a video for AllEars YouTube, that is, then I’m usually with other members of the team and ready to have an amazing time! That’s not to say I don’t have fun on my own — I’m very used to going to the parks alone, and think there are some really great perks to it, one of the biggest ones being the single rider line. This is especially true at Universal Orlando, because the amount of single rider lines there is INCREDIBLE and makes experiencing rides, especially on a less-popular weekday, a breeze. However, there’s one ride in Islands of Adventure that I actually DON’T recommend using single rider for, and you’ll understand why the moment I say it.

There are loads of single rider lines you’ll find around Islands of Adventure, but one of the most popular is, arguably, VelociCoaster. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has been up and running since 2019, while VelociCoaster opened in 2021, yet you’ll often find longer wait times for Hagrid’s. However, I have seen VelociCoaster jump up in wait time, especially on weekends, so it can certainly happen!

Single rider lines are a great way to save time in lines, not only because it makes your physical walk in the queue shorter, but Universal will use the line to fill in any remaining spaces when regular party groups don’t fill it. While this usually works fantastically for a number of attractions, when a ride is a two-seater vehicle, like VelociCoaster AND Hagrid’s, you’ll often find that the line takes longer than others.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it — in fact, I’d say that when any ride wait time is over 40-45 minutes, you should absolutely give the single rider line a try (worst case, if it’s moving too slow, you can get back out of line and hop in the regular one). For VelociCoaster, though, I’ve experienced firsthand that when the wait time is low (that definition will be different for everyone, but for me, it’s anything below 25 minutes), you should go in the regular line, NOT single rider.

Why is this? Well, when I stood in line on a recent trip, the regular line said 15 minutes. I decided to hop in the single rider line anyway, but it ended up taking just as long, if not slightly longer than the standby! I stood by for minutes on end while the Team Members were able to fill the two-seater seats with everyone from the regular queue (since some single riders had chosen to hop in that line instead — very smart), so while it still didn’t take too long to get my seat, it had been longer than I was expecting. Lesson learned, that’s for sure!

This is the only single rider line I’ve personally had a longer wait time than expected for in Universal Orlando, but I haven’t tried out many of them at Epic Universe yet (as I went during previews and most weren’t open yet), and I have heard that the single rider line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure also takes longer than normal for the same reason. However, since the wait time for that ride is almost always WAY longer than others in the park, I still think it’s worth trying out the single rider line!