Universal Studios Virtual Lines: Forget The Crowds and Focus On The Fun!

Like any other popular amusement park, the lines at Universal Studios Orlando (and sister park, Universal’s Islands of Adventure) can and do get ridiculously long. Thankfully, the park found a creative way around this: the Universal Studios virtual line!

But…what is a virtual line? How does it work? And most importantly, will it help me get to Hogwarts any faster?!

Don’t worry – we’ve got answers for you in our comprehensive guide. Get ready to enjoy being first in a line a little more often. (Or pretty close to first, anyway.)

Virtual Lines: No More Standing Around (Mostly)

They say slow and steady wins the race.

Now, we love tortoises, but when it comes to getting on our favorite rides, we’d like the process to be a little faster, please. Thankfully, Universal has put a new spin on Aesop’s fable with their virtual lines.

When there’s a ride or attraction you particularly want to experience, joining a virtual line will save you both time (like a hare) and energy (like a tortoise). Rather than physically waiting in line for hours on end, you can select a ride – and the time you want to ride it – then go enjoy the rest of the park until it’s your turn!

Universal Studios virtual lines are used for each day’s most popular rides and attractions. That means available virtual lines vary from one day to the next, making it virtually impossible (get it?) to plan too far ahead. Just be ready to be flexible and have fun!

Joining the Queue

Your best bet for taking full advantage of this service is to use the official Universal Orlando Resort app. On the home screen, you’ll click on the rides tab and then the list of eligible rides. Find the one you want and click on it. Easy!

At this point in the process, you’ll be viewing the page for the ride you just chose. This is where you click to sign up for the virtual line pass. Afterward, all you have to do is plug in the number of people getting on the ride with you and what time you want to come get on the ride. (You’ll have a choice of available times, so you can choose the one that’s most convenient for you and your party!) 

Go Grab Your Spot!

Once you have your virtual pass sorted, the app will give you a small window of time in which you need to physically arrive at the ride and retain your place in line. It’s crucial that everyone in your party who signed up for the ride gets there at the same time, or you may have to forfeit your spot. When you get to the front of the line, have your virtual pass ready on your phone screen; you’ll have to show it to a cast member to get on the ride! 

Be Smarter Than Your Smart Phone

If you don’t already have it, download the Universal Studios app before you even leave home. This way, if you are staying at one of the resort hotels, you’ll be able to reserve your spot in the virtual line(s) of your choice. Keep in mind that your Universal Studios account and ticket purchase have to be linked in order to take advantage of this. 

When you reserve a space in a virtual line, the park recommends that you screenshot your pass. If you can’t access the pass when the time comes, the cast member in charge of the ride or attraction can’t let you enter, so a screenshot serves as a sort of backup pass. (If your cell service is like mine, you definitely don’t want to take any chances, LOL!) Taking a screenshot also helps to ensure that even if a ride or attraction breaks down, you’ll still have a place in its virtual line when the ride reopens later.

When it comes to reserving spots for multiple people, it may be more convenient to have every adult in your party download the app to their phone and use their own virtual pass; that’ll make it easier to ensure everyone in your party can get on the same ride at the same time. 

Virtual lines are incredibly convenient, especially because you can reserve a spot in line for two rides concurrently. Just make sure that the times you choose for the two rides don’t overlap with each other!

Express Pass Equals Ultimate Speed

To truly combine the wisdom of the tortoise with the speed of the hare, we recommend having an Express Pass in addition to using the Universal Studios virtual line!

It’s worth noting that a lot of first-time visitors to Universal Studios mistakenly think if they use the virtual line feature they don’t need the Express Pass. Seasoned park goers will tell you it’s best to use both. There are some distinct differences between the two that make them both worth using.

The biggest limitation virtual lines present is that, on most days, they will fill to capacity – fast!

If you miss out on reserving your place in a virtual line, it might seem like you’re out of luck with experiencing that desired ride or attraction.

However, not all hope is lost if you also use the Express Pass – you’ll still have a shorter wait time at just about every ride and attraction the park has to offer (with a few rare exceptions). It lessens the sting of losing out on a virtual line considerably!

Though slow days seem to be few and far between at Universal Studios, on these rare occasions the park may turn virtual lines on or off at will. It’s generally safe to assume if the virtual line feature is turned off for a particular ride, there probably isn’t a long wait time. (Yay!)

Are You Ready??

If you haven’t been to Universal Studios yet, what are you waiting for? Thanks to virtual lines, and with a little careful planning, you’ll never have to miss out on the rides or attractions you’re most interested in.

Have you used the virtual lines? Drop a comment below and tell us about your experience!

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