The Universal Orlando single rider lines are free, open to all park guests, and will shorten your wait times on Universal attractions. Let’s dive into the details and how to maximize your Universal day with single rider.
Waiting in long lines are probably the biggest complaint about visiting theme parks. We really try to plan our day to avoid long wait times by using our Universal Studios Florida itinerary or Islands of Adventure itinerary.
There are times where we don’t wake up early or we visit the park without a plan. These days are when we take full advantage of the single rider lines at Universal Orlando.
We started really using single rider about 3 years ago and it has saved us so much time at the parks.
Today I want to share more about the Universal Orlando single rider line and how it can save you time during your Universal Orlando vacation.
What is the Single Rider Line at Universal Orlando
The single rider line is a line separate from the standby line or express line. It is open at select attractions. Basically it is a seat filler line.
Guests are selected one by one to fill the empty seats in ride vehicles. If there is a party of 5 and there are 6 seats, 1 person from the single rider line will be selected.
This means you will be split up from your party and is not a good choice if you want to ride with your group.
Single rider times lessen your wait times tremendously, especially at the Universal parks. It is also free! There is no cost to use the single rider lines at all of the Universal theme parks.
Universal Single Rider Lines
There are 21 single rider lines across Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe.
List of Universal Studios Single Rider
- Fast & the Furious Supercharged
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
- MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack
- Revenge of the Mummy
- TRANSFORMERS The Ride-3D
List of Islands of Adventure Single Rider
- Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Jurassic World VelociCoaster
- Skull Island: Reign of Kong
- The Amazing Adventure of Spider-Man
- The Incredible Hulk Coaster
- Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure **This was NOT open on our February 2025 visit and the team member I spoke with said it was not going to be open. Universal has not officially announced anything so ask a team member when you arrive.
List of Epic Universe Single Rider Line
- Curse of the Werewolf
- Harry Potter and the Battle of the Ministry
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
- Mine-Cart Madness
- Monsters Unchained
- Stardust Racers
How to Use Singer Rider Line
To use single rider line guests need to check with a team member that the line is open, at times it is not and is subject to change. If it is open enter the single rider entrance.
This line will usually skip parts of the regular line like preshow entertainment. On Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts guests will skip both preshow rooms (including the lift/elevator) and head directly to the entrance to the ride.
If this is important to you or it is your first time riding do not use the single rider line.
Typically our wait times are under 10 minutes with most being a walk on. If the standby wait time for the attraction is under 20 minutes we will typically wait it out so that we can experience the attraction together.
There are times when the single rider line does not seem to move as quickly and your wait time can fluctuate. A general rule of thumb is the single rider line cuts the standby wait time in half.
One thing everyone using single rider line needs to understand is that your group will get split up. If you are riding with young children that you do not want riding without you, do not use single rider line.
Do not ask a team member to seat you together, their job is to fill the carts and it is not fair to the other guests that have waited in the standby line.
With that being said at least 80% of the time our family ends up on the same cart or even next to each other.
There are five of us and what we usually do is have one adult go first if they call one guests, then have the kids in the middle, then the other adult. If they call two guests together we will send two of the kids to sit together.
We never expect to sit together and we never ask but it does happen that we end up close together on the ride.
If your child is not comfortable with this do not use the single rider line, we waited until my kids were all old enough to ride alone before we took advantage of it.
Is Single Rider Line Better Than Express Pass?
This may be an unpopular opinion but we think it is. The Express Pass lines typically do not skip the pre-shows and at Universal there are a lot of them. They are very good but if you have seen them numerous times you may not want to wait for them.
It is not always the case that single rider is better than express pass because it depends on crowd levels but in our experience the single rider lines were faster than the express pass lines.
We approach single rider lines with a basic rule. Is it a new ride? Have we experienced it before? If it is new to us and we have not experienced it as a family we will typically ride it the first time together.
If it is a ride we have done many times then we don’t mind single riding it. For Epic Universe we will want to experience the new rides and attractions together as well as see the full queue and preshow. For that reason we will wait together in the regular line.
Overall the single rider line at Universal is so helpful in shortening your wait times at the park. Do you use the single rider line at the Universal Orlando parks? Do you think it is worth it?
Leah has been planning and writing about Universal trips since 2016. She loves finding the best places to eat and stay during her visits to the park. Leah enjoys the little details that make visiting the parks so immersive and special, and sharing that with her readers.
