2021 Unofficial Guide to Single Rider Lines at Universal Orlando

Single Rider Lines have long been among our favorite time-saving secrets at the Universal Orlando Resort, and now that this queue-skipping shortcut has returned to select rides at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, we’ve updated our Unofficial Guide to taking advantage of Universal’s single rider options.

Whether you are travelling solo, or simply seeking a brief respite from your friends and family, Single Rider queues can help you enjoy more rides while spending less time waiting in line, as long as you’re willing to make a few sacrifices. After being unavailable for over a year due to social distancing restrictions, Universal Orlando began reopening Single Rider access at select attractions in May 2021, and we expect the option to eventually return at all locations where it was previously available.

When open, single rider (or singles) lines available to all Universal Orlando guests without extra charge, as long as they are traveling alone, or at least willing to be temporarily separated from their companions. Single riders wait in a separate queue and are slipped into vacant seats left by large groups without (theoretically) impacting the other lines.

Singles lines are a great alternative for those unable or unwilling to cough up the dough for Universal Express Passes, since the singles line is often just as fast as the Express line. However, because the speed of the singles line is highly dependent on the flow of odd-numbered parties through the other queues, the wait time can be extremely unpredictable. At some times we’ve walked onto Forbidden Journey via the singles line when the standby wait time was more than an hour; at others we’ve stood longer in Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit’s singles line than the posted standby wait.

Single rider is even available on some attractions that do not offer express, including Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the new Jurassic World VelociCoaster. Keep in mind that, because these roller-coasters feature two-seat rows, their single rider lines can quickly become backed up; when the VelociCoaster single rider queue reaches the attraction entrance, you’re looking at a 30-40 minute wait.

Single rider lines open at the discretion of the ride attendants and may temporarily close if crowds are very light (because they aren’t needed) or very heavy (when the singles queue becomes filled to capacity, which happens frequently at VelociCoaster). In the latter case, try hanging around the entrance for 15 or 20 minutes, which is usually how long it takes for the singles line to shrink enough to be reopened.

Also note that some queues (particularly those of Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts) are attractions in themselves and deserve to be experienced during your first ride. Even so, we strongly recommend using the singles line whenever possible—it will decrease your overall wait and leave more time for repeat rides or just ambling around the parks.

Single Rider lines have REOPENED at the following attractions (availability may vary):

Universal Studios Florida

• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
• Fast & Furious: Supercharged
• Men in Black Alien Attack
• Revenge of the Mummy
• Transformers: The Ride 3-D

Islands of Adventure

• Doctor Doom’s Fearfall
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster
• Jurassic World VelociCoaster
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man

Single Rider lines have NOT YET REOPENED at the following attractions (as of 6/2/2021):

Universal Studios Florida

• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
• E.T. Adventure (rarely used)
• The Simpsons Ride (rarely used)

Islands of Adventure

• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
• Jurassic Park River Adventure
• Skull Island: Reign of Kong

For all there is to see and do at Universal Orlando, check out The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and sign up for our newsletter here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.