If you thought waiting four hours for a ride was the worst thing that could happen at Universal Orlando Resort over Columbus Day weekend, think again.
Before most guests even made it through the turnstiles on Monday morning, Universal’s front gates were already overwhelmed—and that chaos spilled directly into the heart of CityWalk. In fact, the entry line to get into Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure stretched so far, it reached nearly back to the parking garages.
Yes, you read that right.
Forget about long lines for VelociCoaster. This was a line just to get inside the parks, and it completely overtook Universal’s entire entertainment district.
A Line Where No Line Should Be
The whole thing was first spotted on social media by @loveourlifevlog, a fan-favorite vlog account that shares real-time updates from the Orlando parks. On Monday morning, they posted a snapshot that set the tone for the day:
“The current back of the line to get into Studios this morning @UniversalORL.”
The current back of the line to get into Studios this morning @UniversalORL pic.twitter.com/tCVlgCY5Ml
— loveourlifevlog (@loveourlifevlog) October 13, 2025
The photo shows exactly what you’d hope not to see on a vacation: a sea of people bottlenecked in CityWalk, standing in what would normally be a casual stroll past restaurants, stores, and donut shops. Instead, this morning’s view looked more like a crowd trying to get into a stadium.
The queue stretched past Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Voodoo Doughnut, and toward the bridge connecting CityWalk to the parking garages. If you’ve been to Universal before, you know that’s a walk that usually takes 8–10 minutes with no stopping. The fact that it became an active part of the entrance queue tells us everything we need to know about what kind of day this was shaping up to be.
This Wasn’t a One-Off Problem
This latest crowd overload wasn’t a surprise to anyone paying attention. Columbus Day weekend has become one of the sleeper peak periods in Orlando. It’s not summer, but the combination of school breaks, cooler weather, and Halloween Horror Nights makes it a perfect storm for massive attendance—and in 2025, Universal clearly underestimated the wave.
The real kicker? This came less than 12 hours after the resort was slammed with a separate meltdown.
Late Sunday night, guests trying to leave Halloween Horror Nights found themselves stuck inside the resort when both parking garages were temporarily closed down. Reports from social media—including from HHN-focused accounts like @hhn_jacob—suggested that security shut down access to the garages due to an unspecified situation.
Guests were held in the transportation hub with no way to reach their cars, no clear communication, and zero explanation from the resort at the time. Some didn’t make it home until well after midnight.
Add That to the Record-Breaking Wait Times
As if that wasn’t enough, the rides themselves weren’t doing guests any favors. On Sunday, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure hit 255 minutes—that’s over four hours in line for a single ride. And no, that wasn’t the only attraction with a brutal wait.
Here’s how the wait times looked across both parks:
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Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: 190+ minutes
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VelociCoaster: 150+ minutes
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Revenge of the Mummy: Over 100 minutes
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Even The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man broke 90 minutes by midday.
It didn’t matter where you went—everything was packed. Mobile ordering was jammed. Express Passes sold out. Even single rider lines, usually the secret weapon of theme park veterans, were completely backed up.
So when the entrance line started flooding into CityWalk on Monday morning, it didn’t just feel bad—it felt like the system was breaking down.
What’s the Breaking Point?
To be clear, this isn’t how CityWalk is supposed to operate.
That area is meant to be a buffer zone between the hustle of the garages and the excitement of the parks. It’s where guests grab breakfast, snap a photo, maybe hit Starbucks before heading into Studios or Islands. It’s not built for crowd containment.
But with the parks apparently full at the gates, and more guests pouring in by the minute, CityWalk essentially turned into a holding pen. There’s no formal line management setup out there—just open walkways, restaurant patios, and confused tourists.
So, why did it get this bad?
Easy answer: Universal got overwhelmed. And with no pre-warning, no early crowd control system in place, and no real-time updates from the resort’s official channels, the chaos just built on itself.
Universal Hasn’t Commented
As of publication, Universal Orlando Resort has not made any public statement about Monday morning’s entrance situation—or the garage lockdown the night before. There’s been no clarification, no crowd apology, and no mention of possible changes to how future peak days will be managed.
Meanwhile, guests on social media are voicing frustration, asking why crowd levels were allowed to reach this point without additional staff, better line infrastructure, or at the very least, better communication.
What This Means for You
If you’re planning a visit to Universal Orlando any time soon—especially on weekends or holidays—there are some hard lessons to take from this weekend:
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Get there early. Like, very early.
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Don’t expect entry to be smooth. Even with early park admission, a huge crowd can derail everything.
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Bring patience. The lines are no longer just inside the parks.
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Monitor social media. That’s still the fastest way to find out what’s really happening at the resort.
And maybe most important: be ready to pivot. Whether that means leaving early, skipping certain rides, or even rescheduling your trip, Universal is clearly operating at or beyond its capacity on major holidays.
Between the 255-minute ride queues, the late-night parking lockdown, and now the entry line that wrapped through CityWalk, Universal Orlando’s Columbus Day weekend felt more like crowd control triage than a theme park experience.
Sure, theme parks are expected to be busy during the holidays—but this wasn’t just busy. This was beyond what the infrastructure could handle, and it showed.
If Universal wants to avoid this kind of PR nightmare again (and let’s be honest—they should),
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