Tips to Get a Virtual Line Return Time at Epic Universe

Since Universal Epic Universe Annual Passholder Previews (and a few other groups) began on April 17th, the highly anticipated attraction Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry has exclusively operated with a Virtual Line. Unfortunately, obtaining a return time has proven to be somewhat difficult, and there isn't exactly a sure-fire way to obtain a slot. We've been continually monitoring the process, recording availability data to look to for any advantages, have developed free alerts to help, & performed other experiments to see what works better. Overall, obtaining a Virtual Line return time takes patience, some luck, and doing a few things to increase your odds.

The single biggest inhibitor to obtaining a Virtual Line return time is the operating status of the attraction!

Simply put, if the attraction is not operating or is operating at a reduced capacity, there will be less Virtual Line return times available, making it harder to get one, no matter what tips or tricks you use!

What does the Virtual Line mean for me? 

In order to ride the attraction, you must obtain a return time through the Universal app. This is a 30 minute time window you are given to enter the queue for the attraction. If successful, you will obtain a QR code like shown below that the ride attendants will scan before you can enter the queue. You will then most likely wait for a bit before riding the attraction in a standard queue (we waited 58 minutes last Saturday, which included an operating delay with the ride).

Quick Summary

• To ride Harry Potter & the Battle at the Ministry, you need to obtain a Virtual Line return time

How do you get a return time? 

Officially, Universal states "return times will become available at 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 6:00 PM" within the official Universal app. Within a few minutes of the specified release times, you want to open the Universal app and navigate to the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry page. One method is to click the Map button, then the search icon, then type "at the" or "battle." This will filter it down to the attraction only. Next, click on the attraction. A video of this process is shown below.

What you do next depends on what the Battle at the Ministry page shows you. If the blue Virtual Line button appears, immediately click it! See the instructions further down for "Clicking the Blue Virtual Line Button"

On May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, the Blue VL button has appeared several minutes before 11 AM, allowing you to access the Party Member screen discussed below. So be sure to check the app around 10:55 AM for the appearance of the Blue VL button to get to the next screen! Times have not dropped before 10:59 AM when this has occurred.

If the gray Virtual Line: Unavailable button appears (see the image below), you will need to keep refreshing the page. If you followed the instructions above, you can click the back arrow (<) and then click on the attraction again to "refresh" the page to see if the button is now blue. Around the specified release points, you may need to do this several times before the button appears blue. The video below shows an example. If the blue button appears, follow the instructions underneath "Clicking the Blue Virtual Line Button" below. If it never appears, you are going to have to try again at 3 PM or 6 PM, or look for random availability. Scroll below for more tips on random availability.

 

Quick Summary

• Virtual Line return times drops at 3 specified times (11 AM, 3 PM, 6PM) and at random times in the Universal App
• To secure a return time, the Virtual Line button must be blue

Clicking the Blue Virtual Line Button

If you were able to click the blue Virtual Line button, on the immediate next screen, select the size of your party (yes, you need to obtain the proper size or expect to get denied at the ride entry). If any return times appear, immediately click one and then Submit at the bottom of the screen to try to secure it. 

If successful, you will get another screen with your return time and QR code. If not, try to click another return time (if there are more than one) and repeat the process until the message "Unfortunately, there are no Virtual Line times available for the number of people you requested" appears. You can also try changing the party size back and forth to see if any return times appear. At this point, many of us will have failed the process. But that is okay! At this point, do not leave the Party Member selection page! Scroll down for your next steps.

This video shows the ideal page you want to be on. We call this the Party Member selection screen. You can quickly change the party size to refresh the return time inventory, giving you an advantage when trying to obtain a return time at another drop point.

Quick Summary

• Clicking the blue VL button begins the process, but doesn't secure a return time
• Stay on the post VL button screen, where you select Party Members, if you can't secure a return time
• It may take several attempts to secure a spot

You Failed, But Now What?

Many, if not most, of us will arrive at this spot, where we failed obtain a Virtual Line return time. And that's okay! With the attraction operating in a limited capacity state, obtaining Virtual Line return times are hard. Here at Thrill Data, we've been tracking each release of Virtual Line availability since the evening of April 20th. You can view all of that data here.

One possible advantage is getting past clicking the blue Virtual Line button. If you can get to the Party Member selection page (example shown above), you are better positioned to obtain a return time at another drop point. Our experiments and data collection efforts show that Virtual Line availability populates within the system before the button to enter the system from the Battle at the Ministry page appears. Those that have previously gotten past the button have the advantage when any specified or random drops occur.

Other good news is that the attraction does randomly release availability when it is operating. There just isn't enough data yet to know if it releases at the same points each day or not (outside of 11 AM, 3 PM, and 6 PM). But we have observed that if the return times released at the initial 11 AM drop are at 3 PM or later, there really hasn't been random availability until later in the day. That is not to say it can't happen, but the odds aren't great. On April 25th, the attraction was operating earlier, with an initial return time of 11:00 AM, resulting in many more random drop points throughout the day. Obtaining a return time from a random drop can also be tough and potentially require a lot of manual effort. But...

To assist with obtaining random availability drops, we've developed free Virtual Line Availability Alerts!

Strategy Summary

• Try again at the next specified drop point (11 AM, 3 PM, 6PM)
• Random drops do occur
  • Try for a random drop point

Random Availability Tips

Our use of the system and our data collection efforts show that random drops of availability do occur. You can, by randomly refreshing, secure a return time to the attraction. This can be time and labor intensive doing this, taking away your enjoyment of the park. You can view the past data to get an idea of when availability has appeared before to maybe better your odds, but its still too early for many trends. To assist in obtaining random drops, we've developed free availability alerts that will notify you when any drops occur! Click here to make one!

These alerts are not magic; they can't make availability appear or guarantee you will secure a time. However, they can save you from constantly refreshing and reduce your overall screen time, giving you more time to enjoy Epic Universe!

When Virtual Line availability is found, you will receive a text message (or email) stating that and a link to jump to the proper screen in the Universal App (see example text below). If you are already on the Party Member selection screen, DO NOT CLICK the link in the text. You are already in a better spot; navigate directly to the Universal app and refresh the party size to see any return times.

If you have not been able to click the blue Virtual Line button, or the app has timed out, click the link in the text to get directly to the Battle at the Ministry page. If the button is blue, immediately click it to proceed. If not, you will need to perform the refreshing techniques discussed previously. Our experiments show that the button will not always appear when inventory appears in the system. This is most likely from users who are already on the Party Member screens grabbing the data before the system can even enable the button. That's why it is key to get past the button at some point for the alerts to become most effective.

The best times to check for random availability vary depending on how the attraction is operating. Times before 3 PM only occur if the attraction is operating well. Late afternoon and early evening tends to have more popup availability. You can view past data to get a better idea of when things have appeared before. The table below lists times that have had availability a couple times at the same time of day. They may be worthwhile to refresh at.

This process may take many tries. There is a lot of demand for Virtual Line slots and only so many available. Be sure to Reset your alerts if you want them to keep searching. Hopefully, as the attraction improves its reliability, the process will become easier for everyone. We'll update this as new information comes in and any better strategies emerge. Have questions? Ask them in the comments!

Strategy Summary

1. Manually refresh the Battle at the Ministry page or Party Member page until availability appears
2. Use an alert to keep checking for random drop points
3. Later in the day often has more random, popup availability

Drops Before 11 AM?

On a few occasions, Virtual Line availability has been released as early as 10:45 AM. On 4/25/2025, it dropped at 10:49:46 AM. Setting up an alert will catch this if it does happen.

Common Problems

• Blue Virtual Line button never appears
  • This happens quite a bit when the inventory system fills up before the request to update the button occurs
  • To avoid this, need to try to get past the button and remain on the Party Member selection screen
• Return times show up, but can't book them
  • Unfortunately, this means availability is already gone. The return times may show for many moments even though they are gone before finally disappearing.
  • To help, stay on the current screen and wait for more availability to appear, using an alert to keep checking for you.

Helpful Resources

Virtual Line Availability Data

Epic Universe Alerts

Epic Universe Wait Times