Following Theme Park Parking Lockdown, Universal's Entry Line Spans Thousands

Just when it seemed like the Columbus Day weekend madness at Universal Orlando Resort couldn’t escalate further, a new level of crowd chaos made its appearance—before guests even reached the gates.

On the morning of Monday, October 13, a photo shared by the popular theme park content creators at @loveourlifevlog showed the entrance queue to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure stretching so far, it snaked through the entire length of CityWalk, nearly reaching the entrance of the parking garages.

The current back of the line to get into Studios this morning @UniversalORL pic.twitter.com/tCVlgCY5Ml

— loveourlifevlog (@loveourlifevlog) October 13, 2025

To put that into perspective: CityWalk, Universal’s vibrant shopping and dining district, isn’t a short walkway—it’s a multi-minute trek from garage security to the front gates. The fact that this entire space became a wall-to-wall standstill of bodies in line means thousands of guests were already on-site and waiting, forming a human traffic jam long before the parks officially opened.

“The Current Back of the Line…”

The viral image, posted on X (formerly Twitter), shows a long queue of guests stretching past Voodoo Doughnut and Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, with the caption:

“The current back of the line to get into Studios this morning @UniversalORL”

The photo speaks for itself: a dense mass of visitors packed shoulder-to-shoulder, winding between CityWalk storefronts, extending further and further toward the resort’s main entrance bridge and well into the transportation hub area. This isn’t a line for a popular ride—it’s just to get inside the park.

This may be the most visually dramatic sign yet of what has been an overwhelming holiday weekend at Universal Orlando.

Columbus Day Crowds Hit Breaking Point

As previously reported, Columbus Day weekend brought record-breaking wait times and massive guest turnoutacross both Universal parks. On Sunday, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure posted a jaw-dropping 255-minute wait time, while other headliners like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and VelociCoaster were clocking in at well over two hours.

Mobile ordering was swamped. Express Passes sold out early. Single rider lines? Forget it.

And now, it seems, even getting through the front gate became an endurance test.

A Queue Through CityWalk? Here’s Why That’s Shocking

For those unfamiliar, CityWalk is not typically part of the entrance queue experience. Guests usually pass through security at the garage, move through CityWalk freely, and only queue up upon reaching the individual gates of Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure.

The fact that the crowd was backed up through the entire shopping district all the way to the parking garage areameans that Universal’s entrance plazas were at capacity well before rope drop. The infrastructure simply couldn’t absorb the number of people arriving for what was supposed to be an ordinary Monday—albeit a holiday.

While holiday weekends are always busy at Orlando theme parks, what we’ve seen from Universal this year has pushed the envelope far beyond “busy.” This was gridlock.

Crowd Control—or Crowd Collapse?

Universal Orlando has faced several guest management crises in the last year, but this Columbus Day weekend is shaping up to be one of the most chaotic on record.

Just the night before, the resort was embroiled in a late-night parking debacle that left thousands of Halloween Horror Nights attendees trapped in garages, unable to reach their cars due to what appeared to be a security lockdown. Access to both parking garages was temporarily shut down, and Universal still hasn’t issued a public explanation as of this writing.

Between that incident and Monday morning’s jaw-dropping entrance queues, many are beginning to ask whether the resort’s infrastructure can keep up with its explosive demand.

Why This Keeps Happening

Columbus Day weekend is increasingly being recognized as a “sleeper peak” period for Orlando tourism. With many schools and workplaces closed, and cooler weather attracting more visitors, October now rivals summer in terms of crowd levels.

On top of that, Halloween Horror Nights remains one of Universal’s most profitable and popular events. Combine daytime guests with HHN attendees funneling into the same limited spaces, and crowd control becomes an unpredictable variable—especially with the added pressure of limited staff and surging post-pandemic tourism.

Universal’s rapid expansion—especially with the recent opening of Epic Universe—shows no signs of slowing down. But the question remains: will the resort scale its guest logistics and infrastructure fast enough to match the rising attendance?

What Needs to Change?

The Columbus Day weekend meltdown—from the 255-minute ride queues, to the late-night garage shutdown, to the CityWalk entry line catastrophe—is a warning shot.

Guest expectations are rising, but so are frustrations.

Many guests online are already calling for:

• Timed entry tickets to reduce surge traffic.

• More real-time updates from Universal’s official channels during crowd incidents.

• Compensation or perks for guests caught in extreme circumstances.

So far, Universal has not issued a response regarding Monday’s entry line chaos, nor has it addressed the previous night’s parking lockdown.

Universal Orlando’s Columbus Day weekend has officially gone down in theme park guest history—for all the wrong reasons. From record-smashing wait times, to security scares, to now this: a queue that consumed CityWalk itself.

As the Halloween season peaks and the holidays loom just ahead, it’s clear the resort will need to rethink how it manages massive guest surges—or risk turning unforgettable park days into infamous nightmares.

Have you ever seen a line this long at Universal? Were you there on Columbus Day weekend?
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