Islands of Adventure Ride Lockers Now Open With a Smile, as Face-Scan Rentals Spread From Epic Universe to Four Attractions

Your face can now be your locker key at most of the rides that use lockers in Universal Islands of Adventure.

Most locker locations at the park have swapped ticket scanning for facial recognition, WDW News Today reported on Thursday, October 22, after a guest posting as @CoasterK24 on X shared photos of the new stations the day before. "Islands of Adventure has transitioned to the facial recognition lockers," the post said. "They work similar to the Epic ones, where you can facial or barcode it."

A photo validation rental station at Islands of Adventure. Photo: @CoasterK24/X via WDW News Today

Where it is live

WDW News Today, citing @CoasterK24, says four of the five Islands of Adventure attractions that use lockers have the new system:

• Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (which @CoasterK24 says also has more lockers than before)
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster

The holdout is Jurassic World VelociCoaster. WDW News Today says Universal Studios Florida has not switched its lockers over yet either.

How it works

It is the same idea as Universal's photo validation at the park entrance. You have your picture taken at the locker bay and it is tied to your locker. When you come back, a second picture is matched against the first and the locker opens. The screen then asks whether you want to open it once or end the rental.

Coming back for your bag: open it once, or end the rental. Photo: @CoasterK24/X via WDW News Today

The instruction panel on the stations pictured here tells guests to simply smile to rent a locker, and says that using photo validation is optional. If you would rather not have your picture taken, WDW News Today says you can ask a team member about using your ticket instead. The touchscreen also shows a smaller "Push to Rent/Open with PIN" option with a barcode icon.

Timed rentals and fees

Rentals are timed, but according to @CoasterK24 the stations do not actually tell you how long you have. The rate sign at the top of both stations pictured here says the lockers are free while you ride, then $3 for every 30 minutes after, to a maximum of $25 per day. One photo shows a station screen reading "Rental Time Has Ended," with "Additional Fee Required."

The payment console at the bottom of the stations is not in use yet, @CoasterK24 says. For now, WDW News Today says, if you need to pay to extend your time, you will need to talk to a team member.

A locker screen showing an ended rental and an extra fee. Photo: @CoasterK24/X via WDW News Today

A second station, with the locker rates posted at the top. Photo: @CoasterK24/X via WDW News Today

Where it came from

At Universal Orlando, facial recognition lockers debuted at Epic Universe. Universal then began installing ring lights around the locker cameras at Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment during previews in May 2025. This month we also covered a Universal patent application for locker guidance lights that described checking that the right person is there before a locker opens, with facial recognition listed as one option.

Universal has not made an announcement about the rollout that we could find, so the details here come from the guest's photos and WDW News Today's report.

The Epic Universe version at Monsters Unchained, where Universal began installing ring lights around the locker cameras in May 2025. Photo: WDW News Today

Would you rather smile at your locker or scan your ticket?

Sources

• WDW News Today, "Facial Recognition Replaces Ticket Scanning at Universal Islands of Adventure Lockers" (October 22, 2026), including the embedded October 21 post from @CoasterK24 on X
• WDW News Today, "Universal Begins Installing Lighting for Locker Facial Recognition Cameras at Epic Universe" (May 11, 2025)

Image credits: @CoasterK24/X via WDW News Today (Islands of Adventure lockers), WDW News Today (Epic Universe locker).