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Epic Universe tips: 11 ways to spend less time in line and have more fun
Epic Universe is the newest theme park to open in Orlando — the Theme Park Capital of the World — and the third park to open at Universal Orlando Resort (the other two being Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure). Universal is also home to Volcano Bay water park; the CityWalk dining, shopping …
Epic Universe is the newest theme park to open in Orlando — the Theme Park Capital of the World — and the third park to open at Universal Orlando Resort (the other two being Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure). Universal is also home to Volcano Bay water park; the CityWalk dining, shopping and entertainment district; and 11 themed hotels.
Related: Surprising things you can do at Universal Orlando without a park ticket
Like Universal’s other parks, Epic Universe has lands and attractions themed to popular entertainment franchises. Aside from that, Epic Universe takes everything you think you know about a theme park and turns it on its head.
Epic Universe has five immersive worlds, including How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe and Celestial Park. You can read our full guide to the five worlds of Epic Universe for a closer look at the lands and attractions in each world, but after spending three days in the park, I have amassed a list of tips and tricks that will help you make the most of your visit.
Here are 11 tips to maximize your trip to Epic Universe to save time in line, have more fun and ensure your Universal vacation is nothing short of epic.
Arrive early and stay late
If you are staying in any of Universal Orlando’s on-site hotels, you can use early park admission benefits to enter Epic Universe up to one hour prior to the posted opening time. Only select attractions are open during this time, but you can ask a team member or look for signage at the park entrance on the day of your visit to find out which lands and attractions are open for early park admission during your visit.
So far, Mine-Cart Madness, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventure in Super Nintendo World, and Stardust Racers in Celestial Park have consistently been on the early opening list.
Of these, the wait for Mine-Cart Madness is usually longer throughout the day than the others. You should be able to head there first before the wait climbs too high, and then knock out the other attractions in Super Nintendo World. Or, if you get one or two attractions done in Super Nintendo World and it’s getting close to the official park opening time, you could make your way to one of the other portals to be first in line for the attractions in that world.
Alternatively, you could head straight for Stardust Racers and get on this exceptionally thrilling coaster with a very short wait. Since it is a dueling coaster, you could likely ride both tracks before the park opens to regular daytime guests.
Lastly, you could forgo getting on any rides during that first hour and line up in front of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic to be first in line for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry when it opens. The same could be said for other attractions, like if you want to be first to meet Hiccup and Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, but Battle at the Ministry usually has the longest wait at the park, with wait times consistently longer than an hour.
If you don’t have early park admission, you still want to arrive a little bit early (about 30 minutes before gates open) to leave time for getting through security and into the park. I would avoid Mine-Cart Madness and Battle at the Ministry until later in the day when wait times get shorter. You could check wait times in the Universal app to see what is shortest when the park opens and head there first.
The reasons to stay until closing (or take a break and return later in the day) are twofold. From what I’ve noticed so far, the wait times drop drastically in the last hour or two before park closing. If there is anything you didn’t get to earlier in the day or anything you want to reride, you should be able to do so with a short wait close to closing time.
Second, this park shines at night. Every aspect of the park changes once the sun goes down and the park lights come on. (More on that later.)
Epic Universe is not a 1-day park
Can you get on every ride at Epic Universe in one day? Probably. And if all you have is one day, you can still have a great time.
But, if your schedule and budget allow, two days is the sweet spot to get on all the rides and experience the other things that make this park so special, like meeting characters, playing the interactive elements in each land, seeing the live shows and sitting down for a couple of nice meals.
In two days, you can explore two worlds on the first day and two worlds on the second. You can visit Celestial Park on both days because it is the central world that you’ll pass through to get to the other four worlds.
More time in the park also means you can go at a slower pace and take in all the details. You may come across a Viking and a baby dragon in How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, meet students visiting Paris from different wizarding schools in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic or race around Super Nintendo World to see how many coins you can rack up punching blocks and playing mini games.
For now, you’ll have to buy two individual one-day tickets because there are no multiday Epic Universe tickets, but that should change once the park has been open for a bit. Or, if you want to make a five- to seven-day trip out of it and visit Universal’s other parks, you could purchase a multiday package that includes access to Epic Universe and add an additional one-day Epic Universe ticket for two days at Epic.
How to maximize 1 day at Epic Universe
If you only have one day to spend at Epic Universe, there are a few things you’ll want to do to maximize your time (in addition to staying in one of Universal’s official hotels so you can use the early park admission benefit).
Several of the attractions at Epic Universe use a single-rider line, which can save you time in line (as long as you don’t mind your party being split up and riding with strangers).
But the easiest way to save time in line and get on more rides is to purchase a Universal Express pass, Universal’s version of a skip-the-line pass. Universal Express lets you bypass the traditional standby line on most attractions and use a much shorter Express entrance.
A specific Express pass for Epic Universe is available on the Universal Orlando website starting at $139.99 per person, per day, but you can also purchase it at Universal hotels or inside the park (based on availability). The Epic Universe Express pass allows you to skip the line on select attractions once per day.
Currently, this applies to all Epic Universe attractions except for the following:
- Dragon Racer’s Rally
- Mine-Cart Madness
- Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
The only downside to Universal Express is that you bypass the standby queue, and some of the queues at Epic Universe — like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, all of the Super Nintendo World rides and Hiccup’s Wing Gliders — are almost as impressive as the rides themselves. If time allows, I would do these rides a second time without using Express just to see the queue and learn more about the story behind the attraction.
If you only have one day, I also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the park’s attractions before your visit. Use this information to choose your must-do rides and shows in each land. Focus on those, and any time you have left over is bonus time to do anything you may have missed.
Stay at an Epic Universe hotel
Universal opened three new hotels this year in the vicinity of Epic Universe. Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort are within walking distance of Epic Universe, but also offer bus service to the park. Universal Helios Grand Hotel is located along the back of Celestial Park, allowing you to walk straight through the hotel’s private entrance and directly into the park.
Stella Nova and Terra Luna are in Universal’s surprisingly budget-friendly Prime Value lodging category. Prices start at around $200 per night for shorter stays and close to $175 per night for stays of four nights or longer.
Helios Grand is in Universal’s more upscale Signature collection, the resort’s highest hotel tier. This means that in addition to elegant theming, luxury amenities and an elevated level of service, you’ll find a higher price tag: close to $400 per night for short stays and $300 per night for stays of four nights or longer.
Related: These are the best Universal Orlando hotels
When you stay at one of these three properties, you are closer to Epic Universe than if you stayed at another Universal Orlando hotel. Being closer to the front gate (or back gate if you stay at Helios Grand) means you can get inside the park faster and easily pop in and out of the park for a midday nap or swim.
You’ll miss a lot if you run from ride to ride
More than any theme park I’ve visited, Epic Universe feels alive. Each world has a kinetic energy that makes you feel like you’ve actually been transported far, far away from Central Florida (minus the hot and humid temperatures).
The rides are technological and storytelling marvels, but there is so much more to this park than rides.
Each world fully integrates you as the main character in your favorite stories. Want to practice your dragon racing skills and meet Toothless from “How to Train Your Dragon”? Always dreamt of being a wizard and traveling to the Ministry of Magic via the Floo Network? You can do all of that and so much more in this enchanting new park.
During my visits, I had a chance meeting with the Invisible Man in the Dark Universe, completed the three key challenges necessary to face off against Bowser Jr. and win the Golden Mushroom in Super Nintendo World, and danced along to a band playing on stage in Celestial Park.
My experiences only scratch the surface of the adventures you can have that don’t involve getting on a ride. My point is, there is so much to see and do in this park, and you will miss out on a lot of it if you only focus on rides.
Epic Universe is even more beautiful at night
Epic Universe is such an aesthetically pleasing park that I could be there all day without getting on a single ride and still leave content. And that sentiment is even stronger at night.
Epic Universe glows with majestic, ethereal light after sunset. At night, everything from the portals into the worlds to the rides and even the restaurants takes on a new look and feel. For example, the large fountain in Celestial Park changes from a peaceful body of water during the day to a colorful, glowing storytelling mechanism during the nighttime fountain show, with colorful fountains and music from the park’s worlds at night.
Even if you’ve been in the park all day, it’s worth popping into each world at night to see the transformation.
I was blown away by how much spookier Frankenstein Manor in Dark Universe felt and how the magic of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter shone a bit brighter at night. The attractions also offer a different experience in the dark. The dueling coaster trains on Stardust Racers streak through the night sky like comets, and the Constellation Carousel animals twinkle as you ride.
Do not skip the carousel
With so many flagship rides to choose from, it can be easy to skip what appears to be a classic carousel. In fact, on my first visit, I did skip the Constellation Carousel. I love a carousel, but I wanted to try out the types of rides I’ve never been on before.
When I finally did ride Constellation Carousel, it was such a beautiful moment that I almost teared up. Rather than a traditional carousel, the animals dance around in gentle, rhythmic circles as the carousel spins to the music, making for a different energy each time you ride.
And the way the animals sparkle at night makes you feel as if you’ve left Earth and spun right up into the cosmos.
There are Easter eggs galore
There are far too many Easter eggs and secrets to list here, and the easiest way to learn them all is to speak to the characters and team members in each world. You can pick up bits of information by speaking with the monster hunters and other residents of Dark Universe or the Vikings in Isle of Berk.
But here are a few of my favorites that you can look for on your visit:
You can find the smallest animatronic in Epic Universe inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic. Look for Newt Scamander’s Bowtruckle, Pickett, in the window of the locksmith shop.
Also in Wizarding Paris, you can get a peek at the sorcerer’s stone. You’ll need to purchase an interactive wand for this one, but there is a spell-casting spot outside Nicolas Flamel’s home next to Le Goblet Noir. When you perform the spell successfully, the sorcerer’s stone (or philosopher’s stone, if you’ve read the original British version of the books) will be revealed.
The Burning Blade Tavern in the back corner of Dark Universe is a replica of the fiery windmill scene in 1931’s “Frankenstein.” Luckily, this windmill isn’t actually on fire (and you can go inside to meet monster hunters and drink delicious cocktails), but you can see it catch flame about every 15 minutes. Listen for the bell tower at the front of the land to ring. That is your signal that the windmill will soon burst into flame.
If you are familiar with the adorable (and teeny, tiny) Pikmin, you are in for a treat. Not only can you spot them in little nooks and crannies, but also you can get a close-up view through the binoculars stationed around Super Nintendo World. Look for the binoculars on the second level across from Yoshi’s Adventure as you exit Peach’s Castle. Zoom in on the bush to reveal Pikmin hard at work.
If you look up to the tippy top of Mead Hall in How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, you’ll see the hut where Gothi, the village elder, resides. It’s difficult to see from such a far distance, but if you zoom in with your camera or climb to the top of the Viking Training Camp play area (which you can only enter with children) and use the telescope, you should get a better view.
If you look at the back of the Stardust Racers trains before getting on the ride, you’ll see a small box with lights on the back of the last car. This is a Flux Capacitor that allowed Marty and Doc Brown to time travel in the “Back to the Future” films. Though the ride has nothing to do with the films, Back to the Future: The Ride was an early attraction at Universal Studios Florida (it has since closed), and you can still meet Doc Brown in that park.
The live shows are as good as the rides
Epic Universe offers two shows: “The Untrainable Dragon” in How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk and “Le Cirque Arcanus” in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Did both shows bring me to tears? Yes. But my proclivity to being overly emotional isn’t the only reason I would recommend these shows. Both do have their jaw-dropping (or, for some, tear-inducing) special effects, but they are also full of small, but magical, moments that will bring a smile to your face.
Each show has about a 20-minute run time, but I would budget closer to 45 minutes. You’ll need to arrive early to wait in line and be seated before the show begins.
I cannot stress this enough: Do not skip the live shows.
Where to go if you need to cool off
There has been a lot of commentary on the lack of shade in Epic Universe, and to that, I would say, “Welcome to Central Florida.” I don’t believe this to be a problem specific to Epic Universe, but at a theme park where the heat index can climb into the triple digits, it is helpful to know where to find shade.
Each world has at least one or two sit-down restaurants where you can order a meal or snack and sit inside for a bit. There are also indoor shops in each land where you can browse for souvenirs (or simply admire the decor if you are on a budget).
I spent a lot of time in Burning Blade Tavern and Das Stakehaus in Dark Universe, and Mead Hall in Isle of Berk. They were dark and cool and helped restore my energy before venturing back out.
Several rides, including those in Super Nintendo World, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment and Battle at the Ministry, all have lengthy indoor queues that will keep you out of the sun. Stopping to take in the live shows can also get you a break from the heat.
I also strongly recommend you bring a portable fan and a reusable water bottle. There are bottle refilling stations all over the park — I even saw some in the ride queues. You can also get free water from the Coca-Cola Freestyle Machines, but don’t try filling your water bottle with soda. There are sensors in the machines that don’t allow you to get around paying for your caffeine fix.
Older kids might have more fun than little ones
There are only two rides at Epic Universe with no height requirement (Constellation Carousel and Fyre Drill). The majority of what I would consider “kid-friendly” rides at Epic Universe have a minimum height requirement of 40 inches, so kids will probably have a better time once they hit that height.
It’s not just their height that may give you pause on booking that trip. There is one world that is meant to be a bit frightening.
The setting for Dark Universe is Darkmoor Village, home to monsters and those who hunt them. To give you an idea of how creepy Dark Universe is, even I let out a scream on the world’s premier attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
It’s not just the ride that is scary, either. When you venture into the dark and spooky Das Stakehaus for lunch or dinner, you’ll see dead vampires (and the stakes that made them that way) on display lining the walls.
Bottom line
Epic Universe is the type of theme park that allows you to choose your own adventure. For just one day, you can be a wizard, a dragon tamer, a monster hunter, a video game character or all of the above.
But you need to do a little planning before you can fully immerse yourself in these fantasy worlds. These tips will help you prepare for your visit and make the most of your time at Epic Universe.
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