The ULTIMATE Guide to Universal’s Epic Universe (What You NEED to Know!)

The ULTIMATE Guide to Universal’s Epic Universe (What You NEED to Know!)

we were lucky enough to spend 2 days at the world’s newest theme park Universal’s Epic Universe during the grand opening weekend And no we were not invited by Universal And yes we had to take out a second mortgage to be there because oh boy it is not cheap Now that the park is open to everyone I’m getting asked a lot of questions about what I think about the park how to plan appropriately and what are some of my favorite things to do here In this video I’m going to take you through everything you need to know about Universal’s most ambitious theme park And by the end you’ll be more than ready to tackle your day at Epic I’m working on full video reviews of both Epic Universe and Stellanova Resort as well as other fun Universal videos Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss them First up I’m going to give you an overview of the park Epic Universe is located roughly 4 miles from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure by Universal provided buses This trip takes 14 minutes fairly consistently considering Universal has some dedicated bus lanes near the new park Within Epic Universe there are five lands Celestial Park which is really the main hub and is the only part not based on IP There are beautiful details here like vibrant neon lights statues and original music which reminded me a bit of Epcot There’s also a giant fountain near the back that has water spouts constantly going off but then has sort of a buildup show every hour or so The music starts to get louder and more epic and eventually the water spouts launch extremely high into the air It’s very cool to see There are two rides here a carousel attraction called Constellation Carousel that is quite unique and a very intense dueling roller coaster that is not for the faint of heart called Stardust Racers There are two full service restaurants Atlantic and the Blue Dragon Three quick service restaurants Oak and Star Tavern Pizza Moon and Meteor Astrop Pub And there’s also plenty of drink and snack stands as well This is where you’ll find the main Epic Universe gift shop a Christmas themed gift shop and two Starbucks locations I would say the must do in Celestial Park is Stardust Racers at night since there are really cool lights and effects on the tracks that you don’t get to see during the day Then you have portals to the IP worlds starting on your left with Super Nintendo World This is the only part of the park that is officially open for hotel early entry hours at the time of this recording If you’ve been to the version in Hollywood you generally know what to expect However the scale of this land in comparison is mindblowing Video doesn’t quite capture it There are three attractions here Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge which is a VR style gamified dark ride Yoshi’s Adventure which is a primarily outdoor slowmoving dark ride and Minecart Madness in Donkey Kong Country which is a highly themed roller coaster that simulates jumping over the tracks like in the Donkey Kong games There are four meet and greets here that are over fairly quickly with very little interaction Mario and Luigi meet at the same time Then there’s Toad Princess Peach and Donkey Kong There’s a quick service restaurant called Toad Stool Cafe snack stands called Yoshi Snack Island and Turbo Boost Treats and a dessert cart in Donkey Kong Country called the Bubbly Barrel where you can get that cool DK Barrel Cup that you’ve likely seen online In my opinion the must do in Super Nintendo World is the cue for Mario Kart Bowser’s challenge because the theming is next level and really feels like you stepped inside a Mario game Even if you’ve been to the one in Hollywood this one blows it out of the water Moving on the next portal you have is Dark Universe which is based around classic Universal monsters In this part you’ll see characters like the Invisible Man and Igor roaming freely about the land You can meet Frankenstein and his bride which I highly recommend that you do And there are two attractions here Curse of the Werewolf which is a thrilling but ultimately too short roller coaster and Monsters Unchained which is a dark ride that uses the same ride system as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey but way less screens so you shouldn’t get motion sick You can even get your face painted like a monster for a ridiculous price And finally there are three quick service restaurants here Doss Steakhouse Burning Blade Tavern and Deacy’s Cottage Must do in Dark Universe in my opinion is the Monsters Unchained attraction several times if possible This was my favorite ride in the entire park and has tons of amazing animatronics of your favorite monsters The next land is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of Magic and they use the term Harry Potter loosely here This land is really based on 1920s Paris from the Fantastic Beast movies and it truly does feel like you’re stepping into another country I had several friends think we actually went to Paris because of my Instagram stories This land has only one attraction Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry I’m assuming the ride is Harry Potter specific because the Fantastic Beast movies didn’t perform well It also has one show Lasserk Archenus which is very Fantastic Beast ccentric and not a must-sea in my opinion And of course like the other Wizarding Worlds they have interactive wand elements that are admittedly pretty cool There are two quick serve restaurants and one bar here The food in this land is delicious but oh so pricey For example you’re going to pay $20 plus tax for the butterbeer crepe There’s a few walkaround characters though admittedly we never encountered them in our two days here The musto in Ministry in my opinion is Battle at the Ministry Q Even if you don’t go on the ride it is one of the best queues ever built in my opinion If you don’t want to wait in the crazy long line just to see the queue consider hopping into the single rider line The line does not move faster than the actual line but you do get inside the Ministry of Magic part of the queue quicker and you can take a ton of photos out in the open Then finally to the right of the entrance to Epic is the largest land called Isisle of Burke based on the How to Train Your Dragon movies This land is highly themed and has three attractions One is a flat ride called Dragon Racers Rally Another is a roller coaster called Hiccups Wing Gliders and a family water ride called Fire Drill There’s also a kids play area and an incredible theater show called The Untrainable Dragon There are three places to dine here all considered quick serve or snacks There’s Meat Hall Spitfire Grill and Hooligans Grog and Grl You can also meet Hiccup Astrid and Toothless here which is an incredible experience They really take their time with you and make sure you get time with the characters But because of that be prepared to wait We got in line when the wait time said 60 minutes and it actually took us an hour and 20 minutes Also note that for whatever reason Universal does not include wait times for this meet and greet in the app So you need to physically go see what the wait time is Hopefully they change this soon Eventually Universal is supposed to have dragons flying around this land but we’ve yet to see that in action And the must do here is Hiccups Wing Gliders It’s like a mini Hagrids and packs more of a punch than it looks Tickets Be prepared to budget a lot of money to visit Epic Universe as this is by far the priciest theme park we’ve ever been to I declare bankruptcy A single day ticket to Epic Universe goes up to $200 Yes Magic Kingdom does go up to $199 for a single day ticket during Christmas but there is so much more to do at that park From attractions and shows to meet and greets and parades Express Passes and VIP tours at this park come at a hefty price tag as well Express passes are not unlimited and go up to $300 plus tax VIP tours go up to $650 plus tax and tip and they’re only 4 hours in length Only you know your financial situation and how much you want to explore the park but in my opinion there are not enough attractions at Epic Universe to warrant a VIP tour or even an express pass especially at those prices Full disclosure we purchased express passes for the first day we were there well in advance It cost us $560 combined for two tickets but the wait times were so low and there wasn’t enough to do So we asked for a refund and they were kind enough to provide it And a major shout out to guest services who have been dealing with a lot since the park opened With Express Dragon Racers Rally Donkey Kong Minecart Madness and Battle at the Ministry are not included leaving only eight attractions to enjoy without a long line Where to stay there are three hotels located around Epic Universe with one Helios Grand being the closest The other two resorts are sister resorts called Stellan Nova and Teral Luna with one major difference Stella Nova has a walking path to Epic Universe whereas Teraluna does not A bus car or ride share would be required even though it’s across the street from Stellanova Both Stellanova and Teral Luna are part of Universal’s value resorts though the pricing right now is quite high closer to a Disney moderate resort Helios Grand is the most expensive hotel especially if you want the theme park view It’s considered one of Universal’s deluxe resorts but with a catch There is not yet free unlimited express included with your stay here Standard prices for this resort non-the park view currently range from $600 to $820 per night The best perk for this resort is the fact that it has direct access to Epic Universe and is placed right beside the Ministry of Magic So you could potentially be some of the first people in line to experience Battle at the Ministry which will forever be the most popular attraction in the park Considering this is a new park and wait times have been very high since we visited I would recommend staying at either Stellanova or Grand Helios if you can swing it Not only are these great hotels but you’re also close enough to take a midday break from the heat And trust me you’re going to want to take a break This park has very little shade Stay tuned for my upcoming review of Stella Nova I was shocked at how much we loved this resort Rope drop and attraction strategy This might be a hot take because I’ve seen a lot of debate online but my advice for rope drop is to arrive at the gates around 6:30 to 7:00 a.m regardless if you’re staying on property or not Even if you don’t have early entry you’re still able to explore the park and get in line for rides with the exception of Super Nintendo World The park should open a bit early around 7:45 a.m Once they open the gates and you get into the park I would make a right and head straight for the Wizarding World They will hold everyone at the portal entrance until around 8 to 8:10 a.m As soon as you’re able to head to the line for Battle at the Ministry This will have the longest line all day and is the ride that breaks down the most meaning you’ll want to get it out of the way They have been very disciplined about opening this ride right at 9:00 a.m So be prepared for a wait Once 9:00 a.m hits the queue should start moving We were off the ride at around 9:15 a.m with this strategy After that head to Minecart Madness followed by Mario Kart These will have the second and third highest weights during your park day Once you’re done with those attractions head to Isisle of Burke to do Dragon Racers Rally followed by Hiccup’s Wing Gliders Then make your way to Dark Universe for Curse of the Werewolf followed by Monsters Unchained Curse is not the best roller coaster but the weight gets extremely long due to limited capacity All other rides in the park have lower weights and it won’t really matter when you decide to do them But do Stardust Racers at night If you’re okay taking a risk that it goes down and you might not get to ride it go at the end of the night when the park is closing and make it your last ride The food situation at least currently is different than you might be used to The way it works in Epic Universe is you find a table place a mobile order for your food and enter the table number The team members will eventually bring your food to your table We’ve heard some horror stories about wait times to get food so be prepared to all lot extra time for dining Food in the park is much more expensive than Disney or even the other Universal parks For example the garlic bread and Dark Universe is a whopping $12 plus tax and most burger and fries combos are $20 plus tax Also important note about the food A lot of it is not what you would expect to find in a theme park It’s more experimental than you and your kids might be used to Keep that in mind with picky eaters Even the Meteor Astro Pub had a spin on traditional food I will say this is an area where the park shines Most everything we had was delicious especially when compared to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure And finally here are some general tips Make sure you bring an umbrella and use it not only during rain but for the sun as well As mentioned there’s next to no shade in this park I know it’s not easy to do but if you can try to pick a day where the weather looks clear The majority of attractions are outside and get weather delayed when there is lightning in the area which is very often in Florida It happened to us on our second day and there was hardly anything to do If you already have an interactive wand make sure you take it with you as it will work in the Ministry of Magic Although it’s at an extra cost I would recommend buying a powerup band for Super Nintendo World A lot of this land is interactive and it’s much more fun if you have the band There’s even a slot machine style game like in the old Mario games that’s fun to play If you’re not staying on Universal property you can still get into the park and line up for attractions early with the exception of Super Nintendo World And I highly recommend you do this to maximize your time And my number one tip is to stay late This park is amazing at night and honestly went from being a good theme park to a great theme park It really comes alive at night and you can get some amazing photos Some of the meet and greets in Dark Universe and when the park closes so you can even have spooky interactions in the dark And there you have it Now you’re ready for an epic day at Universal’s newest theme park I bet you have a ton of questions Ask them below in the comments and I’ll be sure to answer all of them And with that I’ll see you on the next one Bye [Music]

We were lucky enough to be at Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando Florida for the grand opening weekend so figured I would make an ultimate guide for first time park goers!

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