Moose and Shanks

In the weeks leading up to travelling, we’d been studying blogs and vlogs from preview days and even after official park opening on the 22^{nd of} May to glean what tips and tricks might come in handy for us.

I know for some, this might sound sacrilegious but neither of us are Harry Potter fans, so it did make a few things easier. No need to rush to 1920’s Paris in the hope for a short queue on Battle at the ministry which did free us up to make a solid call on first ride of the day. From what we’d established, first port of call needed to be Super Nintendo World. Now which ride in there first?  Both Mario Kart and Mine cart madness could reach silliness on the queues front but we’d learnt that mine cart could be temperamental in the Florida weather, so the call was made to make the dash there first and then see how the other queues looked after the first ride.

We were staying at a Universal resort for this trip, namely Aventura Hotel, this gave us the 1 hour’s early park entry which we knew would prove invaluable for first ride of the day. Epic was scheduled for a 10am opening meaning early park entry would be from 9am.

Epic Universe has a slightly different layout to the rest of the Universal parks in that you entered the main section ‘Celestial Park’ and then could head off to the other worlds within via portals. Super Nintendo World, Wizarding Paris, Dark Universe and How to train your dragon: Isle of Berk. Both Moose and I love this design, it really does mean that the individual lands feel very separate and don’t blend in too much with the other lands or the rest of the park.The focal point of Celestial Park is the Helios hotel situated at the far end and this dominates the skyline as you enter the main park. The constellation carousel sits in the middle and off to one side between Isle of Berk and 1920’s Paris is the duelling roller coaster Stardust racers.

Whilst Epic’s later opening than Islands of Adventure gave us a slight lie in, the need to use buses rather than our trusty water taxis meant the extra sleep was negligible. So armed with our vital morning Starbucks from the hotel lobby we were in the bus queue at Aventura by half 7 and on the bus just moments later. The bus ride was uneventful and by 8 we were making the first decision of the day on which entry line to join. (now we’ve learnt this is so much potluck, from staff being very, very thorough all the way to guests just not being ready for entry). Through security and into the park inside 20 minutes and then making the relatively short trek over to Super Nintendo World where we would be held till about 10 to 9 and then it was GO, GO, GO!!

Now this would be our first time through a portal into one of Epics worlds and Universal did not disappoint. Through the green pipe we went and up the escalator and we got our first glimpse into the World as we exited Peaches castle! Being able to take it all in was short lived as we had a ride to get to and we got our move on and made it over to Donkey Kong Country which is like a whole other world within a world. As you head through the tunnel, the soundtrack changes to a rather funky jungle vibe type of beat very in keeping with what you’d expect for Donkey Kong. The beat kept us moving and a grooving as we headed for mine cart madness.

From entering the mine cart queue line to reaching the boarding area was just under the hour. Realistic queuing time was probably about half of that, and the rest was a delayed start (unfortunately regular for the ride). We made it to just short of the animatronic Kranky Kong in the queue line when one of the ride carts on the track above us stopped. Announcements stating this was a brief delay were then played, and you could feel the relief when that lonesome cart started moving a loud cheer went up. 20 or so minutes later and Moose and I were boarding the second row of our cart, and we were off.

Neither of us had ridden a ‘boom’ coaster before and it certainly added to the effect of a runaway cart and missing track. There were also a few little ‘surprises’ as the track weaved beneath us. All in all a great ride, even with the delay. One hour into our Epic day and first ride down and a big ticket one at that! Would we have been so happy if the delay was any longer, who knows? I have a rule of my own that no ride, no matter how great is worth more than 90 minutes of my day. Thankfully still not had to put that to the test! As with all modern theme parks and especially Universal, the queue line was extremely well themed and at least gives you something to look at and enjoy when the queue grinds to a halt.

Ride one complete and away we go. We only just missed joining a queue for a meet and greet with Mario and Luigi (would manage it later though) and with a posted time of 10 minutes headed for Yoshi’s Adventure. Again, another amazing, themed queue line with plenty to see and interact with but as he rounded another corner inside, we realised we were being guided towards an outside area of the queue and what was a 10-minute wait became somewhere around 45 minutes. Thankfully I love Yoshi!! Now I know this is predominately a kids ride but climbing into our blue Yoshi for the trip around the land, I was in heaven

You’re not actually on the ride for that long, so if you are thinking it’s a handy sit down in the day whilst at Epic, prepare yourself. Moose did say she was expecting something like the people mover at Disney giving you some genuine respite in your day. With still crazy wait times for Mario Kart, it was time to head out of Nintendo land and onwards. As you exit by a Nintendo themed gift shop, you can’t fail to notice the Legend of Zelda tiling on the floor and the stained-glass window of Link. A not-so-subtle hint from Universal of Epics first planned expansion maybe?

So, what next for us? Stardust racers time! Into the main queue, no express passes for us. Maybe on a future visit? The first part of the queue is outside but there is some shade and fans on the go so not too oppressive in the heat and after about 15 minutes we merged with the express line at the lockers. Now, these lockers are a massive improvement on the ones in Islands and Studios. For one thing, larger. No need to squeeze even a small bag in and it used biometrics taken from your entry into the park. Just stand in front a camera and a locker opens, no need to dig around for your park tickets. It’s then up the stairs and through security and a metal detector. Be in no doubt they take this very seriously, more than once we saw people being sent back to the lockers after they’d tried to bring wallets, phones etc with them!

Once deemed safe, this is where you choose your side of the ride. Stardust racers is a duelling roller coaster designed and built by Mack rides. Both sides are intense, but the green side is talked about as being more so! With the fact we planned to ride again later and the queue being obviously shorter, we went for the yellow side. The queue lines all come out between the returning ‘racers’ on both sides and I loved the fact that we all spontaneously applaud each returning train and its riders. It all helps as you hype yourself up for a hell of a ride!

The green side did start experiencing a few delays with a returning train and the yellow side was racing no one for about 10 minutes but by the time we made the front of the queue, both sides were running together again. Although for some strange reason, only ours and one other row had any one it so, almost a private ride. The lap bar restraints went down (so much better for someone like me with broad shoulders) and no turning back now. Both sides leave at the same time and make their way beneath the station to the first launch. Stardust racers officially has 2 launches, but due to a quirk in where the traverser track is to take the trains to bed at night, the first launch is actually 2 launches. Barely as soon as you’ve braced from the first part of the launch, you get another boost from launch 1.5 (as I’ll call it) and straight into a ‘top hat’!

I’m no expert on coasters, and haven’t really ridden a huge amount but this ride does not let up one bit. It is constant airtime hills and twists and turns. As you hit the second launch, the green side does the ‘celestial’ roll right over your head and you really do feel you can reach out and touch the other train. The yellow side does its inversion immediately after so neither side misses out! Again, no let ups and by the time the trains hit the finish line you need a breather! The plan from Moose and I was to try and get a nighttime ride for the second run so we would come back to racers towards the end of the day.

After such a crazy ride, we needed to calm down a bit so next land for us was How to train your Dragon: Isle of Berk. Again, you enter through a portal, and you truly are thrown into another world. The main ride here is the family coaster, Hiccups Winged gliders. Unfortunately, we were looking at a hell of a wait so needed a new plan. So, it was off to the 12:45 Untrainable dragon stage show. This is a proper, albeit short theatrical performance with the highlight being Hiccup flying over our heads on a full size Toothless!!

By now, our stomachs were rumbling and with a check of the universal app, realised we weren’t far from Pizza moon. We were seated and ordering using the app inside 15 minutes and with topped up freestyle drinks had food not long after. The pizzas are highly recommended and honestly, prices are not too bad at all and very comparable with nontheme park eateries.

With stomachs full, we ventured back outside and realised that we’d missed a large rain shower whilst eating. Good timing and it meant we weren’t stuck in ride queues during weather delays! So, with the weather now drying things out we decided for a quick bit of retail therapy. Into the main shop by the entrance to the park and time to spend some money. Something we’d taken advantage of in studios and would come in handy here was the ability to have what you buy shipped back to your hotel. Saves on lugging stuff around even with the larger ride lockers here at epic. To ship to a hotel, you do need to be staying at a Universal resort hotel and not checking out the following day. After that a quick check of the availability of the epic Starbucks mug and what time they shut and then off we went again!

Next stop, Dark Universe! Now we’d knew about potential character meet and greets as you stroll around Darkmoor but ironically, the only one we saw on the day was the invisible man!! So having heard great things about Monsters unchained: the Frankenstein experiment and with it being advertised as just 20 minutes wait we headed for Frankenstein’s mansion. Through another beautifully themed queue line, and some great bits of pre-show. Igor is brilliant, especially when describing the crazy ride vehicle. Unfortunately, the Victoria Frankenstein animatronic wasn’t working but didn’t detract from things and we were soon boarding the ride.

When they describe this ride as a people eater it is true! The boarding floor and vehicles are constantly moving ensuring a free flow of riders and as for the ride itself. An amazing mix of animatronics, sets and screens really do make you feel part of it, and the fire truly feels hot as it gets near your feet! Igor again for me steals the show and it still cracks me up to hear him cry ‘They’re out, they’re all out. Even the really ugly one!’

Moose and I loved it so much, after we exited (naturally) through the gift shop that we decided we were going straight back on the ride. Although a posted 25-minute wait wasn’t too bad, we headed for the single rider queue. With separate lockers and entry, you completely bypass the preshow so you may want to do it normally at least once so as not to miss out and we were into the boarding area in minutes. As luck would have it, we rode together! We did go back later for one last ride. Single rider again, and we were split this time. Moose was enjoying chatting to an American couple and extolling the virtues of the ride!

Whilst still not looking like much luck on Mario Kart and mine cart madness hovering around a 2 hour wait we still ventured back to Super Nintendo World and managed to meet Mario and Luigi and did enjoy some cheeky poses! I decided to treat myself to a DK crush float from the Bubbly Barrell in Donkey Kong country. This a banana and pineapple soft serve float with caramel popcorn and a waffle cone. I also opted for the souvenir DK barrel cup! I did enjoy it and the phenomenal sugar rush. The price of around $18 (with souvenir cup) was high, but the wait time to get it would put some of the other rides to shame!

The weather was still holding for us so back over to Isle of Berk for us. Still no luck with Hiccups, we headed for Epics only water ride, Fyre Drill. A series of boats travelling around an ‘island’ with water cannons. You get to fire away at the targets on land and at the other boats and if you’re ‘lucky’ like me, you come off soaking wet! It was a long wait and definitely a ‘one and done’ ride but nice to cool off a bit in the 30 degrees (Celsius) heat!

So, by this time, we’re starting to eye up sunset to catch a last ride on stardust racers and try the green side out, but first back to dark universe. Back onto monsters unchained single rider and then decided to give Curse of the Werewolf spinning coaster a try. Wait was posted at 35 minutes so not too bad. Werewolf isn’t a bad ride, and the spinning is a novelty, but it is very short (makes Hyperia look like a long ride!), and the abundance of nets for safety reasons do take you out of the moment a bit, but still good fun if you don’t have to wait too long!

As the very long day reached a close, it was back to Stardust racers again. A lot of people have the same idea for a night ride so do prepare yourself. Unfortunately, we did suffer from team members overly prioritising the express line and adding about 20 minutes to our wait as we hit the line merge point at the lockers. Now I get that you’ve paid extra as a perk but there is surely a ratio that the team are meant to follow and not just leave that line surging through! Didn’t suffer from this on any other ride during our time at Universal. Maybe don’t sell so many express passes, Universal but I can never see a big corporation turning down easy money!

Anyway, I digress, once through the lockers and security we picked the green line. Now understandably this was going to be a long line due to time of day and catching a ride in the dark with the trains all lit up but we did suffer from some slight reliability issues to end the day and every 3^rd green train was going out empty, so we were there a while but finally got on and YES. It is certainly more intense from my point of view and if you see the look on Moose’s face on the official photo then I would say she agrees too!

Just before 10 we were heading back out the main gates via Starbucks for an epic mug pickup and being directed towards a bus to Aventura for a well earnt rest of our legs. Needless to say, next morning we were up early again on heading for early entry at Islands and continuing this amazing holiday!

Thoughts for the day:

It was a long day, 13 hours or so actually in the park with very little respite

Overall, well organised by Universal with only a few minor bits here and there. It’s a new park; it’s going to have teething problems. Maybe it needs another undercover ride to take some brunt of the crowds when the inevitable Florida weather rolls in.

We deliberately made a conscious effort to avoid 1920’s Paris, and battle at the ministry to prioritise other rides so cannot give any realistic opinions regarding that area. The American couple that Moose got friendly with said that whilst the ride is good, is it worth a 2 hour plus wait? Probably not. So, bear that in mind.

As we head towards 2026 and more flexible tickets regarding Epic roll out, then some of these issues are irrelevant as groups and families can stagger their day, and days of visiting the park and not have to rush everything all at once. It will be interesting to see how things go. We’re planning on being back at Universal in November 2026 so can give our observations then.

Moose and Shanks’ tips for Epic

Think about your priorities in advance. If you’ve only got the one day there, and no express passes then it’s unlikely you’ll manage everything.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate (or as one of our water taxi captains said, ‘Don’t forget your electrolytes’), Florida is humid, hot or hot and humid and there isn’t much shade in Epic. Be prepared. Bring with you or pick up in the park a cooling towel. I did on day one and after being initially sceptical I wasn’t without it the whole time.

If you plan to shop and are staying at a Universal resort, then take advantage of the free delivery. This way you can get your shopping done when you want to and don’t get lumbered with bulky bags to carry the rest of the day. To take advantage of this you cannot be checking out of the relevant hotel the following day as your items just won’t reach you in time. Expect to see them from the following afternoon, just head to your hotels luggage desk and give your name.