Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[PrincessV]

Is there any recent data regarding the single-rider lines in Epic? Last summer, I waited for a while at Mine-Cart Madness and the SR line barely moved at all, to the point that I gave up after a while. Are some attractions better than others in this regard, or maybe time of day is important?

I don’t have data, only recent personal experience - but I didn’t even try Mine Cart, so I have no information on that one. I did SR for BatM twice, once Standby was posted as 75 and the other it was 60: I waited less than 10 minutes each time in SR. That was around 11:30am on Oct. 31, a Friday. Standby at Mario was posted as 45, and I waited in SR maybe 20 mins. That was the same day, I want to say later afternoon. SR was not available for Wing Gliders when I rode, either in afternoon or late evening, but the afternoon wait was 40 mins (35 posted), and evening was 5 (15 posted). No SR open for Werewolf when I checked in the evening - posted wait was around an hour.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

Is there any recent data regarding the single-rider lines in Epic? Last summer, I waited for a while at Mine-Cart Madness and the SR line barely moved at all, to the point that I gave up after a while. Are some attractions better than others in this regard, or maybe time of day is important?

Same observation here for the Battle at the Ministry ride. SR was less than 30min when posted 90+. Mine-Cart only has 4 seats per cart, so SR moves a lot slower.

 

[tony67]

Same observation here for the Battle at the Ministry ride. SR was less than 30min when posted 90+. Mine-Cart only has 4 seats per cart, so SR moves a lot slower.

Yeah this is the issue - 4 seats per cart and a low hourly flow. I've heard they get about 700 people and hour on the ride.
That is very low. Google says between 800 and 1,120. Still very low.

In general Single Rider is very long on minecart so maybe maybe 2/3 of the posted wait time - maybe even the same or longer.
It all depends on the groups of 1 or 3 that are in the regular line.
They also close the single rider line quite often - so its not always open.

I've been to Epic 7 times and no doubt that the SR for Minecart is one of the worst.
(BTW never done single ride on Ministry - I rode it twice in October and to do that I went immediately at early entry each day and got on it within 30 minutes in the standard line. just for full disclosure I got to EE an hour before EE so you could add that time to the wait I guess)

 

[disneyseniors]

Oh,wow… I did Epic on Halloween, hoping everyone else would be at the various special events and parties… and I was RIGHT! Wait times were super low, few breakdowns, cool weather: it was absolute perfection.

I arrived about 11:30am, departed at 10pm. The time FLEW by!

BatM was at 75 mins when I arrived, so I tried it SR (I’d already seen the full queue during previews, when the ride was down) and waited… 8 minutes! It stopped twice, only 30 seconds each, but we lost the tire scene each time. So when I saw standby was 60 when I got out, I hopped back in and waited… 6 minutes! But wait… as of 9pm, posted wait was 10 minutes, which was actually no minutes because I walked right through the full queue and got right into a vehicle! So I’ve finally done the ride: it’s amazing! But also… makes me nauseous the way FJ does. No other rides anywhere do it to me but those two. But it was worth the discomfort to experience BatM - SO good!

The rest of my rides by the numbers:

Wing Gliders twice: 40 min wait in the afternoon (posted as 35),5 min wait evening (15 posted)

Mario: 20 min in SR, afternoon, Standby was posted as 45

Monsters three times: walked right on every time, once afternoon and twice in the evening, 25 mins posted each time (side note: I swear every time I ride it I see “new” effects!)

Yoshi: walked on in the evening, 10 mins posted

Saw Untrainable Dragon once

Just missed Cirque’s final show because I wanted to finish my Gigglewater on a bench: they closed the line just as I walked up, 5 mins before showtime.

I also took time to watch two different violinists perform in Darkmoor, the jazz band in Wizarding Paris, and a band in Celestial Park.

I spent easily an hour casting spells and chatted with an Auror.

Lunch was at Das Stakehouse, where I had the entire outdoor patio to myself! The big salad with chicken stake was very good, as was the side of fries. Dinner at Le Gobelet Noir was meh: I was excited about the lentil stew on a chilly night, but it was more like a thin both with far more pieces of celery and carrot than lentils, and the bread it came with needed butter. Stoick’s Ale in Berk (Spotify Grill) was very nice, especially sipping it on a bench in the sun whilst watching bumblebees in the flowers.

I didn’t ride Mine Cart, but the highest I saw it posted was 90 minutes, lowest was 35 near closing. I should have done Werewolf when it was 35 mins in the afternoon, but I wanted to ride in the dark: the wait never dropped below 55 once the sun went down, so I skipped it. Stardust was 15ish all day, but jumped to 30 after dark. Ditto for the carousel. I had plenty of time for more rides in the evening, had I wanted to do them, but I was enjoying other things. Also, that 3rd time on BatM was one too many: I was done with any rides after that lol!

Anecdotally, I overheard several times people say variations of “this is the perfect park for Halloween!” And I couldn’t agree more: it was relaxed, fun, Darkmoor provided some excellent creepy factors, and it was SO nice to not be battling crowds at the parks with special events.

For those wondering about decorations… there were none for Halloween, as noted. BUT Paris has already started putting up Christmas decorations! It felt very odd to see on Halloween. Here are few of them…

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Thank you so much for your positive report It's nice to read how much someone appreciated their trip. Sometimes we tend to lean towards the negative on these reports, it seems. However, I really enjoyed reading your trip report and glad you had such a wonderful time

 

[PrincessV]

Thank you so much for your positive report It's nice to read how much someone appreciated their trip. Sometimes we tend to lean towards the negative on these reports, it seems. However, I really enjoyed reading your trip report and glad you had such a wonderful time

You’re very welcome, and thank you for your kind words! I really, truly LOVE the place. I could happily visit every month. Which is making it very hard to resist going back over and over until it’s included in an AP lol! Trying to make myself wait until late January, at least.

 

[georgina]

You’re very welcome, and thank you for your kind words! I really, truly LOVE the place. I could happily visit every month. Which is making it very hard to resist going back over and over until it’s included in an AP lol! Trying to make myself wait until late January, at least.

Have my first Epic trip Dec 9 & 10. Bought tickets for AP holders over a year ago when they first came out, bought express for both days when they were first released also, really starting to get excited about it.

 

[wabbott]

Headed to UO for our second time next April, having visited for the first time in April, 2024. We did four days then and found it to be adequate to see/ride everything.

With the EPIC addition, my question to everyone is, will the five-day ticket option be adequate, or will we need 6 days? It looks like the five-day ticket is the max, unless you buy an annual pass or one-day tickets.

What say you all?

 

[zavandor]

Headed to UO for our second time next April, having visited for the first time in April, 2024. We did four days then and found it to be adequate to see/ride everything.

With the EPIC addition, my question to everyone is, will the five-day ticket option be adequate, or will we need 6 days? It looks like the five-day ticket is the max, unless you buy an annual pass or one-day tickets.

What say you all?

I'd say 5 days are plenty to ride everything, even multiple times, especially as you've been before.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

Headed to UO for our second time next April, having visited for the first time in April, 2024. We did four days then and found it to be adequate to see/ride everything.

With the EPIC addition, my question to everyone is, will the five-day ticket option be adequate, or will we need 6 days? It looks like the five-day ticket is the max, unless you buy an annual pass or one-day tickets.

What say you all?

Since it's not your first time, I think you won't need as many days as last time for the "old" parks. I do recommend saving 2 days for EPIC, just in case you miss anything due to closure or so. (In a good day, you can finish all rides and shows in one day if you stay from opening to closure.)
5-day tickets are good deals if you want to spend more time at EPIC. Annual pass currently doesn't include EPIC.
Not sure if you are going to the water park. If you do, then take that into consideration

 

[PrincessV]

One-day ticket questions…

I’m an AP, my son is not: we’re thinking about visiting for a day in Jan. So I’d need to purchase an AP rate ticket for me and a regular adult ticket for him.

1. How does my son’s ticket get allocated to him, not me? Is it similar to Disney, in that at some point in the purchasing process I’ll be able to add him as a ticket holder? Or will we need to create a separate account for him and make the purchase there?

2. Are Epic tickets still able to be changed to new dates if unused? Jan. Is so dicey with weather - I’d like to be able to change dates if it’s particularly atrocious that day.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

2. Are Epic tickets still able to be changed to new dates if unused?

If they are AP Epic tickets your AP is expired, definitely can't change them. I believe otherwise you can (pending ticket availability of course). I assume there would be a cost if the new date was more expensive.

 

[PrincessV]

If they are AP Epic tickets your AP is expired, definitely can't change them. I believe otherwise you can (pending ticket availability of course). I assume there would be a cost if the new date was more expensive.

No AP expiring any time soon, so that won’t be an issue. I just wasn’t sure if they were only providing date changes in the beginning, or if that’s regular UOR policy. Thanks!

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Yeah this is the issue - 4 seats per cart and a low hourly flow. I've heard they get about 700 people and hour on the ride.
That is very low. Google says between 800 and 1,120. Still very low.

In general Single Rider is very long on minecart so maybe maybe 2/3 of the posted wait time - maybe even the same or longer.
It all depends on the groups of 1 or 3 that are in the regular line.
They also close the single rider line quite often - so its not always open.

I've been to Epic 7 times and no doubt that the SR for Minecart is one of the worst.
(BTW never done single ride on Ministry - I rode it twice in October and to do that I went immediately at early entry each day and got on it within 30 minutes in the standard line. just for full disclosure I got to EE an hour before EE so you could add that time to the wait I guess)

I believe that's the typical experience with Minecart single rider, but I think we found the exception. Minecart had just opened for the first time that morning after a lengthy delay. I think that means more people got in the regular line versus SR, and they may have not immediately opened SR when the regular line opened. We have similarly had a lot of success with Hagrid's SR when SR has just opened, which may be obvious but something to keep in mind.

 

[georgina]

Glad today wasn’t my only Epic day! Yesterday I came a little after 9 and rode everything I wanted to with Express by 4. (Didn’t do dragon racers rally or Mario cart). Spent the rest of the day soaking up the ambiance and eating, and stayed until the final show.
Today I strolled in around 11:15, rode Hiccups with express and was in line for BotM when it went down. Despite the guy working the ride saying they would not give me a paper express pass, the concierge desk did. Unfortunately it has never come back up. Rode mine cart and the 2 dark universe rides, and the carousel. Had lunch at Atlantic (fish aren’t moving either) and going to take a break at the hotel, may come back later.
From checking the app, I don’t think BatM ever came back up, so it was closed from noon on

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Epic Monday 12/6

9am early entry. They let folks into security around 8:15am, and about 8:30am they started scanning tickets to enter the park. Nintendo/Left direction was held near the giftshop, before the Atlantic restaurant. Let through there right at 9am.

• Yoshi - no wait, line grew to 25min behind us as crowds pivoted from Mario Kart.
  Mario Kart was supposed to be open this day for early entry, however it was not (signs just outside the ride entrance). Stardust was also down for early entry.
• Curse of the Werewolf x2 - no wait
• Monsters Unchained - no wait
• Mine Cart - got in line right after 10am, posted 45min but changed to 75min shortly after getting in line. Actual wait about 60min.
• Stardust ~10min wait
• Cirque Arcanus show - timed it just right at 5min before the show, they were directing everyone through the quicker walk down the EP queue.
• Lunch at Cafe L'aire de la Sirene - mobile ordering was smooth despite this being lunch time right after the show let out. Food took a little bit to come out but had a butterbeer to sip while waiting & the break was nice.
• Battle at the Ministry x2 - We had 2x recovery Express from the non-functional day during previews. The line was god-awful then since the ride didn't open until about 10:30am and they had big signs out that it would be closing early. I think it was posted 180min or 210min or some such. We rode 2x in 40min through EP line.
• Fyre Drill - no wait, boats not full. I ambushed another unsuspecting boat with water cannon, it was fun. They attempted to retaliate but mostly hit my friend & not me . Definitely the interaction between boats is the key on this ride.
• Untrainable Dragon show - also got to this one 5-10 min before starting, we really hit the shows right.
• Hiccups Wing Gliders (w/ another recovery Express from May)
• Mario Kart (w/ another recovery Express from May)
• Watched the violinist in Darkmoor.
• Monsters Unchained x2 - no wait
• Curse of the Werewolf x2 - short waits.
• Monsters Unchained once more to let it get dark in Darkmoor. Left Darkmoor at 6:00pm.
• Nighttime photos of Celestial park.
• Dinner at Meteor Astropub. Quiet, quick, tasty!
• Stardust x2 - no wait. By this time, about 7:30pm, all the rides except the Carousel dropped to very short waits. Posted 25min for Battle at the Ministry & 45min for Mine Kart, everything else 15min or less.
• Battle at the Ministry, shortly before 8pm - posted 25min, actually less than 10min wait. Pretty much no one in EP line which helped move things along. Not sure when it closed for the night, they still had the "closing early" signs up.
• Hiccups Wing Gliders x2 - 10-15min waits
• Mario Kart - no wait (entered Nintendo portal 9:11pm)
• Yoshi - no wait, could pick which color Yoshi we got. Friend was not a fan of Mario Kart ride despite liking playing Mario Kart video games, so we opted for dark-time Yoshi.
• Mine Cart x2 - 15min wait & no wait. We rushed back in line at 9:59pm and were literally in the last cart that went out!

Grand total 25 rides, 2 shows. Obviously we benefited from the recovery EPs, but even without them we would have been able to do everything in the park. We skipped the Carousel & Dragon Racers Rally by choice, and were in the park from 9am early open through 10pm close. I can't stress enough that last 2-3hrs is just glorious. Glad we abandoned Nintendo world for EE when Mario Kart wasn't going, since we were able to do a lot in Darkmoor instead.

Looked like the 2 days after this had significant downtime & waits, so it really does depend on the individual day you go. If rides stay up, even if there are a lot of people, the wait times stay reasonable and you can accomplish a lot.

 

[zavandor]

Epic Monday 12/6

9am early entry. They let folks into security around 8:15am, and about 8:30am they started scanning tickets to enter the park. Nintendo/Left direction was held near the giftshop, before the Atlantic restaurant. Let through there right at 9am.

• Yoshi - no wait, line grew to 25min behind us as crowds pivoted from Mario Kart.
  Mario Kart was supposed to be open this day for early entry, however it was not (signs just outside the ride entrance). Stardust was also down for early entry.
• Curse of the Werewolf x2 - no wait
• Monsters Unchained - no wait
• Mine Cart - got in line right after 10am, posted 45min but changed to 75min shortly after getting in line. Actual wait about 60min.
• Stardust ~10min wait
• Cirque Arcanus show - timed it just right at 5min before the show, they were directing everyone through the quicker walk down the EP queue.
• Lunch at Cafe L'aire de la Sirene - mobile ordering was smooth despite this being lunch time right after the show let out. Food took a little bit to come out but had a butterbeer to sip while waiting & the break was nice.
• Battle at the Ministry x2 - We had 2x recovery Express from the non-functional day during previews. The line was god-awful then since the ride didn't open until about 10:30am and they had big signs out that it would be closing early. I think it was posted 180min or 210min or some such. We rode 2x in 40min through EP line.
• Fyre Drill - no wait, boats not full. I ambushed another unsuspecting boat with water cannon, it was fun. They attempted to retaliate but mostly hit my friend & not me . Definitely the interaction between boats is the key on this ride.
• Untrainable Dragon show - also got to this one 5-10 min before starting, we really hit the shows right.
• Hiccups Wing Gliders (w/ another recovery Express from May)
• Mario Kart (w/ another recovery Express from May)
• Watched the violinist in Darkmoor.
• Monsters Unchained x2 - no wait
• Curse of the Werewolf x2 - short waits.
• Monsters Unchained once more to let it get dark in Darkmoor. Left Darkmoor at 6:00pm.
• Nighttime photos of Celestial park.
• Dinner at Meteor Astropub. Quiet, quick, tasty!
• Stardust x2 - no wait. By this time, about 7:30pm, all the rides except the Carousel dropped to very short waits. Posted 25min for Battle at the Ministry & 45min for Mine Kart, everything else 15min or less.
• Battle at the Ministry, shortly before 8pm - posted 25min, actually less than 10min wait. Pretty much no one in EP line which helped move things along. Not sure when it closed for the night, they still had the "closing early" signs up.
• Hiccups Wing Gliders x2 - 10-15min waits
• Mario Kart - no wait (entered Nintendo portal 9:11pm)
• Yoshi - no wait, could pick which color Yoshi we got. Friend was not a fan of Mario Kart ride despite liking playing Mario Kart video games, so we opted for dark-time Yoshi.
• Mine Cart x2 - 15min wait & no wait. We rushed back in line at 9:59pm and were literally in the last cart that went out!

Grand total 25 rides, 2 shows. Obviously we benefited from the recovery EPs, but even without them we would have been able to do everything in the park. We skipped the Carousel & Dragon Racers Rally by choice, and were in the park from 9am early open through 10pm close. I can't stress enough that last 2-3hrs is just glorious. Glad we abandoned Nintendo world for EE when Mario Kart wasn't going, since we were able to do a lot in Darkmoor instead.

Looked like the 2 days after this had significant downtime & waits, so it really does depend on the individual day you go. If rides stay up, even if there are a lot of people, the wait times stay reasonable and you can accomplish a lot.

Great report and glad you had a fantastic day.
Wondering what will happen next year when there are parkopper tickets. My plan would be to start in the old parks and hop to Epic in the evening. How many people will know to do that?