Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[tony67]

Also skipped stardust but that's because my head can't handle it

Do you also skip Velosicoaster and Hulk?
I can do both but Hulk does make me feel a bit off. Not sure what to expect from Stardust.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Do you also skip Velosicoaster and Hulk?
I can do both but Hulk does make me feel a bit off. Not sure what to expect from Stardust.

My husband's favorite ride was Hulk before VelociCoaster took over but the last time we went to USO in 2022 he said he may have to reduce or just take out Hulk from riding because it was getting so rough it was jarring his body. If it's not the loops and such that do you in for Hulk it could be the age of the coaster even though they supposedly made it smoother in the past. Admittedly my husband is very tall at over 6 ft 5 which can affect him.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Hulk is surprisingly intense. During covid, it was the only coaster in Universal, Sea World, or Busch Gardens that blew/shook my mask down - and it did so multiple times. Granted Velocicoaster wasn't open yet.

 

[DarthEsquire]

I saw a couple questions the last few pages that I can try to address:

Any ECV's in line queues?: I don't recall any park issued ECV's but I did see manual wheelchairs and smaller ECV's in line queues for rides. There was also a separate line at guest services at the entrance for people who had signed up ahead of time for the Universal Individual Accessibility Cards.

Single Rider: I did single rider for a few lines. It worked best on Monster's. Once you do the ride once, it allows you to get on without the pre-shows. On my day it was a walk-on through single rider. It seemed to be very long on a lot of the rides. The mine cart riders on my day were waiting much longer in the single rider line than the regular line.

Mobile Order: The only place I ran into trouble ordering in person instead of mobile was burning blade tavern. You had to go to an outside window to order there. They would only take drink orders inside. Many of the restaurants have bar areas where it looks like in-person orders are common. Also, remember all locations with the Coke freestyle machines will give you free cups of water.

 

[GhostHost24]

Do you also skip Velosicoaster and Hulk?
I can do both but Hulk does make me feel a bit off. Not sure what to expect from Stardust.

Hulk yes... Vc I do like once every so often, but I don't feel good after it

 

[disneyseniors]

Exactly. For the amount of money spent on building and developing a whole new park...seeing a ride that could have been plucked straight out of a state fair blows my mind.

Okay....I hate to ask this, but somehow the name of the ride did not come through on my laptop?? So, can you please tell me which ride is being talked about? I would probably skip it as I can't take rides like that. Thanks.

 

[PlutoNotPlanet]

Questions for anyone who has already been to Epic Universe and used the single rider lanes - did they get you on the ride much quicker? Do you miss a lot of the theming if you do single rider instead of the regular queues?
I have a solo trip coming up this weekend.

You do miss some theming for the single rider lanes. Monsters and Werewolf are much faster as they are not two-seat rides. Monsters is a four-seat ride (like Forbidden Journey), and Werewolf they kind of need to balance it.
You don't miss any theming for Hiccup though.
BTW, if you are going on a weekday, the line can be as short as a walk on in the evening for most rides except Mine-craft. (Magic of Ministry requires Virtual Line plus 1-hour-ish in physical queue)

 

[Pyxie]

Okay....I hate to ask this, but somehow the name of the ride did not come through on my laptop?? So, can you please tell me which ride is being talked about? I would probably skip it as I can't take rides like that. Thanks.

Dragon Racers Rally. It'll be pretty obvious as it's the big spinny one.

 

[disneyseniors]

Dragon Racers Rally. It'll be pretty obvious as it's the big spinny one.

Thank you! That's one I'll be sure to miss

 

[dez1978]

We’re considering going next weekend for one night at a hotel to go to a preview. Is it possible next weekend could sell out?

I'm flying down on the 16th hoping that we can go either sat or sunday. So fingers crossed!

 

[PrincessV]

I went yesterday (4/27)…

I cannot stress enough that all of the commentary about lack of shade is correct. That is one very hot park. I’m a Floridian who does not tolerate sun well and a UV umbrella is basically an appendage to me - it helped a lot. Berk and Nintendo are by far the hottest… doing Yoshi’s mid-afternoon was a terrible idea, no matter how low the wait time lol! The sun just seems to make Nintendo feel like an oven.

Ministry was closed all morning, which I assume made things worse, but that VQ really is awful. I got nothing at 3 or 6. Did all the things: kept changing party size, time slot, etc., but was shut out. Kept checking it throughout the day, but nada. I did get to walk the queue while it was down, though, and it was amazing!

I didn’t love Monsters the ride, but the 20ish minutes of air conditioned queue just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore heat was sublime. I appreciate all the tech and effects and animatronics… the theme just isn’t my jam.

Wait times are absolutely inflated. Monsters said 45, but was 20. Werewolf said 20 but was maybe 10. Mario Kart said 50 so I did Single Rider and basically walked on - apparently I missed a fun queue? It didn’t seem to matter, since I had no idea until now!

Loved Cirque Arcanus. Meals at Cafe L’Air de la Sirene and Pizza Moon were worth every penny - really, really good!

My concerns for the future are:
1. That Ministry VQ - will it get better when things are fully operational? Can’t it please just be standby like everything else?! This needing to drop everything and be in place 3 times a day is not going to work for me, someone who does not typically do full park days.

2. The large number of outdoor rides when summer storms come along. It seems like a huge amount of the park will be shut down when lightning is near, and one of the big indoor rides uses a VQ. That’s going to be a lot of weight for a couple shows and Monsters to handle.

I’ve got a ticket to go in June, so I guess I’ll see how things compare once fully open.

 

[Keladry84]

Single Rider: I did single rider for a few lines. It worked best on Monster's. Once you do the ride once, it allows you to get on without the pre-shows. On my day it was a walk-on through single rider. It seemed to be very long on a lot of the rides. The mine cart riders on my day were waiting much longer in the single rider line than the regular line..

Did you notice if the Single rider queue for Monsters had a lot of flashing lights and/or sounds? I've seen videos of regular queue and heard that the express is similar. I'm not able to do this type of atmosphere at all except for very short lengths of time, so I'm wondering if I might be able to access it through SR (or if not might not have any access at all :/)

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Can a hotel guest buy preview tickets for any day at the hotels, or does it have to be a date during their stay?
If a hotel guest buys preview tickets at the front desk, do they have to be used by that person?

IE, can someone staying this weekend buy tickets for later in May & give them to someone else to use?

 

[wendlle]

Exactly. For the amount of money spent on building and developing a whole new park...seeing a ride that could have been plucked straight out of a state fair blows my mind.

all parks have "flat rides" and they need them. you can't just have a park full of E tickets

 

[tony67]

I cannot stress enough that all of the commentary about lack of shade is correct. That is one very hot park. I’m a Floridian who does not tolerate sun well and a UV umbrella is basically an appendage to me - it helped a lot. Berk and Nintendo are by far the hottest… doing Yoshi’s mid-afternoon was a terrible idea, no matter how low the wait time lol! The sun just seems to make Nintendo feel like an oven.

hmm - do you think this will get better in a few years as trees grow in?

I've also been seeing a lot of folks complaining about the park hours - especially since summer is coming with its longer days hotter days and this place closes at 9PM. 11 to 11 might be better than 9 to 9.

Would also allow folks to go to legacy parks in the AM although that really only works for AP holders I guess not sure how that would work s with a multi pay park to park with 1 day at Epic, but they can make it work.

Monsters is probably best seen at night - so again seems like a mistake - obviously it can change as things get going.

Even MK is open later than that for the most part. I was really hoping to see some late nights on weekends at least. I really miss those 1AM MK Saturdays back in the old days.

 

[sherlockmiles]

Monsters is probably best seen at night - so again seems like a mistake - obviously it can change as things get going.

Even MK is open later than that for the most part. I was really hoping to see some late nights on weekends at least. I really miss those 1AM MK Saturdays back in the old days.

Always been my niggest complaint about Universal!! So frustrating.
For us, it doesn send us to City Walk, it just makes us mad and we go back to the hotel.

 

[tony67]

Always been my niggest complaint about Universal!! So frustrating.
For us, it doesn send us to City Walk, it just makes us mad and we go back to the hotel.

Yeah - more so from Epic - you have to go to citi walk on the bus and through security etc.. and of course many probably leaving Universal at that point at well so you are sort of going the wrong way as well.

It's not like US or IOA where you are already at Citiwalk.

More likely I'd get an Uber to some place off property to eat

 

[PrincessV]

hmm - do you think this will get better in a few years as trees grow in?

Maybe… a little. I paid attention to what’s been planted and where, and also visited IOA and US the next day, so I got a good comparison.

I think Celestial will get a bit better as trees grow, though that’s going tot are YEARS. It reminded me entirely of when AK first opened and there was so little shade. OTOH, Celestial actually has maybe the most spots with umbrellas, so its doing a little better than everywhere else for spots to sit in the shade.

I have no hope for Berk or Nintendo. I didn’t see many trees to start with, and both lands are built in a way that traps heat and doesn’t allow for much air flow. The wood planking in Berk really ups the heat factor, and Nintendo’s “mall atrium” design really, REALLY traps heat. I think they need large scale sail-type shade structures, like EPCOT used to have and like lots of parks and playgrounds here in FL have.

Potterland 3 was the least hot to me. The tall buildings produce quite a bit of shade, and the long, open streets promote good airflow.

Dark Universe was somewhere in the middle - its buildings are tall enough and close enough together to make some decent shade, especially in the front of the land. Back by the Burning Blade was another story, even without the flames: it was scorching back there in the late afternoon.

By comparison, it’s not so much trees producing shade at IOA and US, though they do help. I think it’s more the layout - lots of tall buildings and open thoroughfares = more shade and better air movement. The tighter spots benefit from trees, sail shades, and/or tightly packed shops that blast AC out every time a door opens.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

11 to 11 might be better than 9 to 9

I totally would not in any way want to sacrifice morning hours for evening hours. Most especially when you're talking about the heat of summer. You'd be starting your day so close to when it'd be the worst part of the day for sun and heat.

Universal has been the place with shorter hours for so long. And while I get the comparison to WDW it's also one of those things that sorta gets annoying after a while (not aimed as a criticism to you just a general comment) because Disney has been playing with shorter hours for years and IMO a much worse way as they gradually reduced over time but heavily increased their ticket pricing. Cutting evening extra magic hours (and morning hours don't forget they have half the time in the morning as Universal), endless months of hard ticket events that close parks down for their main park many hours early, etc. With Universal you have HHN at the Studios leaving IOA open later (which most people prefer IOA anyhow) and that's really it. For many years AK closed around 5 or 6pm (earlier than Universal). To me it's more like cherry picking the argument even though you mentioned how late MK used to be open.

I pretty much expected the 9 or so range time period but absolutely agree that later should have been done most especially with how much investment they did with the lighting plus the hotel right there and the rooftop bar. Even 9:30 gives more time (though 10 would be perfect) for the months that the sun sets later.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

At 61 I'm not down for a lot of 16 hour park days anymore.
We always have top tier passes wherever we go in part for the ease and perks but Xtra/early hours option is nice in the blistering swamp of Florida summer