Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[PrincessV]

I talked about the heat in my review earlier, but the tl;dr of it is:

I used a UV umbrella - better than nothing.
Water is plentiful - fountains and bottle refills near almost every restroom.
There is some shade - I saw lots of folks resting on the ground at the back sides of retainer walls, signs, etc.

The issue to me was that lack of shade is only part of the heat issue: the Feels Like on my day went over 100º and the heat was nearly unbearable even in the shade. Truly, the only relief was to go indoors - rides, shops, restaurants, whatever: AC anywhere I could find it.

My best advice? Avoid the worst of the heat - don’t spend all day in the park if you go in the summer months. I don’t plan to do a 10-hour day again in summer; I’ll roll up late afternoon and stay until closing.

 

[AustinTink]

2. The heat. I cannot express adequately how bad the heat is in Epic. And I’m saying that as a heat-acclimated Floridian who chooses to vacation at WDW in summer! The combination of little shade, a ton of pavement, and a design that limits airflow makes much of the park feel like an oven. Fall seems like a better option.

When does the heat really start to ease up? The last time we went in October the heat was still a beast.

Also, why on earth would they build this beautiful new park with little shade and a poor airflow design? Sounds like a big oops to me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I talked about the heat in my review earlier, but the tl;dr of it is:

I used a UV umbrella - better than nothing.
Water is plentiful - fountains and bottle refills near almost every restroom.
There is some shade - I saw lots of folks resting on the ground at the back sides of retainer walls, signs, etc.

The issue to me was that lack of shade is only part of the heat issue: the Feels Like on my day went over 100º and the heat was nearly unbearable even in the shade. Truly, the only relief was to go indoors - rides, shops, restaurants, whatever: AC anywhere I could find it.

My best advice? Avoid the worst of the heat - don’t spend all day in the park if you go in the summer months. I don’t plan to do a 10-hour day again in summer; I’ll roll up late afternoon and stay until closing.

Ah, that's pretty normal stuff then, there's a reason people recommend you walk through the shops on Main Street for a break in the heat. I find World Showcase to be a place where I'm dodging in every place I can find as the walk around it exposed and while Toy Story is particularly bad at DHS the whole park lacks a good shade thoughtprocess.

I grew up going to a park that was largely made of asphalt which thankfully Disney at least doesn't do. Now every time I smell hot asphalt it reminds me of my local park.

Is there a specific place you can recommend for a break like a place to eat you liked. The vampire steakhouse I was pretty excited for though I heard a vlogger feel it was too dark in there while at the same time admitting everything including the lighting was extremely on point to the theming lol.

 

[PrincessV]

When does the heat really start to ease up? The last time we went in October the heat was still a beast.

Also, why on earth would they build this beautiful new park with little shade and a poor airflow design? Sounds like a big oops to me.

Caveat: I’m a 30+ year Floridian, so my views on what constitutes “too hot” are very skewed lol! I also live on the west coast of FL, which stays hot longer than the Orlando area and never gets relief overnight in the summer months: I go to WDW to get a “break” from the summer heat at home. But generally, mid-late October and Nov. are much better than June through Sept. In recent years, the heat hasn’t really broken until Dec., and we had some record-setting heat in Jan. this year - but it’s still nothing like summer. In the summer months, the heat is just held - by pavement, and buildings, bodies of water, - rain cools things off a bit, but summer nights stay in the 70s (80s where I live), so the ambient heat just builds and lingers until the days get shorter and some cool fronts move in.

I had the same questions walking around Epic. It felt a lot like AK did when it opened: little shade + poor airflow = oven. Especially so in Nintendo and Berk. I think they could easily place large sail-type shade structures in both places without taking away from the theme and I’m surprised that they didn’t.

 

[AustinTink]

Caveat: I’m a 30+ year Floridian, so my views on what constitutes “too hot” are very skewed lol! I also live on the west coast of FL, which stays hot longer than the Orlando area and never gets relief overnight in the summer months: I go to WDW to get a “break” from the summer heat at home. But generally, mid-late October and Nov. are much better than June through Sept. In recent years, the heat hasn’t really broken until Dec., and we had some record-setting heat in Jan. this year - but it’s still nothing like summer. In the summer months, the heat is just held - by pavement, and buildings, bodies of water, - rain cools things off a bit, but summer nights stay in the 70s (80s where I live), so the ambient heat just builds and lingers until the days get shorter and some cool fronts move in.

Thanks for answering. I’m hoping for cooler temps in November. I tolerate heat les and less the older I get.

I had the same questions walking around Epic. It felt a lot like AK did when it opened: little shade + poor airflow = oven. Especially so in Nintendo and Berk. I think they could easily place large sail-type shade structures in both places without taking away from the theme and I’m surprised that they didn’t.

Seems like a no-brainer that all new parks should address heat issues, but no one asked me.

 

[fatmanatee]

My understanding was that the expectation is that the greenery will continue growing and provide more shade but in the short term it's going to be a problem. And even with that it's possible they didn't get this right. It's not going to help Nintendo either, what you see is what you get.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Reportedly Universal may be considering testing Virtual Queue for access to lands as well. It makes sense given the egress constraints with the portals and pathways that each individualized land will have capacity constraints. Would only likely go into effect on peak days, but something that the design of the park could necessitate.

https://blogmickey.com/2025/05/univ...-virtual-line-entry-into-epic-universe-lands/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Reportedly Universal may be considering testing Virtual Queue for access to lands as well. It makes sense given the egress constraints with the portals and pathways that each individualized land will have capacity constraints. Would only likely go into effect on peak days, but something that the design of the park could necessitate.

https://blogmickey.com/2025/05/univ...-virtual-line-entry-into-epic-universe-lands/

I think that was the going idea quite a bit while back before all the hubbub about VQ being used for Ministry. I believe people just speculated that because of the design of the lands with portals that access could be controlled to each land like Nintendo was when it first opened elsewhere. Hopefully if indeed it is used in that way it is like you mentioned high crowd days.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I think that was the going idea quite a bit while back before all the hubbub about VQ being used for Ministry. I believe people just speculated that because of the design of the lands with portals that access could be controlled to each land like Nintendo was when it first opened elsewhere. Hopefully if indeed it is used in that way it is like you mentioned high crowd days.

They have to just from a life safety aspect put capacity constraints on each land.

The other benefit for Universal is individualized lands could be rented by corporations on any given day vs the entire park.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

All but 2 rides and 2 shows close when lightning is in the area.

I think there are four rides which can run in lightning. Mario carts, Frankenstein, ministry, and the carousel.

 

[Jessem1133]

I did wind up calling and getting a refund for my Epic ticket, so thats always an option if anyone else isn't thrilled with how the remainder of the preview is turning out

 

[SkyGuy]

I did wind up calling and getting a refund for my Epic ticket, so thats always an option if anyone else isn't thrilled with how the remainder of the preview is turning out

Thanks!