Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[tony67]

various seats on Mario Kart,

Yeah - so I was doing single rider and more than once on Mario Cart since it was a ride that was usually working and had an open single rider line - I ended up in a car where both a front and back seat was broken a couple of times.

Its a whole "process" as you have to raise the lap bar yourself and then cross over to the other seat - and they make kind of a big deal about it since the ride operators cant do it and they don't want people to trip as they cross it.

For whatever reason it was more often the seat near where you get in and not on the far side...maybe just coincidence IDK

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Wing Gliders was showing "closed today" this morning on the app but it is open now. So looks like only Mine Cart down all day today. Much improvement overnight I guess.

 

[hertamaniac]

We did ask for & receive compensation for the exceptionally bad morning & the fact that so many of the main rides were inaccessible all day.

It is not acceptable to have literally 1 ride open for early entry, which did not open until 8:25am. Especially when they specifically send people to that ride but then hold you outside it anyways.

I experienced an issue as well as some attraction closings. After reading your statement above, I called and Universal did give me fair compensation. They certainly didn't have to but is a great gesture on providing customer service. I'm much happier now.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Mine Cart now has a posted wait. So that's everything up at some point today!

 

[SaraSpringsIsHome]

Seeing as Battle at the Ministry is standby today, how long would you wait to ride the attraction?

 

[fatmanatee]

Seeing as Battle at the Ministry is standby today, how long would you wait to ride the attraction?

I generally have a hard limit at two hours but it's hard to say in this case. Particularly since they have an express pass for almost everything else I'd be more tempted to begrudgingly bear it with something approaching three hours. That said I'd REALLY hope this settles down a bit. Currently at 90 min, which is a lot more bearable.

 

[hertamaniac]

Seeing as Battle at the Ministry is standby today, how long would you wait to ride the attraction?

The queue, or better framed as the story, at MoM is the best I've witnessed. I spent nearly 2 hours just perusing around in astonishment of the special effects and scale. It's ultra impressive while the physical ride was inoperable.

So based on my empirical observations, I would gladly wait 75 minutes from entrance to the ride. The queue (?) is so worthy. And I can only name 2 characters from the IP. Harry Potter and Hagrid (only because of the attraction's name).

 

[PrincessV]

Seeing as Battle at the Ministry is standby today, how long would you wait to ride the attraction?

My slightly sarcastic but also probably accurate answer is “a year”… as in, I’m local-ish and happy to let things calm down until wait times are normalized or they make a better VQ.

I peeked at wait times throughout the day and saw 130 early on, 150 about midday, 180 late afternoon, then 75 about 7pm. I remember Gringott’s routinely hovering around 300 in its first year or two, but nearly always dropping significantly in the evenings.

 

[keishashadow]

There was a bunch more too!

Wait, there’s a chain chomp shirt?!? Has anyone seen this @ Epic?

Yeah - more than one person told me they wont ride it again as its like space mountain rough.
It fits the theme 100% - but yeah it’s a tough one.

Groan, for some reason I was expecting ‘a bit bumpy’ vs a wild mouse sort with twists/turns.

Is it lit enough in the attraction you can see the track to try to anticipate the ride’s path?

 

[tony67]

Groan, for some reason I was expecting ‘a bit bumpy’ vs a wild mouse sort with twists/turns.

Is it lit enough in the attraction you can see the track to try to anticipate the ride’s path?

With the design of the coaster you really cant tell exactly what way you are going as the visible track itself is just for looks.
Its a unique ride system and you will have a general idea of where its going.

I rode it a couple of times and its a bit jerky but I did not think it was as bad as Space Mountain - but more than one person expressed that to me.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I think the 2hr+ physical line for MoM is actually a good thing, since that's a whole lot of people sucked away from the other queues. Likely why the wait times yesterday looked very good for everything else.

So you commit to a 2.5hr scenic air conditioned wait for MoM and then the wait times for everything else are more manageable. Good trade and better look for Universal, especially considering the mess their VQ system was.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Gotta say there are quite a few disappointing queues themselves. All of Berk is outdoor switchbacks, themed but not really interesting. Carousel - outdoor switchbacks, at least you can people watch Celestial Park, but that line drags & has no queue interest at all.

Yoshi, Mario Kart, Monsters queues - that's what I expect from Universal. And obviously MoM.

 

[hertamaniac]

I found the queue for Le Cirque Arcanus to be exceptionally well done. It's a small queue, but chock full of oddities. It's freaky and almost thought Pennywise would pop out anytime.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I found the queue for Le Cirque Arcanus to be exceptionally well done. It's a small queue, but chock full of oddities

Totally agree!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think the 2hr+ physical line for MoM is actually a good thing, since that's a whole lot of people sucked away from the other queues. Likely why the wait times yesterday looked very good for everything else.

So you commit to a 2.5hr scenic air conditioned wait for MoM and then the wait times for everything else are more manageable. Good trade and better look for Universal, especially considering the mess their VQ system was.

I was typing that out yesterday and then got pulled away to do other stuff. That's why I like having Standby as the option and why it can get frustrating over at Disney. I remember just how much queue we breezed past for Forbidden Journey in 2011 where we ended up being stopped for a while in the greenhouse and thinking about how many people were waiting in that in the early days. That long of a queue (which I believe Ministry has a decent amount longer queue) is helpful for the rest of the attractions.

 

[PrincessV]

Looks like Ministry is Standby again today: 300 min wait at 10am. Hard pass from me, but agree it’s a good thing if it sucks up people from other queues!

ETA: oof - Mine Cart, Mario, and Werewolf are all closed, Hiccup is 75, Yoshi - YOSHI! - is at 60. Rough morning. Again.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

300min of people is a lot of people!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

ETA: oof - Mine Cart, Mario, and Werewolf are all closed, Hiccup is 75, Yoshi - YOSHI! - is at 60. Rough morning. Again.

Yes, but Stardust & Dragon Rally: 35, Monsters: 30, Fyre Drill & Carousel: 15

At least there are options.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

DISer friend's Dark Universe musings

• I've saved the best for last, though the Wizarding World is not very far behind.

• Taking the number 1 spot in my heart is darkmoor darkuniverse

• It's a great land full of details during the day, but when the sun sets it really shines.

• One of the reasons for the top ranking is all the live entertainment that immerses you. We've got the violinist who shares tales from darkmoor and gives warnings that few heed. There's also the monster Hunter storyteller who lurks around the burning blade tavern I've had some of my best interactions ever with the Bride and Frankenstein. We've talked about everything from how the pair really needs to select their own names, to Victoria's mistreatment of Frankenstein and finally to the length of Frankenstein's hair in the back. When he discovered he had more hair in the back he turned around and insisted that people take photos. Ygor is another great one, though I find it's best to have him come to you instead of chasing him

• There's some good food options. We ate at das steakhouse, which I thought was a table service but it's a counter service. Just be careful if you get any of the black food.... It's the gift that keeps on giving in surprisingly colorful ways. The food there and at Burning Blade Tavern was good if not great. The drinks at Burning Blade are good, though it's not my favorite bar. The real highlight of the Burning Blade is when you can catch the monster hunter.

• I think the merch could be better and hopefully they improve.

• Curse of the Werewolf reminds me of a tamer version of Time Traveler from Silver Dollar City. That's one of my favorite coasters, so I was excited about this one but it's kind of a little brother to the better one.

• Monsters Unchained is top notch. The rides fun and inventive but the queue is fantastic. Gotta love a queue that introduces you to the story and keeps you immersed and occupied while you wait. Forbidden Journey has never bothered me, but I've been told this ride doesn't make people quite as sick.

• The land is fantastic, though I am super hopeful for the rumored Creature from the black lagoon ride. As Kylo Ren so eloquently states: MORE

 

[fatmanatee]

At the moment Ygor might be my MVP of the whole park as far as characters go, every interaction I’ve seen with him has been a delight.

In other news, THIS is probably a no from me.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1923750712057479198