Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[MIChessGuy]

I also will say that the bus service to / from Epic was not impressive. I got to the stop at around 8:50 and waited until 9:15 for the bus during what I would assume would be peak morning hours. Meanwhile, three buses for IOA and US came and went while I waited. Also waited 25 minutes at park close and there not everyone fit, so many people in line had to wait another 30 minutes for the bus to come back. Definitely felt like they needed to be running more busses with such a long drive there and back.

Thank you for this update. I will be staying at Dockside in late August and definitely intend to give early admission at Epic a try. Is there any data as to when the very first bus of the day shows up at the value resorts?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

During my preview day, 1st bus from Aventura showed up 1hr 25min prior to early entry.

 

[Minnie1222]

For those that have gotten to experience Curse of the Werewolf, how intense is it? I love Guardians and can handle that spinning overall, but don’t like Men In Black’s excessive spinning at the end. Is Curse of the Werewolf more intense or less intense than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

Our "pod" was swinging back and forth rather than spinning. I think Werewolf is less intense than Guardians.

The majority of the track is visible to everyone. You can watch and decide if the vehicle movement is too much for you.

 

[kassonvike]

Been watching wait times and it sure seems like the weekend is a better time to go which is counterintuitive. I'm thinking with the very limited single day sales the 'walkup, local' crowd is pretty much the same every day of the week. For those that have the 3-5 day packages they are likely staying longer and weekends are more likely their travel day. They may also be thinking week days are better for the Epic day because historically walk up crowds are bigger on weekends (but again, maybe not true in this case because it is capped pretty low). Anways, we are there for 7 nights. Arriving on Saturday. Had planned to do Epic on Tuesday but I think we are going to change to Sunday.

 

[PrincessV]

Had my first visit after official opening yesterday (June 2) having done a preview in early May. I wondered if having already been might dampen my love for this park on a return visit… NOPE. Not at all. I love it even more and am having to remind myself that it WILL have an AP option of some sort in the future and I really cannot afford to keep buying day tickets - because I’d honestly ditch my WDW plans the next few days and go back to Epic if I could!

Weather was much kinder this time vs my preview day: much of the day was slightly overcast this time and there wasn’t as much heat build up. Except in Berk, where it literally was like walking into an oven. The wood planking remains a questionable choice IMO. Forecast was for storms in the early afternoon, but they never materialized - a light rain came from about 8-8:30pm, and it did shut down Mine Cart and Yoshi, but Hiccup’s, Stardust, and Carousel kept running.

Wait times were not fantastic, but I was able to do the things I most wanted to. I have a disability that makes being in many queues difficult to impossible for long stretches of time, and I forgot the earbuds that help me wait in those conditions a little longer than I can without them, but I did okay. My day…

Arrived around 11:30a and went straight to Hiccup’s: posted wait 60, TP estimate 30 - actual wait was 60 on the nose. Definitely the limit of how long I could handle being in that queue and I needed some time away from crowds after that. Love that ride, though, and saw things I missed the last time!

Tried to do lunch at Mead Hall, but there was a line to get in and it looked way too people-y for me, so I went to Oak & Star: that was perfect! Found a table off to the back in a half-empty room and had a salad and cheddar biscuits -both were good. I lingered there a while, soaking up AC and relaxing, then caught the end of a set from a live jazz band playing outside, and popped into the SNW gift shop to check it out.

Wait times were high all around at that point, going on 2pm, but Stardust dropped to 45 and I jumped on it. That queue was a challenge with nothing really to look at it, but was spaced well enough that I was okay. Rode the yellow side and am SO glad I tried it - I LOVED it! Might be my most favorite coaster ever. SO. MUCH. AIR!!!

Made my way back to Berk to catch the 3:45p Untrainable Dragon, stopping along the way to rehydrate and re-sunscreen. The show seemed like it went off without a hitch and it was perfection. I’m SO glad I caught it! Just gorgeous - the puppetry, performance, sets, music, lighting, choreography - really just top-tier. A must-do IMO. It got a standing ovation and deservedly so.

Wait times were still more than I was willing to take on: 180 for BatM, over 100 at Mario and Mine Cart, Monsters around 45, Werewolf 70, even Yoshi was near an hour. So I went to Wizarding Paris and had a Gigglewater on the sidewalk cafe at Cafe l’Air before doing a walk-through of the Metrofloo and Ministry. I then treated myself to a 2nd generation wand at Cosme Acajar and spent time casting spells. Even had a nice chat with Madame Acajar herself on the street! Caught the live jazz band performing there, and then had dinner at Le Gobelet Noir. I took a chance on the cod - COD?? IN A THEME PARK?! - and it was delicious! Took my time there to soak up AC and relax.

Wait times had started to drop, but most were still hovering around 45-60 and I just didn’t have it in me to do lines that long again. And it was getting very cloudy and looking like rain was imminent. So I headed to Dark Universe, which was much more pleasant under dark clouds than bright sunlight! Had a beer and strolled around - caught the Burning Blade actually burning and saw Igor and the Invisible Man. Rode Monsters with a posted wait of 35 , actual wait of 15ish - some elements that worked on my preview day weren’t this time, and others were totally new to me so either I missed them then or they weren’t working at the time. Either way, I enjoyed it a lot more the second time and considered going for a third, but still wanted to see SNW and catch the evening show.

It was raining by then, and FYI: SNW can get very slippery in the rain. But also was really pretty in the dusk! Mario was 60 mins with no single rider open, so I skipped it. Mine Cart and Yoshi were down for weather.

With 30ish mins to kill before the evening show, I considered going back to Le Gobelet for a piece of cake, but stopped at the info kiosk to ask if it was still open - nope. But I had a really nice chat with the TMs there about Epic and how much I’m enjoying it! I checked out some shops in Celestial Park and then walked around during the goodnight show, which is absolutely stunning - the entire park interacts with the music, including fountains, lights, and even the kids’ water play area! Highly recommend strolling through during it instead of sitting just in front of the big fountain.

I used the free valet parking on my Premier AP and was SO glad I did - it’s right outside the gates and not having that walk through the parking lot was amazing.

In case I haven’t adequately expressed it, I’m blown away by this park. It has, IMO, the perfect blend of thrills and relaxation. I love a lot of down time in a park visit - time to take in the details and enjoy the quality of the work that went into all of the design elements: Epic delivers epically on that. I look forward to a day when with it in an AP I can visit for half a day or an evening and not feel like I’m wasting an expensive day ticket.

 

[PrincessV]

Been watching wait times and it sure seems like the weekend is a better time to go which is counterintuitive. I'm thinking with the very limited single day sales the 'walkup, local' crowd is pretty much the same every day of the week. For those that have the 3-5 day packages they are likely staying longer and weekends are more likely their travel day. They may also be thinking week days are better for the Epic day because historically walk up crowds are bigger on weekends (but again, maybe not true in this case because it is capped pretty low). Anways, we are there for 7 nights. Arriving on Saturday. Had planned to do Epic on Tuesday but I think we are going to change to Sunday.

I can tell you as a semi-local that I went for a weekday ticket thinking weekends would be more crowded, and also because weekday room rates are so much lower at WDW, where I’m staying this week. So yeah - I suspect I’m not alone, based on wait times!

 

[marmentrout85]

Looks like they've added Dark Universe to early entry

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/gb/early-park-admission

Random observation regarding this: The app, at least for this morning, is showing that both Monsters Unchained and Curse of the Werewolf open at 10am today.

 

[marmentrout85]

In Super Nintendo World, SPECIFICALLY for Early Park Admission, are guests able to enter the land via the first floor "exit" near the Nintendo Super Star Store?

 

[marmentrout85]

Random observation regarding this: The app, at least for this morning, is showing that both Monsters Unchained and Curse of the Werewolf open at 10am today.

Follow-up observation, the app has now changed it to 9am.

 

[MIChessGuy]

In Super Nintendo World, SPECIFICALLY for Early Park Admission, are guests able to enter the land via the first floor "exit" near the Nintendo Super Star Store?

Tom Bricker's website recommends this shortcut specifically, so I gather either he's done it or has heard from people who have.

 

[Minnie1222]

In Super Nintendo World, SPECIFICALLY for Early Park Admission, are guests able to enter the land via the first floor "exit" near the Nintendo Super Star Store?

Instead of going up the escalators, there is a small entrance a few feet away from the right side escalator that will take you to the ground level of Nintendo World.

Donkey Kong and Yoshi are on the ground level. MarioKart is on the 2nd level.

 

[marmentrout85]

Tom Bricker's website recommends this shortcut specifically, so I gather either he's done it or has heard from people who have.

Instead of going up the escalators, there is a small entrance a few feet away from the right side escalator that will take you to the ground level of Nintendo World.

Donkey Kong and Yoshi are on the ground level. MarioKart is on the 2nd level.

Thanks! I'm basically trying to find the quickest way to DK Mine Cart Madness coming from Helios during early park admission. Sounds like entering on ground level will be the way to go for sure.

 

[Minnie1222]

Thanks! I'm basically trying to find the quickest way to DK Mine Cart Madness coming from Helios during early park admission. Sounds like entering on ground level will be the way to go for sure.

Yes, as soon as you enter the portal look to the right. You'll see an unassuming doorway before the escalators. Go through that and it will take you to the ground level of Nintendo World. Stay on the same side, cross the courtyard and you should see the entrance to Donkey Kong Land.

Walk fast! The DK line builds up very quickly.

 

[Makmak]

We were there Sunday and they were making the early entry ppl only use SNL portals and the monster portal too (wouldn’t allow use of the side gate). I also thought we would have large crowds but we did MK on EE , Dk was down so headed to MU which was down so did werewolf then starfall racers then it was park open but really with all the single rider lines open we didn’t wait more than 15 minutes for anything except MoM which kept going down so single rider for that was over two hours. However, it wasn’t bad bc the line is inside and we enjoyed the rest after running around the park. We repeated MU a few times as the line was short, headed back to hotel from 2-5 then came back to get the keys and fight bowser (would do this again). Then spells in Paris then repeated MU and attempted MK again but it went down and stayed down. It’s a cool park, the food is amazing, we will be back in Sept. For my second gen wand ppl it’s totally worth it imo as they added a lot of content in IOA and studios and the spells in epic are just fantastic and there are “extras” near goblet noir that a tm showed us

 

[Captain UP]

Lordy y'all trying to make Universal Disney, if that system works better for you Disney is your place. Many people go to Universal to get away from the madness that is Disney and how they do things.

Ultimately it’s all about efficiency and experience- what is the best AND most profitable way to get the maximum number of people on as many rides as possible, thus creating a good and repeatable experience.

In that way, both parks really do have the same goal.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Ultimately it’s all about efficiency and experience- what is the best AND most profitable way to get the maximum number of people on as many rides as possible, thus creating a good and repeatable experience.

In that way, both parks really do have the same goal.

This is an old discussion you quoted so to cut to chase I was meaning all the comments a few posters had been making saying why Universal should do this or that "like Disney does" respectfully it had nothing to do with what you're talking about though yes both companies wish to make profits like any other company done in different ways.

 

[Captain UP]

This is an old discussion you quoted so to cut to chase I was meaning all the comments a few posters had been making saying why Universal should do this or that "like Disney does" respectfully it had nothing to do with what you're talking about though yes both companies wish to make profits like any other company done in different ways.

Yeah…thanks.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I know you weren't asking me, but In my personal observations they have done a good job. Seems to move faster than other parks.

I saw a comment on reddit someone went into single rider like for battle at ministry (I refuse to call it mom ) and I think standby was 200ish.. And they waited around 55 minutes.

I think the lines were shorter than regular standby.....however, they were still significant waits, and it feels so much longer when you are standing in one place barely moving for long periods of time in very uninspired areas vs slowly but consistently moving through different areas of a themed que. Below are my specific experiences:

BATM: Waited in the single line twice - once was for 2+ hours (but included a 40 minute mechanical delay) once was for 30 minutes. Both times, posted standby wait was 120 minutes. The first time, I think standby actual would have been close to 3 hours with the delay. This single rider line is painful. Most of the time was spent in a single narrow hallway and felt very claustrophobic. Not knowing how much further you have to go was also really unpleasant. I would probably have rather waited for 3 hours in the regular line that consistently moved through an elaborate theme than 2 hours in this line. Additionally, up to a certain point, they only let people through in batches. So you would stand in the same spot for approximately 10 minutes, then move up a little when they would let around 10 people move through at once. It felt very tedious.

For reference: when you get to the steps, it's approx 30 - 35 minutes in single rider; the narrow room hallway before it is probably another 40 minutes (approx 70 total wait), and the green hallway with the cleaning machine is approx another 20 minutes, so looking at 1.5 hours if line starts there (in single rider - all estimates based on my experience). Not sure if that makes sense, but it would have been very helpful for me to know what to expect while in this line!

Monsters Unchained was literally no wait. I walked through right onto the ride. But I think the regular line also had no wait (even though posted wait was 50 minutes)

Curse of the Warewolf was probably the best single rider experience that I had. The line was approx 50 minutes, and I waited 5. Single rider moved very quickly here.

Mario Cart I waited around 35 minutes and this included a 15 minute mechanical delay. Standby was 90. (I think standby actual wait was actually shorter based on comments I heard). This line seemed to move pretty consistently.

Donky Kong - SR moved very slowly here. I waited around 50 minutes - standby wait was around 90. And again, it was just in the same hallway area and slowly inching forward for nearly an hour. I did feel fairly impatient and grouchy while in this line. But the ride was totally worth it, so again, no regrets.

Also, I was at the park by myself, so I wasn't sacrificing anything by going single rider except for seeing some of the elaborate ques. I wouldn't have necessarily gone this route if my whole family had been with me.

Thanks both of you for your experiences

When we last went to IOA and the Studios sometimes single rider was quicker than express pass for my husband which got me to thinking how well (or not well) was it working out in Epic since I know my husband will be riding a decent amount by himself. I know I can do Mario and should be able to do Donkey Kong

Ministry being a decent amount quicker would be a definite plus for us if I'm unable to ride that more than once.

I think my husband will enjoy Curse of the Werewolf as it's very similar to Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City at least in the ride mechanism which he really liked.

They also had single rider closed for at least part of the day, even when standby was open. And when I got in line, they were actively telling people "Your wait may not be shorter" as they entered the SR que.

On our last trip VelociCoaster's single rider was only running on the weekend when they seemingly anticipated crowds to be higher. I know over at Disney Rock N Rollercoaster is one that single rider is notorious for being long and not necessarily saving time. Hopefully they either have Donkey Kong run more smoothly with single rider or at least we all figure out while it may have it it's not the best ride to use it on.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Has anyone done single rider on Stardust Racers?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think I should have stayed and handled the waits until we dropped from exhaustion like the other rope droppers.

Conversely though if someone is staying at Helios or Stella Nova or Terra Luna a break is more feasible and might be the better hotels for those needing that mid-day break. Doesn't help the weather part more the transportation time sucking part and more easily able to get back into the parks if weather could be impacting the afternoon or evening lessening ride time availability.