Universal's Epic Universe - News and Discussion

[georgina]

Epic is only open until 8 PM the 2 days I am there in December, wish it was later. I will probably head over for EE at 9.

I did buy EP when they were first released in March, were about $150/day after tax, but I ended up canceling my Helios reservation and saved $700 that way. Trade-offs!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Epic is only open until 8 PM the 2 days I am there in December, wish it was later.

Really hoping they push these closing times out til 9pm!

 

[keishashadow]

Epic is only open until 8 PM the 2 days I am there in December, wish it was later. I will probably head over for EE at 9.

I did buy EP when they were first released in March, were about $150/day after tax, but I ended up canceling my Helios reservation and saved $700 that way. Trade-offs!

At least it will be dark early enough so you don’t have to rush to see monsters area shine. The only thing that was a bit annoying in the summer for us.

 

[tony67]

Oooooh, I hadn't even considered them doing holiday decorations for Epic. I don't know why, but it just never occurred to me. That will be something to see!

Yeah that should be good - id say get tickets ASAP as a lot of dates are already unavailable starting on Dec 21st. I think the three day tickets will be fine.

Im a bit disappointed they did not do anything for Halloween as far as I am aware but Christmas should be pretty cool.

 

[Minnie1222]

Im a bit disappointed they did not do anything for Halloween as far as I am aware but Christmas should be pretty cool.

They haven't dressed up Dark Universe for Fall/Halloween? I was going to pop into Epic during our Disney trip in late September but that trip was canceled due to a temporary boycott. Glad to hear we didn't miss much.

 

[sandam1]

Yeah that should be good - id say get tickets ASAP as a lot of dates are already unavailable starting on Dec 21st. I think the three day tickets will be fine.

We're going at the beginning of December so we should be okay. But good thought!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder if they will be doing stuff for Halloween given they have HHN at the Studios. Would it even make sense for them to have competing ambience in that respects much less do it only for one land in the new park?

IDK maybe they plan to in subsequent years but I guess I never thought they would do Halloween stuff at Epic given them having HHN already.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

I see so many comments that the lower crowds in the evening "saved" their Epic day. I know it's not what a lot of locals want to hear, but making an annual pass available now would be a disaster to wait times, especially in the evening. Epic doesn't seem ready for that.

 

[glamdring269]

Finally reading through some comments from the last few weeks and not sure if we should be excited or concerned that we’re visiting tomorrow. We are at portofino and plan to be in on the first bus, have express, and a plan to leave early afternoon to rest/early dinner, then head back after 6.

Wish us luck!

 

[disneyseniors]

Finally reading through some comments from the last few weeks and not sure if we should be excited or concerned that we’re visiting tomorrow. We are at portofino and plan to be in on the first bus, have express, and a plan to leave early afternoon to rest/early dinner, then head back after 6.

Wish us luck!

We will be staying at RPR next Spring, so am interested in how this worked out for you

 

[Minnie1222]

You will have a good time, especially with EP. Make sure to get a recovery pass if the ride is down while you're in line.

 

[MinnesotaDisneyFan]

You will have a good time, especially with EP. Make sure to get a recovery pass if the ride is down while you're in line.

My experience with this over the summer is, similar to Disney, they only will give out recovery passes if the ride is completely down and they ask everyone to evacuate the queue. This seems pretty rare as they'd rather everyone stay in line while the ride is inoperable.

Over the summer I waited over an hour while Stardust was down (I was on the load platform next to board) and they never evacuated the queue and kept telling people they could continue to wait. After an hour I finally gave up and left. They were not giving out recovery passes but I asked very nicely and they made an exception and gave me one. I returned to redeem it at Stardust later that day and the ride again broke and they did not evacuate the queue. I left pretty immediately since I knew how long it might take. As I was exiting I explained my experience with the ride breaking twice and how I had just used my recovery pass and politely asked if I could get it back. I was told absolutely not and that an exception should not have been made for me the first time.

 

[PaladinButters]

I see so many comments that the lower crowds in the evening "saved" their Epic day. I know it's not what a lot of locals want to hear, but making an annual pass available now would be a disaster to wait times, especially in the evening. Epic doesn't seem ready for that.

And the weekends!

 

[Maleficent85]

Finally reading through some comments from the last few weeks and not sure if we should be excited or concerned that we’re visiting tomorrow. We are at portofino and plan to be in on the first bus, have express, and a plan to leave early afternoon to rest/early dinner, then head back after 6.

Wish us luck!

Epic is so dependent on if it rains. It looks like there is a pretty good chance tomorrow. I'd focus my attention on the important outdoor rides first if its not raining even if it means more walking. I'd pick an outdoor ride to rope drop thats open at early entry and then try to be lined up at the dragon portal by 5 or 10 minutes before officially park opening an rope drop Hiccups (you'll want to ride it again later with express) and go immediately to dragon racer rally (express not available). I then went and used express for ministry (i don't recommend rope dropping because you never know when it will open). I also was able to walk on monsters and saves my pass for a ride later. Good luck I think you will have a fantastic time. Save the shows for the afternoon when rain is more likely.

 

[tony67]

I see so many comments that the lower crowds in the evening "saved" their Epic day. I know it's not what a lot of locals want to hear, but making an annual pass available now would be a disaster to wait times, especially in the evening. Epic doesn't seem ready for that.

Yeah that's what I am thinking. I saw a video last night on YouTube about epic and the number of guests was ridiculous - pretty sure he has the number wrong - he had some very big numbers - like 35-40k and no way can they handle that - I think that number was actually three park three day ticket. Still some of the wait times are just crazy - like 180 minutes for Donkey Kong.

I did 4 days in a row during previews and it was crazy with only 15k people - which was more way than should have been there. It was not the experience they had sold me for previews. And once it rains forget it. I ended up getting a total of three comp days from that fiasco.

Between the rain and the amount of people that can ride many of these rides per hour I'm very concerned we wont see APs any time soon. I said this before but I think its more likely a very discounted ticket for AP holders for the next year so they can limit the number available. Not what I want to hear at all. They cant keep charging AP holders 130+ for an Epic day - its not worth it.

With the 14 day EU tickets and the 3 day 3 park tickets next year I cant see them adding APs in the mix . I may just buy the 14 day EU ticket for HHN next year and not renew the AP if that is the case.

 

[glamdring269]

Well we did everything right this morning. Weather looking a little sketchy and knocked out all the rides prone to go down due to rain.

And… Harry Potter has still yet to open. Getting that ‘we’re not open and don’t know if we even will be’ message. Pretty dang frustrating when you only have one day. I’ve always wondered how parks can open and have rides just not functional. Like what happens between close and open to not even know if you’re going to be able to open a ride.

Everything else has been great thus far. Hopefully when we come out of the potter show the ride will be open.

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Yeah that's what I am thinking. I saw a video last night on YouTube about epic and the number of guests was ridiculous - pretty sure he has the number wrong - he had some very big numbers - like 35-40k and no way can they handle that - I think that number was actually three park three day ticket. Still some of the wait times are just crazy - like 180 minutes for Donkey Kong.

I did 4 days in a row during previews and it was crazy with only 15k people - which was more way than should have been there. It was not the experience they had sold me for previews. And once it rains forget it. I ended up getting a total of three comp days from that fiasco.

Between the rain and the amount of people that can ride many of these rides per hour I'm very concerned we wont see APs any time soon. I said this before but I think its more likely a very discounted ticket for AP holders for the next year so they can limit the number available. Not what I want to hear at all. They cant keep charging AP holders 130+ for an Epic day - its not worth it.

With the 14 day EU tickets and the 3 day 3 park tickets next year I cant see them adding APs in the mix . I may just buy the 14 day EU ticket for HHN next year and not renew the AP if that is the case.

Yes to all this.
I took a gamble and renewed my entire family's APs in August even though we are only planning one trip in February. I was torn between just re-upping mine for the hotel discount and doing all 4. I'm gambling that Uni will go with discounted Epic AP day tickets next year over AP access to Epic because I just don't see how they have APs and still have even a chance at delivering a decent guest experience for people who don't have the luxury of frequent visits.
But Universal never ceases to surprise and sometimes annoy, so who knows!

 

[zavandor]

Who thinks they park is ready for the holidays crowds? I am afraid it could be quite chaos.

 

[Maleficent85]

Epic is so dependent on if it rains. It looks like there is a pretty good chance tomorrow. I'd focus my attention on the important outdoor rides first if its not raining even if it means more walking. I'd pick an outdoor ride to rope drop thats open at early entry and then try to be lined up at the dragon portal by 5 or 10 minutes before officially park opening an rope drop Hiccups (you'll want to ride it again later with express) and go immediately to dragon racer rally (express not available). I then went and used express for ministry (i don't recommend rope dropping because you never know when it will open). I also was able to walk on monsters and saves my pass for a ride later. Good luck I think you will have a fantastic time. Save the shows for the afternoon when rain is more likely.

The app says ministry is now open so hopefully you've knocked it out as well and are having an amazing time!

 

[sherlockmiles]

I've pushed out our MArch trip. Just hoping things settled down a bit. Still feel like there is too much ping pong uncertainty. A little more consistency. I was excited about the epic being part of the park hopping next year at least.