Here’s everything you need to know about navigating Epic Universe if you managed to nab tickets to its opening season. To make the most of your trip you might want to temper your expectations: operations at the first theme park to open in 25 years in America are going to have their hiccups—and not just the How to Train Your Dragon kind.
io9 attended as a paying guest before participating in media week to get a sense of what the park will really be like for guests visiting this summer.
Prioritize your portals
Are you a Universal Monsters fan or a gamer ready for Super Nintendo World? Rank your fandoms and move accordingly. Don’t be afraid to jump to portal option two if your first option has more wait times. Mind the time of day as well. If one of your ride choices is outside, try to get on early or later in the day. The Florida heat and humidity is quite oppressive.
Attractions such as Harry Potter at the Battle of the Ministry have reached five-hour waits during preview and opening day already, but that does go down after the morning rush. Hit other hot ticket attractions instead. I had no interest in visiting the Ministry of Magic attraction, which is where most of the rope drop crowd flocked to. Instead, I headed straight for Donkey Kong Country in Super Nintendo World to check out Mine Cart Madness, since Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is a duplicate of the one at Universal Studios Hollywood and Japan.
Mine Cart Madness is the newest ride in Nintendo’s expansion, and I had to know what the track jumping was going to feel like. It’s delightful and just how I pictured being in the game itself might be. Fans of the game won’t be disappointed!
Expect delays
Taking advantage of the morning rush to one particular land, I went from Super Nintendo World to Dark Universe and straight onto Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. The ride is a technical marvel with state-of-the-art animatronics and a ride system that’s thrillingly terrifying. But there’s seemingly still some kinks being worked out, which we found out firsthand when the ride broke down while we on it.
Unless you’re stuck on a ride outside—which I was for about 15 minutes on Curse of the Werewolf—I’d say don’t worry and keep calm in the AC. I quite enjoyed being stuck in a comforting, creepy corridor. (Honestly at one point, I decided, “Well, I live here now.”) Seriously, though, some rides like Monsters Unchained will probably break down often, as it so often goes with new park attractions. You’ll be granted the option to ride again on your way out.
Mobile ordering is (unfortunately) key
One of my gripes for all theme parks is when visitors are required to rely on their phones. It can be a major battery-drainer. And at Epic Universe, many dining locations are mostly mobile order only. In the Isle of Berk during lunch, all the food options save for one are outside. So you’re ordering outside in the heat while your phone is warming up in the sun, fighting for its battery life. If the single tented dining area is already full, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any shade.
For Berk I’d strongly suggest ordering their mac and cheese cone and eating it in a long queue. Double fist it with a beverage, it’s the Viking way!
Prepare to wait for character meet and greets
The most popular character meet and greets we encountered were Donkey Kong in Super Nintendo World and Toothless in the Isle of Berk. They’re both outside queues, which means you’ll spend a lot of time waiting in the sun; hydrate and slather on that sunscreen accordingly. If you have littles in your group, designate one person to wait in line—but also bear in mind the performers in the outfits need breaks more than you do. You may not get to meet them during their appearance and may continue to wait during their time to presumably cool off. For Donkey Kong, I’d say we waited about an hour to meet him, while Toothless took just under 45 minutes.
Fair warning: Hiccup isn’t always with Toothless and you might end up with an anonymous Viking handler in your pictures. This meet and greet let me down the most as the images of my kid meeting Toothless resulted in awful pictures in which she or Toothless were obscured by the rough photography staging. I recommend seeing the robot baby dragon walk-around performance over this.
On the other hand, the line for the Bride of Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s Monster meet and greet is more fun and a little less brutal of an experience. Plus, the building they’re at is a shaded alleyway within Dark Universe’s Darkmoor village. The wait time for that was about 25 minutes as there was more of an effort to cap it by team members. For Donkey Kong and Toothless it felt a bit more chaotic, but again, this was opening week and the kinks are all hopefully being worked out.
Popular merch may already be sold out
If you’re on a quest to do the dragon egg hatching ceremony at the Isle of Berk, like I was for my daughter, it’s going to be hard for a while at least. The popular immersive activity where you get to hatch and adopt a plush baby dragon sold out during previews and, as of publication, had not yet been restocked. The same goes for the elusive Captain Cacao, Celestial Park’s adorable mascot in teddy bear form.
To get souvenir satisfaction, you may need to look beyond the park’s most viral items. I took my daughter to the shops at Dark Universe and had her pick her first Universal Monster from the array of cutesy creature plushes, and she loved it.
There’s no recording on rides
We’re glad this is being instituted, as many influencers have ruined the ride experience at other parks with their cameras and obnoxious antics for the views. These rides are new, and people have paid a lot of money to experience them without interruption.
Your face will be captured for entry and more
When you scan in, your picture will be snapped along with your admission to make sure you’re you and not passing the ticket off. Understandably, this can make folks a little leery. Pictures are also taken if you use lockers to store valuables. Thankfully, it’s only enforced on rides that require it, including Hiccup’s Winged Gliders, Stardust Racers, and Monsters Unchained.
For purposes of this review, io9 paid for a ticket, dining, and merchandise at Epic Universe.
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