Top Five Attractions at Epic Universe

Epic Universe - the newest theme park at Universal Orlando - has made a huge splash in the busy central Florida theme park market - not to mention around the world. Epic offers one hub world in Celestial Park, and from there the adventure extends through four different portal worlds, including SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic.

If you’re not fully familiar with the worlds and attractions open in Epic Universe, check out Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe for a quick primer.

With a total of 13 attractions - not counting character interactions - Epic is a bit behind other more established theme parks. But remember, this park is just getting started. Expansion pads and extra space are sprinkled all around the outside edges of the park. The moral of the story - stay tuned for more Epic adventures.

That being said, Epic already boasts some truly fabulous attractions, and here are my top five.

5) Donkey Kong - Mine Cart Madness

Donkey Kong Country is a whole vibe, from the music to the chill atmosphere (so long as you don’t mind the color yellow!). Mine-Cart Madness takes that exact vibe and ratchets up the shenanigans. Guests along for the ride are charged with protecting Donkey Kong’s Golden Banana from the pesky Tiki Tak Tribe. This specialty coaster’s “gimmick" is to simulate the feeling of jumping sections of broken rail while speeding along in a runaway cart. The effect is a blast, even though we all knew it was coming. A couple minor notes: The ride is a bit rough, and not because of the rail jumping. It just has some rough turns. Also, despite the fact that a large portion of the ride is indoors as a dark ride, the overall attraction length is short. Despite the rough ride and short length, Mine-Cart Madness is still a blast. The animatronic characters both in the queue and on the ride are bright and fun.

4) Hiccups Wing Gliders

Prior to the opening of Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk was the one world I was least excited about when it was announced. I happily ate my words, and I was immensely impressed by the cheerful energy and positive vibes in Berk. The land captures the heart, humor, and scale of the How to Train Your Dragon film series. Within Berk, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders was one of my least anticipated attractions to experience. The attraction is billed as a “family-friendly" coaster, which conjured up visions in my brain of Goofy’s Barnstormer at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Hiccups ended up being a lot more like Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure over at Universal Islands of Adventure. The twists and turns were joyful, and the speedaways gave me that adrenaline rush I was craving. The Toothless animatronic was adorable too.

Two major drawbacks. 1) Hiccups was the most stubborn attraction we rode. During our two-day visit, the ride broke down twice while we were in line (once when we were literally stepping into our coaster car). It was also the last ride to reopen following afternoon thunderstorms on both days of our visit. Not a great operational percentage. 2) Near the end of the queue line, upon entering the boarding area, Universal Team Members awkwardly split the line between “odd" and “even" numbered parties. We were a party of two, so we were repeatedly directed to the “even" line, which consistently moved much slower than the “odd" line. Universal - if you are listening - this system isn’t working! Just split guests evenly between the two lines and load each side evenly.

3) Stardust Racers

The most intense attraction in Epic Universe may also be the most joyful. By pitting two competing coaster trains against each other, Stardust Racers adds a level of excitement and fun that few other coasters have. The cosmic theming is beautiful, and this coaster really shines at night - literally! The accent lighting of the cars as they twirl around each other creates a sense of mystique after dark, and the added outdoor lighting of Celestial Park and the Helios Grand Hotel make Stardust a feast for the eyes at night. Oh, and the coaster ride is as smooth as silk, meaning my body doesn’t take the usual high intensity beating I experience on most coasters (no offense Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, may you rest in peace).

On any given day, I may rank Stardust as my number one attraction in the park, but I love my dark rides, so…

1 (Tie) - Harry Battle and the Battle at the Ministry

1 (Tie) - Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

Going into my Epic Universe visit, Battle at the Ministry was one of my top two anticipated attractions, along with Mine-Cart Madness. I got exactly what I expected - a fully immersive experience that started in the next-level queue line, and continued through a dependable combination of animatronics and screen graphics. It is a wonderful ride, and I would do it all day long. One minor downside: The ride itself was a little heavy on the use of screens, but otherwise it is a near-perfect attraction.

What I did not expect at Epic was just how amazing Monsters Unchained would be. This party of classic Universal Monsters wowed me at every turn (and at every howl, shreek, and piano key). The number of animatronics (and their sophistication) was stunning. From Victoria Frankenstein and her monster, to Dracula and my personal favorite - that ghoulish piano player - the amount of physical performance in the ride was jaw-dropping. The screen-based content was well-placed and in just the right amount. If I’m splitting hairs, I’d say Ygor was a bit off-putting, but that is very minor (and besides, my son loved him!).

I keep alternating between both attractions, trying to decide which one I like more. I have to give the edge to Monsters Unchained for the actual ride experience, but Ministry of Magic had a much better queue experience. I’ll gladly debate these two attractions till the end of time - there is no wrong answer!

Five Random Takeaways from Epic Universe

Aside from the big attractions and jaw-dropping moments, several other aspects of Epic Universe struck me during my recent visit. In no particular order, enjoy a few on my Epic musings.

Ride Lockers

Many attractions in Epic Universe offer the free lockers for use while riding. These lockers are much larger than those at the other two Universal Orlando parks - allowing for upright placement of the refillable cups, and plenty of room for drawstrings and merch. Unlike the other Universal Orlando parks, the lockers at Epic Universe use facial recognition technology to control locker access, instead of using tickets, room keys, or codes. The local locker bank hubs take a guest photo upon renting the locker, and confirm the photo with the same guest after riding before opening the locker. It takes a tiny bit longer than the ticket/key process, but it works very nicely overall.

Family Waiting Rooms

Most attractions in Epic Universe have family waiting rooms, which are also used for child swap when applicable. These rooms are incredibly nice - cooled and comfortable, with water fountains. If you gotta wait out an attraction, these rooms are a nice place to do it.

Sun and Sun (and More Sun)

This is not exactly a hot take - Epic Universe is a very sunny park, with not nearly enough shade available for comfort. This makes hot Florida days tough to bear at times. On top of this - over half of the attractions in the park are either all or partly outdoors. So when those daily Florida summer thunderstorms hit, you can count on half the park shutting down for a period of time. This sends hordes of guest flocking to the indoor attractions, and to dining locations - sending wait times into a tailspin in those areas of the park.

Hopefully future park expansion plans will add more shade and indoor experiences - they are desperately needed.

Ice Ice Baby

Everything at Epic Universe is brand new, including the ice machines. And they all serve that little slightly rounded cube ice - the kind you get at Chic-Fil-A. It’s so “n-ice!" I know it’s only ice, but you gotta celebrate the little things in life…

Security

We took full advantage of Early Park Admission on both of our recent park days. On both days, we were near the front of the line at the main security gate, and we were treated to the lively animated antics of “Dan" - the security lead who interfaced with the early morning crowd. His energy, enthusiasm, and positivity were off the charts! Dan made waiting in line fun, and he added a ton of extra magic to the beginning of our day - all while exercising amazing control on everyone in line. Under Dan’s watch, we all behaved in ways that would make our parents proud! If I used Dan’s amount of energy for just an hour, I’d need to go take a three-hour nap to recover! Well done sir - thank you for starting our day in an Epic way!

There you have it - my top five attractions in Epic Universe. As Epic begins to grow over time, I look forward to expanding this to a top ten list. But until then, this park still shines brightly, and it’s just getting started!

Are you planning to visit Epic Universe this year? If you are looking for guidance on how to best tackle the park, check out Epic Universe: Touring Strategies, Tips, and Tricks.

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