A few questions

Nice to see you back, epicuniversefan!

See, the problem with building on mountains is that, while one coaster would be cool, building infrastructure and other rides around it would be a logistical nightmare. Also, generally, mountainous areas are less populated than flat areas, so they are less likely to be candidates for a high-budget roller coaster.

This doesn't mean there aren't plenty of rides that play with terrain. A few favorites are the rides of SF Fiesta Texas and Dragon Mountain at Marine Land.

While I can't answer your epic universe question firsthand, I'd like to pose a few questions of my own. For people who count coaster credits, what happens in these cases?

If I ride two BTR clones, Is that two credits? What if one of them is themed and one of them isn't?

Is riding two tracks on a dueling/racing coaster two credits?

What if a coaster is relocated? Does it only count if it gets a new theme?

"Why don't they build more coasters on the side of mountains?"

There is no engineering reason why a coaster can't be built on the side of a mountain, and there are plenty of parks out there that take advantage of hilly terrain to craft some really cool rides. Additionally, alpine/mountain coasters (which are debatably coasters) have become quite common as year-round attractions at larger ski resorts, and those are entirely dependent on the terrain. However, there are two main challenges with building coasters on steep hillsides that make the practice less common: cost and logistics. While you might save money on supports, terraforming is very expensive, and building on a slope requires quite a bit of that to ensure vibrations from the coaster aren't going to shift the ground and cause it to slide. On the logistics side of things, parks require sizable areas of relatively flat land, and as such building them in mountainous regions isn't that common, though several examples do exist. If you'd like to check out parks with some pretty impressive terrain coasters, I'd encourage looking at the Herschend properties as several of them (Dollywood, Kennywood, Lake Compounce, Silver Dollar City) are built in hilly regions.

"How did [Epic] hold up to your expectations and as a park? were there any problems? any advice for when I go?"

I'm still trying to figure out my own visit plans and am hoping to make it there either late this year (aka November) or sometime next year. From what I've read regarding the park, though, reception has been extremely positive among theme park fans with many putting it neck and neck with IOA as the best park in Florida, but among the public a lot aren't loving it quite as much. Common complaints are that it doesn't have enough to do for the prices they're charging, rides are breaking down quite frequently, and there are only a few attractions that remain open in inclement weather. From comments Universal has made, it sounds like it's meeting their expectations, but probably on the lower end of what they expected. As for visit tips, the general advice seems to be if you want to ride Ministry, get there at least 45 minutes before opening and head directly to that. Otherwise, do HTTYD first because SNW is swarmed by early entry crowds.

"Was there anything I missed?"

The biggest news story you missed is that Disney announced they're building their seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi as part of Yas Island. Can't remember exactly when you left, so you can browse the front page archives for any other noteworthy stories.

"If you could make any property into a theme park land, what would it be, or if you could change or add any attractions or experiences to existing lands, what would you do?"

I'll take a raincheck on this one for when I have more time to think about it.

"If I ride two BTR clones, Is that two credits? What if one of them is themed and one of them isn't?"

Two separate coasters, two separate credits. Doesn't matter that they're the same make, model, and layout, they're completely separate rides.

"Is riding two tracks on a dueling/racing coaster two credits?"

There's a bit more debate around this one. Some count them as two, some count them as one, and some only count them if the layouts are significantly different. For me, if they can operate independently they count as two, but if they form a mobius loop they only count as one.

"What if a coaster is relocated? Does it only count if it gets a new theme?"

Some count relocations as a new credit, but most do not. Personally, I would only count a relocation as a new credit if a majority of the ride hardware was replaced as part of the relocation.

For anyone considering Epic, and wanting to ride Stardust, I'd hold off booking anything right now. I'm not sure what's going on, but there's obviously a lot we don't know, and I'm not sure what Universal is hiding, but something is very off, and the local news has, for now, dropped it off their radar. It's all very strange.

Since the park opened, Sundays have been the quietest day?? Ministry can get quiet close to park close, but it's still on/off most days.

I like Epic, but it's not an IOA. Far from it, but expansion is already taking place, so who knows in 5yrs.

I'm back in November, and my plan is just to explore it more than I did during my first visit. The only coaster I'm missing is Stardust green, so we'll see if its open.

Throughout the day wait times can swing wildly, so keep checking the app, and be ready to move from one portal to another quickly to take advantage of those times.

As a local, I'm still on the fence if I'll add it to my pass (if/when available) but my 3 day visit in November will help me decide. I stayed at Stella Nova the first time, this time I'm at the Helios.