My Epic Universe TR
I went to EU this past Sunday, taking every precaution to get the minimum amount of lines. I figured I'd provide my input and opinions, along with a few things that surprised me.
First of all, Stardust was incredible. I got to do it 4 times, 10 minute waits during the day, 45 at night. 10/10 ride, not as good as Velocicoaster in my opinion. Green was better I guess, but both sides were equal in airtime and launch speed. The launches, in fact, were better than Velocicoaster and the airtime better than Iron Gwazi. If I had to nitpick, the restraints are too tight and the ops staple, which cannot be said for velocicoaster. If I had to give some advice, please go out of your way to ride this at night. It's magical.
BotM was the biggest loss for me. the wait said it would be just 90 minutes but it ended up being 160. It was overhyped- mostly simulator/screen like spider-man. The animatronics were mostly unconvincing, besides the death eaters and the big one near the end (no spoilers). Not even top 3 at the park, let alone the whole resort.
Monsters unchained is exactly what I wished it would be. The queue didn't take itself too seriously and the ride had well-made animatronics, even if a few weren't working. The pre-show is endlessly quotable and it was actually very thrilling. I also loved the facade for the ride. Another 10/10 right there, I can't believe the line was less than 5 minutes. Sidenote: I didn't see a single person all day who did the monster makeup experience. I talked to one of the makeup artists and he showed me some easter eggs in Dr. Pretorius'.
Isle of Berk met expectations. Hiccup's wing gliders was a 50 minute wait, Fyre Drill was 5, and Rally was 5 when I went late that night. It seemed busy and full of kinetic energy, which is what I was hoping for. I have no issues with it.
I highly recommend Super Nintendo World at night. "But Velocicoasterfan," I hear you say, "Where's the fun in that?" Even though it seems like Dark Universe or Celestial Park would be the place to be at night, the lines were shorter (40 for Mariokart and 70 for DK single rider). It also helps that most people here aren't prioritizing SNW, so leaving it for last is less of a gamble than, say, Frankenstein if there's a delay or the lines get long.
As for food, I ate at three places. The Mac-and-cheese cone was really delicious, but 20 dollars is a lot for something that is not filling enough for one person and is not healthy enough to serve as a full meal, especially with all those carbs. I went to the acclaimed Pizza Moon for lunch, which was everything I wanted it to be. Try the Vesuvius, it's good stuff. I wanted to eat at Atlantic for dinner, but my pockets were empty, my stomach full, and the park was about to close. If you're in a similar situation, do what I did and sit at the bar and have a few drinks, the view over Celestial Park is breathtaking.
As for the cons: Many of the effects in the park were not working. The Kronos portal was stopped, animatronics on a few of the rides, multiple chariots on constellation carousel, most of the dragons in Berk, the rotating comet sign over stardust, and the Mario Powerup band mission with the Goomba Treadmill. I guess it's to be expected but it's disappointing regardless.
The posted wait times for each ride were wrong often by plus or minus 30 minutes, and in BotM's case, almost an hour. Constellation carousel said 10 minutes and I waited 40. If that's the case, then how does this park look at capacity?
The merchandise on offer was minimal to say the least. As a novice pin collector, I was hoping to see pins for stardust racers or a pin for the Kronos. Most of the merch on offer was simply shirts or hoodies, so I hope they diversify.
This may seem like I didn't like the park, but I actually loved it. The lands were immersive- truly immersive- and I didn't seem to experience most of the problems most others did, so if you were worried about shade or stairs, I wouldn't be. The aforementioned food was Epcot levels of good, the highest compliment I can offer. And Stardust alone should be everything you need to buy a ticket.
Well, actually, if you live out of state, I wouldn't buy a ticket yet. It's still a lot of money and still very crowded. If I were to plan it again I would have just waited until September when more of the kinks have been worked out and the crowds died down. But it's not a park to skip. The only parks in Orlando better than it are MK and IOA, but remember, it just opened. It opened with a dueling pair of world-class coasters and an impressive set of lands and dark rides nearly unrivaled. Definitely plan a visit.
Replies (12)
It's a shame to hear BotM was disappointing. It feels like Universal is going backwards with their HP attractions with FJ being the best, and each successive attempt to up the ante has created a more underwhelming result (aside from Hogwart's Express).
I guess the most surprising realization from this is how many things you noted in the park that weren't working. It's one thing for features to break occasionally or to wear out from over-use (or not designed with enough resiliency to survive never-ending operation), but it's another when there are dozens of effects and other immersive features that are simply not working. Epic was billed as a dynamic, kinetic, and one of a kind theme park, yet it's disappointing that less than a year after opening so much is broken or inoperable.
Thanks for the input! So want to visit one day.
Comcast is losing its new car smell.
Russell: "It feels like Universal is going backwards with their HP attractions with FJ being the best, and each successive attempt to up the ante has created a more underwhelming result (aside from Hogwart's Express)".
Me: And if we are to believe the internet chatter the next big EU addition will be to expand the Potter footprint.
@TH - I would agree, and I think the issue is that they are being overly ambitious in what they're trying to accomplish. I'm reminded of a similar issue Disney has had in the past, most notably with Mission: Space, which replaced the beloved Horizons attraction. WDI shot for the moon, literally (and beyond), in an attempt to deliver the most realistic space simulator ever created. The problem is that in trying to make it so real, the optimized ride system generated more g forces than some people could tolerate and would be nauseating if you turned your head more than 5 degrees off center. Disney was forced to dial the intensity down to the point where the zero-g effect they attempted to create from prolonged positive g-forces during the launch sequence was virtually non-existent on the "Orange Mission", and on the "Green Mission" was dialed back to ZERO.
I see some of these same issues from UC on both Gringott's and Ministry. The look of the Gringott's ride system absolutely delivers, but utilizing a coaster for the maneuvers/motions that are executed just don't create the desired effect in a convincing manner. Before the ride opened, I was of the opinion that UC had found the perfect system to emulate the experience of going through the vaults, and the problems of getting a coaster train to tip, twist, and turn seem to have been solved with the various "trick" track elements that were incorporated into the course. However, whether it's the 3-D - for the record, I think the visuals are some of the best stereoscopic work ever executed (including Avatar), the lag and delays caused by sensors needed to verify track pieces are locked before allow the train to progress to the next block, or the inability to nail that last effect of escaping through the not-so-hidden portal, the overall experience just has too many flaws to be considered "elite" despite the technical wizardry and incredible meshing of coaster and dark ride elements. I think the fact that it's a "coaster" yet packs little punch really hurts the attraction and the compromises made to the dark ride portions to accommodate the coaster elements drags it down even further.
For BotM, I really feel that UC bit off way more than they could chew, but the idea of using a scissor lift-style vehicle was genius to create the falling/elevator effects that simply could not be executed with a standard motion base vehicle or allow for a dynamic story involving multiple drop sequences that ruled out using individual shafts like on RotR (or ToT). The issue is that the drops reportedly still don't deliver the level of thrill above what you can get through a standard motion-base, and the technical issues with the vehicles because of the need to track locations through 3 dimensions is proving difficult for the vehicle management system to control. Similar to Gringott's I think the ideas behind BotM are next level, but the execution and resilience of the overall ride system are perhaps too "bleeding edge" to have been used in a theme park opening in 2025. Maybe we'll look back in 10 years time and feel that BotM was the prototype for the most incredible ride systems on the planet, much like Mystic Manor and Symbolica have been for trackless systems, but right now, it sounds like it's just limping along until engineers can come up with more permanent solutions to a series of workarounds.
While the HP ride systems feel like they're taking a step backwards each time, the queues and overall attention to detail from the HP attractions continues to dazzle and improve. The FJ queue was a wonder, so much so that Universal dedicated staff and space to allow guests to walk through without boarding the attraction. Gringott's took things a step further with an additional "ride" built into the queue with an elevator experience, and the Platform 9 3/4 effect on the Hogwart's Express is pure magic, even though it is a bit of a prisoner's dilema. BotM took the idea of a queue to new heights with the floo effect and the Ministry room that has to be one of the most photographed places in a theme park in 2025. It's staggering that the first published images of the queue looked like concept photos, but were 100% real, and that pictures from 20th century-era cameras look like they came from Universal's marketing reel.
It does sound like the new HP attraction for Epic may be revisiting an earlier concept from when Hogsmeade was first conceived (broom experience), so perhaps Universal will stay more grounded and realistic in their ambition to ensure the attraction can deliver while still meeting the demands of a busy theme park and guests with high expectations.
I agree, Stardust is so much better in the dark. Although it seems Universal is now reluctant to operate the ride when it's a bit windy. They need to get that sorted by the summer.
I actually liked BotM, but each to their own. Unchained is so much better though.
I'm back on Friday so I'll check out the cons you mentioned. I broke the bank.. LOL, by buying an express pass, so I'll be interested to see if it really does make that much of a difference.
Good luck with quieter times come September, from what I've seen it's not going to happen anytime soon. But definitely worth going before passholders get the opportunity to go. Then it'll be all bets are off on wait times.
Glad you liked the park though.
Velocicoasterfan, you say that the amount of things which weren't working "it's to be expected". The price they charge for a ticket and that it's now been open 8 months, I think you are being way too fair. I would be asking for a partial refund. EU need to get their act together. It's not enticing me to visit when over there in November unless they pull their finger out and provide VFM. Very useful TR however. Thank you.
Russel- are we talking just about dark rides, or is Hagrid's on the table? Because that's easily the best implementation of the Harry Potter IP in my opinion. If the new ride is a broomstick roller coaster as rumored, then it has incredibly high potential.
With a day to reflect on it, I think my initial dislike for BotM was just my expectations- people were saying that this was neck in neck with Monsters and that simply isn't true. If you go into it with the idea that it's Spider-man with more animatronics, then I think you'll have a great time and I do think it's better than Wing Gliders as a #3 ride in the park.
I think Harry Potter as an IP is starting to wear thin because it takes itself way too seriously. With Monsters, it's stupid fun action and with Hiccup's, it's more like a guided tour across Berk than anything else (in a good way). Meanwhile, every Harry Potter ride except FJ and Hagrid's pretend that they have a complex story to tell. Instead of showing that story, however, they end up just saying it through awkward expositional dialogue.
I'm not saying mindless action is better (Transformers vs. Spider-man is a good example) but the fact that these rides take themselves so seriously lead to kind of underwhelming experiences in my opinion when they set up so much. This isn't really a spoiler, but I thought Umbridge's escape was going to be complex or clever but she just escaped normally. Like she wasn't a high-security prisoner or anything.
Makorider, I'd like to know especially which effects in the park are working. I'm most disappointed that most of the dragons in Berk weren't moving, except for the mostly static figures of the baby dragons fighting over a fish.
I hope it doesn't come off as me hating on this park though. I'd love to see a flying broomstick roller coaster or a Creature of the Black Lagoon boat ride- keep in mind that this is an incredible opening lineup, probably in all of America, and I really do love this place. The immersive lands are a step up from Disney's new "minilands" strategy- in fact, they could learn a thing or two about scale and ambience at this park. Actually, scale is something I forgot to mention- pretty much every weenie is much larger than I thought it would be, including Frankenstein Manor, Mead Hall, and the Arch de Triumph. Truly incredible.
I sure hope Comcast maintains the Floo effect. They are not well known for maintaining the smoke effects on their attractions.
@VCfan ... yep, only fish squabbling dragons working. Never seen the big ice dragon not working before. Front entrance archway was all operational.
Stardust was only running green, so wait times were elevated.
I still don't understand how Unchained runs at no more than a 20min wait time, when the little spinner next to it is 70+ mins.
Still, it worked for us, we rode MU 5 times yesterday :)
Still not convinced I'll upgrade my pass, but it was nice to use the valet on my existing pass.
Hagrid's is the best HP ride yet, followed by Forbidden Journey. The issue for me with Gringotts and Ministry are overeliance on screens. That's why Forbidden Journey is a better ride experience than Gringotts or Ministry, because there are so many built environments on the ride that physically immerse you in the world.
Thanks Makorider- I'm glad that the entry arch is up and running, but I can't believe that stardust is only running one side.
My biggest regret of my trip was only riding MU once. . .I was too busy lapping stardust. . .
Thanks I was looking forward to the TR..