With deep yoga-like breathing and holding back, I looked at my 16-year-old nephew Charlie and asked if he was ready. He glanced at me, giving me a nervous yet excited smile before straightening his attention. We trained ourselves, fell off like a shot, rose 133 feet into the sky, reaching speeds of over 60 mph on the Stardust Racer.
Universal Epic Universe, officially opened to the public on May 22nd, is the fourth theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. The other three are Universal Studios, Adventure Island and Volcanic Bay in Florida. The much-anticipated 110-acre park features a world of five themes.
There’s a theme overlap with franchises like Harry Potter. The new park is built in the world of Harry Potter’s Wizards, and therefore is in the world of Diagon Alley and Harry Potter’s magic. No teeth.
Last month, when I heard the spectacular universe was opening for a public preview for guests at the Universal Orlando Resort Hotel, I surprised my nephew who was visiting me in my native Florida (I live in Tampa, where I live in Tampa) with my sister Karen during a spring break. After checking in, the next day I hooked up tickets to the epic universe and created a course.
While there are some spectacular universes out there, here’s a look at what we loved about the new theme park. Additionally, keep in mind for your next visit.
The great things about Universal’s epic universe
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Something for everyone
Whether you and your family are growing up on a roller coaster or simply riding a carousel in a park-like environment, the epic universe really has something for everyone. Guests can learn how to train dragons, race like Mario, practice Harry Potter’s magical skills, or mix with classic monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula.
Upon entering the park, guests will first encounter Celestial Park, a vast, lush, landscaped park area that runs through the entire length of the spectacular universe. From there, the property flows into a world of incredibly immersiveness with four other intricate themes. Each world has many attractions, character interactions, and food and shopping opportunities. I’m a Dark Side fan, so I loved watching Igor wander about the dark universe and be scared of Thrill Ride Monsters not scared.
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Early access for hotel guests
Guests at all hotels in Universal Orlando enjoy early entry into some parts of the park, including the spectacular universe. On the day of our visit, Celestial Park and the Super Nintendo World opened at 10am (against 11am) for hotel guests, making Mine Cart Madness Beeline, my favorite four-seater ride as a 13 year old girl. The coaster was a great way to wait a little and start our fun day.
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Real-time updates
As the day progresses and more guests enter the park, they found that they could easily evaluate the ride using the Universal Orlando Resorts app. When we saw that it was longer than the wait, we shifted our gear and headed for another vehicle around the world.
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Charming food options
In addition to monitoring ride weight time, we also used the app to order lunch and dinner, delivering directly to Mead Hall in a way that trains the tables at Das Stakehouse, a restaurant run by the Dark Universe vampire servants, and Berk’s island where we found a new favorite salmon salad. For a more relaxed dining option, you can incorporate the sights and sounds of 1920s Paris from the French sidewalk cafe at Café Lère des la Sillane in the magical world of Harry Potter.
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Relaxing room
According to an official press release, Celestial Park is designed intentionally to “return the park back to the theme park,” so Celestial Park offers plenty of quiet spaces for visitors to sit and rest on action-packed days. Sit near the park’s fountain and stream. Identify countless olive and flowering trees, plants and flowers to test your gardening skills. Or it takes time to shop “Around the Universe” or shop at Pizza Moon, Star Solivao (for Asian Bao), Tiki Drink Seleski, or Blue Dragon Pan Asian Restaurant. When you are charged, the thrill of the Stardust Racer and the tranquility of the constellations carousel await you.
Some of the drawbacks of visiting the Universal’s epic universe
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Lack of shade
Just as lush things are throughout the entire epic universe, theme parks are still brand new and it takes years for the trees to reach maturity with full shade. The shades are premium, but there is a way to escape the warmth of the Florida sun.
Overall, thoughtfully designed ride cues are very welcome as Florida summers get hotter. Karen, Charlie and I were in the outdoor outdoor area waiting for the monster, a Schlantenstein experiment, and I discovered a water bottle filling station in the middle of the line.
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Too many to watch
The epic universe spans 110 acres and five worlds. This is a lot of evidence to cover in one day, and it is almost impossible to see and experience everything. During our visit we raced from one ride to the next, and I wish we had taken the time to watch two stage shows. Unable to train dragon On Berk Island Le Cirque Arcanus In the Wizard world, I narrowed it down by visiting Frankenstein’s monster and his bride, but I heard they were great and met more characters.
verdict
At the end of the 11 hours and 25,000 stage days at the Epic Universe, we left ourselves experiencing all the rides (several times, and even three times). Our favourite? Charlie loved the thrills and spillings at Stardust Racer in Celestial Park, and he and his sister Karen enjoyed themselves in fear of unretired monsters in the dark universe. As for me, it’s the relationship between minefield madness for that nostalgia and the werewolf curse for spin.
He joined the single rider line when Charlie rode the Stardust Racer again before leaving the epic universe. I told him I was going to ride with him again. . . On your next visit.
The epic universe is completely open to the public and given all the hype, it’s definitely far more crowded than what we experienced last month. And it will be pretty hot in the coming weeks and months. Nevertheless, if you love roller coasters and want to bring your childhood back to life, it’s worth a trip to Orlando to check out this exciting new addition to the theme park scenery.
