It’s now been a full week since we had the opportunity to visit Epic Universe, and in that time our day spent in the park has taken on almost a dream-like quality. Memories flood back at random points throughout the day, but there is just so much to process at Universal’s brand new park that it’s hard to compartmentalize everything. It’s absolutely a marvel to behold, and exceeded my already high expectations. The park is beautiful, the lands are vast, and the rides are thrilling. I’ve heard this mentioned by a few reviews, and it rang true for us as well, you could easily devote one day to each of the five immersive lands. Even with 10 hours in the park and light crowds, it felt like we only scratched the surface of offerings, and rushed just to squeeze in the essentials. With that in mind, I wanted to walk you through our day and give some notes and thoughts about what we experienced at Universal’s newest park.

Arriving at Epic Universe

I will do my best to keep things spoiler-free as far as major ride elements go, but obviously, this will feature some specific details from around the park. The day began as any Orlando day should, with 50 minutes of traffic on I-4 as we made our way to Universal. We were staying at Stella Nova Resort the night of our visit, and took advantage of the incredibly convenient walking path that takes you to and from Epic Universe. I cannot stress how simple this commute was; we were standing in front of the Epic entry gates within 10 minutes of parking our car at Stella Nova. You only need to cross one road with pedestrian signals, and you are on park property.

It’s hard to describe the emotions that I was experiencing as we made the walk to the park gate. The last time that I actually visited a brand-new theme park was the summer that Islands of Adventure opened. With that experience, I wasn’t even a teenager yet, so the weight of what I was doing didn’t quite sink in then. The walk up to the front gates of Epic, however, was a much different story. I vividly remember sitting in my house 5 years ago, stuck inside due to the pandemic, speculating with others online over a pile of dirt. “See this lone palm tree? That’s the center of the park!” “Oh I think that concrete is the foundation for the Mario Kart show building!” Now there we were, 4 billion dollars later and about to walk through the park gates. It’s an experience that I will treasure for a lifetime.

The initial view walking through the Chronos is a vast expanse of gardens and walkways leading back to the towering Helios Grand Hotel. The first thing that struck me was how many active water features there were, fountains and trickling streams seemed to dance in every corner of your vision. It’s a very inviting entrance, and almost beckons you forward to begin exploring. To begin our day, we headed right to Isle of Berk.

Isle of Berk

Isle of Berk sets a pretty high bar as a starting world. It feels like, and I believe is, the largest of the four portals. It definitely gives you the best opportunity to get lost and find little nooks and crannies with fun details. It’s striking how many animatronic dragons are spread throughout the land. Sticking out of the windows of almost every building, you see fully animated faces peering down or wagging tails.

We attempted to rope drop the Toothless meet and greet and faced our first challenge of the day. For a reason unknown to me, the park does not immediately begin a queue when people arrive at the pavilion, resulting in a large clump that fights for position when the queue actually opens. This turned out poorly for us, as even though we were the 3rd or 4th party to arrive, due to where they began the queue, we found ourselves 12-15 parties back. This meet and greet gives each guest 2-3 minutes with Toothless, and we weren’t willing to spend our first 45 minutes waiting for a meet and greet, so we were off to greener pastures. We didn’t face many avoidable operational issues throughout our day, but this was definitely one of them. Management should have directed one of the many team members present at the meet and greet to form a queue for guests from the beginning.

Thankfully, our next two tries were more successful. Hiccups Wing Gliders, the Intamin family launch coaster, is a triumph. I’ve heard the term “Hagrid’s Light” being tossed around. This coaster does hit some of the same beats, featuring a contraption built by the character that traverses multiple launches and show scenes with animatronics, but is definitely its own thing in how it utilizes the entire Isle of Berk as its backdrop. The ride is silky smooth and offers the perfect balance of thrills, where kids will love it and coaster enthusiasts can still appreciate it. There is a downward helix about halfway through that supplies some significant forces.

Dragon Racers Rally will likely be a brutal wait with its slow load times and low capacity, but if you can catch it with 20-30 minutes posted, it’s definitely worth it. This ride is a Gerstlauer Sky Fly, with multiple dragon gliders attached to a rotating boom lift. The views of the land are spectacular, and I was surprised by how engaging the experience of trying to get your glider to flip was. For those unaware, with some strategic weight placement, you can get your individual glider to freely flip throughout the ride. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle while suspended in mid-air. The best way to get your glider to flip is if you begin applying weight back and forth before you even take off to get the momentum going, then use the forces while spinning to continue rocking back and forth until you go vertical. A fun experience, but again, don’t use an hour of your day in line for this one.

While I did not experience Fyre Drill personally, I did enjoy a glass of mead and some popcorn from the viewing platform and watched Park Rovers’ own Creech attempt to not get soaked. The ride adds a TON of kinetic energy to the land, and every single person that I saw on the boats while watching was having an absolute blast. I imagine on hot days, this one is going to be a lifesaver. The nice thing is that it seems, for the most part, you can be the one most responsible for whether or not you get wet, as it’s all about what targets you hit.

The last experience that needs to be mentioned is The Untrainable Dragon, the high production stage show that takes place in the back of the land. I won’t spoil the major wow moments, but the title of the show lets you know the basic plot. The story definitely caters towards a younger crowd, but the spectacle of it actually gave me goosebumps at one specific point. I would say that it’s a must-see during your day, but I’m not sure what the wait will be like once the park is at full capacity. We actually attempted to see this show three times before we were successful. The first time, we arrived 15 minutes early and it was full, the second time 20 minutes early and they closed the gates just as we walked up, and on the third attempt we were a half hour early and got in no problem. Keep in mind, during our preview the park was at about a quarter the capacity to what a busy day will be like, so I have no idea what those arrival times will be once it’s fully open. Something to keep an eye on and be aware of as more people are allowed in.

Inside the theatre for The Untrainable Dragon

Some spare bits and pieces from around the land, I just can’t say enough about how alive and lived in it feels. There are constantly walk around characters interacting with guests in fun and unique ways. We met and messed around with Ruffnut and Tuffnut and visited Gobbber’s workshop while he was giving demonstrations to guests. The Mead Hall dining location looks exactly like it does in the films, and the mead itself is delicious, drinking almost like a berry-flavored sour beer. We also got lunch from the Spit Fyre Grill, which was up there with some of the best food I’ve ever had at a theme park. The portions were not huge, but everything on my plate was cooked perfectly, including the salmon, which is a tall order when cooking in mass quantities.

And that was just Isle of Berk… are you starting to see why you could spend a whole day in each portal?

Dark Universe

The next portal that we ventured to was Dark Universe, undoubtedly my most anticipated at the park. There is thankfully much more to explore beyond just the main entryway street of Darkmoor in this land, but its initial reveal feels the smallest of the four. While small, it packs a major punch with the theming, which drips from every inch of the land. Characters are constantly roaming around for chance encounters, and we actually picked up a tip that the signalling of the bell tower means a new monster is coming out, so keep your ears open. One of the coolest land effects in the whole park is how all of Darkmoor is seemingly attached to the power system coming from Frankenstein Manor. So, as the lights in the castle ebb and flow with Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s experiments, so do all of the shops and walkways around the land. Everything is connected to that literal heartbeat in the castle.

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is a ride that sticks with you. As the days have passed since our visit, it’s the one that comes to my mind more and more often. You start by walking through one of the best queues I had ever seen up until that point (more on that later). There are two completely different but equally entertaining preshows that never lost anyone's attention, aka no “Epcotians” were forcing through the doors. And then there is the ride itself. It utilizes the same Kuka ride system as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, but the ride vehicles themselves are much different. Rather than being contained within a box to direct your vision in very specific directions, these vehicles are completely open, providing a 360 view of the scenes around you. This means that the sets are 100% decorated and immersive, and any direction that you look keeps you in the story of the ride. Without going into too much detail, I have never seen animatronics at this level being used in such abundance. Every show scene features at least one giant (I would estimate 10-12 feet tall) state-of-the-art animatronic mere feet away from your ride vehicle. The story toes the line between fun and scary, creating a very specific and effective tone that won’t fully alienate younger riders. Don’t get me wrong, it’s scary, but more Revenge of the Mummy scary rather than HHN scary. In my opinion, it gives Rise of the Resistance a run for its money as the best dark ride in the world.

Curse of the Werewolf works for what it is. This Mack spinning coaster never pushes into too intense territory, meaning young riders will be more than capable, but word has it that if you sit in either the front or back row, there's a potential to get extra dizzy. We were in the second-to-last row and watched the back row spin like a literal top from start to finish. The Werewolf element in this ride is slightly underwhelming, considering the incredible show scenes you get with the werewolf in Monsters Unchained. Again, this is meant to fill out the land, and it does a fine job with that. There’s enough foliage that the ride track isn’t omnipresent, and once the trees grow in even more, I actually think the ride will be quite hidden from the main pathway in Darkmoor.

The view out to Darkmoor from Curse of the Werewolf

The Burning Blade Tavern might overtake Three Broomsticks as my favorite bar in a theme park (I don’t count Oga’s since you can’t just walk in and saddle up). The decor is perfect, with monster heads mounted across all of the walls, and lighting to mimic a fire burning through the floorboards of the second story. We grabbed a very buttery and delicious Frankenstein soft pretzel from De Lacy’s Cottage next door and enjoyed a beer in the corner, making like true monster hunters. There was something about the monster heads all over the bar that made me realize a really interesting detail in the whole land. There is a very cohesive look to all of the creature designs that feels familiar but somehow completely unique and new.

Monster Hunting at the Burning Blade Tavern

All this to say… with the incredible ride and dining options available, Dark Universe still seemed to just lack a certain something during the day. A land that is designed to be spooky can’t quite live up to that when its dark corners and crevices are sun-drenched. That perception changed entirely when we returned to the land at night. It was like going in for the very first time again. It feels like everything was custom-built to be appreciated under moonlight. The buildings were different, the sightlines were different, and the entire feeling was different. This is when the electricity from the castle really shines, literally. The crown jewel of our evening stroll, though, was our return to the Burning Blade Tavern. Every half hour, there is a tense shift in the music. Through speakers hidden in the woods, you hear the sounds of villagers drawing closer and closer around you as Danny Elfman’s original score soars and the entire windmill lights ablaze. It is an experience that needs to be seen to be believed. If I can give one piece of advice, it’s to save your exploration time in Dark Universe for the night, when monsters are truly meant to roam.

Super Nintendo World

Our third portal provided, without a doubt, the biggest wow factor in the park. Having never visited the lands in LA or Tokyo, there is no picture or video that can properly prepare you for seeing the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time with your own two eyes. The color and movement of the land almost assault your senses, leaving you spinning, trying to take it all in at once.

Our first destination once there was, of course, to…. Yoshi's Adventure. Not the most traditional starting point, being a slow-paced omnimover, but we needed a second just to sit back, relax, and take in the incredible sights. People complain about this being a disappointing ride, but we thought it was a perfect addition to make this a fully formed land. A land anchored by a major coaster and dark ride benefits a lot by having a peaceful people mover-style attraction. It adds some nice kinetic energy, and the land is better by having it.

Later on in the day, we tried our luck at Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness and even made it all the way to the loading platform before it went down for an extended closure. Unfortunately, the ride never reopened, and our track jumping aspirations were squashed. I will say, after sitting in the delayed queue for almost half an hour, I will hear the Cranky Kong animatronic telling me about Tiki Tong in my nightmares for years to come.

After leaving Donkey Kong Country, we were able to catch a ride on Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. This ride has caught a bad rap since opening, but if you treat it like the Midway Mania to Donkey Kong’s Slinky Dog Dash, I think it's a great one-two punch to anchor a land. The game mechanics take some getting used to, but it definitely encourages re-rides to keep improving your scores. If it takes you some time to get used to it, don’t get frustrated. I felt much more comfortable with what I was doing by the end of one ride than I did when we started.

I wish we could have spent more time in this portal, enjoying the ambiance and visiting Toadstool Cafe, but time was of the essence, and we had to keep on moving.

Wizarding World: The Ministry of Magic

Admittedly, this was the portal that we spent the least amount of time in. Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry was closed, and we did not have time to make Le Cirque Arcanus stage show, so this was more of a pop-in to take a lap sort of visit. Looking back on our day, I regret not taking more time to enjoy the details in the store windows and explore all of the alleyways and passages, but it just exemplifies how much there is to do in this park. We did not stop moving for more than a cumulative half hour all day, even eating on the go at times, and still only could afford about 20 minutes of our day to the Wizarding World.

What we were able to do in our limited time, though, was incredible. Earlier, I mentioned that Monsters Unchained featured one of the best queues I had ever seen, but that crown only lasted a few hours because in the Wizarding World, we were given the opportunity to walk through the Battle at the Ministry queue. Monsters puts up a good fight against heavyweight queues like Rise of the Resistance and Forbidden Journey, but Battle at the Ministry blows them all away. This queue alone would be up there with some of the best entire theme park lands in the world, let alone something you can only see while in ride for a line. The four stories of the perfectly recreated Ministry of Magic are absolutely breathtaking. I’ve been to the actual set on the Warner Brothers UK tour, and somehow this is better than the real thing. A note for those averse to walking long distances, this is an Indiana Jones at Disneyland queue, at least half a mile of walking from the entrance to where you would head to the ride platform. We heard rumours that the queue is big enough to comfortably hold up to 6 hours of a wait, so I would plan your day around your strategy to get on this one. While it’s a lot of walking, every inch of it is incredibly themed and detailed. There is absolutely no dead space or empty hallway to be found.

Again, it’s my biggest regret of the trip not to have spent more time in this land seeing the street performances, trying the food and drinks, and detail hunting, but thankfully, the park will always be there for more exploration.

Celestial Park

Your entire day is spent weaving through Celestial Park, so by default, it becomes a big part of your overall experience. There are pieces of Celestial Park that really work, and some that I wasn’t so sure about. The feeling of it during the day isn’t quite what I was hoping for. To me, Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure is the gold standard for an entry portal, and in the harsh sunlight, Celestial Park doesn’t feel as welcoming or lived in. I do think that as the plants and trees have more time to grow, this will improve, as the current views are completely wide open and sort of flat feeling. You can see everything from every point in Celestial Park. With more growth, I think the feeling of exploration will improve. While it lacked a bit in personality during the day, Celestial Park was incredible at night. The light packages that have been put into this area are spectacular, and completely sell the story that Celestial Park promises. At night, you feel like you are in some science fiction wonderland, and it’s beautiful. They just need to find a way to capture that nighttime magic during the day.

My thoughts on Stardust Racers come with a bit of an asterisk, as only one side was running. As you can imagine, I was told by many people that an optimal ride experience needs to feature the duel, and seeing how the tracks interact with each other leaves no doubt that the duel is integral. I still absolutely loved this coaster. It wasn’t quite top 3 coaster material, and maybe that will change when I experience the duel, but definitely settled comfortably in the back half of my top 10. I won’t spoil it, but there is a unique element to the launch of this ride that places it firmly as one of my favorite launches I’ve ever experienced. The ride itself is extremely intense and never really lets up, with a thrilling soundtrack to accompany your journey. Onboard audio should be automatic with top tier coasters at this point, it enhances the experience so much. One warning I will give is that the lapbars did the thing that used to happen on Skyrush at Hersheypark, where as the ride progresses, each pop of airtime staples you down a little bit more at a time. Though my thighs were thoroughly crushed by the end, I still will say that all of the very, very good elements of the ride far outweigh the bad.

Park Rovers Creech and Eric in the back row

The final attraction that we experienced on our visit was the Constellation Carousel. Following the advice of Park Rovers Creech, we waited to do this last as the experience is truly made by the accompanying lighting effects that can only be seen at night. The wait was worth it, as a nighttime ride provides much more than a run-of-the-mill carousel. There is a veritable galaxy spinning above your head with rotating orbs and lights. I spent much of the ride with my head tipped back, staring at the ceiling in awe. The lights and music are perfectly synced, and change each time to make your ride unique to what you saw while waiting in the queue. Constellation Carousel kind of goes hand in hand with my views of Celestial Park as a whole. During the day, it is a beautiful, if slightly underwhelming upgrade on your average theme park. At night, however, it is a technical marvel that leaves you mesmerized.

While (very slowly to prolong the day) making our way out of the park, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and appreciation for what Universal has created at Epic Universe. Every dollar spent is on display, and it’s hard to believe that in a month this will become a routine part of any visit to Orlando. While I’m sure technical difficulties may carry into the opening, and while I’m positive the crowds and lines will be hard to manage at first, this is without a doubt one of the greatest theme parks on the planet. Epic Universe lives up to the name in every way.

Universal Epic Universe: Initial Thoughts

Arriving at Epic Universe

Isle of Berk

Dark Universe

Wizarding World: The Ministry of Magic

Celestial Park

PAW Patrol Land to Open at Chessington World of Adventures in 2026

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run to Feature Selectable Star Wars Destinations in 2026