I Was Invited To Tour Epic Universe, and This REALLY Surprised Me

Going into Epic Universe for the first time is one of the most magical theme park experiences I’ve had, especially since I was able to go before the park officially opens on May 22nd.

From meeting dragons and entering Super Nintendo World to casting new spells and catching monsters, Epic Universe has something for everyone. I was blown away by the incredible animatronics and shows, but let me tell you what really surprised me.

One thing about Epic Universe is that it’s built for crowds. There are huge pathways between the different portals, or lands, especially in Celestial Park. This area is huge.

Having a park built for crowd flow has some great pros…but also some cons.

The overall layout of the park is like a giant hub-and-spoke, but very spread out. There are no shortcuts between different lands; you need to exit back through the portal into Celestial Park to go into your next land.

This can be great when it’s busy because it helps the whole park feel less crowded. There are even many water areas that help keep the space open and less congested. We love not being elbow-to-elbow with people all day.

Because of this space, though, it can take a long time to get anywhere. Racing from ride to ride can feel like a trek, so once we master our Epic Universe strategy, we probably won’t be randomly hopping from portal to portal. You might want to consider completing a whole land before exiting since it takes so long to get everywhere.

Another part we didn’t like about the large open areas was the lack of shade. Florida can get hot, and right now, it’s only April, and I was sweating and exhausted from ten hours at Epic Universe. The summer months are definitely going to be interesting.

When the even hotter months arrive, make sure you stop inside stores and restaurants to cool down. Bring lots of water and take breaks when you need to. Remember: it’s a marathon, not a race.

While we loved how beautiful Celestial Park is, there aren’t many offerings compared to the other lands, so when you have to cross through Celestial to get to the next area, it feels like you’re always walking toward something.

The entire park is stunning, but make sure you’re wearing good walking shoes—you’ll definitely be getting your steps in. If you’re planning on crossing back and forth between lands depending on where the shortest wait is, keep in mind that you need to add more travel time than you think when hopping from land to land.

Overall, Epic Universe is designed for crowds, and we’re expecting a lot when this brand-new park opens on May 22nd. Make sure you keep following AllEars to stay up to date with everything happening at Epic.

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What do you think of a park being built for crowds? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Disclosure: We were invited by Universal to attend a media preview of Epic Universe. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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