Universal’s Epic Universe has been open for a while now, and we’ve crunched the numbers to figure out the best hacks, tricks, and tips to ensure you’re able to do as much as possible in Orlando’s newest theme park.
Epic Universe’s stacked lineup of attractions is overall one of the most impressive I’ve seen in my years visiting and covering theme parks. The list of 11 features includes exclusive new E-Tickets, thrilling coasters, and the first Nintendo-based attractions available to East Coast park-goers. The full list includes Constellation Carousel, Curse of the Werewolf, Dragon Racer’s Rally, Fyre Drill, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, Mine-Cart Madness, Stardust Racers, Yoshi’s Adventure, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.
Knock Out Both Major Nintendo Rides During Early Entry Window
While Universal hotel guests who have access to the Early Entry window may be tempted to rush to the entrance of the Wizarding World portal to try to be the first to get into the land when it opens, it may actually be wiser to head to the Nintendo World.
The portal — and its two main attractions, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and the Donkey Kong-themed Mine Cart Madness — is open during the early entry period, and given that both rides continuously maintain hefty wait times throughout the day according to our wait times data, it’s probably wise to knock them out as quickly as possible when crowds are at their lightest.
Keep Monsters in Reserve
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment was one of Epic Universe’s most highly anticipated attractions prior to the park’s opening, and the animatronic-filled attraction has lived up to the hype. The first ride based on Universal’s iconic monsters has been a guest and critical favorite since opening day.
However, due to its people-eating ride system and large capacity, the ride is often one of the shorter waits in the park. As per our data, most of the time Monsters Unchained averages a wait in the 10-15 minute range, and during its busiest times, tops out under 40 minutes. Meaning, you shouldn’t necessarily need to rush over to the attraction early in the day. Rather, you can save it for later.
Ride the Indoor Attractions in Nice Weather
So, this may sound like a contradiction, but hear me out. Epic Universe has a weather problem. Currently, of the park’s aforementioned 11 attractions, eight are susceptible to weather-related delays and closures: Constellation Carousel, Curse of the Werewolf, Dragon Racer’s Rally, Fyre Drill, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, Mine-Cart Madness, Stardust Racers, and Yoshi’s Adventure.
When these closures happen — and it’s inevitable that they will happen given the park’s Central Florida location — that means that the park’s three indoor attractions: Harry Potter and the Battle of the Ministry, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge get slammed with pretty much the entire capacity of the park. It’s wise to try and know those rides out while the outdoor attractions are in operation. Then if you find yourself in the park during a weather delay, you can perhaps get some food at Pizza Moon or Das Stakehaus.
Save Isle of Berk for the Early Evening
Perhaps due to it being arguably the only portal at Epic Universe directly aimed at younger guests, our wait times data indicates that the How to Train Your Dragon-themed Isle of Berk (and its three attractions) tend to be busiest during the morning and afternoon, with wait times generally tapering off into the early evening hours.
Make Yoshi’s Adventure Your Last Ride
Speaking of kid-friendly, the wait times for Yoshi’s Adventure in Super Nintendo World also generally seem to see a precipitous drop later in the day. In fact, but park-closing the ride is practically a walk-on.
Wait Out Potter
Honestly, there may be no “hack” to riding Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry right now. We already know that one of our favorite hacks doesn’t always work, and the attraction is pretty much slammed from open to close each day, with no “lull” times most of the time. Honestly, the best option may be to simply keep an eye on the wait times and jump on the queue sometime in the midday, with the expectation of spending a large chunk of time in the Ministry of Magic.
Epic Universe has been open for several months, and over that time, we’ve accumulated several tips to make the best of your Epic day. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Universal’s latest park.
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Do you have any Epic Universe hacks? Let us know in the comments below.
Got on ministry of magic within 15 minutes. Me and my older kids were fine with having the chance of riding alone, so we did single riders line. Went straight on amd two of us got to ride with eachother.