Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe… the newest theme park to open in Orlando in over 25 years! The daughter and I hopped on a flight earlier this month to head down to see if this new park would live up to the hype. The park officially opens on May 22nd, in just a few short days, but they have had preview days available for guests for several weeks. I knew we had to get there and experience as much as we could while the park was still in ‘technical rehearsal’ and before the crowds really poured in. We had two days at Epic and tried to pack in as much as we could. Let’s discuss!

We stayed at Stella Nova, one of the three new hotels right near Universal’s Epic Universe park. This park is part of what they’re calling the “South Campus” about a 15-minute drive from the original parks and resorts, now called the “North Campus”. Stella Nova, Terra Luna, and Helios Grande are the three new resorts that are located steps from Epic Universe. Stella is right across the road, maybe a 5-minute bus ride or you can walk fairly easily. Terra Luna is slightly farther, on the other side of Stella Nova. Helios actually is located at the rear of the park and has an entrance directly into it, for maximum wow factor.

Stella Nova was the perfect property for this trip. Super convenient to the park and didn’t feel overly crowded during our stay. The room had a great view of the park (you can see the Helios hotel to the left and then park goes to its right) and met our needs for the three nights of the visit. And yes, we did stop on the 3rd floor to see the famed “star ceiling” in the hall and it was quite striking! We quite enjoyed the food court for breakfast each day with the best Belgian waffle I’ve had in a long time and breakfast potatoes that were plentiful and delish!

Before I jump in to the details on Epic, I wanted to point out that the Coke Freestyle machines are super convenient when you purchase one of Universal’s refillable cups, as they can be used throughout the parks. Bonus, they don’t leak like Disney’s tend to do. I love a good Freestyle machine too since you can get a lot more variety and also have flavored waters and lemonades to choose from when you’re burnt out on soda. I also love that these are purchased for daily use, so if you decide you don’t want to reactivate it the next day, you can use it just for ice and water from the machines for free! You can’t beat fresh water and ice for free in a cup that doesn’t leak and is easy to carry! Universal for the win! Plus, three of the Worlds at Epic Universe have special drinks in their Freestyle machines that are unique to that area. Bonus!

When talking about Epic Universe, many people have had a hard time understanding that it is an entire new theme park. This isn’t a new land or section in an existing park, this is a whole new one! It has five Worlds: Celestial Park, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, Dark Universe, and Super Nintendo World. You enter a portal when you go into each World, with Celestial Park running up the middle of the park and being the “hub” to the “spokes” of the other four Worlds. This park is huge and really puts the “park” back into the “theme park” concept. Celestial Park is filled with fountains that have water shows and musical scores to accompany them throughout the day. Trees, seating nooks, little gardens, and even a large fountain with surrounding terraced ground seating fill this area. I was impressed by the beauty and thought that went into creating all the little places to tuck away and take a breath from the typical “go, go, go” theme park touring style. There are many food kiosks, for lack of a better word, throughout this section too. Some are more like huts and others larger in size with a variety of snacks and grab-and-go items to enjoy. Frosty Moon is an ice cream shop and it has crazy good ice cream with two unique toppings of your choosing. Don’t miss that one! There are also Coke Freestyle machines throughout and these have the Celestial Spritz exclusive flavor included. I tried this one and wasn’t a fan, a little too orange for me. Pizza Moon was a good food stop here, quick service style where you go in, find a table, and then place your order using a QR code and the Universal Orlando mobile app. These restaurants also have the Freestyle machines inside (bonus again!) The pizza at this joint is quite unique so try something new on your stop!

As far as attractions, there are two. Stardust Racers is the main attraction and this is a dueling coaster, unlike any other! Two tracks ride side-by-side, over and under each other, on the smoothest ride you’ve ever had on a coaster! We have the less intense “yellow” side and the more intense “green” but both will definitely have you holding on tight! I loved this ride and can’t wait to go back on it again, maybe with enough nerve to try the green side although two times on the yellow was quite the experience!

Celestial Park’s second attraction is the Constellation Carousel. This ride is not one to miss! At first I thought, carousel, meh. Then I saw it in person! Truly a sight to behold, this carousel has animals from the constellations that you ride but they don’t go in the traditional boring circular fashion. These actually rise and fall and move in all directions, along with lovely music, in such a graceful way. The animals are lighted and, while we rode it twice, we missed going back at night to see it in all the glistening glory. Each ride seems to have a different movement pattern and music, so you won’t necessarily have the same experience twice! I really liked that the animals held two guests and have actual seat belts, great for the littles. There are also your typical chariot-style animals that are easier to load into that seat two plus a child, all with seat belts. I rode both styles and enjoyed them equally. Pro tip, watch where the animal is mounted to the floor. Look for the ones that are located inside of the circular floor pieces, those move more!

Moving right along, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, is a HTTYD’s fan dream come true! As you enter this portal, you feel like you’ve entered Berk and expect to see dragons and vikings all around! You’ll have three rides here, an incredible show, characters walking around, and the opportunity to meet Toothless, the star of the HTTYD franchise. Prepare for LONG waits to meet him though, but it is worth it! The rides are Hiccup’s Wing Gliders coaster, a chance to fly your own dragon on Dragon Racer Rally, and Fyre Drill where you can practice your aim and likely will be soaked as the reward! There’s also the Viking Training Academy play area for the little ones. Lots of snacks and drinks in this area too plus the Freestyle flavor here is Dragon Splash (I did drink a good bit of this one, lol). We spent hours and hours in this World as we are huge HTTYD fans and couldn’t get enough. Even after that, we still didn’t get to do everything!

Next up, Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic. There’s one ride and one show here, neither of which we did. Truth be told, I’m not a huge HP fan so I have a harder time getting into these lands than some others. I will say that the theme throughout this World is incredible and you really do feel like you’ve been transported to Paris. We tried to see the show but waited a very long time and then it ended up being cancelled. Not wanting to wait another 45 minutes, we decided to bail. The ride here was running on a virtual queue during our visit, which was ridiculously hard to get, and I failed at it all of times that I tried. It didn’t help that the ride didn’t open until 3pm each day so space was super, super limited. You were able to walk into a large part of the initial queue without having ride access, so the daughter and I did that. It looks really cool but, unfortunately, we didn’t get to experience. I do know that since we got back, the ride dropped the virtual queue process but the wait times were running in the three to five hour range! I can tell you that I would not have waited that long for any ride, insanity! There are all kinds of shops and snacks in this area too plus new wands and opportunities to cast spells throughout. If you are a HP fan, you will want to spend a good bit of time here!

Dark Universe is the next portal and an absolute piece of art. We had such a good time in here although we tried not to do everything so we could experience more of this area with the hubs when we go back in June. He’s a gigantic horror fan and this section will blow his mind! We did watch the Burning Blade Tavern’s windmill burst into flames a few times (that alone is mind blowing!) and watched several guests getting spun around on the Curse of the Werewolf roller coaster. Not sure that that one will be on our list next time either though for the vomit factor! Monsters Unchained is the main attraction here and OMG was it incredible. I don’t want to say too much because I haven’t shared the deets with the hubs either but this one is a do not miss for sure. The outer building, the queue, the ride itself… all perfection. This will be scary for the little ones so they should skip. You can even get a monster makeover (for a fee) here too and those were looking mighty fine! You’ll have roaming characters here too to interact with, so don’t miss out! Dark Universe has the Coke Freestyle Screaming Berry drink and I failed to try it but will try some next time!

Super Nintendo World is the last of the portals and it lives up to all the hype and then some. We did Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Hollywood last year but it is much smaller than the Orlando version with fewer rides and overall footprint. Orlando also has Donkey Kong Country with the Minecart Madness ride and yes, your cart will jump the broken tracks for some added excitement here! They have two more rides, Mario Kart and Yoshi’s Adventure. Yoshi’s is more for the smaller set but adults will find it a nice relaxing ride with great views of the land. Mario Kart is interactive and gets some big lines but worth it. There is also special food and snacks in this land along with numerous character meets. A huge draw here is the interactive games that you can play if you purchase a Power-Up band. We’re talking punching blocks, collecting coins, etc. just like in the games. I haven’t done this yet but saw so many guests having the time of their lives doing so… one day that will be me having that fun with them!

There is so much to do and see in Epic Universe that you will easily spend a day there. We had two days and still have plenty left to enjoy. These attractions also have staying power in that you won’t feel like they’re “one and dones” meaning you will find yourself wanting to ride some of them over and over. (Unless you’re the daughter who says two times on Stardust Racers pushed her motion sickness to the limit, despite the Dramamine.) I can’t wait to finish exploring Dark Universe and to get back to Berk. I will definitely be on Stardust Racers again and Mario is calling my name to return to Super Nintendo World. I’m sure I’ll get back into the Ministry to see more Harry Potter goodies too and I know that carousel is on the to-do list for next time. If you’re trying to cram it all into one day, you have the option of Universal’s Express Pass service too. That’s an add-on that is fairly pricey but will allow you to use the Express Pass lines at most attractions (Minecart Madness, Battle of the Ministry HP ride, and Dragon Racer’s Rally are all excluded) to use the much shorter access lines. It is only valid for one use per participating attraction though, so keep that in mind. I was very glad to have visited during the previews so the lines were shorter and the park overall had plenty of room to move around and explore. I am hoping that my return next month will be similar but… not sure yet how that’s going to work out. Fingers crossed!

xoxo,

Amber