Hey everyone! I’ve usually just lurked for tips, but after visiting the brand new Epic Universe twice, once during preview and once after the grand opening (May 22), I thought I’d share some helpful info.

There's a TL;DR at the bottom as well

Crowds & Express Pass

I didn’t use Express Pass either time and still rode everything just fine. Universal is limiting daily capacity until the end of June, so crowds are very manageable. I even rode Stardust Racers (rollercoaster) three times in a row via standby.

1. Hotel & Early Park Admission

You guys know if you stay at a Universal hotel, you can enter the park one hour early. I stayed at Cabana Bay and Stella Nova. If you want to walk to the park, stay at Stella Nova, Terra Luna, or Helios Grand Hotel.

Helios is the fanciest option, it has its own dedicated park entrance and a stunning night view if you book a parkview room.

Only Super Nintendo World and Stardust Racers open early, but sometimes Harry Potter rides start a bit early too so if you’re a Potter fan, it may be worth heading there first.

Early Admission Attractions:

Mario Kart

Yoshi’s Adventure

Mine Cart Madness (Donkey Kong)

Stardust Racers

My pick: Mine Cart Madness (but Mario Kart can have longer wait times depending on the day)

2. Tickets

Buying a bundled ticket with Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure is cheaper than buying a single park ticket.

But even with park-to-park access, you can’t hop between Epic universe and the other parks.

If tickets show as sold out online, check with the hotel Vacation Center, they often still have availability. Also, same day tickets sometimes open up around 9–10 AM, but I recommend buying in advance just to be safe.

3. Express Pass

It’s like Disney’s Lightning Lane, lets you skip the regular lines.

You have to buy it separately (it’s not included with hotel stays), and only the standard Express Pass is available for Epic Universe right now, no unlimited option. You can only ride each attraction once using it.

Note:

Express doesn't work for: Dragon Racer Rally, Mine Cart Madness, Battle of the Ministry of Magic

Prices fluctuate: up to $300 during peak times, as low as $140 off-season.

Also the pass uses facial recognition, so it’s non-transferable.

4. Epic Universe Worlds Overview

There are 5 total worlds (4 themed + 1 central hub), and you move between them through portals. During the grand opening, each portal had themed characters doing little ceremonies, it was a nice touch.

Celestial Park (hub area):

Beautiful landscaping, Bellagio-style fountain shows.

Food recs: Pizza moon (quick service), Atlantic (seafood) and blue rragon (asian) are full-service restaurants with good reviews.

- Stardust Racers: thrilling and smooth, possibly my favorite coaster ever. The spinning effect when two coasters rotate at once is jaw-dropping. Ride once in the day and once at night.. it feels totally different

- Constellation Carousel: Meh during the day, but surprisingly magical at night. Each animal dances individually. Nice for photos.

- How to Train Your Dragon Land: Kid friendly but still packed with stuff adults will enjoy. The Toothless and baby dragon meet and greets are adorable. Don’t skip them.

- Hiccup’s Wing Glider: Feels like a mini version of Hagrid’s ride. Soaring over the water is super refreshing.

- Fyre Drill: Water gun ride. You will get soaked. Skip if you hate getting wet.

- Dragon Racer Rally: You can control left/right motion. But ride time is really short. only 4–5 spins.

- Untrainable Dragon Show: High quality animatronics and great storytelling. Sit further back to fully enjoy the flying effects.

Super Nintendo World

If you’re a Nintendo fan, it’s a dream come true. Starts on the 2nd floor, so the view over the whole park is incredible.

- Power-Up Bands ($50) let you play mini-games. not essential, but highly recommended for fans. (If you can go to Japan, they sell for $20 there)

- Yoshi’s Adventure: Short and outdoors, but super cute. Not ideal under direct sun.

- Mario Kart: Uses AR goggles. Very divisive. some love it, some get motion sickness.

- Mine Cart Madness (Donkey Kong): Simulates jumping tracks. Front seat = better experience. Ride’s a bit short, and some visual effects weren’t working yet when I went, but still worth it.

Wizarding World — Ministry of Magic

Visually stunning, but a bit small. Only one ride for now (a broomstick VR ride was canceled).

Butterbeer crepe was a standout snack!

- Interactive Wand version2: Only sold at Epic Universe. Lights up, vibrates, and syncs with a mobile app. Costs $85.

- Battle of the Ministry of Magic: Most immersive queue I’ve ever seen. its a mix of screens + real sets made it hard to tell what’s what. Animatronics were insanely smooth.

Only complaint: not quite enough drops/thrills.

- Arcana’s Circus: Loved this show. Honestly preferred it over the dragon one. There's a pre-show and main show, both are super entertaining.

Dark Universe

Universal’s classic monsters come to life in this gothic, moody zone. Check out Burning Blade Tavern! a windmill erupts in flames on a timer

- Monsters Unchained: Uses a next gen robot arm ride system with fewer screens and more animatronics. top 5 dark rides I’ve ever done. Short lines (for now), which is wild considering how good it is.

- Curse of the Werewolf: Seats spin while you ride. Depending on where you sit, you might get tossed around a lot. Fun, but not super immersive.

TL;DR

Crowds: Super manageable through June due to capacity limits. Rode Stardust racers 3x without express.

Hotels: Stay at Universal hotels for 1-hr early entry. Helios Grand = best views + easiest access.

Early Entry Rides: Mario Kart, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Stardust Racers. Prioritize Donkey Kong or Mario depending on wait.

Tickets: Can’t park-hop to/from Epic. If sold out online, try buying at hotel’s Vacation Center.

Express Pass: Only standard (1 ride per attraction), no unlimited. Doesn’t work for Donkey Kong, Ministry of Magic ride, or Dragon Rally. Uses facial recognition.

Best Rides:

Stardust Racers: my fave coaster ever (try day & night!)

Monsters Unchained: insane animatronics, top-tier dark ride

Battle of the Ministry of Magic: amazing queue + visuals

Mine Cart Madness : jump track coaster, sit in front row

Food: Pizza Moon is solid; Butterbeer Crepe & Blue Dragon also good.

Shows: Arcana’s Circus (Harry Potter) and Untrainable Dragon. both worth seeing.

Buy Power up Band ($50) only if you want to play minigames in Nintendo World.

Thanks for reading!

Went today for the second time, did all the rides. Had a blast, such an amazing theme park. All the worlds are truly awesome, so much thought and detail have been put in them.
Definitely get the powerup bands for Nintendo land, adds a lot more fun and I was surprised with all the games they had for it. Also the play area for kids in Isle of Berk is super nice, very big and a lot of things for kids. Here are some of my thoughts on the rides.

Curse of the Werewolf: 8/10 Super fun small coaster, it’s pretty unique from anything universal has.

Dragon Racer's Rally: 4/10 kind of like a fair ride. A bit of fun but ends wayyyy too quick.

Fyre Drill: 7/10 cool ride, especially if you have kids. Didn’t get soaked but fairly wet. You have a water gun and you get to hit targets. My daughter got to go on it but was too young to actually use the water gun.

The Battle at the Ministry: 10/10 ride isn’t open but did the queue which is BREATHTAKING!! Your jaw will legit drop, all I gotta say.

Hiccup's Wing Gliders: 10/10 really loved this ride, similar to Hagrids.

Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge: 8/10 the VR is a bit weird but overall a good ride.

Mine-Cart Madness: 10/10 was amazing !! Super unique, loved the details.

Monsters Unchained: 9/10 the queue is crazy. The ride details and atmosphere is next level. It’s not as fun as forbidden journey in terms of movement though.

Stardust Racers: 10/10 truly epic, it’s pretty intense and has quite a few moments of airtime. During the end of the ride the other coaster goes right above your head, it’s an amazing sight.

Yoshi's Adventure: 7/10 very slow and chill ride. You get to see the whole of Nintendo land from it and the view is great.

Also we ate at Das Stakehaus and the food was great

Unfortunately didn’t get to do the two shows but people say they are great.

I have heard some amazing things from some people, and many valid critiques from others. Recently I saw a tiktok of a girl criticizing the park for many things, and many people in the comments flocked to say they were just a Disney adult and shouldn’t compare it to Disney.

However to me, her criticisms seemed valid. She received a lot of hate for this, so I was just curious what your alls genuine thoughts on epic universe is and how it compares to other theme parks across the globe and the other Universal/Disney parks in Orlando!