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Epic Universe: To Go or Not To Go?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SkiBum
  • Start date Start date Today at 1:09 PM
SkiBum

SkiBum

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  • Today at 1:09 PM
  • #1
I've been reading the forums on Epic and I'm on the fence of going to the park this year. I have been planning a trip in May and I usually set aside a day for Universal, specifically Islands of Adventure. While Dark Universe and Monsters Unchained are my primary interests, the Ministry ride and Super Nintendo Land are also tantalizing. I just have reservations due to the downtime that several of these rides are experiencing along with limited rides. I completely understand Epic's allure with it being new and having some really fun rides. I just wanted to obtain some feedback or opinions. Tagging @Mad Dog on this as well as anyone else who isn't local (although local opinions are also appreciated since they have a good lens with having gone frequently).
 
Mad Dog

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  • Today at 1:19 PM
  • #2
SkiBum said:
I've been reading the forums on Epic and I'm on the fence of going to the park this year. I have been planning a trip in May and I usually set aside a day for Universal, specifically Islands of Adventure. While Dark Universe and Monsters Unchained are my primary interests, the Ministry ride and Super Nintendo Land are also tantalizing. I just have reservations due to the downtime that several of these rides are experiencing along with limited rides. I completely understand Epic's allure with it being new and having some really fun rides. I just wanted to obtain some feedback or opinions. Tagging @Mad Dog on this as well as anyone else who isn't local (although local opinions are also appreciated since they have a good lens with having gone frequently).
Click to expand...
So much depends on what happens on the day you visit (excluding paying a fortune for Express passes). If it's a good weather day with
very few ride and show breakdowns, you'll love the park and enjoy your day. If you have the misfortune to visit on a day with
lots of breakdowns and/or rainy weather, you'll probably have a poor experience. Kind of like playing the lottery, at this stage of the
park's operation. Most attractions are outdoors and dependent on weather conditions. Breakdowns are all over the place, rides and
shows, not just Ministry and DK.
I'm going two weeks in March for Mardi Gras and I'm skipping Epic that vacation.
We're taking the girls in June for two weeks and I'm probably going to do one day at Epic because the girls want to visit Nintendo
and Berk especially. But if they weren't with us, I'd be skipping Epic. It's too much money for the present attraction unreliability.
The two days we did in November would have been one day if I could do it over again.
Epic is a nice park but not on the level of the other WDW and Universal parks 'yet', until they fix operations and/or add more live
entertainment or stuff like that as alternatives to the attraction unreliability.
 
Last edited: Today at 1:28 PM
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Parkscope Joe

Parkscope Joe

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  • Today at 1:36 PM
  • #3
SkiBum said:
I've been reading the forums on Epic and I'm on the fence of going to the park this year. I have been planning a trip in May and I usually set aside a day for Universal, specifically Islands of Adventure. While Dark Universe and Monsters Unchained are my primary interests, the Ministry ride and Super Nintendo Land are also tantalizing. I just have reservations due to the downtime that several of these rides are experiencing along with limited rides. I completely understand Epic's allure with it being new and having some really fun rides. I just wanted to obtain some feedback or opinions. Tagging @Mad Dog on this as well as anyone else who isn't local (although local opinions are also appreciated since they have a good lens with having gone frequently).
Click to expand...

Go. I’ve been three times and have had a blast.
 
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UniversalRBLX

UniversalRBLX

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  • Today at 1:46 PM
  • #4
SkiBum said:
I've been reading the forums on Epic and I'm on the fence of going to the park this year. I have been planning a trip in May and I usually set aside a day for Universal, specifically Islands of Adventure. While Dark Universe and Monsters Unchained are my primary interests, the Ministry ride and Super Nintendo Land are also tantalizing. I just have reservations due to the downtime that several of these rides are experiencing along with limited rides. I completely understand Epic's allure with it being new and having some really fun rides. I just wanted to obtain some feedback or opinions. Tagging @Mad Dog on this as well as anyone else who isn't local (although local opinions are also appreciated since they have a good lens with having gone frequently).
Click to expand...
If this is a "once in a few years" trip I'd add a 2nd "backup" day for Epic Universe in case of any weather delays. May has become a relatively quiet period for the parks, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Outside of the seeing the Ministry atrium (which you can in a separate line), I wouldn't miss out on the rest of Epic Universe because of that attraction's issues. Later in the evening, the wait for it will be reasonable... same for Mario Kart.

But I wouldn't skip out on Epic Universe entirely because of 1 ride.
 
Mad Dog

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  • Today at 1:57 PM
  • #5
May is still far off. Perhaps keep your plans flexible and watch the park's operational reliability. Maybe they'll get their sh_t
together and things will improve by then. Usually, May isn't too bad on the weather aspect. Echoing @UniversalRBLX,
I wouldn't let Ministry's reliability be a major reason for not attending. The Ministry Atrium is the highlight. You can visit that
even if the line is outrageous. The ride itself is just OK, so no big deal if you miss it. It's one of those rides where it's fine and
fun if the line is less than 45 minutes, but surely not worth standing in line for hours to experience.
Monsters and Darkmore (though small) are the gems of the park.
 
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Jake S

Jake S

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  • Today at 2:01 PM
  • #6
Yeah, I think if you're willing to be flexible and manage your expectations, you'll have a good time. I wouldn't worry about trying to cram everything in, just pick out some highlights and hope for the best when it comes to reliability and the weather. As others have said, save Ministry and Mario Kart for the evening and prioritize Dark Universe and Isle of Berk while Nintendo and Ministry are swamped.
 
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DOOMBOT

DOOMBOT

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  • Today at 2:18 PM
  • #7
I'm local, so know that that's the perspective I'm coming at this from.

The park is inconsistent. It's currently a bit underbuilt, and is likely in the worst state that it will ever be right now. You will potentially have to deal with considerable lines and a number of complete attraction breakdowns throughout the day, for rides that are IMO largely equivalent to other parks in the area. There are lots of kinks being worked out right now, with teams that haven't really had the experience of opening a new park at this scale, and one that behaves like Epic does.

The park is also very, very cool. The streetmosphere entertainment in a number of lands is stellar, the place-making that exists is beautiful, and a solid amount of the attractions on offer are impressive and great fun.

I have shared a lot of criticism of Epic Universe here in the last few months. The excitement and newness is beginning to wear off, and the growing pains are especially evident. It's a new park, and a very bold one. It was built with many design ideas that I don't necessarily agree with. But I couldn't possibly deny that Epic, operating at its' best, is a really enjoyable time, and certainly one of the best opening year parks we've seen. It's leagues above opening year DHS, DAK, DCA; Epic is also considerably better than USF, both in its' downtime-prone opening year, and the lopsided simulator-heavy park we've got in 2026.

When people ask the question, my answer is always "How bad do you wanna go?". If you could bear missing out on the park for a few more years, or would just be going because it's the new thing, I'd maybe wait a bit. The park is only going to improve; operationally, visually once the foliage properly grows in, and in the lineup once we see a few more rides, the parade, nighttime show implemented.

If you've been excited for Epic for the past decade, if you've not been to SNW before in Hollywood or Osaka, if you are really interested in seeing this park even if that means dealing with the inevitable quirks of a project that hasn't quite found its' footing yet - then go. With the right mindset and prep, you'll almost certainly have a great time. You might not do literally everything, and you might have to deal with a headache or two, but ... maybe you won't! It could be a fantastic experience. For all my complaining, the park that currently exists is a lot of fun and features some of the coolest stuff across the whole resort.

Epic's main issues are about consistency. If you go in with a loose and flexible plan to see what interests you most, and prepped to outlast the morning crowds that leave of exhaustion by 6pm, then you'll get a very enjoyable experience out of it imo.
 
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Mad Dog

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  • Today at 2:23 PM
  • #8
DOOMBOT said:
I'm local, so know that that's the perspective I'm coming at this from.

The park is inconsistent. It's currently a bit underbuilt, and is likely in the worst state that it will ever be right now. You will potentially have to deal with considerable lines and a number of complete attraction breakdowns throughout the day, for rides that are IMO largely equivalent to other parks in the area. There are lots of kinks being worked out right now, with teams that haven't really had the experience of opening a new park at this scale, and one that behaves like Epic does.

The park is also very, very cool. The streetmosphere entertainment in a number of lands is stellar, the place-making that exists is beautiful, and a solid amount of the attractions on offer are impressive and great fun.

I have shared a lot of criticism of Epic Universe here in the last few months. The excitement and newness is beginning to wear off, and the growing pains are especially evident. It's a new park, and a very bold one. It was built with many design ideas that I don't necessarily agree with. But I couldn't possibly deny that Epic, operating at its' best, is a really enjoyable time, and certainly one of the best opening year parks we've seen. It's leagues above opening year DHS, DAK, DCA; Epic is also considerably better than USF, both in its' downtime-prone opening year, and the lopsided simulator-heavy park we've got in 2026.

When people ask the question, my answer is always "How bad do you wanna go?". If you could bear missing out on the park for a few more years, or would just be going because it's the new thing, I'd maybe wait a bit. The park is only going to improve; operationally, visually once the foliage properly grows in, and in the lineup once we see a few more rides, the parade, nighttime show implemented.

If you've been excited for Epic for the past decade, if you've not been to SNW before in Hollywood or Osaka, if you are really interested in seeing this park even if that means dealing with the inevitable quirks of a project that hasn't quite found its' footing yet - then go. With the right mindset and prep, you'll almost certainly have a great time. You might not do literally everything, and you might have to deal with a headache or two, but ... maybe you won't! It could be a fantastic experience. For all my complaining, the park that currently exists is a lot of fun and features some of the coolest stuff across the whole resort.

Epic's main issues are about consistency. If you go in with a loose and flexible plan to see what interests you most, and prepped to outlast the morning crowds that leave of exhaustion by 6pm, then you'll get a very enjoyable experience out of it imo.
Click to expand...
Yes, nights rule. Go late, conserve your energy, and stay until closing. Park is most beautiful, and way least busy, in the dark.
 
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