I Went Back to my Favorite Theme Park in Orlando

Epic Universe Revisited

It had been almost four months since I first stepped into the brand new incredible theme park. The visits that I was lucky enough to do had various levels of success. One day most of the rides were open and we got on them super quick. One of them was no rides, no shows, not much of anything, and the third time was somewhere in the middle but was good because I finally got on Ministry of Magic.

Opening day happened and I watched from the sidelines seeing how great this theme park was. I felt like I was back in my hometown, I had to get my theme park fix by watching theme park vloggers on Youtube. I went to the area a few times in the four months. I went to the bar on top of Helios and enjoyed a meal there. I stayed at Terra Luna which was a nice hotel. I couldn’t help but wish I was in the theme park again.

I finally went back, and I almost teared up from how happy I was to be back. I felt like a little kid again going to Typhoon Lagoon on a surprise birthday trip for me.

I went at 5 o clock to try and avoid the heat, so the Toll Plaza was empty. No lines needed. We parked the car, and we were met with a 5 PM sun directly in our eyes the entire walkway to Epic. Given that it is a theme park in Florida without trams, maybe it could have a covered walkway. I think during the development at one point it was supposed to be a moving walkway but the idea got scrapped.

Going through the entrance gate was so easy. We were spending the evening there so no line for security and no line to scan tickets. Once I went under the front portal, I took a little bit of time to enjoy the moment and then I made a hard turn to the left and started speedwalking to Monsters Unchained. This was my favorite ride when I went a few months ago. I did it three times one day, as the other two days the ride was broken.

It was practically empty when I got to Darkmoor. Monster’s Unchained was the lowest wait time in the park at 10 minutes. The castle still looked amazing. An incredible queue that we walked through. The two preshows that are pretty good were down, but I didn’t mind. We walked right through to lockers and right on the ride. It was really funny how empty this ride is and it was just as incredible as I remembered. There are some parts that are weaker, but it is nitpicking. Incredible ride. Incredible capacity. A walk on for one of the best rides in the park is UNHEARD of.

After Monsters, we moved over to Curse of the Werewolf where we waited in single riders for 10-15 minutes with the posted wait time of 45 minutes. This queue is not great, but the ride is still fun. If the line was short, I would almost always get on this attraction.

Overall, Darkmoor is a really fun area, especially at night. The theming is top notch but what could really help is a high-capacity boat ride in the expansion plot. Whisperings of a creature from the black lagoon boat ride are common, which would help capacity a ton if it is similar to a Splash Mountain experience. Especially with Fyre Drill being the only water ride in the park but it is very weak.

After Darkmoor, the line for Werewolf was hot and stuffy we were thinking about dinner but the Carousel was five minutes, and I had not given it a try. It takes a long time for everyone to get their seat belt checked and it is an okay ride. Not for me.

 After the Carousel, we made it to the Meteor Astropub right next to Stardust. I got a $17.99 burger which was just not very good. I also got my new Epic Universe staple, an Arnold Palmer out of the freestyle machine. I have never been a soft drink type a guy, but I love caffeine and sugar to push me through the theme park heat. Harry Potter and the Ministry of Magic was starting to have issues at this time. It was a 45-minute wait before dinner which really had us excited. We were going to hit it right before park close because Mario Kart was 25 minutes.

Nintendo World is such a bright and fun land. There is so much going on that there is something always to look at. Unfortunately, some of the elements are broken but it still looks incredible. This day was an incredible day for how empty it was because no matter how cool this land is, it is still very cramped. Mario Kart was a complete walk on. It was great to look at some of the elements in the queue as we zoomed by. My opinion for Mario Kart has changed a little. I think it is a good ride. I think it is a top five ride in the park. A big drop off from the top four but I think it leads the other rides. I still need to try it without the VR but I love the gaming element to beat your friends. A weird thing also happened at Nintendo, DK Mine Cart Madness hit “capacity” 30 minutes before park close.

After Mario Kart, there was a huge weather delay. We ran back to Monsters. Once in the single rider line, it broke down. With it down, there was only one ride up. Mario Kart. This is a really toug portion of Epic Universe. I love the park so much but most of the attractions are outdoors in the summer of Florida. Lightning is very common here and they will shut down those attractions very quick. If there are technical issues at two/three attractions, it gets a bit rough. We just sat down and waited it out for 15-20 minutes and it came back up so we rode Monsters twice during the weather delay.

By the time we got finished, the weather had cleared so we went to Stardust. This is one of my favorite coasters of all time, and at night, it hits a whole new level. Epic Universe is stunning at night, and this ride overlooks it all. We got the back row on it and it was EPIC. We waited about 15-20 minutes for this ride. The only issue? It did not duel.

For our final rides of the night we went into Berk. I thought it wouldn’t look as pretty as it does during the day. I was wrong. This world is incredible at any time of day. We rode the flat ride, Dragon Racer’s Rally and it was okay. I couldn’t flip it but this is one of the best flat rides out there. We walked right on. After that we rode Hiccup’s Wing Gliders and this ride was incredible. At night, flying through the night sky, around the flames of Berk, it was just incredible. I think it jumped inside my top three. Jumping over Ministry of Magic as of right now. I need to ride Ministry a couple more times with the queue involved. If we add queue I think Ministry will overtake it but if they are both walk ons. I’m not sure. Hiccup is criminally underrated.

To end the night, and just to say we went in the portal was the Harry Potter world. You don’t really need to go there if the Cirque is closed for the night and the Ministry is closed for the night. We had the Butterbeer crepe to end the night. $20 for it was criminal. It was good but $20 for a dessert is rough.

To FULLY conclude the night, at 10 PM, Epic Universe comes alive as they have a fountain and light show. This show is fun, I wish there were fireworks attached to the show but all of the water elements and lighting elements made this show fun. It is an excellent conclusion to your night. The walk to the car felt satisfying, we did so much in just a short evening at the park.

We rode the Carousel, Mario Kart, Wing Gliders, Dragon Racers Rally, Werewolf, Stardust Racers, and Monsters three times. We also ate a meal and had a dessert at the park. This includes an hour weather delay. We didn’t ride Ministry of Magic due to technical issues, Minecart because the wait time was egregious, Yoshi, and Fyre Drill because we didn’t really want to get wet. We didn’t see the shows but overall, it was a very successful evening at Epic Universe. We did so much in five hours even if it was limited by a weather delay and technical issues. I finally scratched my Monsters Unchained itch and it still remains one of my favorite of all time. Epic Universe still remains my favorite theme park.