Why You Should Skip Epic Universe
Epic Universe is fantastic, with world-class rides, shows, and restaurants. If I had to choose only one park to visit in Florida in 2026, it wouldn’t be Magic Kingdom or anywhere else at Walt Disney World–it’d be Universal’s third gate. At the same time, there major downsides to visiting this highly-anticipated new park while it’s still finding its footing.
Although I’m fully aboard the Epic Universe hype train, I also recognize that not everyone is me. The average tourist might not have the same time or tolerances to experience a new theme park and all that entails. Moreover, I’m somewhat concerned that the hype train is going a tad too fast, and needs the brakes pumped before it risks derailment.
To that end, I want to make the argument against visiting Epic Universe. Why you should skip it in 2026, and wait until 2027 to visit Universal Orlando’s new theme park. With everyone else fixated on hype, I thought it’d be pragmatic to temper expectations. With that said, this is one half of a point-counterpoint article series. For the companion piece, see Here’s Why We Highly Recommend Doing 2 Days at Epic Universe.
This article outlines the case against Epic Universe–that much should be obvious. If you’re excited about Universal Orlando’s new theme park, have already bought your vacation package or park tickets, or are otherwise averse to negativity, this post is probably not for you. This details the potential pitfalls in visiting Epic Universe in its first year-plus, meaning that it’s a bit of a downer by design.
While you may want to skip this post about skipping Epic Universe if you have zero intentions of skipping Epic Universe, there might be value even for those of you fully aboard the hype train. First, it’ll help in managing expectations. Second, in preparing for these downsides to mitigate their impact to the greatest extent possible.
On with the list of reasons why maybe you should wait to visit Epic Universe until 2027 or beyond…
Heat, Sun & Shade (or Lack Thereof)
Apparently, Epic Universe was designed for the folks who thought Toy Story Land was just a bit too chilly and didn’t offer enough opportunities to crispen their skin or get soaked during a storm. We’ve been critical of recent lands at Walt Disney World when it comes to the lack of cover and how hot they get, wondering if the designers responsible had ever left the comfort of their 70-degree air-conditioned offices in California.
The team behind Epic Universe heard that and said “hold my beer,” cranked their office A/C to 62, and designed the hottest and least shaded theme park I’ve ever experienced. There was a lot of bluster from Universal about Celestial Park putting the “park” back in theme park. Apparently that does not include trees or shade structures of any sort, but does include the most reflective pavement on earth. You can feel the heat from both above and below, making it difficult to spend time in the land during the day.
Celestial Park is lovely, to be sure, but all of the praise for it is necessarily coming at night. I seldom saw more than a handful of guests in here during the day aside from those going from point A to B. It was always a veritable ghost town, and for good reason–it’s really uncomfortable. None of this is exaggeration.
The other portals are better, but only marginally so. Ministry of Magic feels like a sauna, with the same reflective properties and heat emanating from the pavement and facades, until the sun is lower in the sky and the buildings block it from view. It’s a similar story in Super Nintendo World, Isle of Berk, and Dark Daylight Universe.
If you are going to visit Epic Universe this summer, I’d strongly recommend an umbrella with UV protection, cool-dude bucket hat, and ridiculously strong sunscreen. Also, be sure to bring your own water bottle–to Universal’s immense credit, there are refilling stations all over the place, including in queues. (See our Summer Survival Guide to Walt Disney World for more recommendations.)
There are several factors that contribute to Epic Universe having a worse “feels like” environment than other Central Florida theme parks, but the biggest is a lack of permanent shade structures and no mature trees. Epic Universe will be a lovely park-like setting a decade from now, but in the immediate future, it can be miserable on hot and sunny days.
High Prices
There have been a lot of complaints among Walt Disney World fans about price increases, and that conversation is often accompanied by comparisons to Universal Orlando. Many have suggested they’ll vote with their wallets and visit Epic Universe instead due to Walt Disney World pricing them out.
This doesn’t quite add up. Epic Universe is extremely expensive. For my first few visits, Epic Universe tickets, I paid as much as $180 per day after tax. Subsequent days in the park last year were cheaper.
The good news is that this year has brought with it more reasonable options with the release of 2026 Epic Universe 1-Day, Multi-Day, Park Hopper & Discount Tickets. This means you can now visit Epic Universe multiple days or portions of days; you could spend every waking hour at Epic Universe, never doing the legacy parks at all.
This is a big win versus buying multiple single day tickets, which is what was necessary last year. If spending multiple days at Universal Orlando in 2026, I’d want to spend at least two-thirds of that time at Epic Universe–two days there and a day split between the existing gates. I’d add that this is practically necessary given the below issues.
If you do opt for only a single day at Epic Universe, those 1-day prices are still high. And I’d add that, in that case, you might want to strongly consider Express Pass, which is even more expensive.
Personally, I’d go with multiple days (or portions of multiple days) over a single day with Express Pass for a few reasons, but to each their own. Some people have more money than time!
High Wait Times Despite Low Attendance
The new theme park is seeing astronomical wait times for a number of reasons despite relatively low attendance. Despite low attendance, Epic Universe has astronomical wait times.
Since opening, the park’s monthly wait time averages have been 56 to 66 minutes. This may not seem that bad. After all, many rides at Walt Disney World have wait times that are over an hour. But keep in mind that this is an average across all rides and throughout the day, and it doesn’t take into account downtime (see below).
Weekly average wait times at Epic Universe since opening have been 44 to 82 minutes. Daily numbers have been even more extreme. And it’s not getting any better. Epic Universe’s busiest two months have been January and February 2026. March will likely be equally bad once the dust settles on Spring Break.
Some of those days have been absurdly busy. In January, Epic Universe had its busiest day ever. Not just the highest wait times ever for Epic Universe, but for any park at Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World since at least 2019–and by a very wide margin. The average wait on that date was 107 minutes, with peak waits of over 300 minutes and multiple headliners hitting 200+ minutes throughout the day.
To put these numbers into perspective, it’s also worth noting that Walt Disney World’s two busiest days since 2019 have been 71 and 70 minute waits–both came during the weeks of New Year’s (early 2020 and late 2023). Walt Disney World’s average wait time since Epic Universe opened has been less than half of Epic Universe. The same goes for Universal Orlando’s other parks.
On any given day, Walt Disney World’s average wait time has typically been less than half of Epic Universe. The same goes for Universal Orlando’s other parks, which are seeing averages of around 25 to 30 minutes.
This may seem contradictory, but Epic Universe has been seeing New Year’s Eve level wait times on a near-weekly basis since opening despite having attendance that’s one-third to half of the park’s theoretical capacity.
Wait times at Epic Universe are worse than any other park at Universal Orlando or Walt Disney World despite the likelihood of lower daily attendance than any of them. The high wait times at Epic Universe are due to ride reliability and operational inefficiency, and not overwhelming demand.
To the contrary, all signs have pointed to fairly modest attendance. Aside from Super Nintendo World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, both of which are cramped lands based on hugely popular brands, congestion isn’t really an issue at Epic Universe. The park usually doesn’t feel crowded, even when wait times are triple-digits.
Universal has stated that efficiency and capacity constraints are posing problems for the new park. During the company’s most recent earnings call, Comcast CFO Jason S. Armstrong shared that Epic Universe is “not yet operating at full run rate capacity, but we’ve made meaningful progress expanding ride throughput and remain focused on scaling further over the next several quarters with higher attendance, stronger per-caps, and additional operating leverage over time.”
In plain English, this means that they hope to both improve operational efficiency by getting the rides firing on all cylinders while also increasing attendance. At the same time, Comcast leadership has shared that this process will be slow-going, and take until the end of 2026.
It’s unclear why leadership believes it’s going to take another full year to ramp up Epic Universe, but we’ve noticed minimal progress made on our visits, even ones that have been months apart. Hence our recommendation to consider skipping Epic Universe until 2027. Operational woes and high wait times are showing no signs of relenting anytime soon, so the wait may be longer than originally anticipated.
All of this is partly the nature of the beast with a new theme park. And it’s not going to become consistent anytime soon. Wait times and crowd levels on par with the worst week of the year at Walt Disney World are an obvious reason to skip Epic Universe.
Operations should find its footing, efficiency should improve, weather should get better. However, it’s also worth pointing out that the park is lacking in capacity and it’s heavy on headliners. What if it’s only going to get worse from here?! What if it’s a failure of imagination to not see this all somehow worsening?!
A good example of this already happening is Universal overselling Express Pass for Epic Universe and adding Mine-Cart Madness and Battle at the Ministry to the line-skipping service to boost sales, despite neither having the capacity or reliability needed to be part of that yet.
Wait times could also increase as attendance increases because, as mentioned above by Comcast leadership, that is one of the goals as Epic Universe continues to scale up. The company didn’t spend $7 billion on this new park for its current (modest) attendance.
Comcast could decide its quarterly numbers aren’t looking so hot–that the theme park segment is falling short of analyst expectations–and start selling Annual Passes, Florida resident ticket deals, or multi-day tickets without restrictions. There’s a huge number of locals who are tapped out on single day tickets, sitting on the sidelines waiting for APs or special offers.
Universal could reassess strategies, and roll out monetized earlier entry (a la Super Nintendo World at USH) or late nights. It’s all uncharted ground, and unpredictable. Attendance could increase, and crowds could worsen.
In the here and now, it actually is possible to beat the crowds at Epic Universe, bad as they are. If you’re eligible to take advantage of Early Park Admission, that’s huge. Even if not, regular rope drop is a great time to knock out one portal.
Staying late to outlast the crowds at the end of the night is likewise another excellent strategic option for low waits. The first two hours of the morning and last two of the evening are as or more valuable than the entire middle of the day.
It’s also possible to choose your day to visit strategically. I’ve been to Epic Universe several times now, and have yet to encounter peak crowds. See our Epic Universe Crowd Calendar: Best Dates to Visit in 2026 for advice. The worst and least busy dates are actually pretty predictable, albeit slightly counter-intuitive and unlike the other Universal Orlando theme parks.
Suffice to say, if you’re considering a visit during the shoulder season or off-season, our advice is much different than if you’re traveling during a school break or the heart of summer.
I wouldn’t hesitate to visit in August or September 2026, or even certain dates in November or December 2026. But other dates between now and then, and even in early 2027, would be complete non-starters.
Honestly, I’m skeptical there’s going to be an “answer” to the park’s problem until the second wave of expansion comes online. Even though that’s currently being fast-tracked, the best case scenario on new attractions is probably 2028. In the meantime, the park really needs a daytime parade, added entertainment, and a proper nighttime spectacular.
Getting in Shape
Epic Universe continues the trend of Universal’s stringent guest containment policies, meaning aggressive restraints even on the slower moving attractions. This had the recipe for being another Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, a slow-moving dark ride that many larger guests cannot experience due to its restraints. Thankfully, that is not the case.
Everything we’ve heard suggests that Universal Orlando took guest feedback to heart with Epic Universe, and the restraints are largely friendly to Pooh-sized guests. There are limits on this, but the same is true with Walt Disney World–TRON Lightcycle Run and Avatar Flight of Passage would like a word.
I’m about the worst person to speak to this, so it’s all second-hand from friends who reported being pleasantly surprised. There are plenty of resources tailored to this type of guest, but the salient point is you probably don’t need to fear embarrassment or accessibility issues if you’re a larger guest. Universal seems to have done a really good job threading the needle when it comes to Epic Universe’s seats and restraints.
The bigger issue, and the one I absolutely did notice, is all of the stairs. On my days in Epic Universe, I somehow managed to log an upwards of 20 flights per day. It seems like every single attraction has stairs both in the queue and at unload. Of course, attractions are also accessible, so there are elevators, but waiting around for those might not be an ideal use of your time.
Personally, I do not think Epic Universe involves an excessive amount of walking as a result of the portals. My average steps per day was lower, and considerably so, than prior days at Walt Disney World. But the difference is that I was actively trying to avoid spending time outdoors due to the heat and lack of shade and I did way more rides per day than my norm. So I’m not really sure that step count was representative of an average guest’s day.
Point being, you might want to work on endurance and get in shape a bit before Epic Universe. The one-two punch of the heat and the stairs makes this a park that can be unduly tiring. It was for me despite fewer steps, and I’m decently in shape.
Breakdowns & Downtime
As you’ve probably witnessed if you’ve spent any amount of time being a Walt Disney World fan, new attractions have growing pains and are often plagued by problems their first few months. This is not a uniquely Disney problem. It’s the nature of the beast as attractions become more complex.
Epic Universe is an entire park of new rides, many of which are innovative and envelope-pushing. Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is far from the only problematic attraction. It’s actually become one of the better performers as of June and July, owing at least in part to the fact that it’s indoors so it doesn’t suffer from weather-related delays.
Pretty much every single one of the park’s marquee attractions has levels of downtime higher than what guests would consider reasonable. These are unscheduled breakdowns, so they’re obviously unpredictable, but there’s not even consistency to which attractions are impacted. It seems like just as one problematic ride hits its stride and starts running smoothly, a new one starts having issues.
For the first few months that Epic Universe has been greeting guests, there have been some really rough days. We have not experienced these, thankfully, but have talked to friends who have (and have observed from afar via the Universal Orlando app).
Multiple headliners going down has a cascading effect, causing congestion in restaurants with long delays for mobile orders, and spiking the wait times of the rides that are open. Keep in mind that this is during days when attendance is heavily capped. When rides come back online, the backlog of Express Pass means sky-high standby wait times.
Suffice to say, you’re not going to want to be in Epic Universe the first time there’s an operational meltdown with the park operating at or nearer full capacity. It’s going to be a nightmare. And it’ll be one exacerbated by the above concerns about the lack of shade, as well as sufficient crowd-absorbing counterprogramming.
In the longer term, we don’t expect any of this to be much of an issue. Almost every new attraction or land has initial growing pains, especially the advanced ones. Again, Epic Universe is an entire park of those! We’re not trying to be critical or nitpick–this is more of a sober “it is what it is” type of commentary.
A year from now, our expectation is that Epic Universe is operating smoothly and with a high degree of efficiency. Many of the problems on this list, including ride reliability, will resolve themselves over time. There’s something to be said for experiencing a brand-new theme park, but there’s also a non-monetary cost to doing so. Consider both before taking the plunge.
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be attending Epic Universe ASAP, or will you skip it until the new park settles into a groove? Concerned about unreliable rides, how hot the park gets, or anything else discussed here? Think Epic Universe is a third gate that’s a worthy addition to Universal Orlando Resort…and on par with Walt Disney World? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
Whoever told you that the ride restraints are more reasonable was WILDLY WRONG. When we went: my wife fit on every ride at MK. Then we went to Epic and she fit ONLY TWO RIDES. Yes, we paid for a ticket for her to ride the Harry Potter ride (seatbelt only so very easy for anyone to fit) and the carousel.
The restraints for slow-moving rides are particularly ridiculous. But also: she fit on major roller coasters at MK, without any difficulty. Not even close. At Universal, on rides much less intense in terms of people getting shaken around, she fit almost none of the restraints. The only ride she doesn’t fit in all of WDW is Flight of Passage.
I think it is outrageous. In fact, I think Universal should put all of its test seats outside the parks – in CityWalk or something – because it is frankly coming close to committing fraud by selling these expensive tickets while building parks to be as unfriendly to certain people as possible. The fact that they deliberately built their queues to not fit scooters was…a choice. It sure shows their philosophy.
I will say there has been one improvement: seven years ago, the only wheelchairs at ride entrances were transport chairs, meaning the user could not wheel themselves. Now they have real wheelchairs, but the queues are still so aggressive that users can’t wheel themselves in many spots because their hands would scrape against walls or not even fit between chair and wall.
I think this is particularly unforgiveable because it assumes all guests who use a mobility device will have someone with them who is willing AND ABLE to push them. So…an elderly couple that uses mobility devices? Not welcome. A family with an adult and a child that both need assistance? Not welcome. A couple in which one person uses a device and other has some sort of limitation that keeps them from pushing a chair for miles (those queues are very long)? Not welcome. A disabled adult traveling alone? Not welcome.
It is just absurd and I don’t understand how they get away with it, though I guess private companies can do what they want. You would think they would want more customers.
This situation is why my family only went to Universal once, seven years ago. We returned this time solely because our dd turned 11 and wanted to visit the Wizarding World. This time, we knew what to expect. We made the best of it. You know: shows, photos, appreciate the theming. But we are very unlikely return (despite our dd saying she loved Epic more than any other amusement park ever).
We have never applied for disability services, and at Disney we never had any trouble – there are some queues with stairs, but we would be spotted and whisked away. Otherwise, we happily wait in line. But any time I raise this issue in Universal forums, I am immediately accused of trying to get some line-skipping pass. So, to be clear: it does not matter if my wife could skip the line. She tried the test seats and did not fit. There are two problems at Universal: they build tiny rides AND ALSO purposefully narrow queues. Even the rope queue for Toothless was too narrow for a scooter! WTF is going on with these people?!
I feel like you could add ‘show quality’ as a reason to wait, as well. Because of their capacity constraints, I feel like when they do get rides operating…they’re often in B or C modes. It also seems like a lot around the park is already in need of refreshment, and I never got to see some of the cooler ‘walk around’ characters (never saw Igor, or any of the walking dragons.)
One suggestion you made above really stuck with me, which was adding an after-hours upcharge event. The more I think about it, the more brilliant this is – since the daytime would be less crowded due to an earlier close, and the nighttime would be less crowded due to the nature of the event. They’d essentially be able to sell more tickets this way, with each guest having a better overall experience. Though I do note that maintenance would be rough in this scenario…that’s clearly something they already need to find a way to upscale.
I didn’t include show quality because it’s always such a wildcard. Our advice is typically to visit a complex new attraction ASAP, because some of its opening day effects may be disabled for good at some point. This was definitely vindicated with Rise of the Resistance, for instance, and I fear it’ll be true with Monsters Unchained.
With that said, they have very obviously lowered SQS at times when the capacity is needed, and that’ll definitely be reversed. The pre-show to Monsters Unchained is a good example of that. At some point, if it breaks, that’ll trigger downtime. (Hopefully?)
I would say for the time being, 2 full days at Epic is a non-negotiable for anyone hoping to do everything. I also strongly feel that it is good enough park to be worth sacrificing a day somewhere else (Disney or Universal) for anyone tall enough to get on most of the attractions. (If you have a preschooler, Epic is not for them.)
That said, I *loved* my 2 days at Epic. It removed a lot of the pressure and allowed us to actually take the time to enjoy the immaculate level of theming in all of the portals; everything is so thoroughly thought through with tons of details everywhere you look. It also gave us time to come back to rides that were down or had longer waits, and I would describe all of the headliners as good to great. We didn’t personally experience the heat issue as we went in January, but I could definitely see that being a problem in the summer.
Totally agree with all of this. It’s why we have the dueling Epic Universe posts that basically could be boiled down to “2 days or not at all.” That gives maximum flexibility if needed…but hopefully it won’t be needed!
I will definitely go to Epic at some point but committing 2 days to get through 9 or 10 attractions doesn’t seem like a good use of time at this point. That just seems like a bad value for the time being. I am sure I will love it when I get there but I can’t justify it at this point.
We went at the end of October 2025 and did every ride. It’s a matter of strategy. In early access we hit Dark World, finished that in less than an hour with double-rides, then hit Berk when it opened. We finished the rides there in about 2.5 hours, hit WW – did the magic, the ride, and the show, and were back at Berk for the dragon show by mid-afternoon. Got to Mario an hour before sunset and really enjoyed it, did the rides, played the games, got dinner at Berk as we strolled around admiring details. Then rerode MoM (got lucky there – it rained for maybe two hours and everyone left so the ride became a walk-on) and hit Dark one last time before the fountain show. (Fountain show was not worth it; go to carousel in the dark instead. We did carousel on our way from Dark to Berk, and it was surprisingly great, but I bet it’s awesome at night.)
My wife only fit on two rides so we do not plan to return any time soon, but we had a wonderful day and our dd loved it so much that she says it is her favorite park.
Review of the Epic Universe in particular the Dark Universe in Orlando, Fl. What a disappointment…I am 70 year old HUGE Monster fan…to the extent that I have a Museum in my house in Audubon, NJ. Tony’s House of Horror…I have been collecting since 1964. I have approx 1400 items in 680 square foot of space, my entire second floor. I was Totally disappointed with Dark Universe. TOO small and NOT enough Universal Monsters representation. The Frankenstein Unchained attraction was FANTASTIC and that’s about it ! I am NOT a roller-coaster fan at all. So, I can’t speak about the Curse of the Werewolf ride. Why did the powers to be decide to build ANOTHER Harry Potter attraction ? UNNECESSARY… Should have allocated MORE space to the Universal Monsters…If it wasn’t for the Monsters Universal Studios would not have survived ! Not to mention ALL the other issues with the Epic Universe Park itself ! Let’s talk about the EXCESSIVE walk from the parking lot to the ticket gate… NO tram WHY NOT ? NO Park Map to be found ! Lacking in Signs ! NOT Guests friendly at all ! Underwhelming Experience at best…
we’re in line now for HP Ministry of Magic… 240 minute wait, but since it’s the main reason we came to this park…
After that long of a wait, the rides does not seem worth it.
Hi Tom! From Reddit posts, it looks like Epic has been having consistently terrible days, especially since Stardust Racers has been down (not a comment on that very sad situation). Is Epic doing approximately how you’d expected or is it worse? It seems irrecoverably bad based on what I’m reading about wait times and down time. Wondering your thoughts on this….
I just booked a hotel stay for February/ Presidents Week 2027 (3 nights at Royal Pacific at $625/night, family of 4- kids will be 9 and 11- looks like rates will go up if we wait- Tuesday to Friday), which I think we are sticking with either way. Planning this trip for after our older daughter finishes reading the Harry Potter series, and hoping to also go to Phillies Spring Training, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Beach, and a couple of no park days at Disney (character dining, Drawn to Life, etc). This is assuming no major new projects are completed at Disney by then. Feel free to also comment on our plan. I am waiting to decide on 3 or 4 days at Universal depending on park ticket pricing/deals etc. and watching the Disney news. Probably renting DVC for Disney so will be deciding by March. Surprisingly crowds are lower at Universal Friday-Sunday but I am guessing this will not hold up for Presidents Week.
“Is Epic doing approximately how you’d expected or is it worse?”
Slightly worse.
The most frustrating part for me is that Universal knows they have a problematic park, but they continue to oversell Express Pass and even added Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness to it to boost sales. I get wanting to recoup the $7 billion investment, but it’s just not ready for that. (I’d argue that MCM has too low of an hourly capacity to ever have Express Pass, let alone months after opening.) This makes me worried that they’ll also start selling APs prematurely.
Regardless, it’s way too soon to start talking about Winter 2027. Things could be materially better by next March. I think the key is locking in your hotel early, which you’ve done, so I wouldn’t worry about the rest for a while. Not really any sense in even paying attention to Epic Universe reports now, as they’re fairly meaningless for 2027.
I went during the preview period and absolutely loved Epic. Sure, things were down. But those of us with quite a bit of theme park experience knew to completely write off the whole first year while the park stabilizes. We learned this from “Rise” and other ambitious rides. But it seems many have forgotten this. There is no way I would write off Epic during the current period of stabilization. Did they screw up? Not at all in my opinion. My advice to everyone is to go if you feel like it, do what you can do, and don’t overlook the food and the wonderfully themed bars. Most can come again in the future and focus on the rides and Express Passes then. But for now, explore “v1” of the park and take photos and enjoy the joys of a wholly new park. There will be changes in the not-too-distant future and you will come to value those photos.
Thanks Tom! Good to know that even though its worse than expected, you think its likely to improve. I should stop reading trip reports on Reddit. I’m rubbernecking this trainwreck. Thanks for your great blog as always!
Tom,
I love your newsletter and I love your style of writing. Thank you for making me laugh upon reading “Pooh-sized people”.
Went on 7/24 had an absolutely incredible time, my whole family agreed that this park was better than any other park in Orlando. Every ride we went on was so much fun and the theming and atmosphere was top notch. That said, if we were in any way concerned with money (which we should be, probably more than we are lol) or on a budget this park would not be great. This park is *EXPENSIVE* quick service meals for a family of four easily came in at $80+ and express pass for us was $1k for the day. Honestly, without express pass I wouldn’t go. Anyways, it’s all a value proposition, understand how much it costs going in to it and if you think this would be worth it to you then go- but don’t let yourself be surprised with the bill or the lines half way through that’s how you end up having a terrible time.
Visiting Epic today 7-28.
Total waste of time. Wait times for middle of road rides of 240 minutes. No good rides with waits under 100 minutes for the full day.
Wait times on racers dropped to 25 mins out of nowhere so jumped in line and they DELIBERATELY stopped it to add more vehicles – stopped for more than 30 mins it was almost like they wanted to force the wait time back up over 100mins.
This park will never cope with its capacity as the rides just don’t have the throughput,
Shows kept being cancelled too.
All merchandise is 10-20% more than Disney !!!! for real.
Horrible day out. Will never return and makes me dislike universal as a whole.
My friends and I went to Epic today (7/24) and it was honestly a nightmare for pretty much all of the points made above in the article. If the rides weren’t broken/on delay, then they had 100+ minute wait time. I sincerely wish that was an exaggeration but it’s not— we timed pretty much all of the times we waited. I rode 2 rides the whole day, and I was so frustrated by the end of the second one (posted as a 45 min wait— was actually over 90 mins and had 2 times that it was delayed while I was in line…) that I couldn’t bring myself to wait in any other lines.
There was a short bout of storms, but those weather-related delays were actually quite short and only stopped things for like 30-45 mins max. Every ride and even the HP show had technical issues resulting in delays or prolonged ride closures.
I’ve had a blast at the other 2 parks at Universal, so this was just extremely disappointing to experience and I wish we had just waited a year or so to see if any of this would’ve been resolved with time.
My suggestion to others: if you want to go to see the architecture and experience the vibes of the park, it may still be worth it (in cooler weather!!!). If you go to theme parks expecting to ride a bunch of rides, do not go to Epic!!!
We went in June and it was a bit of a nightmare. Our day did improve around 1-2pm and went fairly smooth from there. Early entry for us was almost a complete waste because of attraction closures. My sister wrote in about our experience and managed to get us all after 2pm, any day, non-expiring epic universe tickets. But it will likely be a while before I’m ready to wade into that chaos again. I prefer to let them figure things out a bit. I did love the park though and can’t wait to go back. Just maybe not this year
Is there any chance that doing Epic Universe during Halloween Horror Nights this year MIGHT be doable? I know you had said August and September should be the sweet spot this year but could that carry over into October? I would guess the busiest time would be Thanksgiving and especially Christmas holidays, plus new years but could be wrong. I already have a hotel and them park package for Halloween this year, unfortunately the 3 day multi park experience where I would rather do like you said, two days in Epic and one day split between the other two parks, especially because I will be doing HHN and can enter the park early that day. I do plan to attend on October 31st for the event so my hotel reservations is for late October and early November. However, I still have time to cancel or rebook for 2026 and am seriously considering that option. If any additional information that might help me make my decision would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Tom: We’re going 11/15-11/18 to Universal and continue to Disney. I’d love to send you a review on Universal, especially EPIC after our trip, if you’d like. Send me the email where I should send it. Thanks!
We go this week. We check into Helios on Wednesday and have single day tickets with Express Passes for Thursday. Rain is Ofcourse at 85-90% chances on both days. We are trying to decide if we keep our stay as it is, or see if express passes can be exchanged for tickets for Wednesday? Help me decide. Also we won’t arrive to Helios before noon and if we do exchange passes we wouldn’t enter the park before 4pm. Not sure if one full day with express is better then one and a half days without. Could be better in given us a 2nd night just in case Thursday evening is a washout with storms.
Tom what are your thoughts?
Readers what do you suggest?