epic universe

Park Recommendation and Tips

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Click for EPIC Universe Park map
Click for EPIC Universe Park map

what to know before you arrive:

1) Pack your patience today. EPIC is wonderful, but it is overall kind of small. It is also a new park, so they are still working through things!

2) Know which attractions/experiences are in each area of the park (I have a breakdown below).

3) I highly recommend taking advantage of Early Park Admission, even if you have the Express Pass. It’s a great time to experience the park before the crowds kick in! The lines at EPIC can be very long. The Express Pass will cut your wait time significantly. For example, if a wait is 2 hours you may still wait 45 minutes. So, arriving early will help you maximize your day.

4) EPIC is essentially a big circle with a central hub (Celestial Park) and four portals: Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Isle of Berk/How to Train Your Dragon.

5) Currently there is no Express Pass Unlimited available for EPIC, only the Express Pass. This means everyone with an Express Pass will only be able to use it one time per attraction.

6) Choose which areas are the most important to you, and then visit them in order of priority.

epic touring recommendation

The following touring plan is for guests who have Early Park Admission and the Express Pass.

-Take your resort bus, private transfer, or taxi/Uber to EPIC.

-After arriving, you will choose which portal you want to go through first. I either recommend Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic or Nintendo’s Mine Cart Madness, or Mario Kart:Bowser’s Challenge. They are the busiest areas of the park. Express Pass is not available during Early Park Admission, so your first ride will be through the general queue.

-If meeting Toothless is your top priority you may consider doing this first. There is no Express Pass to meet Toothless.

-After your first attraction, I recommend leaving your first portal and going to your next priority. Plan to return to your first portal to spend more time enjoying the scenery, shopping, and treats later.

-Use your Express Pass moving forward for all attractions.

-I highly recommend attending both the How to Train Your Dragon show “The Untrainable Dragon” and the Harry Potter show “Le Cirque Arcanus” later in the day using your Express Passes.

-A word about Nintendo: You can purchase a Power Up Band, which will interact with Nintendo features around the portal. Bands are $45 and can be purchased on EPIC. It’s common for long lines for each feature, so before purchasing please know you may need to wait 30 minutes+ for each experience. Click here to learn more.

-EPIC has the best food out of all the Universal parks! Utilize mobile ordering via the app to help avoid long lines.

-A word of caution: Monsters Unchained inside of Dark Universe is not an intense coaster, so many children can physically ride. That being said, I do not recommend for children under the age of 9. There are scary and gory images, especially in the queue. You are in Frankenstein’s mansion, so there is a lot in there about his experiments.

Nighttime at epic

-EPIC is stunning at night! At this time there is no nighttime show, so continue enjoying each portal until it is time to leave.

Food Recommendations

Harry Potter:

  • I highly recommend Café L’air De La Sirène inside of EPIC. The Butterbeer crepe is super yummy and can be shared between two people.

  • Gigglewater is served at Café L’air De La Sirène inside of EPIC.

  • There are Butterbeer carts at all three theme parks. You can enjoy yours hot, cold, or frozen. My favorite way is cold. The foam on top is gluten free.

  • Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream inside Diagon Alley has a variety of fun flavors including butterbeer, earl grey tea, sticky toffee pudding, and strawberry peanut butter.

Nintendo:

  • Toadstool Cafe has adorably themed cheeseburgers!

  • Bubbly Barrel has a Donkey Kong Crush Float Tropical Banana Flavor for $19. Perfect for anyone who wants banana flavored ice cream in a DK barrel.

Isle of Berk:

  • Spit Fyre Grill has awesome bowls! If you are looking for a healthy, protein packed meal this is where I recommend.

Celestial Park:

  • Pizza Moon has fun pizzas, but the real winner is the brownie eclipse!