Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[Brian G.]

I saw a quick blog from an influencer on FB that said Ministry and DK Mine ride are now on the Express passes. Anyone confirm?

Since August.

Universal Express now accepted at Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness at Epic Unvierse

Universal Orlando has confirmed that Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness are now eligible for their Express Pass add-on. Universal's Express Pass allows guests to skip the line once at participating attractions, with prices ranging from $189.99 to $339.99

www.insideuniversal.net

 

[Mad Dog]

Since August.

Universal Express now accepted at Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness at Epic Unvierse

Universal Orlando has confirmed that Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness are now eligible for their Express Pass add-on. Universal's Express Pass allows guests to skip the line once at participating attractions, with prices ranging from $189.99 to $339.99

www.insideuniversal.net

thnx

 

[GA-MBIT]

I can agree that when it comes to accessibility, Camp Jurassic is probably not great about that. I'm certain it wasn't even a consideration for them in the 90s designing it. That's a genuine critique that I can agree with.

You forgot:

1. How to Train Your Dragon: The Untrainable Dragon
2. Le Cirque Arcanus
3. Yoshi's Adventure (34" so 2 years old or above)
4. Toothless + friends meet and greet
5. Gobber meet and greet
6. Mario + Luigi meet and greet
7. Princess Peach meet and greet
8. Donkey Kong meet and greet
9. Cassandra Trelawney meet and greet
10. About a dozen walk around characters
11. Interactive wands at Wizarding World
12. Astronomica splash pad
13. Monster makeup - Correction, kids must be 5+ for this

But you know... Nothing for small kids to do.


Most of the rides at Epic are only 40" (MoM, MK, DK, Gliders) which is 3-4 years old on average. So we're really only talking about 0-3 year olds. And I'm unsure how much a 0 year old is going to enjoy any attraction like a playground. So that narrows it down to 1-2 year olds.

Astronomica is something that I've praised in the past as well, and I am kinda kicking myself a bit for not remembering it. I do like the little detail of it being a compass, pointing to each of the Celestial Park landmarks. It's a smaller addition, and imo it's no Journey of Water, but it does its' job well enough.

I think it's really, really cool that Toothless is always meeting. An all-day Meet & Greet attraction is a pretty cool new thing for a park like this, and the rotating cast of characters hosting is an added bonus.

There really isn't a great way to plan your day around these character experiences though unfortunately. Outside of Toothless who is always around, none of the other M&G locations have listed set times. Ygor, Invisible Man, the Potter Aurors and witches, Gobber; these all are walk-around characters which traditionally don't have listed set times anyways, (even though they all have consistent schedules), but even the Mario cast which have very specific M&G times aren't publically posted to my knowledge. Toad is listed in the app but hasn't been meeting for essentially the entire time the park has been open. DK has very strange set-times, unless you have the specific schedule it is really just luck if you want to meet him.

And the wands are another up-charge experience. Definitely cool, as they've always been, but not crazy accessible. Especially since Epic requires two different upcharge wearables in order to fully experience major headliner lands.

I’ll have more to say when I get home now that I’ve experienced the park, but I think you both make valid points.

It's been a moment, but I'm still curious to hear your thoughts!

 

[Cwoolboy]

As far as the Monsters go, just ask one of the Team Members when the monster/s of your choice will be meeting next. That's how I got to meet Igor, the Bride, and Victoria Frankenstein's Creature.

 

[GA-MBIT]

As far as the Monsters go, just ask one of the Team Members when the monster/s of your choice will be meeting next. That's how I got to meet Igor, the Bride, and Victoria Frankenstein's Creature.

That is the genuinely good thing about Dark Universe and Berk's entertainment offerings, is that there are almost always Entertainment Ops TM's present to answer questions like that in the moment.

Nintendo and Potter are significantly more variable. Extra strange for Nintendo, which has a number of the most traditional M&G experiences on offer. My guess about it? They simply don't have the space to advertise Mario, Luigi, Peach, or DK. The queue isn't that long at all, closes very quickly, and set times seem to be pretty brief. Another quirk of SNW's tightness, as well as a measure of how rough the suits are on the performers. Doesn't help that the Entertainment uniforms are identical to the other SNW departments, so it can be tough to know when you've actually found someone who can help.

 

[mccgavin]

but even the Mario cast which have very specific M&G times aren't publically posted to my knowledge. Toad is listed in the app but hasn't been meeting for essentially the entire time the park has been open. DK has very strange set-times, unless you have the specific schedule it is really just luck if you want to meet him.

As of just a couple days ago, the times that Mario & Luigi and Peach are meeting are now being listed on the app.

 

[Mad Dog]

We're leaving early Friday morning for our epic Universal vacation, including two Sundays (Nov. 16 & 30) at Epic. Those should be
good days since neither is followed by a holiday a day or so later. Since it's too uncomfortable to spend 13 plus hours
in any theme park, we will forgo the quite crowded opening hours and instead do the park from around 11:00 AM till 10:00 PM
closing. The time from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM on non holiday Sundays is definitely the prime sweet spot for fairly short lines. The only
caveat is if a ride has a long breakdown. And that's a luck issue so impossible to schedule around. With all the problems lingering for Epic,
my expectation level is moderate, so I won't have that too high expectation emotion. Plus, no 90 degree plus weather will help immensely.
And, lots of night time in a beautiful park.
We've done a lot of long vacations on site at Universal, but this will be the longest. I'm booked for 6 nights at Portofino and 11 nights at
Cabana Bay, both resorts that we love. I got some great AP rates by checking every few weeks, since demand pricing ends up all over the
place. First week of weather looks great thus far, and we do love the leisure and easy access of staying on site at the North Campus. We'll
be at Universal the entire time except for a day trip to DHS for Jollywood Nights.
As is my practice, I'll be silent on these forums until I return sometime in December. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Brian G.]

Just general musings from my visit yesterday:

• Food ops at the Isle of Berk need some work. Took nearly 30 minutes to get my Cone after placing a mobile order. That said, the Snoggletog Cone is delicious.
• Most of the land effects looked to be working, except for Nintendo. I'd say 30% of the AAs were down.
• Waterfall at DK still off.
• Had a near-perfect run of Monsters Unchained. Finale Dracula moved, but was stuck in place.
• MoM Single rider took 60 min at a 200 min standby wait. The new effects improve the experience, especially the swinging pendulum.
• The Christmas decor will look stunning at night.

 

[Clive]

Just general musings from my visit yesterday:

• Food ops at the Isle of Berk need some work. Took nearly 30 minutes to get my Cone after placing a mobile order. That said, the Snoggletog Cone is delicious.
• Most of the land effects looked to be working, except for Nintendo. I'd say 30% of the AAs were down.
• Waterfall at DK still off.
• Had a near-perfect run of Monsters Unchained. Finale Dracula moved, but was stuck in place.
• MoM Single rider took 60 min at a 200 min standby wait. The new effects improve the experience, especially the swinging pendulum.
• The Christmas decor will look stunning at night.

Monsters was working great for us on Friday and Saturday. We also had Finale Dracula B-Mode, but the only other figure that appeared to be down was the Frankenstein Wrestling the Bride early on.

Agreed on the Christmas decorations. Absolutely loved everything I saw so far.

 

[jwbitterman]

I booked Atlantic at 9:45 for a day when epic currently closed at 8. Should I have hope park hours will be updated when the calendar turns to December?

 

[Skold]

I booked Atlantic at 9:45 for a day when epic currently closed at 8. Should I have hope park hours will be updated when the calendar turns to December?

Sound like a sneaky way to basically have a VIP tour