Tardy to the party but finally went to Epic Universe. Full disclosure, was hosted (I still refuse to pay to go on principle until APs are released) with a golden ticket to backdoor onto rides, so this is with the rosiest of rose-colored glasses. Also, half-day with a 6 y.o. and it rained like crazy later on, so missed all the live entertainment.
A beautiful park. Absolutely stunning at night--haven't seen Transylvania or Paris during the day, but they felt like they were designed to be seen after dark. Carousel also absolutely improves* with the lights on. The lands are all highly themed with "vibes" that suit them. Nintendo Land is a loud, kinetic sensory overload, Monsters land feels foreboding like the best HHN scare-zones, Berk feels kid-friendly and approachable with a ton of Easter eggs to be discovered.
If you put nostalgia aside, MoM is the best ride in Orlando. The queue is the building from the movie built in real life. Moreover, the designers understand the limitations of both "screenz" and animatronics and find ways to work around them to make both work to their fullest advantage. I somehow managed to remain mostly spoiler-free and recommend you do the same, the surprises pay off. Also, Donkey Kong now one of my top three Orlando coasters (the others being Big Thunder and Slinky Dog, to let you know my tastes). Perfectly sells the idea of a rickety mine train with plenty of cute thematic elements throughout.
Half day so limited dining opportunities, but Pizza Moon is easily the best theme park pizza I've had. Based on quality and price, could easily survive "in the real world." Loved the signature pie with ricotta and pancetta. But my favorite restaurant is probably Cafe Sirine. A level of elegance you just don't expect in a QSR (real plates and forks!), and both crepes I sampled were delicious.
Now the downsides--while only Nintendo felt "crowded," the lines are just way too long. DK coaster wouldn't get as glowing a review if I'd waited 80 minutes. Much like O.G. IoA, this is an E-ticket-only park, that desperately needs some B and C tickets. (Berk being the exception here, but even that could use another kiddie ride or two to be comparable to Fantasyland.) Also, inclusivity a bit of an issue. If you're "Pooh-sized," to borrow a DisBoards term, at least half the park is off limits. If you have trouble with stairs, there are work-arounds, but be prepared to ask for them, because this park has so many stairs. While the mobile app worked great for me, if you can't or don't want to use it, life becomes more difficult.
All in all, it's a beautiful park. Each land feels like a love letter to its IP (even the Fantastic Beasts section!). But unless I had an AP I couldn't justify going without Express. And who's to say if the "vibes" would survive an influx of APs? I get Universal's difficult position now. But on the whole an impressive park, the first post-Potter park to show what a change to the industry Hogsmeade turned out to be.
* FTR, yes, I absolutely rode the blue polar bear. My wife, a Taurus and a USF grad, rode the bull. We both agreed it was an unexpected amount of fun. Closer to Alien Swirling Saucers than a traditional carousel.
Nice review, you hit it.
Nice to see someone has the same opinion of Donkey Kong. Sooo much fun.
On young kids, while we waited in Yoshii line a dad with a four year old daughter with him said they rode it six times since this is the
only ride in the park she could ride.
Yes, the wild emphasis on mobile app is a pain. For one, the app takes forever to find anything, attractions, ride times restaurants.
We don't like Mobile at Disney or Universal even though Alene is very proficient with apps. Alene uses very advanced medical apps
all day with her job at Children's Hospital. She hates Universal's app., finds it very clumsy. Sooo, a good story to show the mobile
shortcoming. We're in Dragons land and decide we want to have some food. It's early afternoon. We see an outdoor quick service
restaurant (why mobile for outdoor?) with I believe 6 windows. About two dozen or more people standing around looking at their
phones. Some seemed agitated. No guest at any window, but a TM standing in front. One lady goes up to the TM said she wants to
order food but doesn't have a phone. The TM says she'll let her go to window 1 to place an order. My wife Alene sees this and goes
up to the TM and says she hates using the app, what can she do. The TM said, she'll let us go to Window 1 and they'll let us order.
Both us and the lady ordered, they gave us our food immediately at the window, and all those people looking at their smartphones
waiting for their food were still there. We had our food and 'none' of them received their food yet. That's really bad show. A couple
dozen people should be able to leisurely enjoy their vacation and instead they're all standing around, constantly looking at their phone,
not receiving anything. Universal tried to shove 'forced' Mobile Ordering down every ones throat right after covid and it didn't work. Just a lot
of long lines and upset people. When we were at USF and IOA for this real long vacation we rarely saw anyone picking up an order at
the mobile service windows. Stop this phone stuff already. Disney's backing off since its so unpopular.Vacations should be spontaneous,
not every move with a phone in hand required. ...OK rant over.
Yes, the park is stunning at night. That's where it really shines. The land designs are all excellent, in their own way. Even Nintendo, not
a pretty land, but a land built to satisfy the gamers wants.
Loved Cafe Sirene. Pizza Moon line wait for a table was too long so I didn't get to try their Sal's like pizza quality.
Oh, yes too many stairs. So many seemingly unnecessary.
My wife doesn't think the park has enough at this point to pay a high price to go back. She's pure general public type guest. Knows
nothing about the parks until she goes on vacation. But I promised the grandkids we'd take them to Epic when we go back to Universal
in June, so I hope stuff runs better by then.
My bottom line on the park. I really want to like it, but I feel it's incomplete at this stage. The overall beauty of the park is absolutely
stunning.
In my opinion, Epic, at this stage, is eerily like Disney opening Hong Kong park. Absolute beauty, some really good
attractions....but not enough attractions/rides overall. Disney, many years later is trying to bring Hong Kong up to par. I hope
Universal does it more quickly than Disney so Epic could fulfill its potential.
And it has a few really good attractions and one great one in Monsters.