It’s hard to believe but Universal Epic Universe is officially opening today! Having recently attended a preview, I thought I would share some tips to help make your trip better!

Universal Epic Universe

As I stated in my preview review, I spent two days at Epic while it was in technical rehearsal. So, while I assume some operational changes will occur, I think I can still provide some general tips to help your trip go smoothly. For readability purposes, I am dividing my tips out by category.

What to Bring

• Water bottle – This park has lots of water bottle refill stations around the park! I love that, personally. So, I highly recommend bringing your own water bottle and refilling it whenever you see a station.
• Hat and Sunscreen – Celestial Park has virtually no shade and you have to walk through it to get to the other lands. So, I highly suggest packing a hat and sunscreen. I even saw some folks carrying a UV umbrella. I wear a UV jacket whenever I’m outside.
• Phone charger – You will be on your phone a lot here. The park map, mobile ordering, and virtual queues are all in the UO app. Between using the app and taking pictures, you will drain your phone’s battery pretty quickly. Bring a phone charger.
• Comfortable shoes – This one is pretty standard for theme park visits. Just wanted to remind everyone. Also, please wear deodorant. I smelled several people during my last visit.

Eating

• Have a card saved to the app – During previews, they were forcing guests to mobile order food. Having a credit/debit/Visa gift card saved to the app ahead of time saves you time and effort in the park.
• Use the restroom and wash your hands before entering restaurants – I wish this wasn’t a tip I was giving. However, for whatever reason, the decision was made to not put restrooms inside most of the restaurants. So, if you need to go, you have to leave the restaurant. It’s best to go before entering the restaurant.
• You might have to eat outdoors – If the indoor restaurants are busy, they might not let you sit inside without ordering food from that restaurant.

Tips for Scheduling

• Arrive early – It’s not as hot earlier in the day. Plus, you might able to ride stuff before it goes down in the middle of the day.
• Take your time – This is a very highly themed park. Slow down to appreciate all of the little details.
• Take a mid-day break – I feel so much better when I get out of the heat during the hottest part of the day (sometime between 1-4 PM) by taking a break in my hotel room. I love to grab a snack from the park or hotel, head up to the room for a quick shower and nap. It’s very refreshing.

Epic Universe Tips

So, those are my tips for visiting Universal Epic Universe specifically. Did I miss anything? Also, feel free to check out my general theme park bag post for other suggestions of what to bring.

On May 1st and 2nd, I was lucky enough to attend the Epic Universe Preview at Universal Orlando Resort! This new park officially opens on May 22nd. However, there are still two week left of previews. So, I thought I would do a little review for anyone considering going.

Epic Universe Preview

I don’t currently have an annual pass to UO. So, when they opened previews to hotel guests, I booked a two night stay at Stella Nova Resort (review to come later) a week in advance and headed down south! However, before I could get there, they opened the event up to the general public. So, the remainder of the days are available for anyone to visit. I paid $144 and $149 for each day. I think that’s pretty typical for the prices they are charging for this.

The Park is Gorgeous

Let’s start with the obvious: this park is simply beautiful. I love the attention to details and impeccable theming around every corner. I encourage everyone to slow down and really appreciate how great everything looks. As a theme park fan, it’s a one of a kind park with every land being so highly themed. It’s even better if you are a fan of the different IPs represented, but you don’t have to be to enjoy a visit.

Unreliable Experiences

Universal warns when you purchase a ticket and when you enter the park that it’s in technical rehearsal. As such, not everything will be running at all times. However, I don’t think that necessarily prepares you for the amount of downtime and long waits you might face in the park. At one point, every ride (minus the carousel) was a 55+ minute wait! Minecraft Madness experiences lots of downtime and delayed openings (as happened on my day). Monsters Unchained also experiences lots of downtime.

The Ministry of Magic ride is almost impossible to ride. I tried several times over the course of two days to enter the virtual queue, but never was successful. I was able to select a time once but then it failed. So, no tips for that one. Maybe just don’t count on being able to ride it.

I got lucky with the two shows. I’ve read that the Fantastic Beasts will sometimes go down in the pre-show. I’ve also heard about technical issues with Toothless in the How to Train Your Dragon show. Thankfully, I was able to watch both shows without incident on the first try! I enjoyed both shows and found them to be fun.

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The Food Ordering Situation

For whatever reason, they are forcing everyone to mobile order their food. Then, you wait to have it brought to your table. Personally, I dislike mobile order because I like to use resort gift cards and/or cash to pay for things. I ended up using a Visa gift card and had only one issue.

At Toadstool Cafe I ordered spaghetti and waited 40 minutes before flagging a Team Member down to inquire about my order. They left to check on it and never came back. I waited another 20 minutes before flagging someone else down. He went to check and came back. Apparently, they were out of pasta. They offered me a burger, but I wasn’t interested. So, they offered a refund, which I was happy to take. Unfortunately, they can’t refund a gift card. I had to offer up my debit card to receive payment and that took a few days.

Another glaring issue with mobile order is the lack of indoor/shaded dining. I had to stand out in the sun to order in Isle of Berk. Then, they would prefer you ordered food to eat inside Mead Hall. I had ordered Yaknog and had to get approval to sit inside with my outside food to drink my drink.

Hopefully, they allow guests to order at a register when they officially open. Also, the indoor restaurants don’t currently have any napkins or silverware out. So, you will have to flag someone down if you don’t have any.

Sidenote: Similar to the other UOR parks, there’s only two sit down restaurants in this park (akin to Lombard’s Seafood Grille). Unfortunately, Blue Dragon isn’t open yet and I didn’t want to pay big bucks to eat at Atlantic by myself. However, I look forward to trying them in the future.

Tips for Attending Epic Universe Previews

• Arrive early – Take advantage of Early Park Admission if you are a hotel guest. The wait times only build during the day.
• Bring a hat and sunscreen – There’s very little shade in this park. I even saw some folks carrying umbrellas for shade and that may not be a bad idea.
• Bring a water bottle – This park has a water bottle filler at every bathroom and beside most water fountains. It’s great for staying hydrated!
• Pack your patience – Rides have delayed openings and go down frequently. I don’t know when things will start to work more consistently. I doubt the grand opening will fix these issues either. Just be patient.
• Have a card attached to your account – You will be required to mobile order food. Having a card (debit, credit, or gift) attached makes it quicker and easier to order.

Should you attend a Epic Universe preview?

Personally, the ability to see a theme park before it officially opens was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don’t regret my decision to go at all. It was hot and more crowded than I expected. I rode way fewer rides than I anticipated. However, I still had a good time and have good memories from the trip.

So, have you attended this soft opening? What was your experience like?