Epic Universe was announced by NBCUniversal on August 1, 2019 as Universal's newest, most innovative, state-of-the-art theme park. Five years and nine months later on May 22, 2025 Epic Universe would officially open to the public. The park takes up 110 acres of land, with more areas reserved for future expansions. I am so incredibly lucky, fortunate, and blessed to have been able to step foot inside Epic Universe a mere three months and two weeks after it opened.
How does Epic Universe fare? Has it earned or does it live up to the hype surrounding it? Well, I didn't get to see everything in Epic Universe, but I did get to experience most of the big attractions there. There WILL be MAJOR spoilers ahead, proceed at your own caution!
I stayed at the Stella Nova Hotel, one of Universal's newest hotels just across the way from Epic Universe. Stella Nova is a value hotel, but I'd rank it significantly higher than either of Universal's Endless Summer hotels. The theming for Stella Nova seems to be that you are aboard a spaceship or space vessel. The hotel is covered in iridescent panels that change color depending on the way the sun hits them, and at night the exterior of the hotel lights up in fiber optic lights like the cosmos.
Upon approaching the entrance, you enter an automatic revolving door that helps to sell the illusion that you are entering into someplace else. The inside is spacious, pristine, and very white with minimal but effective theming. The rooms are your average hotel rooms. The only note I will add is that in my room the AC wouldn't come on automatically. I would have to manually turn it on and up if I wanted it working. I can't say if this is the case for every room or not, but this was my experience, so be aware just in case.
The best things about Stella Nova are that it is within walking distance to Epic Universe, and you get to access Epic Universe an hour before park opening. A nice walking path is provided for hotel guests, and busses to Epic, Citywalk, IOA, and USF arrive every twenty minutes. I opted for the walk most times, and found it takes around ten to twenty minutes (depending on traffic, you have to cross a busy intersection) to reach the main gates. One of the coolest things is you can hear the music playing at the main gates all the way from across the road, it's pretty crazy.
Epic relies heavy on face recognition technology for ticket verification, express pass queues, and locker rentals/item retrievals. In other words, you won't have to pull out your ticket or express pass as often as you might expect (HURRAY!!!!). I am also thrilled to say I didn't experience any issues or difficulties with this new tech. For the most part, it was a painless experience.
Upon entry, you find yourself in front of the Chronos, which is the icon for the park. The Chronos stands at thirty feet tall and contains several medallions and spinning pieces which represent each land, portal, or universe in the park. The Chronos also acts as the main gate for Epic Universe. After entering through the Chronos, you find yourself inside Celestial Park.
CELESTIAL PARK
Let's come out of the gate swinging. Celestial Park is one of the absolute best theme park lands in the entire world. There is a backstory to Celestial Park, but it's very hard to make out what exactly it is. It involves these beings called Celestians who were actually walk around characters for a while before Universal removed them. Regardless, the vibes, theming, and detail in Celestial Park are immaculate. There is near-constant vegetation and water features including rivers, streams, and fountains.
The fountains in Celestial Park were designed by the same people who created the Bellagio fountains at Las Vegas. The fountains in Celestial Park are gorgeous, stunning, and endlessly entertaining to watch. There is a mini-show every fifteen to seventeen minutes or so, and a final ten minute show to close out the park themed to each portal/land/universe in Epic Universe. In a day and age where Disney is actively gutting any water feature they can find (Fountain of Nations, Rivers of America), it's so incredibly satisfying to see Epic Universe do the opposite.
It was certainly a thing to watch people constantly stop to sit and watch the fountains. There wasn't a seat left for the final show, which gives off Illuminations: Reflections of Earth and Fountains of Nations vibes (minus pyrotechnics and projections). Turns out people actually like having water features and fountains in their theme parks. They add to the overall atmosphere of the park, are free, don't require you to wait in a line to experience, and give guests something to do while in-between attractions.
Celestial Park itself gave off Disney Springs/Downtown Disney vibes to me, and I mean that in the best way possible. It feels like a small, little city or town. The musical score that plays throughout the area is beautiful. I wish Universal would release a full album of the music from Celestial Park like they did with Dark Universe.
Celestial Park is the main land in Epic Universe. Allow me to explain. Epic Universe has a unique structure from most theme parks. For example, in Islands of Adventure the first land you enter is Port of Entry, which then opens up to all the other islands.
Celestial Park is essentially Epic Universe's Port of Entry, except it's very neat, clean, pretty, sleek, and looks new. As you walk through Celestial Park (which might be the largest land at Epic Universe), you'll occasionally come across a large portal for each individual land/universe. The land connected to each portal is self-contained and you must exit out the way you came (through the portal or close to it) in order to return to Celestial Park and explore other lands/universes. In other words, Celestial Park is how you access each land/universe/portal in Epic Universe.
Celestial Park has quite a few shops and restaurants within it, there's even a backstory created for the mascot for Celestial Park's candy shop, a black bear named Captain Cacao. Celestial Park is such a vibe (Yes, I will be using this phrase a lot.) to walk through, especially at night (trees, vegetation, and water fountains glow with color). There's a live band that plays throughout the day, and even a few "secret" garden paths to explore.
Despite the amount of vegetation, there is very little shade in Celestial Park (and Epic Universe as a whole). This is the biggest issue with Epic Universe. Orlando in the summer months becomes a practical desert, with the heat and humidity aiming to kill. Luckily, there are quite a few "cooling stations" set up around Epic Universe with large signs pointing you to where they are.
It also doesn't hurt to pick up a Coca-Cola Souviner Freestyle cup as well. They are refillable throughout the day for free, and cost twenty-one dollars.. I mostly used mine for water, though each land except for Nintendo has it's own unique soda flavor. Celestial Park's is called Celestial Spritz and tasted (to me at least) like a blood orange soda. Different, but not bad. I actually preferred it to the other unique soda flavor I tried (more on that later).
From Celestial Park, you can see inside some of the other lands. There are some sightline issues. I wouldn't say there is anything too egregious or unforgivable, but they are definitely there if you look for them. I've also heard speculation that in time the vegetation in Celestial Park will grow to provide enough shade, but I'm not sure that's going to be the case from what I've seen. This is not ideal, and can make walking around the park or waiting in outdoor queues painful. For this reason, I would say the best time to visit would be in December, January, February, March, and maybe even April as those months tend to be much cooler and less humid.
Unfortunately, I missed the main attraction in Celestial Park, Stardust Racers. I had attempted to hit it once during the day, but the wait time was close to two hours. I tried again at night with Express, but they only had one track open (it's a dueling coaster), and Express was barely moving. So, I'll take the Big L on that one. Whoops!
CONSTELLATION CAROUSEL
I got to ride this puppy at night, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It's a real vibe. The carousel is large and open air. It's themed to the different constellations, so the figures you get to ride on are bulls, bears, rams, lions, etc...they represent the constellations in the sky.
The ride starts and the lights go out. The figures you're riding on light up with twinkling fiber optics. They begin to rise, fall, spin, and even move in reverse all in synchronization to music played overhead. There are various different tracks that play, and the tracks are different at day and night. This is a very re-ridable and incredibly satisfying carousel, easily my favorite one I've ridden. It's like riding a synchronized dance. It's magical.
PIZZA MOON RESTAURANT
A clever take on Georges Melies' 'A Trip to the Moon'. In this version, we landed on the moon, and found it was made of cheese. Naturally, we used this moon cheese to make pizza. The interior is full of moving and swinging figures that resemble the aesthetic style of that film. It's a very colorful and pleasant place to be in, and the costumes the attendants wear are delightful.
I had the Nanarossa, which is basically their take on a Margherita. It was honestly the best pizza I've had in a theme park. It was restaurant quality. Out of the restaurants I ate at in Epic Universe (which weren't many), I'd rank Pizza Moon as number one. Every restaurant at Epic Universe relies on mobile ordering through the Universal app. There are some where you can order at the window, but there are others where you can only order through the app. It's not a difficult process, but it does take some getting used to.
ISLE OF BERK
This land/universe aims to recreate The Isle of Berk from the animated How to Train Your Dragon films. Upon entering you are greeted by a large stone which is inscribed with the story of Berk. After walking around the stone you are met by an immense body of water. Jutting out are two enormous statues, one of which emits fire. They are the same statues from the films.
This land/universe feels sizable, and easily the best and coolest thing about it are the numerous animatronic dragons that litter the land. You won't see them right away, but will come across them as you explore the island. This is something theme park fans have dreamt about forever, integrating animatronic figures into your lands, and to finally see it brought to reality is unreal and incredible. There are walk around characters from the films including Astrid, Gobber, Hiccup, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and several dragons.
Toothless gets his very own meet-and-greet area with wait times regularly running at two to three hours. That's another one I'm taking a BIG L on. I did get to see Toothless and his interactions with guests and he really is amazing to behold. An incredibly impressive animatronic. I just didn't get to personally interact with him.
The only walk around characters I got to meet were Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were almost constantly out and interacting with guests. They are very fun and lively, and are a joy to talk to. I didn't get to ride Dragon Racer's Rally, but I'm ok with that. The land itself feels more for families or kids, but that isn't a bad thing. It's colorful, animated, and lively. Overall, a pretty fun area to spend some time in.
HICCUP'S WINGED GLIDERS
This is Epic Universe's Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure. There are several launch moments/acceleration points, Hiccup is there with you the entire time via constant voice-over narration, and the ride itself is very smooth, pleasant, and fun. It's more of a family coaster than a kiddie coaster as there are some thrills to be found here. The bare basic plot is that Hiccup has designed a new contraption that will help us fly like dragons. Before he can put the final wings on our vehicle, a jealous Toothless launches us early and thus we have a roller coaster.
There are an animatronic Toothless and Hiccup you encounter before the launch, and several other animatronics of dragons both babies and adults as you coast around Berk. Easily my favorite part of the coaster is flying through what I guess you would call the dragon rookery. The rookery is a large, open-air structure that essentially acts as a bunch of birdhouses for the dragons. As we fly through the rookery, we have to dodge and weave amongst several dragon's heads. It's a really cool, magical moment.
THE UNTRAINABLE DRAGON
If you don't want to wait in a two to three hour wait to meet Toothless, but you still want to see that dragon fly, then getting your butt in a seat for The Untrainable Dragon is an absolute must. It's the best show at the park and is essentially Epic's 'Finding Nemo: The Musical' (talking about the OG version and not the "updated" one). It's a true broadway production with great songs (Universal really should release an album for the show. I would buy one. My favorite song was the opening one), impressive sets, surprisingly cool fight scenes, and lively choreography.
The plot involves a new dragon that arrives on Berk, threatening the island with it's aggressive attitude and untrainable nature. It's up to Hiccup to find a way to train the dragon or else it very well may be slaughtered by Berk's vikings. The highlight of the show is the second scene, where Co2 is pumped into the theater to replicate clouds while images of clouds fill the screens that surround the theater. Then, Toothless swoops in from above.
A fully-realized, fluid, lifelike animatronic of Toothless soars above your heads. On top of Toothless is a live-actor playing Hiccup. A live-actor is riding an animatronic dragon as it's swooping and literally diving over your heads. Hiccup will wave at audience members as this is happening. Then, as if that weren't enough, Toothless proceeds to descend downwards, landing on the stage. Hiccup gets off Toothless, and Toothless flies up into the air and off stage. Absolutely freaking incredible. Mind-blowing. You will believe you saw a dragon fly.
SPIT FYRE GRILL RESTAURANT
This quick-service restaurant has what is undoubtedly the most popular food item at Epic Universe: The Mac and Cheese Cone. I opted for the tastier variety, called The PB and J- Pork, Bacon and Jam. It's a bread cone that is filled with Mac and Cheese, BBQ harissa pulled pork, and peanut bacon jam. I chose to sit at Hooligan's Harbor, which is a covered area that overlooks Fyre Drill, an interactive shooting water ride which seems to have a small footprint (Didn't get to ride this, either). It's a very pleasant area to eat at, but unfortunately the PB and J gave me some painful indigestion for a good two to three hours. Not fun.
SUPER NINTENDO WORLD
Super Nintendo World offers everything a fan of Nintendo could want or ask for. You truly feel like you have entered into the world of their video games. The two main entrances both force you upstairs, one by escalator, the other by a flight of stairs. While trekking those two flights of stairs to the entrance is not fun, I actually prefer the second entrance as it's much moodier and atmospheric.
Once you exit Peach's Castle, you are immediately bombarded with an onslaught of external stimuli. The land is bursting with kinetic motion, everywhere you look something is moving or making noise and there is a close to infinite amount of interactive elements to discover and play with (including multiple blocks to bop with your hands or your head, if you're feeling brave enough). It's overwhelming, but undeniably effective and immersive. There's even a mini-land attached to Super Nintendo World themed to Donkey Kong Country.
Donkey Kong Country isn't particularly big, but it is well-themed and the music that plays throughout the area is an absolute bop. Super Nintendo World will try to convince you to buy a Power-Up Band, a wearable accessory similar to a MagicBand that allows you to unlock mini-games throughout the land, track your score on Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, and compete with friends/family. A Power-Up Band costs approximately forty-eight dollars. In order to use the band in Donkey Kong Country, you have to purchase a Donkey Kong Country add-on accessory.
DONKEY KONG MINE-CART MADNESS
On this family coaster, we join Diddy Kong, DK, and Dixie Kong as they race against a nefarious rival tribe to find the Golden Banana. The story sounds like stuff for kids, but this is a family coaster through and through. This is Epic Universe's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The queue is fairly small, with not a whole lot to see. That said, there is a large Funky animatronic and another for his parrot. Funky acts as the pre-show as he conveys the plot of the ride to riders.
Funky and his parrot are pretty cool, impressive, and entertaining to watch. The big draw of the coaster is that it attempts to simulate the "jumping the track" moments from the Donkey Kong video game. How well does it pull the effect off? I sat in the front row and I have to say...well enough. It's easy to buy into the idea that your cart is jumping the tracks, even if these moments can lead to some bumpiness or roughness.
The biggest downside to this coaster is that there is a very good chance most won't be able to ride it due to horrendously low capacity. Each coaster car only seats four riders. This means wait times tend to fall on the long side. I would say if the wait time is an hour or less, go for it...anything longer stay away. Express might be your best bet, but even that line can get absurdly long. I wound up using my hour early access to hit it first thing, and that honestly might be the smartest way to go about tackling this attraction.
YOSHI'S ADVENTURE
What a delightful little ride. It's essentially Epic's version of the Seuss Trolly Train Ride, but so much better than it's predecessor. First off, the queue is adorable as heck and the music that plays throughout it is very nice. The story is that we are joining Yoshi for an egg hunt. When you find an egg on the ride, you press the corresponding egg button on your ride vehicle.
The Yoshi vehicles are VERY slow moving, and the ride feels like it could be a little bit longer. It basically exists to give guests a relaxing aerial view of Super Nintendo World, but there is one interior show scene and multiple animatronics throughout. I've heard people complaining about this one, but I can't agree. I found it to be incredibly relaxing and pleasant.
MARIO KART: BOWSER'S CHALLENGE
Bowser has challenged Mario and friends to a Mario Kart race to be held at his castle. Little do they know, Bowser has been hard at work devising a plan to finally defeat Mario at his game. We are on team Mario, and are invited to tour Bowser's castle before the race. It's a pretty cool queue with clever, cute rooms to explore while you wait.
Before you board your Kart, you pick up a Mario hat which you adjust by turning a white plastic knob on the back. Once in the Kart, there is a pair of plastic glasses that magnetically attach to your Mario hat. These are AR goggles, which constantly project images of various Mario Kart racers, characters, and effects. These images often obstruct your view of physical sets, objects, and props in the real world and even at times completely obscure your view of the track. It's a chaotic, confusing, and overwhelming experience.
The AR Goggles/Mario Hat combo is also pretty top heavy, and you don't want it drooping too low, so make sure your Mario hat is nice and tight. The way the game is played is you look to aim, press both buttons on your steering wheel to shoot, and steer your steering wheel in the corresponding direction when indicated to do so. This is the most Video Game: The Ride attraction I have ever been on. It's incredibly ambitious, and the physical props and sets are all incredibly impressive, which is why it can be frustrating that the AR images can get in the way of the physical environments at times.
There are some moments where the goggles and sets work in perfect unison (like a physical prop crushing one of the AR Mario Kart racers). The moment that makes the entire experience worth it comes near the end of the attraction, where you get to actually race on the rainbow road. Practical effects, screens, and AR images blend together perfectly to sell the illusion that you have entered the game Mario Kart and are racing on the actual Rainbow Road. It's incredibly thrilling, and it feels like your Kart practically takes off on a bit of a roller-coaster. In the end, Mario Kart is a perfect encapsulation of what the game Mario Kart is. This attraction should hold some amount of appeal for anyone who grew up playing Mario Kart.
DARK UNIVERSE
Now, onto the reason I made this trip in the first place: My undying love for the classic Universal Monsters. Dark Universe continues Universal's attempts to bring the classic Universal Monsters into the modern day, and is easily their most successful endeavor yet. Dark Universe is set in the small town of Darkmoor, the favorite haunting spot of all the classic Universal Monsters. Upon approaching the Darkmoor portal, you are greeted by Danny Elfman's original score composed specifically for this land/universe and all the attractions and shops within it.
Like every portal in Epic Universe, a large screen covers the top inner portion of the portal. For Dark Universe, crackling lightning and electricity are projected onto the screen. The portal gives way to a crumbling, wooden structure and then you exit the wooden structure into a decrepit graveyard covered in a fine fog and a chained entrance to an undercroft. If you linger at the undercroft, you can hear disturbing rattling and commotion coming from deep inside.
As you make your way through the graveyard, you come across two open coffins for photos/selfies, and the iconic Grim Reaper statue from the original Frankenstein film. Now, you arrive at the entrance to Darkmoor village. Hanging in a gibbet/iron cage across from the Darkmoor village sign is a deceased creature which is definitely not human in origin. In the center of the village is a large fountain which is connected to the undercroft and catacombs, and constantly emits large billowing clouds of fog.
Dark Universe isn't as large as one might imagine. I'd estimate it's around the size of Hogsmeade in IOA, maybe a little bigger. Luckily, the theming here is absolutely top-tier. It really does feel like you have stepped foot inside a classic Universal Monsters film.
The cool little details and easter eggs littered throughout the land only make it that much more cool and satisfying. Atop the entrance to Pretorious' shop, there's a crumbling balcony littered with arrows. Inside Dr. Pretorius' shop you can find a portrait of Pretorius. It bears the likeness of Dr. Pretorius from The Bride of Frankenstein. The portrait sits above a coffin, who rests within?
The multiple walk around characters were all performed to perfection, and I had the luck of getting to meet each one. The violinist actually plays in Das Stakehaus to entice guests to join her outside for a tale (more of Das Stakehaus later). Dr. Griffin/The Invisible Man was actually not rude to me and gladly welcomed a picture. I got to shake the hands of The Bride of Frankenstein and Victoria Frankenstein's Monster (or as I call him, Franky), as well as give Franky a hug.
Franky and his bride were both confused and unsure what to make of this. He turned to me and asked: "Why hug?" And I told him because he is "so good", and the Bride said "He's very good", I said "The best". I told Franky he has "big heart, strong heart", then I placed him hands on top of mine and I kind of moved my arms up and down and repeated "Friend, friend". This made both of them happy.
I also got to have a delightful interaction with Igor, who seems to be a fan favorite and tends to have the best improv and interactions with guests. I even had the luck of brushing past a monster hunter! If you are having trouble meeting your monster or character of choice, don't feel afraid to ask a team member when they would be meeting next and they'll steer you in the right direction. You definitely want to try to meet each character here.
There are also cool mini-shows for Frankenstein's Manor and The Burning Blade Tavern. I believe they both happen every fifteen minutes or so, and are accompanied by lighting and sound effects before the big reveal. The Burning Blade is supposed to be the old mill that was set afire with Frankenstein's Monster inside. Before it bursts into flame, a church bell rings and various vegetation lights up to simulate the torches of the villagers along with audio of an angry mob. The Burning Blade erupts into flame and stays on fire for a good minute or two before another explosion extinguishes the flames for good. RIP Franky.
For The Manor, you will notice various strobe/lighting effects around the village, along with the audible buzz of electricity as Victoria drains power from Darkmoor to fuel her experiments. All this, before a loud explosion of electricity is heard with dazzling lightning/electricity effect that pulses around and atop the manor. After you pass Frankenstein's Manor, you find yourself traveling through a more heavily forested area. You quickly find yourself amongst a guild of mystics (Universal's update/refresh of Gypsies since the word Gypsy was historically used as a racial slur against people of Eastern European descent).
CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF
The queue for this is pretty cute but uninvolving, the theme being that you are traveling through the forests from The Wolf Man film where the Guild of Mystics have set up camp. You are making your way to Maleva the fortune teller to see if you are cursed or not. Unbeknownst to you, Maleva fully intends to send you into the jaws of the werewolves that prowl the forests the Mystics call home. This ride is fairly short, likely running less than two minutes in length, but it packs more of a punch or wallop than I was expecting it to. The coaster cars each spin a full three hundred sixty degrees as you careen around the track.
I'd say the best part is everything after your back-and-forth through the cabin, which is when the spinning really kicks into full gear. This baby has some serious thrills, which is why it's disappointing it's so short. Werewolf is another ride that has atrociously low capacity. Each car only seats four guests. This means (much like Mine-Cart Madness) the wait times tend to be very lengthy.
Express is usually a safe bet, but whatever you do, practice some self-love and stay FAR AWAY from Single Riders. Even when the Single Riders line looks very short, it can take upwards of an hour to secure a seat. If you are opting for the regular line, I'd say an hour's wait is manageable, but anything over that I would skip it. It's also interesting that this reinterpretation of the Maleva character is a full-on villain and total dick. She seems to take enjoyment in sending hapless tourists off to be mauled. It's quite a radical departure from the Maleva in the original film, who was tragic in nature.
MONSTERS UNCHAINED:
THE FRANKENSTEIN EXPERIMENT
And so we arrive at one of the largest draws of Epic Universe, one of its headlining attractions, and supposedly one of the best rides on the planet: Monsters Unchained. This is the first ride ever where I deliberately avoided watching any on-ride videos before I hopped on board. I was shocked that the wait times were consistently under an hour. In fact, most of my waits were ten to fifteen minutes. (Maybe people are too afraid to go on it...or even too afraid to step foot into Dark Universe? I’ve heard the likely reason for the low wait times is the ride is ridiculously efficient.).
Regardless, we wind our way up to the main doors of Frankenstein's Manor. The place has stood abandoned for decades, it's crumbling facade a constant reminder to those living in Darkmoor of the terrible legacy of Dr. Henry Frankenstein and the horrors he wrought upon the village of Darkmoor. Lately, it would appear that a new character has taken up residence in the manor. A young woman named Victoria who claims to be the great-great granddaughter of Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Her name is a reference to the first name of Frankenstein in the novel, Victor). Victoria and her assistants have been conducting experiments within the manor and Victoria herself has been in the process of investigating and exploring the undercroft and catacombs that lie under Darkmoor.
Upon stepping foot inside the manor, look down. Notice the entrance has a large carpeted area that likely is supposed to be a welcome mat. Be a courteous guest and wipe your shoes before entering the manor. In the rotunda are two large spiral staircases adorned with two large, ornate and frightening paintings. At the base of the steps stand two imposing corpse-esque statues. At the top of the staircase is a painting of Dr. Henry Frankenstein from the original Frankenstein film.
Before ascending the staircase, you take a sharp left down a creepy hallway which has the phrase "Who's the true monster?" illuminated in blacklight. After passing through the hallway, you enter the living room which has a comfy sofa situated inside near a roaring fire. Atop the hearth is an actual picture of Henry and Elizabeth from the original classic. In the fire you can see a newspaper with the headline "Shadows over Darkmoor". In the living room there is a large container for organ storage/transport, above which a family tree of the Frankensteins sits on the wall. Victoria has crudely stapled a picture of herself to the middle of it, obscuring whoever was there originally.
In the next room, there stands a glass case in which the preserved corpse of the Boris Karloff Frankenstein's Monster lies (with a pair of undies on to keep him decent). A scanning effect triggers often, analyzing the monster and its anatomy. In this same room are grotesque spinal, cranial, and musculature structures preserved and on display. After this, we get to ascend the staircase, moving alongside those frightening paintings and past the portrait of Henry. We enter into another room that houses an old-school projector. On one wall are tacked black-and-white photos of the classic Universal Monsters. The projector is playing found footage of Victoria's assistants hunting down and ultimately being attacked by each of the classic Universal Monsters. They were apparently successful in their attempts to capture the monsters, but their success came with great casualties, as you will see.
After this, we are ushered into the first pre-show where the delightful freak Igor greets us and taunts us, revealing that the path ahead is filled with danger and that he will be piloting our Catacombs Navigation Unit before letting us in to see the good doctor. In other words, we are in the best of hands. In the second pre-show are animatronics of Victoria Frankenstein and her Monster, both of which are absolutely mind-blowing. Victoria Frankenstein's Monster actually takes several steps forward, and the facial detailing on Victoria Frankenstein is un-freaking-believable. She is easily the most lifelike animatronic I have ever seen in my entire life. You have to keep reminding yourself this is an actual animatronic and not a CGI screen you are looking at. You have to see it for yourself to fully understand.
Victoria reveals that she intends to reclaim the name of Frankenstein, and has been experimenting with taming/controlling each of the classic Universal Monsters. Quasimodo, The Phantom of the Opera, The Brides of Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Imhotep/The Mummy, and The Wolf Man have all fallen to the ambition and hubris of Victoria. Only one refuses to heel: Dracula. Victoria has invited all of us here to bear witness to her ultimate triumph, the final submission of Dracula to her will. Her monologuing complete, Victoria sends us into the catacombs to meet her for the final experiment.
On the way there we pass by a room that holds Dracula's opened coffin, and several artifacts that belong to Eric/The Phantom of the Opera (a violin, a sheet music holder, a picture of Christine Daae from the silent movie), a burst open cage that likely contained The Wolf Man, and a sarcophagus for Imhotep/The Mummy. After this we walk down some catacombs with skeletons or corpses in repose and that leads us directly to the loading area. Our Catacombs Navigation Units are Kuka Arms, essentially the same exact ride system from Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Igor takes control of our vehicle and within seconds of Victoria starting the experiment, Dracula flips the tables and wrestles control away from her, freeing himself and all the other monsters (Potentially even placing them directly under his control). With all hell literally breaking loose and the Monsters staging a full-on violent revolt, it's up to Victoria and Igor to find a way to stop the monsters from escaping and save their guests.
Monsters Unchained is basically a re-invention of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Gone are motion simulator screens, replaced by an over-abundance of animatronics and regular screens (similar to the vault screens directly before Voldemort and Nagini's attack in Escape From Gringotts). Each monster gets at least one fully-realized, hyper-realistic, intimidatingly large animatronic except for Quasimodo and The Brides, who are more static figures with limited motion. The Wolf Man gets two (The first Wolf Man was broken for all of my at least 5 ride-thrus, so it seems he might have been permanently shut off. Let's hope that's not the case), Drac gets three.
A good deal of the Animatronics on the ride are large (I'm talking at least nine or ten feet tall). Some get closer to your ride vehicles than others do, but you never feel in danger of them being able to touch you, though their sheer size is enough to make you shrink back a bit in your seat. The movement profile for the Catacombs Navigation Units are at least on par with Forbidden Journey, very possibly more intense. It's a very impressive and cool ride, but unfortunately it's not quite perfect.
Some areas are too bright and you can make out the warehouse walls. There are other areas with egregious and immersion breaking black curtains. They placed some chains in front of a few of the curtains, but this is essentially an obvious/glaring band-aid. Luckily, Monsters Unchained is so incredibly cool and wildly ambitious that it isn't too hard to overlook these issues.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is not the best ride in the park, but it is undoubtedly the coolest. The queue for Monsters Unchained is easily the best in all of Epic. It also has the largest number of animatronics we've gotten in a dark ride in the modern day, as well as the most lifelike and realistic animatronics you'll find in Orlando. In other words: It's a do-not-miss.
One of my favorite things about this ride, is that it presents you with a question in the queue: Is Victoria Frankenstein a hero, a villain/monster, or something in between? The name of the ride itself might imply that it's actually Victoria who is the one being tested. Upon exiting, the attraction hasn't given us a definitive answer. Instead, it provides clues throughout and allows riders to form their own conclusions. Personally, I think she is doing good, but despite her claiming altruistic intentions, there is the implication that her actions are coming from a place of self-serving, ego, and a quest for power and control. I'm not sure if she's definitively bad or good, as there is a genuine case to be made on each side.
Regardless, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is everything fans of the classic Universal Monsters have wanted. I don't personally think it's scary (I found the Dementors in Forbidden Journey to be scarier than the monsters in Unchained), but more-so atmospheric, creepy, and freaky. For your first ride, I strongly recommend you wait in the regular line despite how long it may or may not be. The queue is easily on par with Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, Kong, and Battle at the Ministry. You fully believe you are walking through Frankenstein's Manor.
DAS STAKEHAUS RESTAURANT
Easily the most impressive restaurant I've ever eaten at in a theme park. The interior is themed to the old hang out of vampires and their familiars. The vampires have been staked and run out of town, and their familiars now run the place. Beware though, there are rumors that deep within Das Stakehaus the vampires have set up camp once again.
Stepping foot inside Das Stakehaus, you will believe you are not in a theme park anymore. The interiors are large, spacious, and very creepy. There are multiple staked corpses of vampires adorning the place, it's dimly lit, and the entire place is awash in red lights on occasion. I could see kids being genuinely too afraid to stay in here for long.
I wound up ordering the Crimson Glazed Pork. It's char siu-style roasted pork belly with bloody roast pork dipping sauce, charred green onion mashed potatoes, roasted baby carrots, and acorn squash, crispy maitake mushrooms. It was a very satisfying and tasted similar to the Banh Mi sandwich from The Confisco Grill at Islands of Adventure. The sauce is poured over the pork and is pretty tart. It's not a great sauce, but I didn't hate it.
The specialty soda is called Screaming Berry and it tastes like a blueberry soda. The specialty mocktail is called the Monocane, and themed to the invisibility potion that Dr. Griffin/The Invisible Man created. It's lime green in color and comes in an apothecary glass with a wood stopper and test tube straw. It tastes like a very fizzy green apple soda. It's not bad, and is worth a try for the curious, but I wouldn't order it every time.
WIZARDING WORLD PARIS
Using the time-turner as an over-arching thematic icon, Wizarding World Paris spans two timelines. The world itself is set in 1927 Paris, the primary location for the underwhelming Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The lone ride in the land, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, takes place after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. I have never been to Paris and my memory of the Grindelwald movie is poor (perhaps deliberately so), but that aside, I really did feel like I had entered a real city outside of a theme park. Imagine Diagon Alley, if it was even more spacious and open-air.
This is easily the most real, authentic feeling land Universal has created. I didn't shed any tears upon entry, but I might as well have with how in awe and shock I was. There's even a small little mini-area that's like Paris' Knockturn Alley. There is a traveling show that performs in the main square on occasion, but I didn't get to see them.
I've been told that there are Hogwarts students that roam throughout the area. They might have been there, but I didn't notice them. There are many cool elements that interact with your wand throughout the land (if you purchased one for the hefty fee of eighty-five dollars. If you have an old wand, you can bring it to Wizarding World Paris, and they will update it to the second generation wand and give you a new map too). Luckily, there are always people standing around trying to activate one of these elements. If you really want to see some of the effects, just stand back, be respectful, and watch what they trigger.
HARRY POTTER AND THE BATTLE AT
THE MINISTRY
In this attraction, we enter the Paris Metro Floo, which deposits us into the Ministry of Magic months or years after the Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Lord Voldemort (It's unclear the date, if I had to guess I'd say it's 1998 or 1999.). This is accomplished via a very cool effect which utilizes a tunnel, green light, and fog. We have arrived on a very special day: The trial of Dolores Umbridge. The whole wizarding world is in celebration, and everyone (even muggles) have been invited to attend.
The magical elevators from the films will ferry us to the trial, but along the way, Death Eaters attack and free Dolores Umbridge. She has one goal, find a time turner and use it to go back to the rule of Lord Voldemort. It's up to Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Umbridge's much maligned house-elf Higgeldy, and us to stop Umbridge and bring her back to face justice. The queue for this attraction is one of the best in the world (but not the best in the park).
The queue is elaborately themed and downright labyrinthine as you wind your way through various areas of the Ministry. It just goes and goes and goes and goes. Right when you think you're getting near the end, SURPRISE, there's another room. The ride vehicles resemble more ornate versions of the elevators from Tower of Terror. This alone might be enough to get some sweating.
No need to fear, Tower of Terror, this is not. There are no real drops, and the ride experience resembles more of a cross between Transformers and Escape from Gringotts. There are several motion simulator portions, scenes, dark ride show scenes, and the ride vehicle can whip and spin riders around with a good deal of force as well as simulate rapid rising motion and sudden acceleration. This ride feel enormous, and the dark ride show scenes are easily the most impressive parts with large set pieces, spacious rooms, and life-like animatronics that react to other animatronics, events on-screen, and riders. For example, there are Death Eater animatronics that often wind up targeting and attacking riders. Out of all the rides I went on, this is the one I consider the best.
LE CIRQUE ARCANUS
This show is certainly ambitious, to say the least. The queue is very cool, long, and circus themed. It's a neat, highly themed area that isn't painful to wait in until the pre-show opens. It's definitely one of the coolest and most unique queues (and pre-show rooms) in Epic.
Le Cirque Arcanus (Pronounced Leh Sirk Ar-Can-Oo) was a very popular traveling circus . Their collection of fantastic beasts and the tricks they would be forced to perform were the talk of the town...until Newt Scamander freed all the beasts (Apparently this occurred in the Crimes of Grindelwald film. Even the villain of this show, Ringmaster Skender, was apparently a side-character in that film as well.). The show has fallen on hard times since.
A desperate Ringmaster Skender sends his house-elf Burgle to, *ahem*, burgle away Newt Scamander's suitcase. With the suitcase and all of Newt Scamander's entire menagerie of fantastic beasts at his control, Skender might finally be able to bring Le Cirque Arcanus back to its former glory. Gwenlyn, a No-Maj new hire for the circus, might be the only one brave enough to save the innocent creatures inside Newt's suitcase. The pre-show gets you appropriately hyped for what you are about to experience, and the main theater is every bit as cool aesthetically as every other room here. Unfortunately, this show is an absolute mess.
There are only a total of three circus acts in the show, only one act out of those three was cool, and none of those acts involve fantastic beasts. What do I mean? Well, with Le Cirque Arcanus you essentially get two shows: a circus show and a special effects showcase. The only issue is neither is particularly memorable or coherent. The best part of the circus part is a performer who blows bubbles with her hands, fills one with fog/Co2, and then the entire room fills with bubbles filled with fog/Co2. This creates one hell of a cool effect when you pop the bubbles and they burst into willowy wisps of fog.
The best part of the sfx/tech showcase is when the stage rises up, revealing a whole set underneath as stairs unfold from under the stage above. It's an honest-to-God jaw-dropping moment. The biggest issues with the show are that the story makes absolutely zero sense and the pre-show promises an experience it never intends to deliver on. The pre-show sets audiences up for a circus show that is going to integrate fantastic beasts as part of the show. As I stated before, this never happens.
There are multiple fantastic beasts which appear through use of screens, large animatronics, puppets, and live actors. However, they are never utilized as part of the circus and are only ever seen inside the suitcase. In fact, it looks like Ringmaster Skender doesn't have a clue as to how he's going to integrate these creatures into his circus show. So, why is he going around advertising that fantastic beasts are back in Le Cirque Arcanus if he doesn't have any intention of showing them off to the public yet? It doesn't make any sense.
The icing on top of the cake is that god-awful surprise appearance from Newt Scamander via screen. The character looks like Eddie Redmayne, but he doesn't sound like Eddie Redmayne. It's distracting. One can only guess that the reason why a live-actor isn't used instead is because of some stipulation in the contract with WB/JK Rowling that says that only likenesses of the lead actors from the films can be only be utilized through screens or something.
The live-actors who portray Ringmaster Skender, Gwenlyn, and Skender's MC are all fantastic, with my favorite being Skender. The actor I got was very into the role, and played both the exaggerated and exuberant, and sinister and secretive sides of Skender to perfection. It's a shame he wasn't in the proceedings more often. The new tech or special effects are all pretty cool, but nothing is on the level of Toothless in The Untrainable Dragon. Maybe see Le Cirque Arcanus before you see The Untrainable Dragon, the show might impress and dazzle more that way.
FINAL THOUGHTS
You forget what it’s like to walk into a brand new theme park for the first time. Up until Epic, Disney’s California Adventure was the newest theme park in the USA, and that opened twenty-four years ago. It’s going to be exciting to watch Epic receive expansions, new rides, and new shows over the coming years. The vegetation and foliage will grow bigger and eventually fill up even more space. Epic is already breathtaking to look at, and it’s likely only going to get more aesthetically pleasing as the years march onwards.
Those only stepping foot into Epic Universe primarily for the rides are going to be disappointed, as they only make up a fraction of what there is to see and do at the park. As stated previously, in my opinion the single biggest issue is the lack of shade at the park (and while the trees and such still have room to grow, I’m not sure they will eventually provide the shade park guests crave in the brutal summer months.). If you are going to go to Epic Universe only for a day, I would say Express is an absolute must.
At the time of my writing this, Epic Universe only offers the basic Express Pass (where you can only use the pass once per attraction) at a minimum cost of one hundred forty five dollars plus tax. Epic does not accept the complimentary Express from Universal hotels at the time of this writing as well. The minimum cost of a one day ticket to Epic comes out to around one hundred forty nine dollars plus tax. If you decide to try to do Epic Universe in one day, don’t go in with the aim of trying to do every experience. Take your time, enjoy yourself. Go in with no expectations and just stroll around the park, if you come across an attraction with an acceptable wait time, jump in line.
If you want my honest advice though, I would suggest you give yourself at least two days in Epic Universe, the more days the better. For example: I spent around a day and a half in Epic Universe with Express Pass. I got to see most of what I wanted to do, but there is still plenty that I wasn’t able to get around to doing. That said, I feel incredibly satisfied with what I got to experience and I’m excited about going again.
With Epic Universe, Universal makes a legitimate claim to the title of best theme park corporation working in the USA right now. I’m not sure I can say that Epic Universe is THE BEST theme park in Orlando or the US, but I can say with confidence it’s one of the top four theme parks in the state…one of the top 5 in the country. Epic Universe pulls off real magic. You will experience things here you didn’t think were possible.
Every cent Universal spent on this park is apparent in the final product. This was a clear labor of love, you can tell the designers cared deeply about what they were creating and every cent Universal spent on this park is there for you to see in the finished product. There is a legitimate argument to be made for it being the best theme park in the country. When the stardust has settled, Epic Universe easily establishes itself as one of the absolute best theme parks in the world due to it’s unrivaled theming and world-class attractions.
FAVORITE WORLDS- CELESTIAL PARK, DARK UNIVERSE, WIZARDING WORLD PARIS
BEST QUEUE- MONSTERS UNCHAINED: THE FRANKENSTEIN EXPERIMENT
BEST ATTRACTION- HARRY POTTER AND THE BATTLE AT THE MINISTRY
BEST SHOW- THE UNTRAINABLE DRAGON
COOLEST ATTRACTION- MONSTERS UNCHAINED: THE FRANKENSTEIN EXPERIMENT
BEST CHARACTER TO MEET: IGOR
BEST ATTRACTION TO RIDE AT NIGHT- CONSTELLATION CAROUSEL or YOSHI’S ADVENTURE
