Universal Epic Universe

[Anonymous]

Anyone planning to go? My kids are chomping at the bit to go but I think we will wait awhile before going. It looks pretty incredible from the videos I've seen.

Disney will always have the "name brand" factor and the classic nostalgia but Universal is really giving them a run for their money...

[Anonymous]

We will definitely go next time we are in Florida. I think universal is more suited towards teenage boys, which I happen to have. Epic universe has been having a lot of trouble with the new rides in previews so I’m hoping it will be ironed out by then. I strongly prefer universal’s express pass system because it allows you to go through the park without having to crisscross for reservations

[Anonymous]

We are going later this year. I have definitely preferred disney to universal so we’ll see if this new park changes my mind. I have one kid that is a serious amusement park aficionado so we are repeat players at all the major parks. (RIP six flags America, the one closest to our home, if not our hearts).

[Anonymous]

I cannot wait to go! I grew up going to Disney World and have only been to Universal once…but oh my god it’s 10x better than Disney. The Wizarding World is so incredibly immersive and you can tell a lot of love and effort has gone into every land. Epic Universe is on my bucket list but given it’s one of the newest theme parks to open in the US, I’m going to give it a few months until the hype calms down a bit. I’m thinking a trip in January or sometime in the off season next year

[Anonymous]

My kids rave and rave about Universal. The rides are better, but mostly it’s the lines. They love riding a ride after only waiting 15m or so. Disney is just pure misery of waiting and all you can see is people cutting ahead of you. Harry Potter world is great.

[Anonymous]

When the kids were younger they were all about Disney but now that they are older (13 and 10) they were absolutely crazy about Universal. (We've been once - a year ago.) The rides are way better for thrill seekers and most of the movies that the rides are based off of -- Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, etc. -- are more interesting to older kids. I love that you can get the express pass if you stay at the on-property hotels (or at least a certain tier)...the whole thing seems less nickle and dime-y compared to Disney (although it's still not cheap).

We'll probably go again sometime within the next year.

[Anonymous]

Yes we are planning it for this August. I know it’s going to be miserable weather wise, but my teen boy is so excited about it. My kids have outgrown Disney and haven’t been to Universal. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan and haven’t been to the wizarding world since it opened over a decade ago and so much has changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes we are planning it for this August. I know it’s going to be miserable weather wise, but my teen boy is so excited about it. My kids have outgrown Disney and haven’t been to Universal. I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan and haven’t been to the wizarding world since it opened over a decade ago and so much has changed.

So many of the lines are indoors I think it’ll be fine. I’m sensitive to screen rides so there’s not much I can ride unlike Disneyland, but I still had a great time in the lines looking at all the decorations

[Anonymous]

We went Saturday during one of the preview days. We have a first grader, so we’re more Disney-focused, but we loved it. The capacity was limited so the lines for the rides were long & some were closed, but what we rode was super fun. The Super Mario world really felt like you walked into a video game.

The one negative I’m interested in seeing play out is how they deal with 40,000 visitors a day. Each world is quite contained and it feels like it may be difficult to move about because of that.

Also can’t wait to stay at Helios & love the onsite proximity which is even closer than Hard Rock or Portofino are to Universal & IOA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went Saturday during one of the preview days. We have a first grader, so we’re more Disney-focused, but we loved it. The capacity was limited so the lines for the rides were long & some were closed, but what we rode was super fun. The Super Mario world really felt like you walked into a video game.

The one negative I’m interested in seeing play out is how they deal with 40,000 visitors a day. Each world is quite contained and it feels like it may be difficult to move about because of that.

Also can’t wait to stay at Helios & love the onsite proximity which is even closer than Hard Rock or Portofino are to Universal & IOA.

But no express pass. Major miss.

[Anonymous]

We may go in late August … but I’m worried that waits will be too long even with Express Pass!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are going later this year. I have definitely preferred disney to universal so we’ll see if this new park changes my mind. I have one kid that is a serious amusement park aficionado so we are repeat players at all the major parks. (RIP six flags America, the one closest to our home, if not our hearts).

Same about Six Flags!!!

[Anonymous]

We are planning for next spring break or summer to let Universal work out the kinks and have the crowds die down a bit.

But we are so excited it’s hard to wait!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went Saturday during one of the preview days. We have a first grader, so we’re more Disney-focused, but we loved it. The capacity was limited so the lines for the rides were long & some were closed, but what we rode was super fun. The Super Mario world really felt like you walked into a video game.

The one negative I’m interested in seeing play out is how they deal with 40,000 visitors a day. Each world is quite contained and it feels like it may be difficult to move about because of that.

Also can’t wait to stay at Helios & love the onsite proximity which is even closer than Hard Rock or Portofino are to Universal & IOA.

But no express pass. Major miss.

I bet they will add express pass once/if they need to fill rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went Saturday during one of the preview days. We have a first grader, so we’re more Disney-focused, but we loved it. The capacity was limited so the lines for the rides were long & some were closed, but what we rode was super fun. The Super Mario world really felt like you walked into a video game.

The one negative I’m interested in seeing play out is how they deal with 40,000 visitors a day. Each world is quite contained and it feels like it may be difficult to move about because of that.

Also can’t wait to stay at Helios & love the onsite proximity which is even closer than Hard Rock or Portofino are to Universal & IOA.

But no express pass. Major miss.

I bet they will add express pass once/if they need to fill rooms.

I doubt it. Universal actually wants the Express Pass to have value for the expense. It’s generally around $200 vs just around $35 for the Disney Multipass and gives a lot more value than the Multipass. The value stems from fewer people having the Express Pass so they are not going to increase the volume of it just to fill cheap hotel rooms.