Epic Universe’s first month for the reason that grand opening has been a wild trip. The park continues to see excessive wait occasions and crowd ranges, however not essentially attendance. The larger story at this time is the operational inconsistency, with some rides quietly opening early and/or staying open an hour after official park closing as a ‘shock & delight’ visitor providing.
We’ll begin by but once more making a plug for our rundown of Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe. That was written throughout paid previews, but it surely has aged like a high-quality wine–for essentially the most half. Admittedly, I did imagine that the digital queue for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry was going to stay round till October. I suppose that was so abysmally-executed and garnering such fierce visitor backlash that they’d no alternative however change to standby.
Amongst different issues, two of the opposite main factors raised in that article are “Unpredictable Attendance & Crowds” and “Journey Breakdowns & Downtime.” These proceed to be the overriding points with Epic Universe, as the brand new park continues to be a veritable curler coaster of crowd ranges and common wait occasions since its official opening a couple of month in the past.
At this level, your motto for Epic Universe for the subsequent 12 months or so needs to be: anticipate the sudden.
The #1 factor you want when visiting Epic Universe is flexibility and a willingness to name an audible as insurance policies & protocol change, points of interest break down or function in another way, attendance ranges fluctuate, and the park simply typically throws you curveballs. (Consider Epic Universe because the Sandy Koufax of theme parks.)
If you’re the kind of planner who craves certainty, loves making spreadsheets, and mapping out minute-by-minute specifics of your day months prematurely…possibly Epic Universe isn’t for you proper now. (Extra broadly, I’d suggest everybody abandon any such planning for each theme park, Common or Disney. Flexibility and spontaneity will at all times yield higher outcomes, and be much less anxious. However you do you!)
Earlier than we get going, we wish to clarify that none of that is criticism of Epic Universe or Common Orlando. (Nicely, for essentially the most half–there are some operational choices with which I vehemently disagree.)
Such a factor is to be anticipated with a model new theme park, as Common discovers what works and doesn’t, hears visitor suggestions, makes operational updates and improves trip reliability. It’s very a lot part of the method. Anybody who was round Walt Disney World from late 2019 via early 2020 ought to recall the veritable curler coaster of adjustments for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now scale that to a complete theme park with a number of envelope-pushing points of interest!
The massive distinction between then and now, and another excuse it’s best to anticipate the sudden, is as a result of there isn’t nice protection of Epic Universe. We had been at DHS a number of occasions per week for rope drop, and we weren’t the one ones. Walt Disney World had Annual Passes again then, leading to thorough protection. Epic Universe doesn’t have Annual Passes, and bloggers (and so on.) aren’t dropping ~$180 a number of occasions per week to cowl adjustments.
As an alternative, we’re reliant on reviews from cobbled collectively from social media, reader feedback, and so on. Apart from listening to suggestions from readers who’ve visited Epic Universe not too long ago, my favourite sources are thrill-data for wait occasions and the Common Orlando subreddit. We attempt to preserve you abreast of adjustments, however the reality of the matter is that we’re not on the bottom with any diploma of regularity. We’re reliant on phrase of mouth identical to everybody else–so it’s value maintaining a tally of the Common Orlando app and social media if you’d like extra obsessive protection.
Anyway, let’s go over the newest operational adjustments at Epic Universe.
Epic Universe Early Park Admission Adjustments
First up, the lineup is now completely different for Early Park Admission at Epic Universe. This began as being Tremendous Nintendo World plus Celestial Park after which expanded to incorporate Darkish Universe, all of which we coated in Early Park Admission at Epic Universe Technique Information: Beating Crowds in Tremendous Nintendo World!
There’s been yet one more change. Listed below are the accessible points of interest throughout Early Park Admission at Common Epic Universe:
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem
- Yoshi’s Journey
Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity- Stardust Racers
- Constellation Carousel
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
- Curse of the Werewolf
On its face, this can be a adverse change. During the last month, Mine-Cart Insanity has the #3 wait time at Epic Universe, behind solely Mario Kart and Battle on the Ministry. Taking it off the desk exacerbates wait occasions on the two different Tremendous Nintendo World points of interest, and disproportionately Mario Kart because it’s the opposite headliner.
In follow, I’m undecided it’s such a nasty factor. We’ve got heard numerous reviews of Mine-Cart Insanity having unpublished delayed openings. The attraction wouldn’t be working till 10 am (or later) with out discover, and visitors would get turned away upon arrival. Worse but, there have been occasions when visitors had been allowed to queue up–generally for a number of hours–although the attraction wasn’t operational.
As a little bit of an apart, one of many greater under-discussed complaints we’ve had about Epic Universe is that operations has an unwillingness to dump queues. The explanation for it’s because they don’t wish to difficulty restoration (comped Categorical Passes) to everybody exiting the queue, a number of occasions over per day. That’s a legitimate concern with so many rides being unreliable from an “if everybody has Categorical Passes, nobody does” perspective. Presumably, Common can be fearful about preserving shorter waits for visitors who bought Categorical Cross.
Nevertheless, they merely shouldn’t be promoting Categorical Cross at this level. The park as a complete is just too unreliable and low-capacity for it (which is why a number of points of interest are excluded within the first place). Furthermore, I’d reasonably have a not-so-Categorical Cross for future use than be caught enjoying rooster in a queue for a damaged down attraction that isn’t reopening any time quickly. The visitor expertise needs to be balanced and, in my opinion, that’s the pretty apparent reply.
However wait! The plot thickens!
On a number of days, we’ve seen or heard reviews that Constellation Carousel truly wasn’t opening throughout EPA, however was as an alternative delayed till midday. Fortunately, this does seem within the Common Orlando app (see above), so it’s best to be capable of verify that earlier than beginning your day.
Additionally, you shouldn’t be prioritizing Constellation Carousel throughout EPA. Not solely is it decrease precedence, but it surely’s higher at evening. In case you have youngsters who can’t do a lot at Epic Universe, Yoshi’s Journey throughout EPA is the play.
However wait once more! This plot has extra twists than the Mine-Cart Insanity monitor!
There have been some days, together with at this time, when Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity and/or Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry simply open throughout Early Park Admission. The above screenshots are all from June 21, 2025. You’ll observe that initially, MCM and BatM weren’t posting wait occasions–and it indicated they’d be opening at 10 a.m. Lower than 5 minutes later, MCM was open with a 25 minute wait. One other ~5 minutes after that, BatM opened to a 120 minute wait.
The most effective clarification for that is that Common is attempting to get Mine-Cart Insanity and Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry operational as early as attainable, however doesn’t wish to promote this since each are down so usually to begin the day. But when they’re up, they’re open.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders “Reputation” Soars
During the last week, the common wait time for Hiccup’s Wing Gliders has soared. Its all-time common is 48 minutes (#7 in Epic Universe), which is about what we’d anticipate on a traditional day. The weekly common for Hiccup’s Wing Gliders is 110 minutes, which places it at #3 (forward of Mine-Cart Insanity).
Whilst you is perhaps inclined to attribute this to the recognition of the live-action remake (they solid actual dragons?!) of Methods to Prepare Your Dragon, that’s nearly definitely not it. Wait occasions for the opposite Isle of Berk points of interest haven’t actually budged. Not even the Toothless meet & greet, which is what I’d anticipate to be most impacted by the film.
As an alternative, it’s our understanding that Hiccup’s Wing Gliders has been working very inefficiently. Most notably, it’s been down one load station for a lot (most? all?) of the week. This alone successfully halves the hourly capability for the curler coaster, which explains double the wait time. Usually, chopping capability in half doesn’t double wait occasions since extra visitors balk on the increased wait, so there’s most likely a bit extra to the story than that.
So What’s the Proper Rope Drop Strategy?
With a lot altering, I’m truthfully shocked that our Epic Universe Morning Technique: Rope Drop Rides to Do & Keep away from to Save Time is definitely extra correct at this time than it was after we revealed it. Speak about a contented accident!
Right here’s our recommendation for rope dropping Epic Universe in a nutshell:
- DO: Methods to Prepare Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
- DON’T DO: Darkish Universe or Tremendous Nintendo World
- ALSO DON’T DO: Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry
(That is for normal park opening, not Early Park Admission.)
Avoiding Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry is listed individually as a result of this can be a seemingly controversial take. You can find numerous reviews of individuals having nice success with this method. They aren’t mendacity! They are ‘struggling’ from a type of survivorship bias, although.
It’s completely correct that beginning at Battle on the Ministry can yield implausible outcomes. It’s additionally true that it may be a trainwreck. All of it comes right down to luck on the day you go to. Statistically talking, Battle on the Ministry is each liable to the dreaded delayed opening greater than another trip at Epic Universe and a median wait time that peaks early and will get progressively shorter all through the day. Objectively, the very best technique is to carry off on it till later within the day.
In the event you’re a gambler, go for it at rope drop. However don’t say that we didn’t warn you when you fail. And when you succeed, don’t assume your outcomes are replicable. The most secure method to rope drop at Epic Universe is beginning in Isle of Berk. In the event you’re a curler coaster particular person, a pretty choice for each EPA and common rope drop is solely looping Stardust Racers. I enthusiastically endorse this method from a ‘enjoyable and straightforward’ perspective, even when it’s suboptimal technique.
Epic Universe Rides Open an Hour After Park Closing!
This one has ‘advanced’ over the course of the final couple of weeks. We acquired a couple of scattered reader reviews that after Epic Universe moved to a 9 pm closing (from 10 pm for the primary few weeks), the rides in Celestial Park–Constellation Carousel and Stardust Racers–had been however operational (barring downtime) till 10 pm.
Extra not too long ago, your entire park has remained open after 9 pm. Right here’s a take a look at wait occasions from final evening:
The massive exception you’ll discover right here is strains which are “at capability.” (Fast apart: the identical factor can occur with Single Rider strains.)
That is principally a matter of points of interest closing their strains on account of sky-high wait occasions, as Common doesn’t wish to proceed permitting visitors right into a line that’s already ~2 hours lengthy all the way in which till 10 pm, after which have it take till after midnight to clear the park.
This method to a ‘stealth’ further hour does make sense for precisely the identical motive. If visitors are allowed to enter the Mine-Cart Insanity, Mario Kart, Battle on the Ministry, or Hiccup’s Wing Gliders queues till 8:59 pm (as is the case), and any of these rides have 120+ minute wait occasions, it’s going to take till after 11 pm to clear the park, anyway. May as effectively spend a bit extra on staffing and preserve different strains open, anyway.
Given its present common wait occasions, Epic Universe shouldn’t be closing at 9 pm within the first place. Park hours are criminally quick and visitor satisfaction might be struggling to a level consequently. This gives a partial answer for that. It’s form of like a smooth opening…however for current points of interest on the finish of the day. A smooth closing, I suppose?
On the threat of stating the apparent, that final hour is a must-do. Throughout the board, these wait occasions are effectively under their every day averages. That is additionally topic to alter. Common Orlando might cease doing this subsequent month, subsequent week–even tonight. Since that is unpublished and unofficial coverage, it might change at any second with out discover. So don’t plan on this when you’re visiting in August (and positively not in 2026).
Regardless, you completely wish to be at Epic Universe for the top of the evening, at any time when that’s. Even when it means taking a noon break (or maybe two desk service meals in Celestial Park when you’re not staying close to Epic Universe), you wish to outlast the gang and expertise nighttime in Epic Universe. There’s one thing particular about seeing the park illuminated, and it’s best to be capable of hand around in Celestial Park after even 10 pm. You would possibly even be capable of seize a drink or ice cream from Frosty Moon and luxuriate in it by the fountains–a satisfying finish to an extended, sizzling day!
Epic Universe Crowd Calendar
Lastly, a plug for our Epic Universe Crowd Calendar. This isn’t a calendar of dates and numerical scores, so don’t go in anticipating that. If you would like predictions like that, simply throw darts at a board–you’ll be equally correct. As an alternative, we provide some tough guidelines of thumb:
- Fridays via Mondays have decrease wait occasions at Epic Universe to date.
- Epic Universe attendance will likely be under half-capacity on all dates all through Summer time 2025, and under one-third capability on many dates barring huge coverage adjustments.
- Regardless of low attendance, wait occasions will fluctuate considerably and recommend above-average crowd ranges on most dates–unpredictably so.
- Epic Universe may have increased attendance from October via December 2025 than opening day via August 2025
Every of these factors are defined in excruciating element within the Epic Universe Crowd Calendar. The salient level, as soon as once more, is to anticipate the sudden.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Epic Universe this month? Did you expertise any points of interest being “secretly” open early or after park closing? What about sudden closures, strains not being dumped regardless of downtime, or the rest mentioned right here? Will you go to Epic Universe this 12 months, or will you watch for issues to calm down and extra operational consistency? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share another ideas or questions you could have within the feedback under!
