TR - Epic Universe Preview

Question

Just wrapped up our preview of Universal’s Epic Universe trip so posting some thoughts.

HOTEL

This was a quick 2 night trip for us and we chose Stella Nova, one of the newly open value resorts, as our base. Their rate was just under $200/nt. The hotel has decent amenities (large pool, coffee shop, quick service, lobby bar) but the best perk for us was a walking path to Epic (just under 15 mins walk) and the early entry for onsite guests. Rooms are pretty basic and a bit noisy but clean and sufficient for a quick park focused trip. Due to the noise level, I don’t recommend a pool view here; we were up on the 8th floor and could hear the music and pool activities below loud and clear. As is the case with all of the value resorts, you also get to hear your neighbors here:) Food was unfortunately a huge disappointment; if staying here, I recommend eating elsewhere.

We also visited Helios on our arrival day. Sadly, no express passes for Epic when staying here, which is why we opted for a cheaper accommodation at this time. I can’t comment on the rooms but amenities are on par with the other premier hotels. The biggest perk here is the proximity to Epic; the hotel basically sits at the park’s back door and has its own entrance, which makes it incredibly convenient for any midday breaks. Spent a couple of hours at Bar Helios (rooftop bar with an observation deck) - great drinks, appetizers were good, service was excellent but expensive even by premier onsite hotel standards. Really fun atmosphere here if in the budget; kids welcome.

TRANSPORTATION

The new value resorts are connected to all 4 Universal parks (Volcano Bay incl) by buses and everything is up and running. There is also a bus to Citywalk. No resort to resort buses. We used Uber for the most part and this was a problem for us because the resorts and the park entrance are connected by roads that are not on the map yet so most of our drivers had no idea where they were going. Our Stella Nova to Helios uber dropped us off at Epic’s park entrance and, with the helpful advice of some awesome TMs, we ended up taking the Volcano Bay bus from here because Helios is its first stop. Not really a huge issue and I’m sure it will get resolved quickly going forward, just know you might run into this if you are going in the next few weeks.

SERVICE

Big shoutout to all the TMs - from guest services to restaurant workers, service was outstanding! I mean the kind of service we used to see at Disney back in the old days. Quick, pleasant, always a smile; everyone we dealt with was so helpful and they all looked happy to welcome guests! Loved seeing this!

THE VQ

Yes, we got in. Used a suggestion of one of the vloggers to never exit the party size screen and were able to secure a spot for the Ministry of Magic ride at the 3 pm drop. The official drop on the day we went was 11 am, 3 pm and I think again at 6 pm, the system is a mess and spots are hard to secure but after having no luck at 11 am, DH decided to stay in the app and never exit the party size screen. This meant that by the time 3 pm rolled around, while I was still waiting for my VQ button to turn blue, he was already in the screen and able to quickly grab a slot when it showed up. Not sure if Universal will offer VQ for this ride when it officially opens but if they do, this strategy is what worked for us in securing a slot. Our wait time with the VQ was about 25 mins; we were holding our breath because the ride goes down so frequently but we were lucky and everything went smoothly for us. No spoilers, I’ll just say that this is a great ride! In terms of detail and complexity, I would put this on par with Disney’s RoTR; very impressed with what Universal was able to do here!

THE PARK

I loved it but the park is not ready for prime time. Yes, we went during the “technical rehearsal” period, which is what previews are. 2 rides (Stardust racers and werewolf) weren’t open at all, others were constantly breaking down. You get into one queue only to hear “we are experiencing technical difficulties” (sometime for hours), get into another, same thing, get into another, and it goes down as well. This wasted a lot of time for us and was honestly pretty frustrating. I’m a huge rollercoaster fan so I was already really disappointed that I wasn’t able to experience Stardust Racers this trip but we also had Monsters, Mario Cart and Hiccup go down while we were in line so had to constantly reshuffle and figure out plan B.

On the more positive note, the theming of these lands is amazing; I think Universal did a fantastic job here! There is so much attention to detail, lots of great character interaction; even if some of the rides aren’t quite ready yet, there is a lot to see in each land. We got to see Le Cirque Arcanus in the HP land, which was really entertaining. We spent a lot of time in the Nintendo world and eventually got to ride Mine Cart, Mario Kart and Yoshi, enjoyed them all. Didn’t have a lot of time left for Berk and didn’t get to ride anything there but the land itself looks amazing! We picked up souvenirs for our kids there, Universal was sold out of Toothless plushies so we got them the dragon eggs, which they both loved (the TMs do a whole hatching ceremony for this, and we saw a lot of little ones having a great time with it).

FOOD IN THE PARK

Surprisingly, really good! We ate lunch at Cafe L’air (I love crepes and wanted to try the butterbeer one), DH had braised beef and said it was excellent! We had dinner at Oak and Star Tavern, which was also really good. Universal’s mobile order is slightly different than Disney’s in that you can find your table first and then put in your mobile order including your table number and they will bring the food right to your table. This was more convenient as you don’t have to walk around and look for a pick up window; it also made the restaurant feel less crowded as people were mostly seated and not wandering around. No table service experience for us during our preview day, we just didn’t have time for it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is a great park and a great addition to Universal! The rides (at least the ones we were able to get on) were all really good but I think what surprised me the most was how detailed the theming was. It’s not just the HP land; everything is so well done! I love the portals layout; it makes the park easy to navigate and it gives each area its own unique vibe.

However, the rides are a mess at present. We are not talking about a ride or two going down here or there - some rides are not open at all (I know they are working on the various issues they have had with them), some shut down multiple times a day sometimes for an extended period of time. Weather will be another issue for this park, any storm in the area (frequent occurrence especially during summertime) shuts the rides down; at one point, only Monsters and Mario Kart were operating (both are indoors as is the Ministry of Magic but MoM was down due to technical issues). You may well imagine what this does to the crowds and thankfully, the park was nowhere near its full capacity level yet! That will of course change in 2 weeks.

For this reason, while we loved the park, we decided to postpone our July trip with our kids. We planned on a full day with express passes as the crowds will likely be insane but DH and I both agree that the park isn’t ready for the crowds just yet and we will give it some time to iron the glitches out. To be fair to Universal, they are currently working around the clock to address these issues and from what we could see during our preview, once the park is fully operational, it will be a fantastic experience!

Thanks for reading!

Answer

Here’s a detailed summary and advice based on a preview visit to Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando:

Hotel Experience:

We stayed at Stella Nova, a newly opened value resort, for under $200 per night. The main perks were its walking path to Epic Universe (about 15 minutes) and early entry for onsite guests. Rooms were basic, clean, and sufficient for a park-focused stay, but noisy—especially near the pool. Food at Stella Nova was disappointing, so eating offsite or elsewhere is recommended.

Value option: Stella Nova – convenient walking path to Epic, early entry, noisy rooms, basic amenities.
Premier option: Helios – closer proximity to Epic, rooftop bar with observation deck, more expensive, better service, no express passes.

Transportation:

New value resorts have buses to all four Universal parks, including Volcano Bay, as well as CityWalk. However, there are no resort-to-resort buses. Uber is available but drivers may be unfamiliar with the new resort roads. Be prepared for guidance or directions from staff if using rideshares initially.

Bus connections from value resorts to all Universal parks.
Uber/Taxi – may need guidance; roads are new and not on maps yet.

Service:

Staff across hotels and parks were outstanding: helpful, friendly, and welcoming. This level of service was reminiscent of Disney’s top guest experience.

Virtual Queue (VQ) Tips:

The Ministry of Magic ride uses a virtual queue. Success in securing a VQ slot may require staying in the party-size screen without exiting. Wait times with VQ were around 25 minutes, though rides may go down frequently.

Park Experience:

The theming and detail in Epic Universe are impressive across all lands. Character interactions, immersive environments, and entertainment like Le Cirque Arcanus add to the experience. Nintendo World rides were enjoyable, and HP land had great thematic elements. Some rides, however, were not operational or experienced frequent technical issues.

Positive: Excellent theming, character interactions, immersive experience.
Negative: Many rides broken down, some unavailable, frequent technical issues.

Food in the Park:

Food was surprisingly good. Mobile ordering allowed table selection before ordering, which made dining more convenient and less crowded.

Final Thoughts:

Epic Universe is a fantastic addition to Universal, with high-quality rides, immersive lands, and exceptional service. However, the park is still ironing out operational glitches. For peak season visits or families expecting express passes, waiting a few months until the rides are fully operational may provide a smoother experience.

Highly themed park and immersive lands, comparable detail to Disney’s best lands.
Wait for operational stability before visiting during peak crowds.
Plan rides with contingency due to frequent technical difficulties.

Overall, the park is worth visiting, but early visitors should temper expectations for ride availability and technical reliability.