I simply had my greatest day but at Epic Universe, knocking out 20 rides, 2 stage reveals, 2 informal eating places, and 1 advantageous eating spot. All around the course of 14 hours from Early Park Admission to after park closing, whereas taking 38,007 steps, 30 flights, and a pair of,390 photographs. Right here’s how I completed all of it with out Specific Cross, and the way (perhaps) you’ll be able to, too!
One of many factors we preserve stressing is that Epic Universe’s opening season has been a wild trip. Common’s new park has had sky-high wait instances and crowd ranges, but in addition all-time low attendance and days with plenty of walk-on strains and. There have been some absolute operational meltdowns, together with bona fide ‘greatest days ever.’
I’ve been extremely fortunate with Epic Universe, and have had nothing however nice days. That is in all probability an enormous a part of why I really like Common Orlando’s third gate a lot, as my experiences have been unequivocally optimistic. To make sure, I’ve encountered some friction, and at the present time was no completely different. However being versatile and shortly pivoting when issues come up has helped me keep away from catastrophe on a number of events.
Regardless of this, I’m fast to plug our rundown of Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe. We not too long ago returned with a refresh to that publish, as our recommendation for almost all of vacationers is to remain on the sidelines and wait till Epic Universe improves its operations and effectivity.
Although I’ve been lucky to keep away from the worst of the excessive crowd ranges, meltdowns and breakdowns, I’m very cognizant of those points. I’ve watched them play out from afar, listening to from each buddies and readers who’ve skilled Epic Universe on its worst days.
My earlier days confirmed what may presumably go improper with unhealthy luck or poor planning, and my most up-to-date go to actually underscored this. Though I used to be fortunate to have my longest wait in line be 13 minutes, I may simply see ready for much longer or topic to a number of trip breakdowns and queues dumped.
Amongst different issues, two of the opposite main factors raised in that article are “Unpredictable Attendance & Crowds” and “Experience 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 day by day crowd ranges and common wait instances since its official opening three months in the past.
Past the issues, Epic Universe has had excessive wait instances all through most of its opening season. Epic Universe set a document for its busiest day ever on July 16, when common wait instances have been 85 minutes and the gang degree was 10/10. There have been back-to-back 80 minute days August 6-7. There have been a number of different days at or above 70 minutes, with day by day lows within the mid-to-upper 40s.
Late June was the beginning of a stretch when weekly averages have been 64-68 minutes for six consecutive weeks; with all however one week within the 64-66 minute vary. For a park that’s so inconsistent on a day-to-day foundation, that’s remarkably constant on a weekly one (courtesy of thrill-data).
Three out of the final 4 weeks have proven indicators of enchancment, with averages of “solely” 54-57 minutes every week. Granted, any of those 3 weeks are worse than each week at Walt Disney World because the stretches between Christmas and New Yr’s Eve in each 2022 and 2023 (61 minutes on every event).
Nonetheless, I’ve been predicting decrease crowds at Epic Universe for the subsequent couple of months for some time. First in our preliminary 2025 Epic Universe Crowd Calendar a pair months in the past, and extra not too long ago in Epic Universe Ticket Trickery & Crowd Adjustments.
Within the former, I shared the next when recommending when to go to: “I’m personally trying on the final couple weeks of August, coinciding with One among 2025’s Greatest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World. Similar thought applies to Epic Universe.”
And within the latter: “I’m cautiously optimistic that Epic Universe could have a weekly common under 50 minutes someday in mid-September. On the very least, there must be sure days when the common wait time is below 40 minutes. Epic Universe has been near that on the 2 most up-to-date Sundays.”
Earlier than we get too far, right here’s day by day wait instances knowledge for Epic Universe because it opened:
The day I visited must be extremely straightforward to identify. It’s the one brief inexperienced bar on the appropriate aspect of the graph amidst a sea of yellow, orange and purple.
You would say I referred to as my shot, because the day I focused over two months prematurely turned out to be the least-busy day at Epic Universe since opening weekend, with a 32 minute common wait time and 1/10 crowd degree.
If something, this overstates how busy the park truly was; these numbers have been on par with 3 earlier days I attended, however the ‘looks like’ crowds (and even the precise wait instances on most points of interest) have been far decrease. The general common was probably skewed by two huge outliers, plus typical wait time inflation.
I’ll clarify how I selected my day to go to in a bit, however first, I wish to share every little thing I completed:
- Curse of the Werewolf (x2)
- Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity (x1)
- Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry (x2)
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (x2)
- Le Cirque Arcanus (x1)
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem (x1)
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (x2)
- Stardust Racers (x7)
- The Untrainable Dragon (x1)
- Yoshi’s Journey (x3)
A number of notes and clarifying particulars so as to add…
The longest wait time on at the present time was Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity at 240 minutes. It was additionally the second, third, fourth, and many others., longest wait with instances starting from 90 minutes to 130 minutes a lot of the day. There are solely two instances when its wait time dipped under an hour, after 9pm and throughout the many instances all through the day when it was down as a consequence of a supposed ‘Climate Delay.’
I say supposed ‘Climate Delay’ as a result of this didn’t affect different points of interest to almost the identical diploma. Though heavy rain was within the forecast for a number of hours all through the day, it solely briefly sprinkled on a few events. There was one occasion of lightning that did trigger downtime (I can confirm that this was legit as a result of I noticed the lightning past the park), that was additionally transient. No different attraction had a ‘Climate Delay’ past what I’d name the ‘Check Monitor Norm.’
In contrast, Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity was down 259 minutes. That verified quantity was truly decrease than I’d’ve anticipated if I simply guessed; it appeared just like the trip was down about half the day. Though I checked in on Mine-Cart Insanity periodically, the wait instances have been all the time a non-starter for me till the very finish of the day.
I went in with the expectation of leveraging Single Rider strains extensively, as I’ve heard from buddies who went not too long ago that these strains have been minimal even when standby wait instances are over an hour.
Ultimately, I solely used the Single Rider line twice: as soon as on Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry and as soon as on Curse of the Werewolf. Technically, twice on Curse of the Werewolf, however on a type of events the trip went down proper as I used to be on the boarding station, and I reduce my losses and instantly exited. (I had solely “wasted” 5 minutes at that time and felt it wasn’t definitely worth the gamble after I may simply soar in line once more later with minimal wait.)
Single Rider strains have been continuously closed, each when strains have been too lengthy but in addition too brief. This was true with each Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity and Curse of the Werewolf (the previous having an indication indicating the road was “at capability”) on the excessive finish, in addition to Battle on the Ministry and Stardust Racers on the low finish.
The longest I waited all day was 13 minutes, for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry within the common standby line when the posted wait time was 20 minutes. (Actually, my Single Rider wait for a similar was in all probability shut to about that lengthy; though there was just one particular person in entrance of me, the load platform wasn’t firing on all cylinders.)
My shortest wait of the day was Yoshi’s Journey at below 2 minutes. Please don’t decide me for driving this 3 times–it was for the photographs. This was one in all many points of interest that have been walk-ons, nevertheless it simply so occurs that was the quickest. It helped that nobody in entrance of me was transferring slowly and there’s no metallic detector to undergo.
My best stretch of the day was the ~25 minutes after I rode Stardust Racers back-to-back-to-back with out grabbing my digicam bag from the locker. I’d’ve saved going to pad my stats, however I used to be feeling a bit off after that third trip. Guess I’m getting previous!
This was additionally why Curse of the Werewolf closing its Single Rider line was an enormous blow. That curler coaster is far tamer and I somewhat get pleasure from it. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders would’ve been another choice, nevertheless it was up and down within the afternoon and by the point it was a perpetual walk-on, I had different priorities.
Downtime and delays weren’t a pronounced problem throughout my day at Epic Universe.
On the contrary, I’d say this was a under common day for breakdowns and climate delays. Not only for Epic Universe (objectively true, and by a noteworthy diploma) or for brand new points of interest (subjective, however I’ve been across the block and that is additionally pretty indeniable), however by regular ‘mature’ theme park requirements.
Outdoors of Mine-Cart Insanity and perhaps a few different rides to a a lot lesser diploma, it was an amazing day for trip uptime at Epic Universe. Between this and the low crowd, it was straightforward to watch the friends who have been in attendance getting their ‘fill’ of a selected attraction, after which that being a perpetual walk-on (or near it) by mid-afternoon–or a bit later, within the case of the rides that had downtime woes.
Even with the objectively nice day for Epic Universe, I may see others having very completely different experiences than me.
In the event you began in Tremendous Nintendo World, encountered the longest line of the day for Mario Kart after which moved on to Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity, which had a 240 minute posted wait earlier than it went down, I may see that leaving a bitter style!
I may additionally see some friends who started in these two spots after which made extra unfortunate selections for rides 3-4 hitting a wall earlier than the wonderful afternoon even started. Particularly if that they had virtually nothing to indicate for the day by midday, hit the height lunch rush, after which noticed a strong 3-4 hours of heavy rain on the radar.
Crucial word was that I didn’t break a sweat knocking out all of those points of interest. Don’t make the error of assuming that these are the unrealistic outcomes of a speedy solo blogger and that you simply household couldn’t have completed as a lot. Though I do transfer quick, I didn’t on this specific day.
Epic Universe remains to be very a lot ‘new to me,’ so an enormous a part of my days within the park are observing and capturing photographs–almost 2,500 of them! The above photograph of Stardust Racers, for instance, took virtually quarter-hour to seize as I waited for the spot to unencumber and tinkered with shutter speeds for the appropriate impact. And understand that photographs aren’t allowed on most Common rides, so I wasn’t padding my stats by spraying and praying on Monsters Unleashed or Potter!
I criss-crossed the park a number of instances for no discernible cause, besides to see what congestion was like, the bodily size of strains (I entered and exited a number of standby and Single Rider strains simply to examine issues out), and take photographs of random issues. If we had a plot of my actions, they’d seem about as aimless as your common housecat. However there was a technique to the insanity…I believe?
Regardless, listed below are my stats from at the present time at Epic Universe:
Past the 38,007 steps and 18.34 miles moved, word the 30 flights climbed. The primary two numbers are on the excessive finish of my regular days at Walt Disney World, however not irregular. (In the event you’ve ever questioned how I eat a lot theme park meals, that’s how.)
The 30 flights just isn’t regular. There are days at Walt Disney World after I log zero flights per day. I’m truthfully stunned that the quantity wasn’t increased. I may swear I climbed extra flights than that; Stardust Racers and Tremendous Nintendo World alone ought to’ve accounted for 30 flights!
In any case, my recommendation is to put on snug footwear. I began out the day sporting Brooks Ghost Max and switched to Crocs Lite Experience noon when it was alleged to storm. I really like these footwear, however doing that many steps in them was simply an excessive amount of.
I additionally bought actually fortunate with an amazing price at Helios Grand Resort, and I’m truly glad I booked that, as I took two transient noon breaks for espresso and a change of garments (and footwear, as famous). Had the forecast been as wet as anticipated, Helios would’ve been massively advantageous.
Because it turned out, I didn’t want Helios, however I used to be actually pleased with the lodge–extra so than my first keep. It was good insurance coverage, kind of like Specific Cross. (Talking of which, I’m clearly very completely satisfied I didn’t overspend on that!) The choice was Stella Nova, however I’m happy to have splurged on this. For this keep, Helios was effectively value it.
One other factor to notice is that, have been I not so fixated on taking photographs and observing crowd and wait time dynamics for the sake of studying extra and with the ability to write posts like this, I may’ve simply doubled my trip depend.
If I’d’ve simply looped Stardust Racers all day, perhaps I may’ve tripled it. This was a literal walk-on a lot of the day, and continuously dispatching with unfilled seats.
The variety of rides I completed may appear spectacular and unrealistic–and most days so far this summer time, it will’ve been–however on this specific day, I’m optimistic that loads of different friends exceeded my counts. Perhaps you ought to be studying their recaps!
On the plus aspect, I’ve a ton of recent photographs and insights about Epic Universe to share over the approaching weeks–so keep tuned for these as quickly as I dig out from this journey!
Along with the above points of interest, I dined on the following:
- Spit Fyre Grill within the Isle of Berk
- Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel in Isle of Berk
- Atlantic Restaurant in Celestial Park
- Frosty Moon in Celestial Park
My most time-consuming meal of the day was, unsurprisingly, Atlantic Restaurant. This was regardless of putting my order instantly and requesting the examine shortly after my meals arrived.
To be clear, it wasn’t gradual in a nasty approach. The expertise was improbable from begin to end. (Be careful, Mythos; Atlantic is coming in your banner!) Simply noting this as a result of the entire jist of this publish is how a lot I bought carried out, and doing a advantageous eating meal in late afternoon actually decreased my total effectivity.
My largest “fails” of the day have been each of the eating selection, on the entrance and backend of the day. The primary is that I didn’t do breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The actually unhappy half right here is that I went into the restaurant to seize empty interiors, however breakfast completely slipped my thoughts. It wasn’t till later within the day when consulting my checklist of issues to eat that I remembered “Breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène” was a factor…and the #1 factor on my checklist.
My different huge fail was lacking final name at Pizza Moon. I’ve been dreaming a couple of return go to to Pizza Moon because the first time I dined there, however with a lot different new meals to try to overview, it appeared “irresponsible” to revisit a restaurant for enjoyable. However after I discovered that they had to-go containers, ordering proper earlier than park closing and taking the pizza residence appeared like the proper compromise.
And it will’ve been, had I not pushed my luck with one final night time trip on Stardust Racers. (It’s simply so good at night time!) I utterly perceive why they shut with the park, however I wasn’t alone with this concept, as there have been numerous different friends leaving the park with pizza containers in hand–and some others attempting to enter the restaurant at 10:02pm. As a comfort prize, I grabbed a cone from Frosty Moon (which was open till 11 pm!), which was a candy and refreshing technique to end the night time.
Tricks to Take Benefit of Low Crowds at Epic Universe
Truthful warning: none of my suggestions are going to be really groundbreaking to any skilled theme park-goers. Nonetheless, I’m going to “reiterate” them, because it’s straightforward for longtime Walt Disney World followers to turn out to be so set of their methods that they’re second nature, and Epic Universe does throw a couple of curveballs.
My first huge piece of recommendation is to tempo your self. This may appear foolish and easy, however I’ve heard of so many friends hitting a wall at Epic Universe, and it jogs my memory very a lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on this regard. If you already know you gained’t make all of it day and have to decide on between Early Park Admission or staying late, keep late.
Significantly. Early Park Admission could be discouraging on a very good day, and terrible on a nasty day. There are methods to take the trail of least resistance and be sure that each EPA is an effective one, however the temptation to knock out headliners could be an excessive amount of.
Likewise, it’s extremely straightforward to get downright discouraged by downtime and delays. If a trip breaks down, my recommendation is to chop your losses ASAP. I’d take this a step additional and advocate making knowledgeable choices earlier than even stepping into line for outside points of interest. If the wait is ~120 minutes and there’s heavy rain on the radar within the subsequent hour, even getting in line is a nasty resolution.
I really feel for the friends that began at the present time in Tremendous Nintendo World, ready an hour for Mario Kart earlier than getting in a 240 minute line for Mine-Cart Insanity…that then bought dumped as a consequence of a trip breakdown. I ponder what share of these folks recovered and had a tremendous day, and what number had a nasty expertise.
If it’s doable to have an terrible expertise on an superior day, you higher consider it’s doable to have the identical on an terrible day. Or vice-versa. Epic Universe actually requires a drift perspective and willingness to pivot. Spreadsheet planners needn’t apply, as no plans must be set in stone…and even clay.
Above I boasted that I “referred to as my shot” when reserving this go to a few months prematurely. To be absolutely clear, I truly moved it by 2 days as soon as I spotted I’d have extra wiggle room and an extended go to to Florida. I knew this date must be nice (pending the climate wildcard), however truthfully, I had no clue it’d be this glorious.
As beforehand famous, the 2 days of the week with the bottom common wait instances over the previous few months have been Saturdays (#2) and Sundays (#1, by far). Friday is third-lowest. The simplest rationalization for that is that Epic Universe single-day tickets are costliest on weekends, so budget-conscious vacationers are searching for out cheaper dates.
There’s much less consistency for Mondays via Thursdays, and never sufficient knowledge factors to attract definitive conclusions. Statistically, Wednesdays and Thursdays have been worst, which may very well be a byproduct of vacationers beginning out their weeks at Walt Disney World, visiting a pair parks there, then doing Epic Universe. Or beginning out at Common’s legacy parks.
To that time, the remainder of Common Orlando is busiest on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, adopted by Sundays. That is fueled largely by locals and Annual Passholders over the weekends, after which vacationers being most inclined to go to on Mondays. Midweek is the best possible time to go to the opposite parks, with common wait instances bottoming out on Wednesdays.
This is smart! Floridians work on weekdays, making weekends their greatest time to go to the opposite parks for Annual Passholders. However Epic Universe doesn’t have APs, and lots of locals have already gotten their “repair” of Epic Universe and are ready for Annual Passes.
One factor to notice is that as quickly as Annual Cross gross sales or Florida resident ticket offers begin for Epic Universe, this dynamic flips. Saturday and Sunday will turn out to be the busiest days of the weekend. Furthermore, there are exceptions to all the above when climate rears its ugly head. Nothing throws a monkey wrench into Epic Universe wait instances like a stormy day!
Nonetheless, I’d extremely advocate visiting Epic Universe within the subsequent month or two, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday. This dynamic ought to solely speed up within the subsequent three or so weeks. I can’t promise they’ll exceed my expertise, however they need to be in the identical ballpark.
The larger unanswered query for me is how lengthy it will proceed. We’ve warned that crowds are going to choose up throughout peak weeks from October via December, and I’d anticipate the dynamic to worsen all through the guts of Halloween Horror Nights ‘season’ when regulars ebook journeys for that. However early October (earlier than Columbus Day) could be advantageous, as may early November and early December.
In actual fact, after this glorious Epic Universe expertise, we’re now debating whether or not to go to as a household throughout our Christmas-time journey. We in all probability gained’t, if solely as a result of time is proscribed and there’s extra that appeals to Megatron at Walt Disney World, nevertheless it virtually feels felony to move up this golden window of alternative at Epic Universe.
In the end, that’s what that is about and why I needed to explain my day intimately and implore these with flexibility to go to Epic Universe as quickly as doable. What this glorious expertise most jogs my memory of is the halcyon days of “Additional, Additional Magic Hours” at Walt Disney World that started virtually precisely 6 years in the past.
“Additional, Additional Magic Hours” have been one of many final golden eras of Walt Disney World, a really magical expertise earlier than a number of months of probably the most chaotic crowds we’ve ever seen within the parks. Whereas this go-round in all probability gained’t be adopted up by a multi-month closure, we completely see historical past repeating itself with heavier crowds at Epic Universe.
Even should you’re a neighborhood sitting on the sidelines ready for Annual Passes, you may wish to contemplate re-allocating that improve price to a single-day ticket and Florida resident low cost on a keep at Stella Nova or Helios Grand. Future weekends won’t be this glorious as soon as APs roll out, and I’d gladly commerce a dozen mediocre days for this one glorious expertise at Epic Universe.
Want journey planning ideas and complete recommendation in your go to to Central Florida? Be sure that to learn our Common Orlando Planning Information for every little thing about Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. Additionally try our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Information for every little thing about these parks, resorts, eating places, and a lot extra. For normal updates, information & rumors, a heads up when reductions are launched, and rather more, join our FREE e-mail e-newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Epic Universe because the begin of summer time? Planning a day within the low season or throughout Halloween Horror Nights? What did you consider wait instances and crowds? Expertise any operational meltdowns as a consequence of breakdowns or climate? Is it doable or possible that Epic Universe truly has even increased attendance from October via December 2025, or all through 2026? Will you go to Epic Universe this 12 months, or will you look forward to crowds to quiet down (in concept) in 2026? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share another ideas or questions you’ve gotten within the feedback under!
I simply had my greatest day but at Epic Universe, knocking out 20 rides, 2 stage reveals, 2 informal eating places, and 1 advantageous eating spot. All around the course of 14 hours from Early Park Admission to after park closing, whereas taking 38,007 steps, 30 flights, and a pair of,390 photographs. Right here’s how I completed all of it with out Specific Cross, and the way (perhaps) you’ll be able to, too!
One of many factors we preserve stressing is that Epic Universe’s opening season has been a wild trip. Common’s new park has had sky-high wait instances and crowd ranges, but in addition all-time low attendance and days with plenty of walk-on strains and. There have been some absolute operational meltdowns, together with bona fide ‘greatest days ever.’
I’ve been extremely fortunate with Epic Universe, and have had nothing however nice days. That is in all probability an enormous a part of why I really like Common Orlando’s third gate a lot, as my experiences have been unequivocally optimistic. To make sure, I’ve encountered some friction, and at the present time was no completely different. However being versatile and shortly pivoting when issues come up has helped me keep away from catastrophe on a number of events.
Regardless of this, I’m fast to plug our rundown of Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe. We not too long ago returned with a refresh to that publish, as our recommendation for almost all of vacationers is to remain on the sidelines and wait till Epic Universe improves its operations and effectivity.
Although I’ve been lucky to keep away from the worst of the excessive crowd ranges, meltdowns and breakdowns, I’m very cognizant of those points. I’ve watched them play out from afar, listening to from each buddies and readers who’ve skilled Epic Universe on its worst days.
My earlier days confirmed what may presumably go improper with unhealthy luck or poor planning, and my most up-to-date go to actually underscored this. Though I used to be fortunate to have my longest wait in line be 13 minutes, I may simply see ready for much longer or topic to a number of trip breakdowns and queues dumped.
Amongst different issues, two of the opposite main factors raised in that article are “Unpredictable Attendance & Crowds” and “Experience 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 day by day crowd ranges and common wait instances since its official opening three months in the past.
Past the issues, Epic Universe has had excessive wait instances all through most of its opening season. Epic Universe set a document for its busiest day ever on July 16, when common wait instances have been 85 minutes and the gang degree was 10/10. There have been back-to-back 80 minute days August 6-7. There have been a number of different days at or above 70 minutes, with day by day lows within the mid-to-upper 40s.
Late June was the beginning of a stretch when weekly averages have been 64-68 minutes for six consecutive weeks; with all however one week within the 64-66 minute vary. For a park that’s so inconsistent on a day-to-day foundation, that’s remarkably constant on a weekly one (courtesy of thrill-data).
Three out of the final 4 weeks have proven indicators of enchancment, with averages of “solely” 54-57 minutes every week. Granted, any of those 3 weeks are worse than each week at Walt Disney World because the stretches between Christmas and New Yr’s Eve in each 2022 and 2023 (61 minutes on every event).
Nonetheless, I’ve been predicting decrease crowds at Epic Universe for the subsequent couple of months for some time. First in our preliminary 2025 Epic Universe Crowd Calendar a pair months in the past, and extra not too long ago in Epic Universe Ticket Trickery & Crowd Adjustments.
Within the former, I shared the next when recommending when to go to: “I’m personally trying on the final couple weeks of August, coinciding with One among 2025’s Greatest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World. Similar thought applies to Epic Universe.”
And within the latter: “I’m cautiously optimistic that Epic Universe could have a weekly common under 50 minutes someday in mid-September. On the very least, there must be sure days when the common wait time is below 40 minutes. Epic Universe has been near that on the 2 most up-to-date Sundays.”
Earlier than we get too far, right here’s day by day wait instances knowledge for Epic Universe because it opened:
The day I visited must be extremely straightforward to identify. It’s the one brief inexperienced bar on the appropriate aspect of the graph amidst a sea of yellow, orange and purple.
You would say I referred to as my shot, because the day I focused over two months prematurely turned out to be the least-busy day at Epic Universe since opening weekend, with a 32 minute common wait time and 1/10 crowd degree.
If something, this overstates how busy the park truly was; these numbers have been on par with 3 earlier days I attended, however the ‘looks like’ crowds (and even the precise wait instances on most points of interest) have been far decrease. The general common was probably skewed by two huge outliers, plus typical wait time inflation.
I’ll clarify how I selected my day to go to in a bit, however first, I wish to share every little thing I completed:
- Curse of the Werewolf (x2)
- Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity (x1)
- Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry (x2)
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (x2)
- Le Cirque Arcanus (x1)
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem (x1)
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (x2)
- Stardust Racers (x7)
- The Untrainable Dragon (x1)
- Yoshi’s Journey (x3)
A number of notes and clarifying particulars so as to add…
The longest wait time on at the present time was Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity at 240 minutes. It was additionally the second, third, fourth, and many others., longest wait with instances starting from 90 minutes to 130 minutes a lot of the day. There are solely two instances when its wait time dipped under an hour, after 9pm and throughout the many instances all through the day when it was down as a consequence of a supposed ‘Climate Delay.’
I say supposed ‘Climate Delay’ as a result of this didn’t affect different points of interest to almost the identical diploma. Though heavy rain was within the forecast for a number of hours all through the day, it solely briefly sprinkled on a few events. There was one occasion of lightning that did trigger downtime (I can confirm that this was legit as a result of I noticed the lightning past the park), that was additionally transient. No different attraction had a ‘Climate Delay’ past what I’d name the ‘Check Monitor Norm.’
In contrast, Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity was down 259 minutes. That verified quantity was truly decrease than I’d’ve anticipated if I simply guessed; it appeared just like the trip was down about half the day. Though I checked in on Mine-Cart Insanity periodically, the wait instances have been all the time a non-starter for me till the very finish of the day.
I went in with the expectation of leveraging Single Rider strains extensively, as I’ve heard from buddies who went not too long ago that these strains have been minimal even when standby wait instances are over an hour.
Ultimately, I solely used the Single Rider line twice: as soon as on Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry and as soon as on Curse of the Werewolf. Technically, twice on Curse of the Werewolf, however on a type of events the trip went down proper as I used to be on the boarding station, and I reduce my losses and instantly exited. (I had solely “wasted” 5 minutes at that time and felt it wasn’t definitely worth the gamble after I may simply soar in line once more later with minimal wait.)
Single Rider strains have been continuously closed, each when strains have been too lengthy but in addition too brief. This was true with each Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity and Curse of the Werewolf (the previous having an indication indicating the road was “at capability”) on the excessive finish, in addition to Battle on the Ministry and Stardust Racers on the low finish.
The longest I waited all day was 13 minutes, for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry within the common standby line when the posted wait time was 20 minutes. (Actually, my Single Rider wait for a similar was in all probability shut to about that lengthy; though there was just one particular person in entrance of me, the load platform wasn’t firing on all cylinders.)
My shortest wait of the day was Yoshi’s Journey at below 2 minutes. Please don’t decide me for driving this 3 times–it was for the photographs. This was one in all many points of interest that have been walk-ons, nevertheless it simply so occurs that was the quickest. It helped that nobody in entrance of me was transferring slowly and there’s no metallic detector to undergo.
My best stretch of the day was the ~25 minutes after I rode Stardust Racers back-to-back-to-back with out grabbing my digicam bag from the locker. I’d’ve saved going to pad my stats, however I used to be feeling a bit off after that third trip. Guess I’m getting previous!
This was additionally why Curse of the Werewolf closing its Single Rider line was an enormous blow. That curler coaster is far tamer and I somewhat get pleasure from it. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders would’ve been another choice, nevertheless it was up and down within the afternoon and by the point it was a perpetual walk-on, I had different priorities.
Downtime and delays weren’t a pronounced problem throughout my day at Epic Universe.
On the contrary, I’d say this was a under common day for breakdowns and climate delays. Not only for Epic Universe (objectively true, and by a noteworthy diploma) or for brand new points of interest (subjective, however I’ve been across the block and that is additionally pretty indeniable), however by regular ‘mature’ theme park requirements.
Outdoors of Mine-Cart Insanity and perhaps a few different rides to a a lot lesser diploma, it was an amazing day for trip uptime at Epic Universe. Between this and the low crowd, it was straightforward to watch the friends who have been in attendance getting their ‘fill’ of a selected attraction, after which that being a perpetual walk-on (or near it) by mid-afternoon–or a bit later, within the case of the rides that had downtime woes.
Even with the objectively nice day for Epic Universe, I may see others having very completely different experiences than me.
In the event you began in Tremendous Nintendo World, encountered the longest line of the day for Mario Kart after which moved on to Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity, which had a 240 minute posted wait earlier than it went down, I may see that leaving a bitter style!
I may additionally see some friends who started in these two spots after which made extra unfortunate selections for rides 3-4 hitting a wall earlier than the wonderful afternoon even started. Particularly if that they had virtually nothing to indicate for the day by midday, hit the height lunch rush, after which noticed a strong 3-4 hours of heavy rain on the radar.
Crucial word was that I didn’t break a sweat knocking out all of those points of interest. Don’t make the error of assuming that these are the unrealistic outcomes of a speedy solo blogger and that you simply household couldn’t have completed as a lot. Though I do transfer quick, I didn’t on this specific day.
Epic Universe remains to be very a lot ‘new to me,’ so an enormous a part of my days within the park are observing and capturing photographs–almost 2,500 of them! The above photograph of Stardust Racers, for instance, took virtually quarter-hour to seize as I waited for the spot to unencumber and tinkered with shutter speeds for the appropriate impact. And understand that photographs aren’t allowed on most Common rides, so I wasn’t padding my stats by spraying and praying on Monsters Unleashed or Potter!
I criss-crossed the park a number of instances for no discernible cause, besides to see what congestion was like, the bodily size of strains (I entered and exited a number of standby and Single Rider strains simply to examine issues out), and take photographs of random issues. If we had a plot of my actions, they’d seem about as aimless as your common housecat. However there was a technique to the insanity…I believe?
Regardless, listed below are my stats from at the present time at Epic Universe:
Past the 38,007 steps and 18.34 miles moved, word the 30 flights climbed. The primary two numbers are on the excessive finish of my regular days at Walt Disney World, however not irregular. (In the event you’ve ever questioned how I eat a lot theme park meals, that’s how.)
The 30 flights just isn’t regular. There are days at Walt Disney World after I log zero flights per day. I’m truthfully stunned that the quantity wasn’t increased. I may swear I climbed extra flights than that; Stardust Racers and Tremendous Nintendo World alone ought to’ve accounted for 30 flights!
In any case, my recommendation is to put on snug footwear. I began out the day sporting Brooks Ghost Max and switched to Crocs Lite Experience noon when it was alleged to storm. I really like these footwear, however doing that many steps in them was simply an excessive amount of.
I additionally bought actually fortunate with an amazing price at Helios Grand Resort, and I’m truly glad I booked that, as I took two transient noon breaks for espresso and a change of garments (and footwear, as famous). Had the forecast been as wet as anticipated, Helios would’ve been massively advantageous.
Because it turned out, I didn’t want Helios, however I used to be actually pleased with the lodge–extra so than my first keep. It was good insurance coverage, kind of like Specific Cross. (Talking of which, I’m clearly very completely satisfied I didn’t overspend on that!) The choice was Stella Nova, however I’m happy to have splurged on this. For this keep, Helios was effectively value it.
One other factor to notice is that, have been I not so fixated on taking photographs and observing crowd and wait time dynamics for the sake of studying extra and with the ability to write posts like this, I may’ve simply doubled my trip depend.
If I’d’ve simply looped Stardust Racers all day, perhaps I may’ve tripled it. This was a literal walk-on a lot of the day, and continuously dispatching with unfilled seats.
The variety of rides I completed may appear spectacular and unrealistic–and most days so far this summer time, it will’ve been–however on this specific day, I’m optimistic that loads of different friends exceeded my counts. Perhaps you ought to be studying their recaps!
On the plus aspect, I’ve a ton of recent photographs and insights about Epic Universe to share over the approaching weeks–so keep tuned for these as quickly as I dig out from this journey!
Along with the above points of interest, I dined on the following:
- Spit Fyre Grill within the Isle of Berk
- Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel in Isle of Berk
- Atlantic Restaurant in Celestial Park
- Frosty Moon in Celestial Park
My most time-consuming meal of the day was, unsurprisingly, Atlantic Restaurant. This was regardless of putting my order instantly and requesting the examine shortly after my meals arrived.
To be clear, it wasn’t gradual in a nasty approach. The expertise was improbable from begin to end. (Be careful, Mythos; Atlantic is coming in your banner!) Simply noting this as a result of the entire jist of this publish is how a lot I bought carried out, and doing a advantageous eating meal in late afternoon actually decreased my total effectivity.
My largest “fails” of the day have been each of the eating selection, on the entrance and backend of the day. The primary is that I didn’t do breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The actually unhappy half right here is that I went into the restaurant to seize empty interiors, however breakfast completely slipped my thoughts. It wasn’t till later within the day when consulting my checklist of issues to eat that I remembered “Breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène” was a factor…and the #1 factor on my checklist.
My different huge fail was lacking final name at Pizza Moon. I’ve been dreaming a couple of return go to to Pizza Moon because the first time I dined there, however with a lot different new meals to try to overview, it appeared “irresponsible” to revisit a restaurant for enjoyable. However after I discovered that they had to-go containers, ordering proper earlier than park closing and taking the pizza residence appeared like the proper compromise.
And it will’ve been, had I not pushed my luck with one final night time trip on Stardust Racers. (It’s simply so good at night time!) I utterly perceive why they shut with the park, however I wasn’t alone with this concept, as there have been numerous different friends leaving the park with pizza containers in hand–and some others attempting to enter the restaurant at 10:02pm. As a comfort prize, I grabbed a cone from Frosty Moon (which was open till 11 pm!), which was a candy and refreshing technique to end the night time.
Tricks to Take Benefit of Low Crowds at Epic Universe
Truthful warning: none of my suggestions are going to be really groundbreaking to any skilled theme park-goers. Nonetheless, I’m going to “reiterate” them, because it’s straightforward for longtime Walt Disney World followers to turn out to be so set of their methods that they’re second nature, and Epic Universe does throw a couple of curveballs.
My first huge piece of recommendation is to tempo your self. This may appear foolish and easy, however I’ve heard of so many friends hitting a wall at Epic Universe, and it jogs my memory very a lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on this regard. If you already know you gained’t make all of it day and have to decide on between Early Park Admission or staying late, keep late.
Significantly. Early Park Admission could be discouraging on a very good day, and terrible on a nasty day. There are methods to take the trail of least resistance and be sure that each EPA is an effective one, however the temptation to knock out headliners could be an excessive amount of.
Likewise, it’s extremely straightforward to get downright discouraged by downtime and delays. If a trip breaks down, my recommendation is to chop your losses ASAP. I’d take this a step additional and advocate making knowledgeable choices earlier than even stepping into line for outside points of interest. If the wait is ~120 minutes and there’s heavy rain on the radar within the subsequent hour, even getting in line is a nasty resolution.
I really feel for the friends that began at the present time in Tremendous Nintendo World, ready an hour for Mario Kart earlier than getting in a 240 minute line for Mine-Cart Insanity…that then bought dumped as a consequence of a trip breakdown. I ponder what share of these folks recovered and had a tremendous day, and what number had a nasty expertise.
If it’s doable to have an terrible expertise on an superior day, you higher consider it’s doable to have the identical on an terrible day. Or vice-versa. Epic Universe actually requires a drift perspective and willingness to pivot. Spreadsheet planners needn’t apply, as no plans must be set in stone…and even clay.
Above I boasted that I “referred to as my shot” when reserving this go to a few months prematurely. To be absolutely clear, I truly moved it by 2 days as soon as I spotted I’d have extra wiggle room and an extended go to to Florida. I knew this date must be nice (pending the climate wildcard), however truthfully, I had no clue it’d be this glorious.
As beforehand famous, the 2 days of the week with the bottom common wait instances over the previous few months have been Saturdays (#2) and Sundays (#1, by far). Friday is third-lowest. The simplest rationalization for that is that Epic Universe single-day tickets are costliest on weekends, so budget-conscious vacationers are searching for out cheaper dates.
There’s much less consistency for Mondays via Thursdays, and never sufficient knowledge factors to attract definitive conclusions. Statistically, Wednesdays and Thursdays have been worst, which may very well be a byproduct of vacationers beginning out their weeks at Walt Disney World, visiting a pair parks there, then doing Epic Universe. Or beginning out at Common’s legacy parks.
To that time, the remainder of Common Orlando is busiest on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, adopted by Sundays. That is fueled largely by locals and Annual Passholders over the weekends, after which vacationers being most inclined to go to on Mondays. Midweek is the best possible time to go to the opposite parks, with common wait instances bottoming out on Wednesdays.
This is smart! Floridians work on weekdays, making weekends their greatest time to go to the opposite parks for Annual Passholders. However Epic Universe doesn’t have APs, and lots of locals have already gotten their “repair” of Epic Universe and are ready for Annual Passes.
One factor to notice is that as quickly as Annual Cross gross sales or Florida resident ticket offers begin for Epic Universe, this dynamic flips. Saturday and Sunday will turn out to be the busiest days of the weekend. Furthermore, there are exceptions to all the above when climate rears its ugly head. Nothing throws a monkey wrench into Epic Universe wait instances like a stormy day!
Nonetheless, I’d extremely advocate visiting Epic Universe within the subsequent month or two, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday. This dynamic ought to solely speed up within the subsequent three or so weeks. I can’t promise they’ll exceed my expertise, however they need to be in the identical ballpark.
The larger unanswered query for me is how lengthy it will proceed. We’ve warned that crowds are going to choose up throughout peak weeks from October via December, and I’d anticipate the dynamic to worsen all through the guts of Halloween Horror Nights ‘season’ when regulars ebook journeys for that. However early October (earlier than Columbus Day) could be advantageous, as may early November and early December.
In actual fact, after this glorious Epic Universe expertise, we’re now debating whether or not to go to as a household throughout our Christmas-time journey. We in all probability gained’t, if solely as a result of time is proscribed and there’s extra that appeals to Megatron at Walt Disney World, nevertheless it virtually feels felony to move up this golden window of alternative at Epic Universe.
In the end, that’s what that is about and why I needed to explain my day intimately and implore these with flexibility to go to Epic Universe as quickly as doable. What this glorious expertise most jogs my memory of is the halcyon days of “Additional, Additional Magic Hours” at Walt Disney World that started virtually precisely 6 years in the past.
“Additional, Additional Magic Hours” have been one of many final golden eras of Walt Disney World, a really magical expertise earlier than a number of months of probably the most chaotic crowds we’ve ever seen within the parks. Whereas this go-round in all probability gained’t be adopted up by a multi-month closure, we completely see historical past repeating itself with heavier crowds at Epic Universe.
Even should you’re a neighborhood sitting on the sidelines ready for Annual Passes, you may wish to contemplate re-allocating that improve price to a single-day ticket and Florida resident low cost on a keep at Stella Nova or Helios Grand. Future weekends won’t be this glorious as soon as APs roll out, and I’d gladly commerce a dozen mediocre days for this one glorious expertise at Epic Universe.
Want journey planning ideas and complete recommendation in your go to to Central Florida? Be sure that to learn our Common Orlando Planning Information for every little thing about Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. Additionally try our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Information for every little thing about these parks, resorts, eating places, and a lot extra. For normal updates, information & rumors, a heads up when reductions are launched, and rather more, join our FREE e-mail e-newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Epic Universe because the begin of summer time? Planning a day within the low season or throughout Halloween Horror Nights? What did you consider wait instances and crowds? Expertise any operational meltdowns as a consequence of breakdowns or climate? Is it doable or possible that Epic Universe truly has even increased attendance from October via December 2025, or all through 2026? Will you go to Epic Universe this 12 months, or will you look forward to crowds to quiet down (in concept) in 2026? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share another ideas or questions you’ve gotten within the feedback under!
I simply had my greatest day but at Epic Universe, knocking out 20 rides, 2 stage reveals, 2 informal eating places, and 1 advantageous eating spot. All around the course of 14 hours from Early Park Admission to after park closing, whereas taking 38,007 steps, 30 flights, and a pair of,390 photographs. Right here’s how I completed all of it with out Specific Cross, and the way (perhaps) you’ll be able to, too!
One of many factors we preserve stressing is that Epic Universe’s opening season has been a wild trip. Common’s new park has had sky-high wait instances and crowd ranges, but in addition all-time low attendance and days with plenty of walk-on strains and. There have been some absolute operational meltdowns, together with bona fide ‘greatest days ever.’
I’ve been extremely fortunate with Epic Universe, and have had nothing however nice days. That is in all probability an enormous a part of why I really like Common Orlando’s third gate a lot, as my experiences have been unequivocally optimistic. To make sure, I’ve encountered some friction, and at the present time was no completely different. However being versatile and shortly pivoting when issues come up has helped me keep away from catastrophe on a number of events.
Regardless of this, I’m fast to plug our rundown of Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe. We not too long ago returned with a refresh to that publish, as our recommendation for almost all of vacationers is to remain on the sidelines and wait till Epic Universe improves its operations and effectivity.
Although I’ve been lucky to keep away from the worst of the excessive crowd ranges, meltdowns and breakdowns, I’m very cognizant of those points. I’ve watched them play out from afar, listening to from each buddies and readers who’ve skilled Epic Universe on its worst days.
My earlier days confirmed what may presumably go improper with unhealthy luck or poor planning, and my most up-to-date go to actually underscored this. Though I used to be fortunate to have my longest wait in line be 13 minutes, I may simply see ready for much longer or topic to a number of trip breakdowns and queues dumped.
Amongst different issues, two of the opposite main factors raised in that article are “Unpredictable Attendance & Crowds” and “Experience 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 day by day crowd ranges and common wait instances since its official opening three months in the past.
Past the issues, Epic Universe has had excessive wait instances all through most of its opening season. Epic Universe set a document for its busiest day ever on July 16, when common wait instances have been 85 minutes and the gang degree was 10/10. There have been back-to-back 80 minute days August 6-7. There have been a number of different days at or above 70 minutes, with day by day lows within the mid-to-upper 40s.
Late June was the beginning of a stretch when weekly averages have been 64-68 minutes for six consecutive weeks; with all however one week within the 64-66 minute vary. For a park that’s so inconsistent on a day-to-day foundation, that’s remarkably constant on a weekly one (courtesy of thrill-data).
Three out of the final 4 weeks have proven indicators of enchancment, with averages of “solely” 54-57 minutes every week. Granted, any of those 3 weeks are worse than each week at Walt Disney World because the stretches between Christmas and New Yr’s Eve in each 2022 and 2023 (61 minutes on every event).
Nonetheless, I’ve been predicting decrease crowds at Epic Universe for the subsequent couple of months for some time. First in our preliminary 2025 Epic Universe Crowd Calendar a pair months in the past, and extra not too long ago in Epic Universe Ticket Trickery & Crowd Adjustments.
Within the former, I shared the next when recommending when to go to: “I’m personally trying on the final couple weeks of August, coinciding with One among 2025’s Greatest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World. Similar thought applies to Epic Universe.”
And within the latter: “I’m cautiously optimistic that Epic Universe could have a weekly common under 50 minutes someday in mid-September. On the very least, there must be sure days when the common wait time is below 40 minutes. Epic Universe has been near that on the 2 most up-to-date Sundays.”
Earlier than we get too far, right here’s day by day wait instances knowledge for Epic Universe because it opened:
The day I visited must be extremely straightforward to identify. It’s the one brief inexperienced bar on the appropriate aspect of the graph amidst a sea of yellow, orange and purple.
You would say I referred to as my shot, because the day I focused over two months prematurely turned out to be the least-busy day at Epic Universe since opening weekend, with a 32 minute common wait time and 1/10 crowd degree.
If something, this overstates how busy the park truly was; these numbers have been on par with 3 earlier days I attended, however the ‘looks like’ crowds (and even the precise wait instances on most points of interest) have been far decrease. The general common was probably skewed by two huge outliers, plus typical wait time inflation.
I’ll clarify how I selected my day to go to in a bit, however first, I wish to share every little thing I completed:
- Curse of the Werewolf (x2)
- Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity (x1)
- Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry (x2)
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (x2)
- Le Cirque Arcanus (x1)
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem (x1)
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (x2)
- Stardust Racers (x7)
- The Untrainable Dragon (x1)
- Yoshi’s Journey (x3)
A number of notes and clarifying particulars so as to add…
The longest wait time on at the present time was Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity at 240 minutes. It was additionally the second, third, fourth, and many others., longest wait with instances starting from 90 minutes to 130 minutes a lot of the day. There are solely two instances when its wait time dipped under an hour, after 9pm and throughout the many instances all through the day when it was down as a consequence of a supposed ‘Climate Delay.’
I say supposed ‘Climate Delay’ as a result of this didn’t affect different points of interest to almost the identical diploma. Though heavy rain was within the forecast for a number of hours all through the day, it solely briefly sprinkled on a few events. There was one occasion of lightning that did trigger downtime (I can confirm that this was legit as a result of I noticed the lightning past the park), that was additionally transient. No different attraction had a ‘Climate Delay’ past what I’d name the ‘Check Monitor Norm.’
In contrast, Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity was down 259 minutes. That verified quantity was truly decrease than I’d’ve anticipated if I simply guessed; it appeared just like the trip was down about half the day. Though I checked in on Mine-Cart Insanity periodically, the wait instances have been all the time a non-starter for me till the very finish of the day.
I went in with the expectation of leveraging Single Rider strains extensively, as I’ve heard from buddies who went not too long ago that these strains have been minimal even when standby wait instances are over an hour.
Ultimately, I solely used the Single Rider line twice: as soon as on Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry and as soon as on Curse of the Werewolf. Technically, twice on Curse of the Werewolf, however on a type of events the trip went down proper as I used to be on the boarding station, and I reduce my losses and instantly exited. (I had solely “wasted” 5 minutes at that time and felt it wasn’t definitely worth the gamble after I may simply soar in line once more later with minimal wait.)
Single Rider strains have been continuously closed, each when strains have been too lengthy but in addition too brief. This was true with each Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity and Curse of the Werewolf (the previous having an indication indicating the road was “at capability”) on the excessive finish, in addition to Battle on the Ministry and Stardust Racers on the low finish.
The longest I waited all day was 13 minutes, for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry within the common standby line when the posted wait time was 20 minutes. (Actually, my Single Rider wait for a similar was in all probability shut to about that lengthy; though there was just one particular person in entrance of me, the load platform wasn’t firing on all cylinders.)
My shortest wait of the day was Yoshi’s Journey at below 2 minutes. Please don’t decide me for driving this 3 times–it was for the photographs. This was one in all many points of interest that have been walk-ons, nevertheless it simply so occurs that was the quickest. It helped that nobody in entrance of me was transferring slowly and there’s no metallic detector to undergo.
My best stretch of the day was the ~25 minutes after I rode Stardust Racers back-to-back-to-back with out grabbing my digicam bag from the locker. I’d’ve saved going to pad my stats, however I used to be feeling a bit off after that third trip. Guess I’m getting previous!
This was additionally why Curse of the Werewolf closing its Single Rider line was an enormous blow. That curler coaster is far tamer and I somewhat get pleasure from it. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders would’ve been another choice, nevertheless it was up and down within the afternoon and by the point it was a perpetual walk-on, I had different priorities.
Downtime and delays weren’t a pronounced problem throughout my day at Epic Universe.
On the contrary, I’d say this was a under common day for breakdowns and climate delays. Not only for Epic Universe (objectively true, and by a noteworthy diploma) or for brand new points of interest (subjective, however I’ve been across the block and that is additionally pretty indeniable), however by regular ‘mature’ theme park requirements.
Outdoors of Mine-Cart Insanity and perhaps a few different rides to a a lot lesser diploma, it was an amazing day for trip uptime at Epic Universe. Between this and the low crowd, it was straightforward to watch the friends who have been in attendance getting their ‘fill’ of a selected attraction, after which that being a perpetual walk-on (or near it) by mid-afternoon–or a bit later, within the case of the rides that had downtime woes.
Even with the objectively nice day for Epic Universe, I may see others having very completely different experiences than me.
In the event you began in Tremendous Nintendo World, encountered the longest line of the day for Mario Kart after which moved on to Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity, which had a 240 minute posted wait earlier than it went down, I may see that leaving a bitter style!
I may additionally see some friends who started in these two spots after which made extra unfortunate selections for rides 3-4 hitting a wall earlier than the wonderful afternoon even started. Particularly if that they had virtually nothing to indicate for the day by midday, hit the height lunch rush, after which noticed a strong 3-4 hours of heavy rain on the radar.
Crucial word was that I didn’t break a sweat knocking out all of those points of interest. Don’t make the error of assuming that these are the unrealistic outcomes of a speedy solo blogger and that you simply household couldn’t have completed as a lot. Though I do transfer quick, I didn’t on this specific day.
Epic Universe remains to be very a lot ‘new to me,’ so an enormous a part of my days within the park are observing and capturing photographs–almost 2,500 of them! The above photograph of Stardust Racers, for instance, took virtually quarter-hour to seize as I waited for the spot to unencumber and tinkered with shutter speeds for the appropriate impact. And understand that photographs aren’t allowed on most Common rides, so I wasn’t padding my stats by spraying and praying on Monsters Unleashed or Potter!
I criss-crossed the park a number of instances for no discernible cause, besides to see what congestion was like, the bodily size of strains (I entered and exited a number of standby and Single Rider strains simply to examine issues out), and take photographs of random issues. If we had a plot of my actions, they’d seem about as aimless as your common housecat. However there was a technique to the insanity…I believe?
Regardless, listed below are my stats from at the present time at Epic Universe:
Past the 38,007 steps and 18.34 miles moved, word the 30 flights climbed. The primary two numbers are on the excessive finish of my regular days at Walt Disney World, however not irregular. (In the event you’ve ever questioned how I eat a lot theme park meals, that’s how.)
The 30 flights just isn’t regular. There are days at Walt Disney World after I log zero flights per day. I’m truthfully stunned that the quantity wasn’t increased. I may swear I climbed extra flights than that; Stardust Racers and Tremendous Nintendo World alone ought to’ve accounted for 30 flights!
In any case, my recommendation is to put on snug footwear. I began out the day sporting Brooks Ghost Max and switched to Crocs Lite Experience noon when it was alleged to storm. I really like these footwear, however doing that many steps in them was simply an excessive amount of.
I additionally bought actually fortunate with an amazing price at Helios Grand Resort, and I’m truly glad I booked that, as I took two transient noon breaks for espresso and a change of garments (and footwear, as famous). Had the forecast been as wet as anticipated, Helios would’ve been massively advantageous.
Because it turned out, I didn’t want Helios, however I used to be actually pleased with the lodge–extra so than my first keep. It was good insurance coverage, kind of like Specific Cross. (Talking of which, I’m clearly very completely satisfied I didn’t overspend on that!) The choice was Stella Nova, however I’m happy to have splurged on this. For this keep, Helios was effectively value it.
One other factor to notice is that, have been I not so fixated on taking photographs and observing crowd and wait time dynamics for the sake of studying extra and with the ability to write posts like this, I may’ve simply doubled my trip depend.
If I’d’ve simply looped Stardust Racers all day, perhaps I may’ve tripled it. This was a literal walk-on a lot of the day, and continuously dispatching with unfilled seats.
The variety of rides I completed may appear spectacular and unrealistic–and most days so far this summer time, it will’ve been–however on this specific day, I’m optimistic that loads of different friends exceeded my counts. Perhaps you ought to be studying their recaps!
On the plus aspect, I’ve a ton of recent photographs and insights about Epic Universe to share over the approaching weeks–so keep tuned for these as quickly as I dig out from this journey!
Along with the above points of interest, I dined on the following:
- Spit Fyre Grill within the Isle of Berk
- Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel in Isle of Berk
- Atlantic Restaurant in Celestial Park
- Frosty Moon in Celestial Park
My most time-consuming meal of the day was, unsurprisingly, Atlantic Restaurant. This was regardless of putting my order instantly and requesting the examine shortly after my meals arrived.
To be clear, it wasn’t gradual in a nasty approach. The expertise was improbable from begin to end. (Be careful, Mythos; Atlantic is coming in your banner!) Simply noting this as a result of the entire jist of this publish is how a lot I bought carried out, and doing a advantageous eating meal in late afternoon actually decreased my total effectivity.
My largest “fails” of the day have been each of the eating selection, on the entrance and backend of the day. The primary is that I didn’t do breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The actually unhappy half right here is that I went into the restaurant to seize empty interiors, however breakfast completely slipped my thoughts. It wasn’t till later within the day when consulting my checklist of issues to eat that I remembered “Breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène” was a factor…and the #1 factor on my checklist.
My different huge fail was lacking final name at Pizza Moon. I’ve been dreaming a couple of return go to to Pizza Moon because the first time I dined there, however with a lot different new meals to try to overview, it appeared “irresponsible” to revisit a restaurant for enjoyable. However after I discovered that they had to-go containers, ordering proper earlier than park closing and taking the pizza residence appeared like the proper compromise.
And it will’ve been, had I not pushed my luck with one final night time trip on Stardust Racers. (It’s simply so good at night time!) I utterly perceive why they shut with the park, however I wasn’t alone with this concept, as there have been numerous different friends leaving the park with pizza containers in hand–and some others attempting to enter the restaurant at 10:02pm. As a comfort prize, I grabbed a cone from Frosty Moon (which was open till 11 pm!), which was a candy and refreshing technique to end the night time.
Tricks to Take Benefit of Low Crowds at Epic Universe
Truthful warning: none of my suggestions are going to be really groundbreaking to any skilled theme park-goers. Nonetheless, I’m going to “reiterate” them, because it’s straightforward for longtime Walt Disney World followers to turn out to be so set of their methods that they’re second nature, and Epic Universe does throw a couple of curveballs.
My first huge piece of recommendation is to tempo your self. This may appear foolish and easy, however I’ve heard of so many friends hitting a wall at Epic Universe, and it jogs my memory very a lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on this regard. If you already know you gained’t make all of it day and have to decide on between Early Park Admission or staying late, keep late.
Significantly. Early Park Admission could be discouraging on a very good day, and terrible on a nasty day. There are methods to take the trail of least resistance and be sure that each EPA is an effective one, however the temptation to knock out headliners could be an excessive amount of.
Likewise, it’s extremely straightforward to get downright discouraged by downtime and delays. If a trip breaks down, my recommendation is to chop your losses ASAP. I’d take this a step additional and advocate making knowledgeable choices earlier than even stepping into line for outside points of interest. If the wait is ~120 minutes and there’s heavy rain on the radar within the subsequent hour, even getting in line is a nasty resolution.
I really feel for the friends that began at the present time in Tremendous Nintendo World, ready an hour for Mario Kart earlier than getting in a 240 minute line for Mine-Cart Insanity…that then bought dumped as a consequence of a trip breakdown. I ponder what share of these folks recovered and had a tremendous day, and what number had a nasty expertise.
If it’s doable to have an terrible expertise on an superior day, you higher consider it’s doable to have the identical on an terrible day. Or vice-versa. Epic Universe actually requires a drift perspective and willingness to pivot. Spreadsheet planners needn’t apply, as no plans must be set in stone…and even clay.
Above I boasted that I “referred to as my shot” when reserving this go to a few months prematurely. To be absolutely clear, I truly moved it by 2 days as soon as I spotted I’d have extra wiggle room and an extended go to to Florida. I knew this date must be nice (pending the climate wildcard), however truthfully, I had no clue it’d be this glorious.
As beforehand famous, the 2 days of the week with the bottom common wait instances over the previous few months have been Saturdays (#2) and Sundays (#1, by far). Friday is third-lowest. The simplest rationalization for that is that Epic Universe single-day tickets are costliest on weekends, so budget-conscious vacationers are searching for out cheaper dates.
There’s much less consistency for Mondays via Thursdays, and never sufficient knowledge factors to attract definitive conclusions. Statistically, Wednesdays and Thursdays have been worst, which may very well be a byproduct of vacationers beginning out their weeks at Walt Disney World, visiting a pair parks there, then doing Epic Universe. Or beginning out at Common’s legacy parks.
To that time, the remainder of Common Orlando is busiest on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, adopted by Sundays. That is fueled largely by locals and Annual Passholders over the weekends, after which vacationers being most inclined to go to on Mondays. Midweek is the best possible time to go to the opposite parks, with common wait instances bottoming out on Wednesdays.
This is smart! Floridians work on weekdays, making weekends their greatest time to go to the opposite parks for Annual Passholders. However Epic Universe doesn’t have APs, and lots of locals have already gotten their “repair” of Epic Universe and are ready for Annual Passes.
One factor to notice is that as quickly as Annual Cross gross sales or Florida resident ticket offers begin for Epic Universe, this dynamic flips. Saturday and Sunday will turn out to be the busiest days of the weekend. Furthermore, there are exceptions to all the above when climate rears its ugly head. Nothing throws a monkey wrench into Epic Universe wait instances like a stormy day!
Nonetheless, I’d extremely advocate visiting Epic Universe within the subsequent month or two, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday. This dynamic ought to solely speed up within the subsequent three or so weeks. I can’t promise they’ll exceed my expertise, however they need to be in the identical ballpark.
The larger unanswered query for me is how lengthy it will proceed. We’ve warned that crowds are going to choose up throughout peak weeks from October via December, and I’d anticipate the dynamic to worsen all through the guts of Halloween Horror Nights ‘season’ when regulars ebook journeys for that. However early October (earlier than Columbus Day) could be advantageous, as may early November and early December.
In actual fact, after this glorious Epic Universe expertise, we’re now debating whether or not to go to as a household throughout our Christmas-time journey. We in all probability gained’t, if solely as a result of time is proscribed and there’s extra that appeals to Megatron at Walt Disney World, nevertheless it virtually feels felony to move up this golden window of alternative at Epic Universe.
In the end, that’s what that is about and why I needed to explain my day intimately and implore these with flexibility to go to Epic Universe as quickly as doable. What this glorious expertise most jogs my memory of is the halcyon days of “Additional, Additional Magic Hours” at Walt Disney World that started virtually precisely 6 years in the past.
“Additional, Additional Magic Hours” have been one of many final golden eras of Walt Disney World, a really magical expertise earlier than a number of months of probably the most chaotic crowds we’ve ever seen within the parks. Whereas this go-round in all probability gained’t be adopted up by a multi-month closure, we completely see historical past repeating itself with heavier crowds at Epic Universe.
Even should you’re a neighborhood sitting on the sidelines ready for Annual Passes, you may wish to contemplate re-allocating that improve price to a single-day ticket and Florida resident low cost on a keep at Stella Nova or Helios Grand. Future weekends won’t be this glorious as soon as APs roll out, and I’d gladly commerce a dozen mediocre days for this one glorious expertise at Epic Universe.
Want journey planning ideas and complete recommendation in your go to to Central Florida? Be sure that to learn our Common Orlando Planning Information for every little thing about Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. Additionally try our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Information for every little thing about these parks, resorts, eating places, and a lot extra. For normal updates, information & rumors, a heads up when reductions are launched, and rather more, join our FREE e-mail e-newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Epic Universe because the begin of summer time? Planning a day within the low season or throughout Halloween Horror Nights? What did you consider wait instances and crowds? Expertise any operational meltdowns as a consequence of breakdowns or climate? Is it doable or possible that Epic Universe truly has even increased attendance from October via December 2025, or all through 2026? Will you go to Epic Universe this 12 months, or will you look forward to crowds to quiet down (in concept) in 2026? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share another ideas or questions you’ve gotten within the feedback under!
I simply had my greatest day but at Epic Universe, knocking out 20 rides, 2 stage reveals, 2 informal eating places, and 1 advantageous eating spot. All around the course of 14 hours from Early Park Admission to after park closing, whereas taking 38,007 steps, 30 flights, and a pair of,390 photographs. Right here’s how I completed all of it with out Specific Cross, and the way (perhaps) you’ll be able to, too!
One of many factors we preserve stressing is that Epic Universe’s opening season has been a wild trip. Common’s new park has had sky-high wait instances and crowd ranges, but in addition all-time low attendance and days with plenty of walk-on strains and. There have been some absolute operational meltdowns, together with bona fide ‘greatest days ever.’
I’ve been extremely fortunate with Epic Universe, and have had nothing however nice days. That is in all probability an enormous a part of why I really like Common Orlando’s third gate a lot, as my experiences have been unequivocally optimistic. To make sure, I’ve encountered some friction, and at the present time was no completely different. However being versatile and shortly pivoting when issues come up has helped me keep away from catastrophe on a number of events.
Regardless of this, I’m fast to plug our rundown of Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe. We not too long ago returned with a refresh to that publish, as our recommendation for almost all of vacationers is to remain on the sidelines and wait till Epic Universe improves its operations and effectivity.
Although I’ve been lucky to keep away from the worst of the excessive crowd ranges, meltdowns and breakdowns, I’m very cognizant of those points. I’ve watched them play out from afar, listening to from each buddies and readers who’ve skilled Epic Universe on its worst days.
My earlier days confirmed what may presumably go improper with unhealthy luck or poor planning, and my most up-to-date go to actually underscored this. Though I used to be fortunate to have my longest wait in line be 13 minutes, I may simply see ready for much longer or topic to a number of trip breakdowns and queues dumped.
Amongst different issues, two of the opposite main factors raised in that article are “Unpredictable Attendance & Crowds” and “Experience 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 day by day crowd ranges and common wait instances since its official opening three months in the past.
Past the issues, Epic Universe has had excessive wait instances all through most of its opening season. Epic Universe set a document for its busiest day ever on July 16, when common wait instances have been 85 minutes and the gang degree was 10/10. There have been back-to-back 80 minute days August 6-7. There have been a number of different days at or above 70 minutes, with day by day lows within the mid-to-upper 40s.
Late June was the beginning of a stretch when weekly averages have been 64-68 minutes for six consecutive weeks; with all however one week within the 64-66 minute vary. For a park that’s so inconsistent on a day-to-day foundation, that’s remarkably constant on a weekly one (courtesy of thrill-data).
Three out of the final 4 weeks have proven indicators of enchancment, with averages of “solely” 54-57 minutes every week. Granted, any of those 3 weeks are worse than each week at Walt Disney World because the stretches between Christmas and New Yr’s Eve in each 2022 and 2023 (61 minutes on every event).
Nonetheless, I’ve been predicting decrease crowds at Epic Universe for the subsequent couple of months for some time. First in our preliminary 2025 Epic Universe Crowd Calendar a pair months in the past, and extra not too long ago in Epic Universe Ticket Trickery & Crowd Adjustments.
Within the former, I shared the next when recommending when to go to: “I’m personally trying on the final couple weeks of August, coinciding with One among 2025’s Greatest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World. Similar thought applies to Epic Universe.”
And within the latter: “I’m cautiously optimistic that Epic Universe could have a weekly common under 50 minutes someday in mid-September. On the very least, there must be sure days when the common wait time is below 40 minutes. Epic Universe has been near that on the 2 most up-to-date Sundays.”
Earlier than we get too far, right here’s day by day wait instances knowledge for Epic Universe because it opened:
The day I visited must be extremely straightforward to identify. It’s the one brief inexperienced bar on the appropriate aspect of the graph amidst a sea of yellow, orange and purple.
You would say I referred to as my shot, because the day I focused over two months prematurely turned out to be the least-busy day at Epic Universe since opening weekend, with a 32 minute common wait time and 1/10 crowd degree.
If something, this overstates how busy the park truly was; these numbers have been on par with 3 earlier days I attended, however the ‘looks like’ crowds (and even the precise wait instances on most points of interest) have been far decrease. The general common was probably skewed by two huge outliers, plus typical wait time inflation.
I’ll clarify how I selected my day to go to in a bit, however first, I wish to share every little thing I completed:
- Curse of the Werewolf (x2)
- Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity (x1)
- Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry (x2)
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (x2)
- Le Cirque Arcanus (x1)
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem (x1)
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (x2)
- Stardust Racers (x7)
- The Untrainable Dragon (x1)
- Yoshi’s Journey (x3)
A number of notes and clarifying particulars so as to add…
The longest wait time on at the present time was Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity at 240 minutes. It was additionally the second, third, fourth, and many others., longest wait with instances starting from 90 minutes to 130 minutes a lot of the day. There are solely two instances when its wait time dipped under an hour, after 9pm and throughout the many instances all through the day when it was down as a consequence of a supposed ‘Climate Delay.’
I say supposed ‘Climate Delay’ as a result of this didn’t affect different points of interest to almost the identical diploma. Though heavy rain was within the forecast for a number of hours all through the day, it solely briefly sprinkled on a few events. There was one occasion of lightning that did trigger downtime (I can confirm that this was legit as a result of I noticed the lightning past the park), that was additionally transient. No different attraction had a ‘Climate Delay’ past what I’d name the ‘Check Monitor Norm.’
In contrast, Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity was down 259 minutes. That verified quantity was truly decrease than I’d’ve anticipated if I simply guessed; it appeared just like the trip was down about half the day. Though I checked in on Mine-Cart Insanity periodically, the wait instances have been all the time a non-starter for me till the very finish of the day.
I went in with the expectation of leveraging Single Rider strains extensively, as I’ve heard from buddies who went not too long ago that these strains have been minimal even when standby wait instances are over an hour.
Ultimately, I solely used the Single Rider line twice: as soon as on Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry and as soon as on Curse of the Werewolf. Technically, twice on Curse of the Werewolf, however on a type of events the trip went down proper as I used to be on the boarding station, and I reduce my losses and instantly exited. (I had solely “wasted” 5 minutes at that time and felt it wasn’t definitely worth the gamble after I may simply soar in line once more later with minimal wait.)
Single Rider strains have been continuously closed, each when strains have been too lengthy but in addition too brief. This was true with each Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity and Curse of the Werewolf (the previous having an indication indicating the road was “at capability”) on the excessive finish, in addition to Battle on the Ministry and Stardust Racers on the low finish.
The longest I waited all day was 13 minutes, for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry within the common standby line when the posted wait time was 20 minutes. (Actually, my Single Rider wait for a similar was in all probability shut to about that lengthy; though there was just one particular person in entrance of me, the load platform wasn’t firing on all cylinders.)
My shortest wait of the day was Yoshi’s Journey at below 2 minutes. Please don’t decide me for driving this 3 times–it was for the photographs. This was one in all many points of interest that have been walk-ons, nevertheless it simply so occurs that was the quickest. It helped that nobody in entrance of me was transferring slowly and there’s no metallic detector to undergo.
My best stretch of the day was the ~25 minutes after I rode Stardust Racers back-to-back-to-back with out grabbing my digicam bag from the locker. I’d’ve saved going to pad my stats, however I used to be feeling a bit off after that third trip. Guess I’m getting previous!
This was additionally why Curse of the Werewolf closing its Single Rider line was an enormous blow. That curler coaster is far tamer and I somewhat get pleasure from it. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders would’ve been another choice, nevertheless it was up and down within the afternoon and by the point it was a perpetual walk-on, I had different priorities.
Downtime and delays weren’t a pronounced problem throughout my day at Epic Universe.
On the contrary, I’d say this was a under common day for breakdowns and climate delays. Not only for Epic Universe (objectively true, and by a noteworthy diploma) or for brand new points of interest (subjective, however I’ve been across the block and that is additionally pretty indeniable), however by regular ‘mature’ theme park requirements.
Outdoors of Mine-Cart Insanity and perhaps a few different rides to a a lot lesser diploma, it was an amazing day for trip uptime at Epic Universe. Between this and the low crowd, it was straightforward to watch the friends who have been in attendance getting their ‘fill’ of a selected attraction, after which that being a perpetual walk-on (or near it) by mid-afternoon–or a bit later, within the case of the rides that had downtime woes.
Even with the objectively nice day for Epic Universe, I may see others having very completely different experiences than me.
In the event you began in Tremendous Nintendo World, encountered the longest line of the day for Mario Kart after which moved on to Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity, which had a 240 minute posted wait earlier than it went down, I may see that leaving a bitter style!
I may additionally see some friends who started in these two spots after which made extra unfortunate selections for rides 3-4 hitting a wall earlier than the wonderful afternoon even started. Particularly if that they had virtually nothing to indicate for the day by midday, hit the height lunch rush, after which noticed a strong 3-4 hours of heavy rain on the radar.
Crucial word was that I didn’t break a sweat knocking out all of those points of interest. Don’t make the error of assuming that these are the unrealistic outcomes of a speedy solo blogger and that you simply household couldn’t have completed as a lot. Though I do transfer quick, I didn’t on this specific day.
Epic Universe remains to be very a lot ‘new to me,’ so an enormous a part of my days within the park are observing and capturing photographs–almost 2,500 of them! The above photograph of Stardust Racers, for instance, took virtually quarter-hour to seize as I waited for the spot to unencumber and tinkered with shutter speeds for the appropriate impact. And understand that photographs aren’t allowed on most Common rides, so I wasn’t padding my stats by spraying and praying on Monsters Unleashed or Potter!
I criss-crossed the park a number of instances for no discernible cause, besides to see what congestion was like, the bodily size of strains (I entered and exited a number of standby and Single Rider strains simply to examine issues out), and take photographs of random issues. If we had a plot of my actions, they’d seem about as aimless as your common housecat. However there was a technique to the insanity…I believe?
Regardless, listed below are my stats from at the present time at Epic Universe:
Past the 38,007 steps and 18.34 miles moved, word the 30 flights climbed. The primary two numbers are on the excessive finish of my regular days at Walt Disney World, however not irregular. (In the event you’ve ever questioned how I eat a lot theme park meals, that’s how.)
The 30 flights just isn’t regular. There are days at Walt Disney World after I log zero flights per day. I’m truthfully stunned that the quantity wasn’t increased. I may swear I climbed extra flights than that; Stardust Racers and Tremendous Nintendo World alone ought to’ve accounted for 30 flights!
In any case, my recommendation is to put on snug footwear. I began out the day sporting Brooks Ghost Max and switched to Crocs Lite Experience noon when it was alleged to storm. I really like these footwear, however doing that many steps in them was simply an excessive amount of.
I additionally bought actually fortunate with an amazing price at Helios Grand Resort, and I’m truly glad I booked that, as I took two transient noon breaks for espresso and a change of garments (and footwear, as famous). Had the forecast been as wet as anticipated, Helios would’ve been massively advantageous.
Because it turned out, I didn’t want Helios, however I used to be actually pleased with the lodge–extra so than my first keep. It was good insurance coverage, kind of like Specific Cross. (Talking of which, I’m clearly very completely satisfied I didn’t overspend on that!) The choice was Stella Nova, however I’m happy to have splurged on this. For this keep, Helios was effectively value it.
One other factor to notice is that, have been I not so fixated on taking photographs and observing crowd and wait time dynamics for the sake of studying extra and with the ability to write posts like this, I may’ve simply doubled my trip depend.
If I’d’ve simply looped Stardust Racers all day, perhaps I may’ve tripled it. This was a literal walk-on a lot of the day, and continuously dispatching with unfilled seats.
The variety of rides I completed may appear spectacular and unrealistic–and most days so far this summer time, it will’ve been–however on this specific day, I’m optimistic that loads of different friends exceeded my counts. Perhaps you ought to be studying their recaps!
On the plus aspect, I’ve a ton of recent photographs and insights about Epic Universe to share over the approaching weeks–so keep tuned for these as quickly as I dig out from this journey!
Along with the above points of interest, I dined on the following:
- Spit Fyre Grill within the Isle of Berk
- Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel in Isle of Berk
- Atlantic Restaurant in Celestial Park
- Frosty Moon in Celestial Park
My most time-consuming meal of the day was, unsurprisingly, Atlantic Restaurant. This was regardless of putting my order instantly and requesting the examine shortly after my meals arrived.
To be clear, it wasn’t gradual in a nasty approach. The expertise was improbable from begin to end. (Be careful, Mythos; Atlantic is coming in your banner!) Simply noting this as a result of the entire jist of this publish is how a lot I bought carried out, and doing a advantageous eating meal in late afternoon actually decreased my total effectivity.
My largest “fails” of the day have been each of the eating selection, on the entrance and backend of the day. The primary is that I didn’t do breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The actually unhappy half right here is that I went into the restaurant to seize empty interiors, however breakfast completely slipped my thoughts. It wasn’t till later within the day when consulting my checklist of issues to eat that I remembered “Breakfast at Café L’air De La Sirène” was a factor…and the #1 factor on my checklist.
My different huge fail was lacking final name at Pizza Moon. I’ve been dreaming a couple of return go to to Pizza Moon because the first time I dined there, however with a lot different new meals to try to overview, it appeared “irresponsible” to revisit a restaurant for enjoyable. However after I discovered that they had to-go containers, ordering proper earlier than park closing and taking the pizza residence appeared like the proper compromise.
And it will’ve been, had I not pushed my luck with one final night time trip on Stardust Racers. (It’s simply so good at night time!) I utterly perceive why they shut with the park, however I wasn’t alone with this concept, as there have been numerous different friends leaving the park with pizza containers in hand–and some others attempting to enter the restaurant at 10:02pm. As a comfort prize, I grabbed a cone from Frosty Moon (which was open till 11 pm!), which was a candy and refreshing technique to end the night time.
Tricks to Take Benefit of Low Crowds at Epic Universe
Truthful warning: none of my suggestions are going to be really groundbreaking to any skilled theme park-goers. Nonetheless, I’m going to “reiterate” them, because it’s straightforward for longtime Walt Disney World followers to turn out to be so set of their methods that they’re second nature, and Epic Universe does throw a couple of curveballs.
My first huge piece of recommendation is to tempo your self. This may appear foolish and easy, however I’ve heard of so many friends hitting a wall at Epic Universe, and it jogs my memory very a lot of Disney’s Hollywood Studios on this regard. If you already know you gained’t make all of it day and have to decide on between Early Park Admission or staying late, keep late.
Significantly. Early Park Admission could be discouraging on a very good day, and terrible on a nasty day. There are methods to take the trail of least resistance and be sure that each EPA is an effective one, however the temptation to knock out headliners could be an excessive amount of.
Likewise, it’s extremely straightforward to get downright discouraged by downtime and delays. If a trip breaks down, my recommendation is to chop your losses ASAP. I’d take this a step additional and advocate making knowledgeable choices earlier than even stepping into line for outside points of interest. If the wait is ~120 minutes and there’s heavy rain on the radar within the subsequent hour, even getting in line is a nasty resolution.
I really feel for the friends that began at the present time in Tremendous Nintendo World, ready an hour for Mario Kart earlier than getting in a 240 minute line for Mine-Cart Insanity…that then bought dumped as a consequence of a trip breakdown. I ponder what share of these folks recovered and had a tremendous day, and what number had a nasty expertise.
If it’s doable to have an terrible expertise on an superior day, you higher consider it’s doable to have the identical on an terrible day. Or vice-versa. Epic Universe actually requires a drift perspective and willingness to pivot. Spreadsheet planners needn’t apply, as no plans must be set in stone…and even clay.
Above I boasted that I “referred to as my shot” when reserving this go to a few months prematurely. To be absolutely clear, I truly moved it by 2 days as soon as I spotted I’d have extra wiggle room and an extended go to to Florida. I knew this date must be nice (pending the climate wildcard), however truthfully, I had no clue it’d be this glorious.
As beforehand famous, the 2 days of the week with the bottom common wait instances over the previous few months have been Saturdays (#2) and Sundays (#1, by far). Friday is third-lowest. The simplest rationalization for that is that Epic Universe single-day tickets are costliest on weekends, so budget-conscious vacationers are searching for out cheaper dates.
There’s much less consistency for Mondays via Thursdays, and never sufficient knowledge factors to attract definitive conclusions. Statistically, Wednesdays and Thursdays have been worst, which may very well be a byproduct of vacationers beginning out their weeks at Walt Disney World, visiting a pair parks there, then doing Epic Universe. Or beginning out at Common’s legacy parks.
To that time, the remainder of Common Orlando is busiest on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, adopted by Sundays. That is fueled largely by locals and Annual Passholders over the weekends, after which vacationers being most inclined to go to on Mondays. Midweek is the best possible time to go to the opposite parks, with common wait instances bottoming out on Wednesdays.
This is smart! Floridians work on weekdays, making weekends their greatest time to go to the opposite parks for Annual Passholders. However Epic Universe doesn’t have APs, and lots of locals have already gotten their “repair” of Epic Universe and are ready for Annual Passes.
One factor to notice is that as quickly as Annual Cross gross sales or Florida resident ticket offers begin for Epic Universe, this dynamic flips. Saturday and Sunday will turn out to be the busiest days of the weekend. Furthermore, there are exceptions to all the above when climate rears its ugly head. Nothing throws a monkey wrench into Epic Universe wait instances like a stormy day!
Nonetheless, I’d extremely advocate visiting Epic Universe within the subsequent month or two, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday. This dynamic ought to solely speed up within the subsequent three or so weeks. I can’t promise they’ll exceed my expertise, however they need to be in the identical ballpark.
The larger unanswered query for me is how lengthy it will proceed. We’ve warned that crowds are going to choose up throughout peak weeks from October via December, and I’d anticipate the dynamic to worsen all through the guts of Halloween Horror Nights ‘season’ when regulars ebook journeys for that. However early October (earlier than Columbus Day) could be advantageous, as may early November and early December.
In actual fact, after this glorious Epic Universe expertise, we’re now debating whether or not to go to as a household throughout our Christmas-time journey. We in all probability gained’t, if solely as a result of time is proscribed and there’s extra that appeals to Megatron at Walt Disney World, nevertheless it virtually feels felony to move up this golden window of alternative at Epic Universe.
In the end, that’s what that is about and why I needed to explain my day intimately and implore these with flexibility to go to Epic Universe as quickly as doable. What this glorious expertise most jogs my memory of is the halcyon days of “Additional, Additional Magic Hours” at Walt Disney World that started virtually precisely 6 years in the past.
“Additional, Additional Magic Hours” have been one of many final golden eras of Walt Disney World, a really magical expertise earlier than a number of months of probably the most chaotic crowds we’ve ever seen within the parks. Whereas this go-round in all probability gained’t be adopted up by a multi-month closure, we completely see historical past repeating itself with heavier crowds at Epic Universe.
Even should you’re a neighborhood sitting on the sidelines ready for Annual Passes, you may wish to contemplate re-allocating that improve price to a single-day ticket and Florida resident low cost on a keep at Stella Nova or Helios Grand. Future weekends won’t be this glorious as soon as APs roll out, and I’d gladly commerce a dozen mediocre days for this one glorious expertise at Epic Universe.
Want journey planning ideas and complete recommendation in your go to to Central Florida? Be sure that to learn our Common Orlando Planning Information for every little thing about Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. Additionally try our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Information for every little thing about these parks, resorts, eating places, and a lot extra. For normal updates, information & rumors, a heads up when reductions are launched, and rather more, join our FREE e-mail e-newsletter!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever visited Epic Universe because the begin of summer time? Planning a day within the low season or throughout Halloween Horror Nights? What did you consider wait instances and crowds? Expertise any operational meltdowns as a consequence of breakdowns or climate? Is it doable or possible that Epic Universe truly has even increased attendance from October via December 2025, or all through 2026? Will you go to Epic Universe this 12 months, or will you look forward to crowds to quiet down (in concept) in 2026? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share another ideas or questions you’ve gotten within the feedback under!
