Universal's Epic Universe Review

How epic was this new park you ask? Well let us tell you. We just returned from our first visit to Universal Orlando's newest park...Epic Universe. And as the name implies, it was EPIC and here are the reasons we say that.

For starters, the park is absolutely beautiful. It is wonderful to see that the park creators understood that this is supposed to be a theme PARK and not just theme concrete. Once the trees get more mature, the scenery will be even more beautiful. And Universal used large amounts of water throughout the park to enhance the "park feel" as well as offer some form of cooling.

Epic may have also set the new standard when it comes to theme park food. Get rid of any pre-conceived notions you have about theme park food when you come to Epic. The "quick service" food was the best we have ever had at a theme park, including WDW down the street. They serve the QS food in actual dishes and with real dinnerware in most of the venues. Other than ordering off of a QR code, the venues felt more like sit-down restaurants as did the quality of the food. Hint: Try the pork belly in Das Steakhouse and the strawberry shortcake skillet at Meteor AstroPub. And if you prefer a true sit down experience, you have to try Atlantic. The Sea Bass was delish and the atmosphere was so gorgeous.

Another reason this park is amazing, in our opinion, is the custom arranged musical scores playing throughout the park. The soft background music really provides a sense of calm as you walk around Celestial Park. It's really hard to put into words how all of the scenery and music ties together so beautifully.

And what about attractions you ask? The ride and animatronic technology employed in Epic is second to none and has raised the bar forever. You have to ride them to understand. Truly amazing. And the two shows, Le Cirque Arcanus and The Untrainable Dragon were two of the best productions we have ever seen inside a theme park.

And finally...what really makes Epic so epic is the attention to detail in the theming. Each land is mind-blowing when you enter through their portals. The "Harry Potter Ministry of Magic" area was the most impressive when it came to overall scale. You really feel transported to 1920's Paris. "Nintendo World" was probably the most over-stimulating with all of the kinetic movement and sound throughout the area. But by far, our favorite land (portal) was "How to Train Your Dragon Isle of Berk." The music and level of detail in the scenery was a true gem.

That is our quick review of Epic. And we would be remiss if we didn't explain how our day came about and how much planning went into it. This was not a visit that was planned weeks or months in advance. In fact the trip was to be more of an rest and relaxation trip where we spent more of our time checking out one of Orlando's newest resorts, Evermore. But literally a day before we arrived, we convinced ourselves to buy a day ticket to just Epic. We did no park planning. We were not "onsite guests" of Universal so we did not have any of those perks including early entry into the park and we did not purchase Universal's Unlimited Express Pass.

But even with NO advance planning and no special perks, we were able to do and see so much. We arrived at @10:15am and headed to the ticket pick up/purchase area. After a short 10 minutes in a security line, we were guided into a nice air conditioned room where we quickly picked up our tickets and were then allowed to enter via a dedicated entrance for those purchasing or picking up their tickets that day. It was extremely efficient. So we were actually in the park by 10:30am.

So from 10:30am until 10:00pm that night, we were able to ride Monsters Unchained (twice), Celestial Carousel (twice), Fyre Drill, Yoshi's Adventure, The Curse of the Werewolf and Hiccup's Wing Gliders. In addition, we were able to see the two most incredible shows, The Untrainable Dragon and Le Cirque Arcanus. We ate lunch at Das Steakhouse, We had a snack in Isle of Berk, another snack at the Meteor AstroPub and a wonderful sit down meal at the Atlantic. And we topped the night off watching their nighttime water/light/music show in Celestial Park. And we could have ridden Stardust Racers multiple times had we wanted to as well as had time to ride at least two of the most popular rides (Minecart Madness and The Battle of the Ministry). But we were very content with what we had fit in for a day with no schedule and perks of any kind. It showed how Epic can be enjoyed by even those who may not be that much into rides. It was a wonderful and even somewhat relaxing day at Epic. And when have you heard somenone refer to their time in any of the Disney parks as relaxing?

So regardless of the negatives we hear about lack of shade or areas to escape the rain, we think it is a perfect time to visit Universal's newest park.