One Month of Epic Universe Wait Times
Universal Epic Universe opened one month and one day ago.
While the early crowds were intentionally modest, things have picked up a bit at the park.
CNN
So, let’s see what we’ve learned after 31 days of the newest theme park in America.
Let’s discuss the first month of wait times at Epic Universe.
The Wait Times at Berk
Photo: Universal
We’ll start our conversation with How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.
Universal officials did something clever here, as they timed the debut of the themed land with the movie.
Photo: Universal
As we speak, How to Train Your Dragon, the live-action remake, is the number one film in the world.
That helps draw attention to Epic Universe, the place where Berk comes to life in the real world.
Photo: Universal
Universe offers three attractions at Berk, along with a character greeting we’ll track in the short term.
When we discuss the wait times, the first thing you should remember is that it’s June. So, it’s hot in Orlando.
Attractins Magazine
I say this because Fyre Drill has averaged a wait of 63 minutes this month, which should be atypical for it.
However, that total makes perfect sense when we remember the weather AND a strange anomaly occurring at Epic Universe.
Univ ersal
In case you haven’t heard, this park struggles with inclement weather. Specifically, when it rains, several outdoor attractions MUST shut down.
That’s having an impact on the overall park status, as it’s inflating wait times for everything, even the stuff that closes during rain.
Attractins Magazine
In combination with the mob of guests rushing to Epic Universe for the first time, this first month of wait times will be bloated.
As proof, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders has become the most popular ride at Berk, requiring a wait of 75 minutes to date.
Attractins magazine
Then, we have the ACTUAL most popular thing at Berk, which is the Toothless character encounter. It averaged a wait of 78 minutes.
Finally, Dragon Racer’s Rally came with an average wait of 48 minutes. So, let’s just say that Berk is popular.
The Wait Times at Dark Universe
Image: Universal
Darkmoor is the name of the village hosting all the denizens of Universal’s Dark Universe.
Basically, it’s the Universal Classic Monsters Land, and it’s my everything. Seriously, Universal got this themed land right!
Universal
Darkmoor also hosts either the best or the 1A ride at the park, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
When you visit Epic Universe, you should prioritize this ride, as it’s one of the best theme park attractions ever.
Universal
Somehow, park guests haven’t quite figured this out yet, as the attraction “only” averaged a wait of 35 minutes during its first month.
On the bright side, that means you can ride it multiple times during your visit, which I encourage.
Epic
This brings me to a secret part of an Epic Universe visit, one you probably haven’t heard yet.
Universal isn’t closing the park at the official time it should. Often, popular rides remain operational for an hour after closing.
Epic
So, this is an ideal time to target anything you missed or want to ride again. I’m confident this loophole won’t exist indefinitely.
Please take full advantage of it while you can, as this practice is borderline unprecedented in recent theme park history.
Thrill Geek
As for the other ride at Darkmoor, Curse of the Werewolf, it possessed an average wait of 57 minutes.
This is another attraction that rainy weather absolutely wrecks. So, please keep that in mind.
The Wait Times at the Ministry of Magic
Universal
We’ve only got one attraction to cover at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
However, this attraction is arguably the biggest one of all. It’s Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
Universal
Theme park attractions don’t come any more E-ticket than this one, as it’s actually too fancy to operate correctly.
After weeks of struggles keeping the attraction up and running, park officials took out one problematic ride element.
Universal
So, you could argue that it’s permanently in B-mode, at least for the time being. Then again, Universal may have fixed it by the time you read this.
Anything is possible with a ride so new…and one that’s well worth any amount of wait.
Comcast
Of course, Battle at the Ministry has challenged this statement thus far with an average wait of 139 minutes.
Yes, that’s nearly two hours and 20 minutes. And that’s after the fix. I swear that it was even worse before then.
NBC
I have no idea whether this trend will continue indefinitely, but it’s something to keep in mind at The Wizarding World.
You may want to ask a Universal official if the park will remain open after its published operating hours.
Universal
If so, that’s probably the best time to target Battle at the Ministry to maximize your park visit.
I plan to publish a park itinerary over the next few days, but I also planned to write this wait times article three weeks ago. So, we’ll see…
The Wait Times at Super Nintendo World
Universal
There are three rides at Super Nintendo World, and I want to preface them by showing this video of a charming wrestling family.
Meet the Gargano family. That’s WWE wrestlers Johnny Gargano and Candice Lerae, the latter of whom may be my favorite wrestler on the planet.
Photo: Theme Park Insider
Lerae once worked at Universal Studios and is like you and me. She looooooves theme parks enough to stand in line for hours for a Figment bucket.
The couple took their child, Quill, to Epic Universe, and all that kid wanted to do was ride Yoshi’s Adventure.
Attractions magazine
His father pleaded with Quill to ride something else, but you all know about the tunnel vision that children have.
Well, Quill isn’t the only one, as the slight Nintendo ride averaged a wait of 52 minutes last month.
This is where I show you one of my favorite Simpsons videos ever, as Yoshi’s Adventure is basically this in real life:
Anyway, Yoshi’s Adventure doubles as a MacGuffin for adults. We may talk about it, but we won’t ride, not as long as the other ride is open.
I’m obviously referencing Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, which has an average wait time of 121 minutes. Worth it.
Universal
Oh, and there’s another equally great ride at Super Nintendo World. It’s Mine-Kart Madness, which averaged a wait of 94 minutes.
So, yes, the Nintendo themed land has proven every bit as popular as everyone had expected.
The Other Wait Times
Attraction Insight
We’ve got two other attractions to discuss at Epic Universe, one of which matters much more to this conversation than the other.
Don’t get me wrong. People waited for an average of 25 minutes to experience Constellation Carousel for the first time.
Universal
Still, this charming carousel attraction is every bit as modest as Yoshi’s Adventure.
The in-demand ride in the area known as Celestial Park is Stardust Racers.
OC Register
Guests stood in line for an average of 49 minutes to try to win their heat of this dueling roller coaster.
To a larger point, all Epic Universe attractions averaged a wait of 70 minutes per attraction, including the Toothless character greeting.
Attractions Magazine
Eventually, I won’t include that on the list, but it matters VERY much this summer, as it can be one of the longest waits.
A 70-minute wait on average suggests that Epic Universe is every bit as popular as we’d all expected. So, when are you going?
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Feature Photo: Universal
