Epic Universe planning is a big part of planning any Universal Orlando trip. This new park is very exciting with so much to see and do and many people only have 1 day to do it in. Here is an overview of how we did the park in one day.
Disclaimers
Everyone’s experience will be different. You can’t duplicate our day exactly. Weather, ride closers, the size and composition of your travel party, and more all play a role in your day.
We stayed at Universal’s Stella Nova Resort. This gave us early park admission. Only specific rides/attractions/portals are open during early entry and this can change.
We had a party of 2 with only 1 rider on most rides. This saved us some time on lockers and we utilized single rider lines at times. You can use single rider lines even if you have a larger travel party, but you will be separated.
We used a strategy of not following the crowd a bit to get ahead of some stuff. It can be a risky strategy, but it worked out well for us. We focused on our high priority rides and then filled in on the rest.
We did not have express pass. This was also at a time when Ministry of Magic and Donkey Kong Mine Cart were not included in express pass.
Park Hours – 10am-10pm with early entry at 9am. This was with the 2025 park tickets and it was a hot day in August.
Our Epic Universe Day
Morning
8:05 am – Left Stella Nova to Walk to Epic Universe
8:15 am – In line to get into Epic Universe. They started letting people through security around 8:30 and through ticket scanners and then held us just after portal. We kept to the right with the plan to go to Star Dust Racers. The timing of security and ticket scanners will vary.
8:55 am – In line for Star Dust Racers. There was a little bit of a technical delay, but we were still pretty fast.
9:30 am – How to Train a Dragon Portal. It doesn’t open until 10am but we were ready to rope drop it. We used this time to get a quick breakfast/snack and drinks while we waited. They opened the portal at 9:50am and we went to the left to quickly walk to Hiccups Wing Gliders.
10:03 am – In line for Hiccups Wing Gliders. This also had a slightly delayed opening but got through in 16 minutes. After the ride we went right to Dark Universe
10:25 am – We entered Dark Universe. We went to straight to Curse of the Werewolf and waited 8 minutes in the single rider line. Then we went to Monsters Unchained and waited 10 min. Next we went to Super Nintendo World.
10:55 am – We entered Super Nintendo World. We went to Mario Kart and used the single rider line for a 25 min wait. We did a little bit of coin collection with our power up band.
Afternoon
11:45 am – 12:15pm – We had a cool down lunch break at Pizza Moon. This is a mobile order to table location so you can order as you are leaving Super Nintendo World and place the order as soon as you sit down.
At this point we had done everything on our priority list except for Battle at the Ministry and Donkey Kong Mine Cart
12:20 pm – We were at the Ministry of Magic and in the single rider line for Battle at the Ministry. They said it was shut down but we figured we might as well wait as it was hot out anyway. After a few announcements that we should leave and it was closed for an unknown amount of time, they finally told us to leave and they would give us an express pass for any ride in the park. This was a huge win for us since there were two of us, but one wasn’t riding. That gave us two express passes for the one person and the plan was to use one at Battle at the Ministry and the other for Donkey Kong Mine Cart. So we left and went to see the show Le Cirque Arcanus.
1:15 pm – Le Cirque Arcanus was a cute show and then we came out to pouring rain. That means snack time.
Cafe L’aire de la Sirene for mobile order to table. It took a few minutes to get a seat because of the rain but after some refueling and seeing the rain stopped, we continued on. We walked around How to Train a Dragon a bit more and then went to Super Nintendo World to do some games/coins and we saw Battle at the Ministry was reopened so we made an about face, and walked quickly to the Ministry of Magic
3:05 pm – Battle at the Ministry with the express pass and waited about 30 mins.
3:45 pm – Fyre Drill which ended up being a 35 min wait even though it was posted at like 10 min. Then we went back to Super Nintendo World.
4:40 pm – Donkey Kong Mine Cart with the other express pass which was about a 30 min wait. Then we spent time playing around the area.
Evening
5:20 pm – We went on Yoshi’s Adventures as now the goal became to ride every attraction. It was a 30 min wait. We did some more playing and then we got hungry again.
6:30pm – Pizza Moon again. It was nearby, yummy, and quick. I got the purple pizza that I didn’t get the first time.
7:30pm- Mario Kart (again) since the line was down to 15 min plus some more playing in the land and then back to Dark Universe.
Times get a little hazy here but we did Monsters Unchained (again) and then the Constellation Carousel. Then we got into the final park hour to finish the night.
Final Hour
9 pm – Star Dust Racers (again) with a 35 min wait, then we went FAST to How to Train a Dragon.
9:47 pm – Dragon Racers Rally was a walk on for 8 minutes total.
9:55pm – Hiccups Wing Gliders (again). You just have to get in line before the park closes at 10pm and we made it.
Epic Universe Planning Tips
Express Pass – If you can get express pass that would make things much easier. Battle at the Ministry and Mine Kart are now included in express pass.
Don’t be afraid to go back and forth between the portals. The way the park is laid out, it makes it easy to go from one area to another.
Utilized the mobile order to table to save time with meals. Be sure to have the app and your credit card added to the wallet so you are ready to go.
Use single rider lines when available. It can be a huge time saver. Remember, your party will be separated and you can’t do this if you have children under 7 in your group.
In 2025 you will cannot go park to park with Epic but in 2026 the tickets change. A multiday ticket in 2026 with park to park will allow you to move between all 3 dry parks (Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando, Epic Universe) in one day. This may change your strategy. You may want to rope drop Epic or come toward the end of the day when lines get lower.
We had a blast checking out this park and did so much more than we thought we could in a day. We would love to have one of our Universal Specialists work with your family and customize your own park plan.
