Epic Universe - Memorial Day 2025 - What a theme park day should be?

After our preview day my wife and I didn’t think I would be going to Epic Universe again until much later this year. After seeing the low wait times from opening day and the next we decided to buy tickets from the pass holder link for Memorial Day. We just happened to have a trip booked for what ended up being opening weekend.

During our preview visit we experienced all the rides except for Battle at the Ministry, and Mario Kart but the day was sort of running around, avoiding delays, trying to see it all. It’s a big park and even with the limited number of attractions still a lot to see. We knew that next time we wanted to slow down a little bit.

The bus transportation from Aventura was perfectly fine but we had to stand because the bus picks up at Cabana Bay first.

The rest of this post is going to be less of a precise trip report and more of a review/comparison with our preview day.

Entrance and Celestial Park

Security was really efficient and the facial recognition picked up our ticket so we didn’t have to scan anything. Celestial Park is rather unique. It’s whimsical and what a futuristic society might have as a public park. There are fountains from front to back, lots of symmetry and the gardening is colorful. People have complained about the lack of shade but it’s no worse than Epcot, or USF. The hotel as the park icon isn’t as grand or integrated as I would have liked but it fits into the park well enough. There are bars and restaurants each with a light theme inside. Outside they fit in with the area. Celestial Park is a bit of reset after visiting any of the portals and bouncing between the portals is easy.

At night it’s really special. The lights everywhere in the park are synchronized. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced at this scale and the evening fountain show really showed this off. The entire park is dancing with the music.

Stardust Racers

We rode both yellow and green during the preview and just yellow this time. I am conflicted on this coaster. It’s gorgeous, especially at night. The layout is awesome but the ride is a bit… bouncy? It’s not unlike the feeling I get on a the outside seat on a B&M wing or dive coaster. It doesn’t seem to bother some people but it aggravates my neck and head. It feels like either the seats are flexing do to their single mounting point or the trains are just heavy with all the batteries and tech onboard. You can actually see the phenomenon on the track where the paint is wearing in some places in a pulse pattern. The lap bar is one of the best I’ve ever experienced. For a ride with so much aggressive airtime I never noticed the lap bar. The Celestial Spin is really cool to experience from the back where you can see the other train. I want to love it.

Constellation Carousel

Universal went hard with this carousel. During the day it plays fairly standard orchestral music but at night it changes to some really interesting electronic music. The lighting is incredible.

Dark Universe

It’s clear they had more plans for this portal but had to cut them to open in a reasonable time. It’s a bit weird to see such a dark and mysterious place with a bright blue Orlando sky but it still works. This is the portal with the most consistent actors walking around in character. I tried to take a dorky photo with the invisible man and he dressed me down and went on to tell me that I wasn't special. The area around the entrance and Frankenstein Manor periodically lights up from the experiments. It’s not as dramatic as Diagon Alley’s fire breathing dragon but it’s pretty cool. At night during a lightening storm? Chef’s kiss.

The portal is small but the Burning Blade Tavern is another highlight. The music builds until the windmill catches on fire. Saw it once during the day and once at night. It really makes me smile.

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

I expected this ride to be similar to Forbidden Journey. A sort of meander through the Universal Monsters but it’s so much more aggressive than that. This generation of Kuka Arm really pushes and pulls you around and it has some force feedback in the carts. The sound is a massive improvement as well. During our preview the ride broke down and when it started back up it didn’t really make sense. This time around the story all connected and felt very complete. It’s a mix of practical sets, animatronics and screens and it’s all integrated really well. The animatronics are impressive. I just hope they have backups for when these stop working they can swap a new one refurb the other. The whole experience from the building to the queue to the ride itself is among the best I’ve ever experienced.

Curse of the Werewolf

A spinning coaster with a swing launch in the middle. It’s fun but seems out of place to me.

Isle of Berk

This and SUPER NINTENDO WORLD feel like they are the most complete of the portals. During our preview Hiccups Wing Gliders was down most of the day. It was running the whole day today and really livens up the land quite a bit. There are animatronics everywhere making it all feel alive. We didn't do the Toothless meet and greet because it was over an hour but that Toothless animatronic is expressive and super cute.

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders

This is the biggest surprise of the park for me. A really fun family coaster in the intensity category of Hagrid’s with a ton of weeeeeee moments. It has a launch scenes featuring Hiccup and Toothless that is a delight.

The Untrainable Dragon

One of two live action shows in the park. There are a couple of moments that made me a little teary eyed. The actors put on a good show and the animatronic dragons are beautiful.

Fyre Drill

More fun than it has any right to be. During our preview a 20 minute wait ballooned into an hour. This time it was a 5 minute wait and went down right when we were about to enter the queue but we waited it out and explored the area. There are targets you shoot with water cannons but some of them will create an explosion that will randomly drench one side or the other on the boat. You can also shoot water at the other boats at certain times which is hilarious. You will get wet.

Why did I say this day was what a theme park day should be? I'll get into it more with the follow up comments with the rest of the portals and the food reviews. Mmmm. The food...

The Food!

All the ejector air on Stardust Racers can be a bit much if one is feeling woozy from Florida heat. That said, it is a ton of fun. The Celestial Spin is one of the coolest moments I've ever experienced on a coaster.

The airtime and the positives at the bottom of every hill…

The food

We didn't get to experience much of the food during our preview and we regretted that. This trip we wanted to slow things down and experience more of the restaurants. As a whole all of the food and drinks that we tried were all excellent. If you've eaten at the Wizarding World restaurants think that quality at a minimum. All of the sit down restaurants are themed well and were an attraction on their own.

The Oak & Star Tavern

We stopped in for breakfast and split the Ancient Grain Tofu Scramble and Mango Bread. Both were fresh and super good. The atmosphere here is calm and bright. The walls feature murals of wildlife and it appears they have live entertainment on a small stage. I'd describe it as whimsical Irish pub. The bar inside is named The Plastered Owl and has a window to an outdoor seating area. I'd like to come back and enjoy a beer outside in the shade during my next trip.

Pizza Moon

We split The Nanarossa pie which is basically a Margherita. It was excellent. The decor is again very whimsical. There are silly pizza ingredient paper cut outs that are animated across the whole restaurant and quiet music playing. After a busy morning it was nice to step in here and let the vibe wash over us.

The Burning Blade Tavern

Visited during our preview day. The theme is the dark underworld of the monsters world. We grabbed a seat to cool down and have a beer. While we were there a character entered (maybe a vampire hunter?) and announced his presence. He walked around the bar and chatted up the occupants and spent a particularly long time with a young boy. It was a moment that Universal does very well. You never know when he will show up but when he does it feels special.

Café L’air De La Sirène

Sat outside during the preview and enjoyed the **** out of the Butterbeer crêpe. This is one of the best deserts I've ever had.

Le Gobelet Noir

I had a Gigglewater which is an amber shimmering elderflower prosecco spritz. It was made with a glitter simple syrup. It was a sipper and gave me a bit of a buzz. The inside felt like an old English pub with different rooms. If you've been to the Ole Cheshire Cheese in London it's like that.

Toadstool Cafe

This was my favorite restaurant with my least favorite food. We split garlic knots, Super Star Lemon Squash (Honey lemon soda with mango stars and assorted tropical bobas), and a ? Block Tiramisu. The Lemon Squash was really refreshing. The food was fine.

The restaurant is a delight. There are “windows” that look outside into the mushroom kingdom and into the kitchen where the toads are joyfully preparing the food. The screens are all around and are continuous so a scene from one continues on another. It’s delightful.

The Bubbly Barrel

Had the DK Crush Float. It’s a banana pineapple soft serve float served in an option souvenir Donkey King barrel mug. It’s a bit of a challenge to consume but delicious.

Hooligan's Grog and Gruel

This is a quick serve that serves Mac & Cheese in an edible cone. We shared the Classic Mac and Cheese and thought it was delicious. This is theme park food perfection. Portable, fresh, and unique.

Bar Zenith

We ended our day here as they were doing last call. I’d love to spend more time here next visit. It’s a calm place to people watch and see the fountain show.