Universal Studios Epic Universe 2026 Review

Disclosure

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Epic Universe was by far our favorite park. My daughter and I loved the How to Train Your Dragon section, and my husband enjoyed Darkmoor. We spent most of our time at this park and could easily spend a full day here.

Rides

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry

My husband went on this ride toward the end of the day when the wait time dropped to 30 minutes, and said it was good. He thought I could handle it, so I decided to hop in line. It ended up being a walk-on when I did it. I saw the little kids in line and was like, okay, this can't be bad. It's movie theater seating too, so not too intense, just a seatbelt. Then the ride starts, and boy was he wrong. There are drops (very similiar to when an airplane lands, which I hate too), and it is fast. Not as fast as a roller coaster, but the movement and screens were enough to make me feel a little woozy. So if you're prone to motion sickness, I would not recommend it.

He liked it enough, though, that he did it again. Apparently, the second time there were some issues with the ride and a screen wasn't working, though. 

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

This was my husband's favorite ride of the whole trip. The best part was it only had a 20-minute wait at max. 

Yoshi’s Adventure

We skipped this ride the first few days because we noticed wait times got up to 50 minutes, but on our third day, we came at rope drop. My husband got in line for Mine-Cart Madness, and I took my child to this one. It would have been a walk-on had the ride not been delayed. We ended up waiting fifteen minutes, and after riding the ride, I would never even wait that long for it. It's a slow little circle and very short. My child liked it, but not enough to wait to ride it again. 

Mine-Cart Madness

This ride's wait time gets up to 80 minutes, so my husband got in line at rope drop. He didn't understand the hype as he didn't think it was that great. You might have to really like Donkey Kong to enjoy this one.

Fyre Drill

This ride seems to always be delayed in the morning. It's not open at rope drop, so we made our way over at 10 AM when it was supposed to open. A line was already forming, and then they told us it was delayed. Some people left, but as this ride can have long wait times, we decided we could handle waiting. It was probably about another twenty minutes before the ride finally opened. 

It's a short boat ride where you can shoot targets with water. My water gun was not working, which was a bit of a bummer, but I didn't mind too much as I was trying to avoid getting super soaked. At least my child's was because if hers hadn't, I would probably have had to ride it again with her. She appeared to have some trouble hitting the targets too, so perhaps the water pressure was low in hers. 

For what it was, honestly, it's not worth the 80-minute wait. If you want to get wet, just go play in the Astronomica splash pad.

Constellation Carousel

This was a fun and unique carousel. All the animals go high, and the floor spins as you go around, so your seatbelt is required. There is no standing allowed. All the animals are 2-seaters, and they have some 3-seat carriages. Our child liked it and rode it once with me and with her father. 

Shows

The Untrainable Dragon

This was our child's favorite show. She loved that Toothless flew over the audience. Plus, she just loves this franchise in general. We went to see it twice. The first time, I was so focused on Toothless, I didn't pay attention to the screen. The second time, I tried to watch the screen to see if I missed anything, and boy, do all these rides now love tricking your brain into thinking you are moving! I had to look down at the floor to settle my stomach. So if you have motion sickness, keep your eyes on Toothless and Hiccup!

Le Cirque Arcanus

This was my favorite show of the whole trip. I loved how the stage lifted to reveal another stage. That is not something I have ever seen before. The story is great, too, because it fits between the first and second Fantastic Beasts movies, giving us a little more backstory on Bunty. We also watched this show twice. The second time, we knew what to expect, so we got a closer spot toward the front to see the pre-show stage better.

 

Universal Celestial Goodnight

This was another water show which relied on lights and fireworks. It was beautiful, and I would love to see it again. Epic Universe did a great job planning for this one, as seating wraps almost all the way around the fountain. The only spot not to stand or sit is in front of the hotel, or you'll miss the fireworks as they'll happen behind you. While waiting for the show to start, we noticed people in the hotel rooms waving their phones. 

Activities

Viking Training Camp

Our child loved this play area. She especially loved the Toothless Teeter Totter. 

It was a bit of a bummer to see that The Baa-llista and Dizzying Dragons were covered even though it was supposedly refurbished in the spring. They remained that way all three days, so I'm guessing it'll take some time before they get them fixed or replaced. 

Characters

Toothless

While the line itself tends to be short, the wait time can get up to 60 minutes as they let everyone have 3-5 minutes with Toothless. We got lucky the first evening because it had rained and the wait time was only around 30 minutes. When we got in line, we saw it was Hiccup, but by the time it became our turn, it had switched to a random viking. Of course, right after our turn, Ruffnut and Tuffnut came out. 

My child and I tried again on a rope drop morning as we had time to kill before Fyre Drill opened. We got to see Hiccup and Astrid talking to others in line, but they were not doing photos with Toothless. It was a random viking again. The random viking changed to another random viking. I noticed the changes seemed to happen every 15 minutes. Unfortunately, when it was our turn, it was 2 minutes until 10 AM. So of course, after our photo, it was Hiccup that took over, so we just missed him! So that was a bit of a bummer. But it was still cool to see Toothless!

We did see Gobber walking out and about too, interacting with guests in the park. 

Pouncer (Nightlights)

The whole trip there was on and off rain, so we lost hope that we would not see a nightlight. However, on our last day there, on my way to attempt another photo with Toothless, I saw Pouncer was out. My husband and daughter had gone to the play area, so I quickly called him and told them to hurry over. I was worried they would miss him, but Pouncer wanted to play another game. My child made it in time for the second round. Pouncer's her favorite Nightlight too!

It seems if they're out, they're not out for long, so if you really want to see one, you'll have to frequent the area by Toothless. 

Food & Drinks

Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant

I made reservations for this one because it was recommended online; however, when we got there, it was pretty empty. This was probably our most expensive meal of the whole trip, but as my child loves dragons, I felt it was one we had to try. The best part is that they do have orange chicken for kids, so she enjoyed her meal. 

I had the ramen and my husband tried one of the fried rice dishes. I also tried the Kyoto Sunrise, which was good, but not something I have to have again. The food was good and the portions generous, but it's not something I have to have again. I would save your dollars for something else. There are much better food options in the park that aren't as expensive. 

Pizza Moon

We had to try the Pizza Lunare. Our 9-year-old wasn't exactly thrilled, so we told her if she didn't like it, we would get her something else later. She ended up eating two slices, so even she liked it. Now, my husband is planning to try a copycat recipe so we can make our own at home. We definitely recommend it!

Mead Hall

My child had the Nightlight's Chicken Tenders and Toothless Plasma Blast. My husband, who wasn't super hungry, tried the Yaknog. Of course, the child approved of her meal, and we even kept the cute Toothless cup her drink came in. My husband said the Yaknog was basically cold hot cocoa and was alright, but not something he would get again. It also came in a cute plastic cup, so we kept that too.

The plastic cups do have paper bottoms, so they aren't reusable for drinking, more for decoration or holding pencils and other knick-knacks. 

Spit Fyre Grill

While my husband and daughter went to Mead Hall. I stopped by the Spit Fyre Grill because I really wanted to try Hiccup's Salmon Bowl. Of course, it began pouring while I was waiting for my food, but when it was ready, the person gave me an extra boat to cover my food so it wouldn't get wet. The bottom was hot, so I had to grab a bunch of napkins, and then I quickly made my way to Mead Hall to join my family. It was so worth it! The salmon was excellent. 

In Summary

Highlights:

The Untrainable Dragon

Le Cirque Arcanus

Universal Celestial Goodnight

Pouncer (Nightlight)

Pizza Moon - Pizza Lunare

Disappointments:

Yoshi’s Adventure

Fyre Drill

Meeting Toothless 

• Only because we got a random viking instead of one of the characters

Viking Training Camp 

• The Baa-llista and Dizzying Dragons weren't open or available