I’m back with another theme park travel guide—this time, a Universal Epic Universe 1-day itinerary! My friends and I had the chance to go in May, and I can’t recommend it enough. Disclaimer: we got really lucky by visiting the park during the preview period before its official opening on May 22. Since Epic Universe wasn’t at full capacity because there was a limited number of tickets sold daily, wait times were much lower than usual. Expect large crowds if you visit throughout the summer or fall!

Universal Epic Universe 1-Day Itinerary

8:45am – we arrived at Epic Universe a little before the official 9am opening and immediately lined up for Stardust Racers. This ended up being one of our favorite rides and we rode it a total of FIVE times throughout the day (spoiler alert: it’s even better at night). 10/10!

9:20am – after riding Stardust Racers, we headed over to Dark Universe for Monsters Unchained and Curse of the Werewolf. Monsters Unchained was another 10/10, and we also rode it several times. Everything from the queue theming to the animatronics was exceptional.

Curse of the Werewolf was a fun concept and a really smooth ride, but it felt very short. I rate it 6/10 because I wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes for it, and overall I feel like it was missing something. The theming was interesting and had a lot of potential but ultimately, it felt rushed and incomplete.

10am – next was the Super Nintendo World portal. The design of this area is incredibly immersive and truly mind-blowing. You’re transported inside a Nintendo game the second you step through the portal, and I loved everything about it.

We were starting to work up an appetite, so I grabbed an apple melon smoothie from Yoshi’s Snack Island. The smoothie was very sugary but the flavors worked well together and it was refreshing—8/10.

10:15am – after a snack break, we lined up for Mine-Cart Madness in the Donkey Kong Country portion of Super Nintendo World. The theming here was also excellent and I enjoyed the ride, though you do get tossed and jerked around a lot. I give it a 7.5/10!

11am – Isle of Berk was our next stop so we could hop on Hiccup’s Wing Gliders. I’ve never actually seen How to Train Your Dragon, but this portal was so cute I might have to watch it! The water elements in particular were really cool and made this area stand out from the others.

I had zero expectations for Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, but it was a pleasant surprise. This ride was smooth, fast, and a lot of fun—8.5/10.

12pm – around lunchtime, we made our way over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of Magic portal. I was really impressed by this area and how spot-on the Parisian vibes were. We ended up grabbing lunch at Café L’air de la Sirène, a beautiful restaurant that’s perfect for a midday break.

I started with the Dirigible Plum Juice which I rate 10/10. It was perfectly sweet without tasting artificial and so refreshing on a hot Florida day. For lunch, I chose the Poulet a la Provençale (Herbs de Provence chicken)—it was absolutely delicious, and the portion size was great for the price.

The roasted chicken was flavorful and juicy, and I was a big fan of the tomato olive vinaigrette drizzled on top. On the side, you also get roasted potatoes and green beans. While I loved the potatoes, I found the green beans a bit bland. Overall, I still give this dish 9/10 because it was one of the best meals I’ve had at a theme park.

For dessert, a friend and I shared an order of the Bièraubeurre (Butterbeer) Crêpes. These are a tasty treat but very sugary, so I recommend splitting them with someone if you don’t have a big sweet tooth. They’re definitely worth trying, and I rate them 7/10.

1pm – that’s right, we went from one sweet treat straight to another! After a delightful lunch, we picked up some macarons from K. Rammelle. I give the pistachio flavor 8/10 and the hazelnut one 7/10. The pistachio macaron was solid but nothing super special. While the hazelnut macaron tasted delicious, the texture was pretty dry and crumbly.

1:15pm – since the Monsters Unchained wait time was still pretty low, we ended up riding it again (and not for the last time, haha). It’s just THAT good!

2pm – next, we headed back to Super Nintendo World for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. Again, the theming here was super immersive which made the line fly by. Bowser’s Challenge sadly ended up being one of my least favorites at Epic Universe because I’m not a big fan of VR rides. I will say that the Rainbow Road portion was insanely cool! I give it 6/10 but acknowledge a lot of that is personal preference because my friends enjoyed it a bit more.

3:15pm – by this time, we’d ridden everything that we wanted to with one exception: Battle at the Ministry. This ride has been experiencing some crazy wait times (I’m talking 4+ hours), so we expected to be stuck in line for a while. The queue for Battle at the Ministry is fantastic and really makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a Harry Potter movie. We ended up boarding the ride after about 90 minutes (our longest wait time of the day).

This might be a controversial opinion, but I didn’t think Battle at the Ministry was worth the wait. Yes, the ride is an interesting concept and has some fun elements, but it was ultimately a bit of a letdown. It’s definitely worth riding at least once, but I couldn’t imagine waiting more than 30-45 minutes for it. I rate it 6.5/10—sorry not sorry!

5pm – after knocking out Battle at the Ministry, it was back over to Dark Universe for dinner at Das Stakehaus. The restaurant’s vibes are fun and spooky—we really enjoyed the ambiance. I ordered the blood orange chicken sandwich, which is served on one of their signature black buns. The chicken was moist with the perfect amount of breading, and I liked the sauce served on the side. While the black bun was a cool touch, it didn’t taste like anything special—overall, I rate this meal 7/10.

I also tried a few bites of my friend’s Red Velvet Death dessert. We agreed the presentation was 10/10 but the flavor was 6/10 because the cake portion tasted somewhat bland and low-quality.

6:15pm – you guessed it—we rode Monsters Unchained three more times in a row because there was virtually no wait time! It was pouring rain by the time we hopped off the ride, so most of the park was shut down due to the weather. We decided to head back to our car to regroup. For some reason, I decided to wear a white shirt which was a big mistake. I got so soaked that I ended up needing to buy another (non-see-through) shirt!

7pm – thankfully, there was a Target nearby so we killed some time there while waiting for the storm to pass.

8:20pm – within an hour or so, we were back in business and reentering Epic Universe for our last hoorah.

8:55pm – our first stop was the Isle of Berk where my friend got the classic mac and cheese cone from Hooligan’s Grog & Gruel. This is incredibly rich and indulgent, so I’m glad the three of us ended up splitting it. The mac and cheese itself was nothing to write home about, but the presentation was cute and the bread cone was surprisingly delicious. I rate it 7/10 for the fun eating experience.

9pm – with the sun officially set, we made our way to Super Nintendo World to hop on Yoshi’s Adventure. Epic Universe truly shines after dark, and this was the perfect nighttime experience. This ride doesn’t have much going on and it’s definitely geared toward little ones, but the views of Super Nintendo World made it worth checking out. I give Yoshi’s Adventure 6/10.

9:30pm – with only 30 minutes left before the park closed, we decided to get in one more ride on Stardust Racers. This rollercoaster is absolutely incredible at night and the views of Celestial Park were amazing! I didn’t manage to snap a pic at night, but in the shot above you can see the “dueling” yellow and green rollercoasters.

10pm – after getting off Stardust Racers a few minutes before 10pm, we hustled over to the Isle of Berk to line up for Dragon Racer’s Rally because it was the only major ride that we hadn’t done. (We were in such a rush that there was no time for pictures, so the shot above was from earlier in the day.) Technically, we didn’t ride Constellation Carousel or Fyre Drill either, but I don’t think we missed out on much. Dragon Racer’s Rally was cute but pretty boring, so I rate it 4/10.

10:30pm – we wrapped up our Epic Universe day around 10:30pm. While we left exhausted and waterlogged, it was an overall fantastic time!

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I’m so glad my friends and I got to check out Epic Universe and ride (almost) everything in the park! It’s a must-visit if you’re a theme park lover, so don’t wait to start planning your Epic Universe trip.