Credit: Andrew Boardwine, Inside the MagicExploring Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park just got a whole lot easier, at least for now.
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In a surprise move, a traditional standby queue is now being offered for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry at Epic Universe. This marks the first time a regular line has been used for the attraction, as for the last few weeks of previews, a Virtual Line system has been used for Battle at the Ministry. Similar to Disney’s Virtual Queue system, visitors could snag a digital reservation for the attraction, theoretically cutting down on time spent actually waiting in line.
Epic Universe’s Virtual Line system proved to be a very ticky thing to use, becoming a mark on what has otherwise been a slam dunk for Universal. This is not to say everything inside Epic Universe is working as it should, with the park facing some operational and technical issues, but these are expected.
It’s unknown if a traditional standby queue will be offered for Battle at the Ministry when Epic Universe opens later this May. Things could change again, so it’s best for travelers to stay informed.
The real challenge and test of Epic Universe will be if the park can get all of its rides and attractions up and running at the same time, which has been the park’s biggest issue. Multiple attractions, including Battle at the Ministry, were closed throughout the day during a recent trip the ITM team took, leaving us with limited options.
We still had fun inside Universal’s newest theme park, but there’s certainly room for improvement. Whether all the kinks can be worked out by its May 22 opening date is uncertain, but once they are, Epic Universe will undoubtedly flourish.
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Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is hardly the only ride featured at Epic Universe, which is chock-full of incredible attractions. One of the biggest highlights of the new theme park has been Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
This immersive dark ride is a blend of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and a haunted house. The ride’s land, Dark Universe, is based on Universal’s classic monsters, and as such, all kinds of creatures can be found inside Monsters Unchained.
During their ride, guests will encounter Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and even Dracula, though we won’t spoil anything else about this incredible dark ride.
Another highlight for Epic Universe has been Stardust Racers. This outdoor dueling roller coaster takes guests high above Epic Universe, sending them on a race through the cosmos. Of course, there are other things to do and explore outside of Epic Universe’s list of attractions, with the park also featuring a wide assortment of fun and inventive food and beverage options.
Epic Universe also has quite a bit of live entertainment experiences for guests to enjoy, such as a meet-and-greet encounter with Hiccup and Toothless from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, as well as a stage show based on the films called The Untrainable Dragon.
Will you be visiting Epic Universe this summer?