Credit: UniversalOn May 22, Epic Universe opened at the Universal Orlando Resort, transporting guests to five new lands — How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, Dark Universe, and Celestial Park. The new theme park was Universal’s most anticipated theme park opening to date, and guests flooded through its gates, ready to see what wonders the new park held.
Not only is Epic Universe full of incredible new rides and attractions, but its character meet-and-greets are top-notch, and guests are shocked by the amazing quality and theming of the new food offerings.
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Summer is typically a very busy time for theme parks, but both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have seen crowds thin out in recent weeks. However, that doesn’t mean that every attraction is a walk-on, and guests visiting Epic Universe recently were shocked when a line for one of the rides actually went outside of the theme park.
Reddit user firstjobtrailblazer visited the new theme park and decided to spend some time in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. While things didn’t look that bad from the outside, they realized that things were very different once they got into line for Yoshi’s Adventure.
Yoshi’s Adventure is a family-friendly attraction that takes guests of all ages on a ride through the Mushroom Kingdom in search of the glowing eggs. On their journey, guests will encounter some of the favorite Super Mario Bros. characters and spot hidden eggs.
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The OP (Original Poster) waited in a line they knew was a little longer, but didn’t realize just how crazy the line was, until they were sent outside the theme park. You read that correctly, the line for Yoshi’s Adventure was so long that guests were shuffled into a waiting area that was actually outside of the new theme park.
The Redditor shared a photo of the brutal wait, and vented about how poorly SUPER NINTENDO WORLD handles large crowds. The one saving grace was that the area was covered, and there were fans to help deal with the heat.
The hell?! The Yoshi line goes outside the park
The hell?! The Yoshi line goes outside the park
byu/firstjobtrailblazer inUniversalEpicUniverse
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Many commenters were shocked that the line for a children’s ride was so long, and the OP admitted that their party ended up leaving the line and waiting less than an hour to ride Mine-Cart Madness, the Donkey Kong-themed attraction in the land.
Others spoke about frustrating wait times in the park, pointing to Stardust Racers. The dual-launch roller coaster in Celestial Park does have an Express Line, but it is reportedly not that much of a time saver.
The line for Stardust Racers is the worst. I waited just as long for Express as the regular line. Once you are forced to put your belongings in a locker, you might think you are close…. Then the line then becomes one blended queue for another 40-50 minutes, express pass or not. It was INSANE!!!! The ride also broke down 6 times in the 2 hours I spent in line.
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What frustrated many commenters and guests the most was that the lines, waits, and designs didn’t have to be as frustrating as they are. SUPER NINTENDO WORLD in Epic Universe is nearly identical to the one in Japan, where they had a lot less space to work with. Epic Universe had much more space than Japan, but it seems that everything is as clustered together in Florida as it is overseas.
Overall, the majority opinion seemed to be that Universal messed things up when it comes to crowd control at Epic Universe. While guests love the attraction details and the theming, they are being forced to admit that a lot of the attractions don’t fit enough people at one time, which leads to backups, causing the crowds to get out of control.
Have you visited Epic Universe since it opened in May? Do you think that the theme park and its attractions weren’t properly designed to handle bigger crowds? Should Universal try to figure out how to fix the problem, or do you think this is just a temporary issue that theme parks face when opening for the first time? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!