Epic Universe is sort of empty. Useless. Devoid of company. A ghost city. Etcetera. We’re speaking COVID-era attendance. The most recent park at Common Orlando has been the least busy of the three gates over its opening weekend (and slower than Walt Disney World, for that matter), with 1/10 crowd ranges at worst, and most points of interest being walk-ons or having minimal waits no matter their posted occasions. This covers what we’re seeing to this point over Memorial Day and some takeaways.
For starters let’s make our perspective on this clear: enormous kudos to Common Orlando for selecting to have low crowds for the opening weekend of Epic Universe. Some cynical Walt Disney World followers are someway criticizing Epic Universe for this, calling it a flop or pointing to the present crowds as “proof” of the park’s unpopularity. That is utter nonsense.
We have now been vocal detractors of Common Orlando’s high-friction method to Epic Universe park tickets, warning since final summer time that Common risked repeating the identical “crowdpocalypse” mistake with Epic Universe as Disney did with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and different highly-hyped theme park additions. We’ll have much more to say about these missteps and the group penalties within the days and months to come back, however that isn’t what is going on proper now. In no way.
Common Orlando might have offered out Epic Universe at full capability over opening weekend. Most likely a number of occasions over. Natural demand possible would’ve supported the sale of 100,000 tickets to Epic Universe every day of this vacation weekend. As a substitute, Common Orlando seems to have offered about one-tenth that many tickets.
In brief, it completely was a option to have crowds be this low for opening weekend. On the danger of stating the plain, the better resolution would’ve been to promote many extra tickets, take short-term income, endure heavier crowds and no matter else got here with that. The word-of-mouth wouldn’t have been as constructive, so it will’ve include a tradeoff. Nevertheless it was however a alternative–and never as a consequence of lack of demand, unpopularity, or the results of Epic Universe being a flop. Once more, all garbage.
How attendance at Epic Universe performs out within the weeks and months to come back shall be a very totally different story. It’ll even be a results of deliberate selections by Common Orlando, particularly, these to introduce extreme friction into ticket gross sales. However that’ll be extra oblique, and fewer a matter of Common selecting to maintain the capability cap extremely low (though each will play roles).
The underside line is that we needs to be praising guest-friendly choices just like the one Common Orlando made with opening weekend of Epic Universe. That’s true whilst Walt Disney World followers, because the opponents be taught classes from each other. As a substitute, I’m pretty satisfied that criticism from some Walt Disney World followers was preordained.
They’d’ve complained if strains have been too lengthy, pulling a Chapek and calling it an indication of failure; as a substitute, they’re complaining that the strains are too quick. Fortunately, it’s a vocal-but-small minority of Disney zealots. The remainder of us see this as a very good factor.
I’ve been watching this carefully through the Common Orlando app and likewise speaking to a number of mates on the bottom at Epic Universe. We’ve additionally been having fun with eye within the sky protection from friend-of-the-site bioreconstruct, the go-to supply for aerial theme park images (a extremely really useful comply with who graciously offered the helicopter pictures right here and has lots of extra on Twitter).
Anecdotally, most points of interest are walk-ons or near it by mid-afternoon, whatever the posted wait occasions. The one exceptions to which might be Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry, Mario Kart, Mine-Cart Insanity, and the Meet Toothless & Pals character greeting.
The precise wait occasions for these are all over, with Battle on the Ministry and Toothless being the one issues averaging posted wait occasions which might be over an hour lengthy. Even Mario Kart and Mine-Cart Insanity, which have averages of 30-45 minutes, are routinely walk-ons within the second half of the day. Even the parking zone has been comparatively empty over opening weekend!
The plain query is why are crowds so low at Epic Universe? How did Common Orlando let this occur? Given the wait occasions, wouldn’t it have been tremendous to promote just a few thousand extra tickets? Why depart a lot cash on the desk?
As you would possibly recall, ticket gross sales to Epic Universe have been a problem. We have now used the phrase high-friction so much, and can proceed to take action typically within the months to come back. However for proper now, all we actually have to cowl is that Common Orlando introduced the opening date of Epic Universe, began promoting multi-day tickets plus trip packages to most people, and single day tickets for Annual Passholders all inside fast succession in late October of final 12 months. All of this–from announcement to launch–occurred within the span of a single week.
5 months later, Common Orlando lastly began promoting 1-day Epic Universe tickets to most people, solely a pair weeks after beginning multi-day ticket gross sales to Florida residents. When that occurred again in mid-March of this 12 months, solely dates on or after June 1, 2025 have been accessible. Which means that opening week (or so) was already “offered out” by the point common company might buy single-day Epic Universe tickets.
There are air quotes round “offered out” as a result of, should you actually wished to attend Epic Universe this weekend, you may discover a approach. Stalking the ticketing web page has revealed pop-up availability, so being diligent about that will’ve ultimately yielded outcomes. Only a couple weeks in the past, Common Orlando ‘restocked’ tickets for many dates that have been beforehand offered out.
Except for Helios Grand (and even that got here up on occasion), there was additionally nonetheless resort and trip bundle availability. In fact, that will include the restrictive ticketing insurance policies which might be pushing away many vacationers within the first place, however the level is that it was nonetheless attainable for extremely motivated followers to go to on opening day/weekend.
Most apparently, Common Orlando has made same-day Epic Universe tickets accessible, with out limitation, each single day since opening (see beneath). That is downright humorous to me, because it’s a pointy distinction to the high-friction gross sales method of the Epic Universe rollout that began final summer time.
I can virtually think about my very offline dad watching Legislation & Order: Massive Dangerous Crime Metropolis Spinoff Present on NBC, catching an Epic Universe business between Detective Stabler taking names & kicking assassins, and deciding to drive down and see the brand new park. Completely oblivious to all the ticketing insurance policies, and inexplicably having not one of the points or hurdles hardcore followers encountered after they waited in digital queues a number of months in the past–many nonetheless coming away empty-handed!
That kind of situation might’ve performed out in concept, however might be uncommon if truth be told. I can’t think about there’s a lot overlap between any such offline particular person and precise theme park lovers within the 12 months 2025. I’m going to exit on a limb and say these same-day, walk-up gross sales account for lower than 5% of attendance at Epic Universe to this point.
The die was solid months in the past with restrictive ticketing insurance policies adopted by months of previews. Only a few locals are going to purchase last-minute given the previews plus prohibitive pricing, and vacationers don’t change or make plans on such quick discover.
If now could be too late to maneuver the needle on attendance, the subsequent query is why Common Orlando didn’t launch extra tickets months in the past?
In a traditional situation, that’s exactly what we’d’ve anticipated to see occur–Common throttling gross sales considerably at first, after which ‘opening the valve’ and releasing extra over time as operations grew to become extra assured in regards to the crowd-load the park might bear for the official opening.
My finest guess is the previews gave Common important pause, versus confidence. As we defined in Why You Ought to Skip Epic Universe, journey reliability and breakdowns have been massive and protracted points–and never simply with Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry. Just about each single one of many park’s marquee points of interest has ranges of downtime larger than what company would think about cheap.
Throughout previews, there have been some actually tough days. Between breakdowns and climate delays (which shut 7 of 11 rides), there have been events when solely 1-2 rides have been operational. This had a cascading impact on crowds, and even on days attendance is closely capped.
A few days have been so dangerous that Common Orlando really issued refunds. It was for that reason that we warned about being in Epic Universe on the primary day when there was an operational meltdown at larger capability. It’s going to be a nightmare.
Over the course of previews, reliability appeared to get worse as a substitute of higher. A few the worst days got here in the direction of the top. Between the timing of that and a rising refrain of visitor complaints, I’d hazard a guess that Common selected to take the cautious method. As a substitute of releasing one other enormous batch of tickets in the direction of the top, they could’ve launched just a few hundred. Even with same-day availability in order that the park isn’t formally “offered out,” we all know that the caps are nonetheless fairly low by advantage of leaked ticket information.
As for the “why” of crowds being so low, the plain reply is capped capability. Simply as with the paid previews, Common Orlando is considerably limiting attendance. Based mostly on the aforementioned ticket information, it’s our understanding that present limits are lower than one-third of complete park capability.
That’s solely a part of the reply, although. As a result of, once more, ticket gross sales have been throttled throughout paid previews and there have been some days that had considerably larger wait occasions. The only greatest distinction between then and now could be journey reliability.
Epic Universe has loved its finest stretch ever–the previous couple of days have seen completely unbelievable uptime. This doesn’t seem like a brand-new park, it seems to be like one which’s discovered its operational groove and been working easily for years. I might say it’s a miracle, however that is virtually precisely what I skilled throughout previews.
It stays to be seen whether or not these technical rehearsals served their objective and what we’re observing now could be the brand new regular, or the theme park gods smiling on Epic Universe for its opening weekend. Both approach, that is the outcome-determinative issue as contrasted with the worst days of the previews (which additionally implies that these dangerous days might return).
There are different variables. One other massive one is that the opening weekend crowd shouldn’t be consultant of normal visitor dynamics. This a lot needs to be apparent by all the hoops these individuals jumped by way of to be there (digital queues to purchase tickets, packages, and so on). By and huge, these will not be common vacationers–they’re locals, Annual Passholders, and hardcore followers.
Many in all probability already attended previews, received their fill of rides then, and are at opening weekend for the recollections and being a part of historical past. They’re there to purchase opening merchandise, take images, eat at Pizza Moon, and so on. On a a lot totally different scale, we’ve seen one thing related at Disneyland for the reason that launch of the seventieth. Should you go by wait occasions information, the parks are useless. As somebody who has spent a number of days there within the final week-plus, I can guarantee you that isn’t the case.
One other issue is that Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry now has a standby line versus a digital queue. Because of this it’s now absorbing crowds, versus permitting company to be in two locations directly. This can be a not-insignificant issue at occasions, as Battle on the Ministry has an enormous bodily queue, and has had a posted wait time as excessive as 300 minutes (when if truth be told, it was simply damaged down).
Talking of Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry, that’s a very good place to segue into strategic takeaways from the primary few days of Epic Universe. There aren’t actually many, however the massive one is that it’s best to completely not rope drop the brand new Harry Potter E-Ticket. This isn’t a very new piece of recommendation–it’s already talked about in our Epic Universe Morning Technique: Rope Drop Rides to Do & Keep away from to Save Time!
It’s however value reiterating as a result of we now have one other week’s value of knowledge factors. Should you would’ve disregarded our recommendation within the days since that was printed, you’d have both encountered the best common wait occasions of the day for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry or stood in line for nothing, as a result of the journey was really damaged down even when the road was open. Absent an unbelievable quantity of luck, you’d’ve been a lot worse off beginning with Battle on the Ministry than actually anything. Even should you received fortunate, the chance value would’ve made it unadvisable.
Possibly this may change within the weeks or months to come back, however as of proper now, the most effective technique for Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry is doing it within the mid-afternoon. We wouldn’t suggest doing it too late, because the journey continues to be susceptible to prolonged downtime; if it breaks down at 4 p.m. or later, there’s at all times the chance it by no means returns–or has a multi-hour wait as soon as it does. Proper after it returns from a breakdown is the most effective time, assuming you possibly can transfer quick and beat the frenzy.
Aside from that, the largest change from previews is that Mario Kart: Bowser’s Problem has the next common wait time than Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Insanity. This has been pretty constant over the course of a number of days, and is notably totally different from previews.
I don’t imagine that is the beginning of a everlasting sample. Once more, demographics of opening weekend skew extra in the direction of locals and regulars, and Mario Kart has higher re-rideability than Mine-Cart Insanity. As mentioned in our Trip Rankings & Evaluations for Epic Universe, we view the Donkey Kong coaster as the largest disappointment of the Epic Universe headliners. Whereas I really like the characters and can do it once more on their account, I might by no means wait greater than half-hour for Mine-Cart Insanity.
Mario Kart can also be polarizing–however most company will wish to journey it greater than as soon as because it’s interactive. You additionally just about want 2-3 ride-throughs to expertise each the gameplay and see the nice darkish journey environments. With wait occasions so low in all places else, I might see Mario Kart being one of many high points of interest that company repeat as soon as they’re “accomplished” with the whole lot else at Epic Universe. About the one factor with larger re-ride potential is Stardust Racers.
Ultimately, my expectation is that Mario Kart and Mine-Cart Insanity each settle into being high 3 wait occasions, alongside Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry. However I count on Donkey Kong to take the crown over Mario Kart as a consequence of capability and first-timer demand. Mine-Cart Insanity could be second-banana to Harry Potter, however I wouldn’t be stunned if it’s #1 over time, regardless of being the inferior attraction. We will see, although!
Lastly, I’d notice that should you’re visiting within the close to future and bought Categorical Go for Epic Universe, you would possibly have the ability to get a refund ought to these low crowds persist. We’ve heard a number of studies of company receiving refunds for Categorical Go over opening weekend; apparently, these have been granted pretty freely with zero pushback.
This needs to be one more signal that it wasn’t initially Common’s intent for the crowds to be fairly this low opening weekend. Had been that the plan, they in all probability wouldn’t have offered Categorical Go within the first place, because it’s been totally ineffective. (Notice that Mine-Cart Insanity and Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry will not be eligible for Categorical Go, so 2 of the one 3 points of interest the place it will’ve been helpful don’t settle for it within the first place.)
In the end, a fantastic opening weekend for Epic Universe and a giant win for company. Right here’s hoping that the constructive protection of crowds garners extra consideration than the 300-minute posted standby look ahead to Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry. Common Orlando deserves it after erring on the facet of warning and limiting ticket gross sales to such a level that, even have been there extra journey downtime, company within the park nonetheless would’ve had a constructive expertise.
We’d warning towards extrapolating an excessive amount of from opening weekend for the very same purpose–journey reliability and downtime would possibly nonetheless be a wildcard. That’s one of many massive the reason why we pushed off our deliberate opening weekend journey to Common Orlando, and whereas we’re kicking ourselves for that call now, hindsight is 20/20. Given the potential of breakdowns extra on par with later previews, excessive warmth & humidity, and the sensible actuality that the park doesn’t have a ton for toddlers, it was in all probability the proper resolution for us.
Nevertheless, the subsequent few months may very well be a incredible time to go to Epic Universe for theme park followers and low crowd lovers with a little bit of flexibility and danger tolerance. We’ll cowl that very quickly, with particular suggestions about when to go to. Keep tuned!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Epic Universe’s insanely low crowds for opening day and weekend? Do you count on attendance to extend over the approaching couple of weeks as summer time kicks into excessive gear? Assume Common Orlando bungled the ticket and bundle rollout of Epic Universe? Did that dissuade you from attending this summer time or 12 months? Agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share some other ideas or questions you’ve got within the feedback beneath!
