Epic Universe Tips for First-Timers: 6 Things to Know Before You Go

Today I’ve put together 6 tips from my own experience for anyone planning to visit Epic Universe. They should be especially helpful if it’s your first time 😊

✅ 1. Check which attractions open during early entry

Not every attraction opens the moment the park opens.

Only certain attractions start running as soon as early park admission begins. From September 30 to December 31, 2025, the attractions that operate from the start of early entry are:

• Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge
• Yoshi’s Adventure™
• Stardust Racers
• Constellation Carousel
• Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
• Curse of the Werewolf

The key thing to note: the Harry Potter and Donkey Kong attractions, the most popular at Epic, are not part of early entry!! If you rope-drop and line up for them, you’ll have to wait at least an hour until official opening, plus the time it takes the line to move… It’s much more efficient to ride the early-entry attractions first during that time!

✅ 2. Rope-drop Stardust Racers

For rope drop, I recommend Stardust Racers! This attraction has two tracks: Green and Orange. Some reviews say the Orange track is more thrilling, but when I rode both, I didn’t notice much difference. Still, it’s the most thrilling attraction in the park, so I recommend riding both tracks: once at rope drop and once again in the evening!

💡 Tips

• Most people head to Harry Potter and Donkey Kong first, so
• right after entry you can ride with only a 10–15 minute wait.
• Ride once more around closing time when it’s lit up, and it feels completely different ✨

✅ 3. Express Pass is highly recommended

It’s expensive, but it’s a way to buy time with money, so I highly recommend it. Every attraction at Epic Universe is high quality, so you’ll want to ride them all, and in particular

• Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
• Mine-Cart Madness (Donkey Kong)

often have standby waits of 120 minutes or more. Express lets you use your time much more efficiently!

Also, Stardust Racers and the Carousel feel different by day and night, so I recommend riding them at least twice. Unlike during the day, at night there’s around a 20-minute wait, so make good use of your Express Pass then.

✅ 4. Always get your Butterbeer frozen 🍺

The restaurants in the Harry Potter area sell two kinds of Butterbeer:

• Slushy: Bieraubeurre Glacée (recommended!)
• Regular drink: Bieraubeurre Froide

The sweet caramel-butter flavor works much better as a slushy. You can also add a souvenir cup.

Butterbeer souvenir cup

It has a wide base, so it’s a stable design that doesn’t tip over. I used it throughout my trip and I’m still using it now that I’m back in Korea. I especially recommend it as a souvenir for beer lovers! (Note: not microwave or dishwasher safe.)

✅ 5. The Epic Universe–exclusive Harry Potter wand

There’s a limited-edition wand you can only buy at Epic Universe: a wand engraved with a phoenix.

Here’s the price and what’s included:

• $85, plus $25 to add a name engraving (ready for pickup in about an hour)
• It also comes with a map showing where you can try casting spells.

Wands come in first and second generations. Both work with the interactive spots in the park, but second-generation wands also connect to the app, so you can do more with them.

A second-generation wand that links to the app

The Epic exclusive wand is new, so it’s a second-generation wand.

You can buy the wand at the shop circled in yellow (Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magiques™), and if you asked for an engraving, pick it up at the shop circled in blue (Les Galeries Mirifiques™). I highly recommend it as a souvenir you can only get at Epic.

✅ 6. Leave your camera at the hotel 📷

At Walt Disney World I could film almost everywhere, but at Universal you mostly can’t. On fast rides you even have to store your phone, and many shows and simulator attractions are no filming for copyright reasons. I brought my GoPro too and barely ended up using it… The lockers at Epic Universe are bigger than the ones at the other Universal parks, but still, don’t weigh yourself down: just leave it at the hotel!

✨ Wrap-up

Since Epic Universe is brand new, every single attraction is excellent. With a little planning, you can get the most experience in the least time!

I hope my blog helps make your trip a little more magical ✨ If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the contact page. Thanks for reading!