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Epic Universe 1 Year Later: Honest Review, Ride Rankings & What’s Next

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0:00 | 1:09:34

Hello you glorious people - welcome back to the Orlando Accomplice Podcast! 🎙️

In this episode, we’re celebrating 1 year of Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort and breaking down EVERYTHING you need to know before your next Orlando trip.

From our opening day experience to multiple return visits, we’re sharing honest opinions, tips, and whether Epic Universe is actually worth the hype in 2026.

🌍 What we cover in this episode -

🎉 Epic Universe 1 Year Review

  • Our opening day experience at Epic Universe

  • What it was like visiting again months later

  • Has the park improved after a full year?

  • The reality vs expectations of Universal’s newest theme park


🎢 Full Ride Rankings (All Attractions Ranked)

  • Our updated Epic Universe ride tier list after multiple visits

  • Best rides vs most overrated rides

  • Which attractions are actually worth the wait

  • Hidden gems you might skip but shouldn’t


⚠️ Common Complaints & Honest Thoughts

  • Long wait times & crowd management

  • Lack of shade & Florida heat 🌞

  • Not enough rides?

  • Indoor vs outdoor attractions

  • Is Epic Universe worth the ticket price?


🧠 Tips & Tricks for Visiting Epic Universe

  • Best days to visit (we tested this 👀)

  • How to avoid long queues

  • Whether you need Express Pass

  • How to plan your day around the different “portals”


🔮 What’s Coming Next

  • New Harry Potter expansion rumours

  • Future rides & park expansions

  • The “open hub” concept explained

  • What Epic Universe could look like in the future


📌 Why this matters for your Orlando trip
If you’re planning a trip to Universal Orlando, visiting Epic Universe, or deciding between Disney World vs Universal, this episode will help you:

  • Plan your park days smarter

  • Avoid common mistakes first-time visitors make

  • Decide if Epic Universe is worth your time and money

  • Get the most out of your Orlando holiday in 2026


Thank you for watching / listening

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🕸️ Website: www.orlandoaccomplice.com
—
⏱️ Who is Orlando Accomplice?  

We’re Jake & Becky - your Orlando accomplice! We create cinematic travel films, vlogs, shortform videos, photos, and podcasts all about Orlando. From Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando to hidden gems both inside and outside the parks, we’re here to help you plan smarter, laugh harder, and experience Orlando in the best ways possible. 🎢☕️🎙️

If you’re looking for:
✨ Honest Orlando travel vlogs
🎢 Walt Disney World & Universal Orlando tips
🍩 Food reviews and hidden gems
🎧 Chaotic travel stories on our podcast
🎥 Cinematic shortform and park days
💡 Real, and relatable Orlando adventures

Then you’re in the right place — welcome to Orlando Accomplice. 💚
—
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SPEAKER_04

Hello, you glorious people, and welcome to Orlando Accomplice. I am Becca.

SPEAKER_02

And I'm Jake. And today we're going to be talking about All Things Epic Universe. We're celebrating the one-year anniversary for Epic opening on the 22nd of May 2025.

SPEAKER_04

So happy birthday to Epic.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. So we're going to be going over our experiences, some common concerns that have come out from the community, what could happen next, and then we're going to end with a ride ranking after we've had three trips to Epic and we've kind of had time to mull over and decide what the what the ride tier list is.

SPEAKER_04

To mull this over a full year.

SPEAKER_02

And obviously, this podcast will be full of like tips and tricks if you've not been to Epic yet, or if you are going back to Epic, so yeah, uh stick about. So just to do the housekeeping and the disclaimer, uh, we do sometimes swear, um, we sometimes talk about things that you might not want your kids to listen to. Um, so you can save this video for later if your kids are around, or you can expose them to the craziness that is all under accomplice.

SPEAKER_04

Educational purposes.

SPEAKER_02

Educational purposes. Um we put this out as a YouTube video as well. So if you're listening on audio podcasts, you can come watch us on YouTube and vice versa. So if you're watching us on YouTube and you can't just pause your pause the um you can't lock your phone and listen to the podcast at the same time, well then you can head over to audio only and you can catch us there. So Spotify, Apple Music, yep. And then that's it. If you enjoy this, give it as a like, subscribe, thumbs up, rating, whatever it is on your platforms. And then the last thing for the disclaimer is that we always have a beverage with our podcast. So do you want to choose your show yourself?

SPEAKER_04

I just want to say well done.

SPEAKER_02

Boom.

SPEAKER_04

For getting through that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

It's only taking you 23 episodes.

SPEAKER_02

I nearly forgot.

SPEAKER_04

So if this is your first time listening, um Jake rambles through that whole disclaimer and it gets longer and longer and longer every episode. So well done.

SPEAKER_02

Tell you what, being on camera more. See, I can I can talk to you guys now.

SPEAKER_04

Kind of. Even though when he's looking down the lens, right, he's probably looking above the.

SPEAKER_02

I probably wouldn't even look at it, probably looking at my notes to be fair. Probably a minute.

SPEAKER_04

Well done. Right, so the beverages of choice today. We have been running out and about, so we've not brought some home homemade goodness today. I have um a very boring drink today, I'm afraid. What a disappointment from me. I just have a can of PIMS. I do love a PIMS.

SPEAKER_02

Um Pims at the ready.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it's such a summertime drink. I do love it, but obviously it is way better in a tall glass with eyes filled with cucumber and strawberries and mint.

SPEAKER_02

In the sunshine.

SPEAKER_04

In the sunshine. But right now I think it's raining outside.

SPEAKER_02

And Becky currently has a heater by her feet.

unknown

Oh yeah, I'm cool.

SPEAKER_04

Um I was looking for the new Aperol Spritz cans. I know it tastes no different, it's just Apol in a can, but I bloody love an Aperol Spritz. Um, so keeping it carbonated in a can sounds good to me, but I know you can get the bottles. I did pick up some of the bottles for when we go away next weekend, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So I've gone for a I'd been trying to have something different on this podcast and not just drinking Stella all the time. So I've gone for a little Lil Tropic. It's by Vault City. It's Tropical Sour Beer. So I don't know what classes as a sour beer. So if the drink rider listening, please educate me because I feel like they just make up words every time that they put something on a beer. But yeah, so modern stuff.

SPEAKER_04

I just try and make it more edgy and edgy and edgy and edgier every time, but the cans prayer.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and that's what suckers in is in the Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

If I drank beer, I'd be suckered into all the marketing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, cheers. Cheers. To 23 episodes and happy birthday to Epic. I know what a pimps tastes like.

SPEAKER_02

That is you'll actually like that.

SPEAKER_04

Will I?

SPEAKER_02

You might think it's a bit clag.

SPEAKER_04

Clag.

SPEAKER_02

I feel like we need to coin the term klag.

SPEAKER_04

Could you want to explain while I have a swig?

SPEAKER_02

Clag means claggy, basically.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but people might not know what that means.

SPEAKER_02

Claggy means like like like how my mouth feels now.

SPEAKER_04

I'm so sorry that he's just forced that down your ears, ear canals.

SPEAKER_02

People are gonna be driving in the car to wear finished hearing that.

SPEAKER_04

So sorry. It's like if you listen to people eat and it repulses your you've probably just lost us like 10 of us, 20 viewers there. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe the real ones are here anyway, so yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Right, let me try this.

SPEAKER_02

We've just shared a moment.

SPEAKER_04

Oh! I do like that!

SPEAKER_02

Doesn't it even say it's like beer, does it? No.

SPEAKER_04

That's nice.

SPEAKER_02

It's not what I wanted though, but it's it tastes a bit like a like a radler, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04

I don't know what a radler is.

SPEAKER_00

No, I had a radler before.

SPEAKER_04

No.

SPEAKER_02

Like a lemon beer.

SPEAKER_04

This is like the Brooklyn 99 episode where they're like on about Pilsner and brewing his own Pilsner and doing Radler and just like what the hell.

SPEAKER_00

A common thing. Yeah, sour beer.

SPEAKER_04

That's nice though.

SPEAKER_00

It it tastes a bit like Lil kind of. Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I like that. So like I'm not a beer drinker, I like a desperado, I like a corona, but that's as far as I go.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's pretty good, that. Yeah, happy with my drink.

SPEAKER_04

We'll get some of that for next weekend when we go away.

SPEAKER_00

Will we?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, we we will.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, you can taste pineapple, you can taste grapefruit, so yeah, it is basically.

SPEAKER_04

And I'm not a grapefruit fan, but I think it's more pineapple.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I do too.

SPEAKER_04

It's like a shandy with pineapple. Yes.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But then it's 4.6%. It's three on the sour scale. I do like a sour thing, but sometimes at sour drinks.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, drink ride, please educate us on what sour. Yeah, what is a sour beer? Cracking on.

SPEAKER_02

Cracking on, kicking on, kicking off the episode. Really, I'm gonna just do an introduction to Epic.

SPEAKER_04

By the way, he planned this one, not me.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So but then I left my iPad at home, so I'm using Becky's laptop because my laptop's doing the sound over there.

SPEAKER_04

So I have no idea what's going on essentially.

SPEAKER_02

I'll I'll I'll run this one. So some people do not know what Epic Universe is, some people do. So a lot of kind of people who follow us on Instagram or like if you've subscribed to us on YouTube, you'll know what Epic Universe is. But if you this is your first time listening to an All Under Accomplice podcast, hello, welcome.

SPEAKER_04

Hello, we hope you stay.

SPEAKER_02

Um it's bloody crazy over here, but um we we'll just do a bit of a run through over what Epic U Epic Universe is. I'm gonna do it in a very speedy manner. So shall we get the timer out on your phone? You wouldn't. I'm gonna try and do it in 60 seconds, right? So I might need to hold. Where's my stopwatch?

SPEAKER_04

I've got my own hair on my mic. What a shock there. Yeah. Right. You ready? Three.

SPEAKER_02

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

SPEAKER_04

Three. Brieve, two, one.

SPEAKER_02

So Epic Universe is Universal's newest theme park. It's made up of a central hub called Celestial Park, and that houses two rides, a carousel and Stardust Racers, which is a roller coaster, and it's probably one of one of the better rides in the park. Uh and it also has a couple of quick services and two sit-down restaurants, which is Blue Dragon and Atlantic. I should not include that because it's going to cut off my time. The hub is obviously in the middle, and then there's four themed portals around it. They're called portals because it's meant to teleport you to different worlds almost. So there's three IPs and then one original IP. The three IPs are Ministry of Magic, which is Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, which is the original IP, and then Isle of Burke, which is based off how to train your dragon. There's 11 rides in total, and it opened on the 22nd of May last year, and they had six weeks of previews before that. Boom.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, you did it in 58 seconds. Nice. Well done. I'm showing you my phone, right? And I've just realised I've got one of them privacy screens on too. I can't see shit.

SPEAKER_02

Looks great. But do you think I missed anything there?

SPEAKER_04

No. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02

I was putting more like Can you Wowed by my speed.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. You're like the sloth our zooty.

SPEAKER_02

Epic Universe. So yeah, our experiences, if you are new here or if you've not listened to any of his podcasts before or seen anything that we've been kind of posting, uh, we went to Epic Universe on opening day. So we was kind of kicking this off a little bit because they had previews six weeks before, like I mentioned in my super speedy intro. Um so we wanted to go for previews and we thought with opening day it was gonna be chocker. So we thought we kind of missed this opportunity to kind of have a free run at the park with like low wait times uh with the previews, um, but then we just kind of wanted to hold out for opening day. So for opening day, like we've done a podcast on our experience from opening day, which we filmed out in Orlando the day after we watched it back this morning because I was trying to put the ride tier list of what we said last time and we were so tired in that video.

SPEAKER_04

Oh yeah, I look knackers, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Because we've done obviously a full day.

SPEAKER_04

So I was drinking an Alani new.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Which I'm drinking a PIMS. Not a PIMS.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um yeah, so we went on opening day, and so you can listen to the full breakdown of that um on that podcast. Um it'll be on his YouTube or on his profile on whichever audio platforms you're listening on. But yeah, so just to kind of give a bit of a run through, like I say, we were kind of gutted that we missed.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, our perception was that everything was capped during these previews, and this was the only way you were gonna experience it, like, you know, um in that way ever, ever again. We didn't and we knew they were capping opening day, but we didn't think it was the the you know, the low, low numbers that they had. Yeah. So we were just like, oh, it's not gonna be it's not gonna be good. But then with everything that kind of went wrong during the previews, um it worked out better.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it did. Um and like, well, that's what the previews for were for to get like people read it. Yeah. But we did buy express passes. Soft opening. Yeah. Yeah. So we did buy express passes to kind of like because we thought it were gonna be chocker, so we thought we wanted to do everything, so let's at least buy some express passes. So we did that and we used it three times when realistically we didn't have to use it once. No. We used it to sp to skip Mario Kart. Um, and it only because it had a 35 minute wait.

SPEAKER_04

And we cumped the ass wait 35 minutes, but in the grand scheme of things, we would wait that many.

SPEAKER_02

It was kind of it was like the second ride that we did, and we were like, well, it could get busier later, so let's just do this now and then go somewhere else.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um yeah, so we and then we used it for the show for Harry Potter because we got there a bit later. Uh but again.

SPEAKER_04

That it was beneficial though. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But again, we could have probably been fine without it. And then we used it for the last ride for Stardust. Yeah. Which again, it was one of them that it was a case of it were. Probably didn't need to use it.

SPEAKER_04

It was such a good day. Like we say second to this is so sad, but we say second to our wedding day, that was probably the best day ever.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Like I my cheeks hurt from smiling by the end of the day. Like, it was just good ra vibes wherever you went.

SPEAKER_02

Um it was before we started vlogging stuff, and like we said that we wasn't gonna vlog this trip, one, because we was with his family, and two, because we wanted to just experience epic university. Yeah, and we've not vlogged before, so and it was okay, so it was like, yeah, it it like I would like to have been able to watch it back, but at the same time, yeah, I think that memory is just like so so good.

SPEAKER_04

Such a good day. Honestly, like I think I put a carousel on my personal Instagram the next morning, and like I still scroll back and look at my own carousel. I know that's sad, but I know a lot of you do that with your own content. Um it just makes me happy.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, it was such a such a good day.

SPEAKER_04

It was such a good day, and like glad to be a part of history, like yeah, um, and then yeah, so we managed to get everything done by like dinner time-ish. Yeah, and props to Universal because they managed that day so well, yeah, like it could have been an absolute train wreck, especially after we watched the documentary on them opening the other park. When they opened the wizarding world in Islands of Adventure the first time. Yeah, yeah. It those those lessons learned.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

You're in project management.

SPEAKER_02

So just to like kind of wrap up our experiences of it for opening day, what was your kind of your favourite memory from it?

SPEAKER_04

My favourite memory.

SPEAKER_02

So you've got one.

SPEAKER_04

I've got a few. The first one that sticks out to me is when we were waiting for the portals to open. And granted, we picked the wrong portal, but that's because young man over here would like to his favourite was Super Nintendo World at the time.

SPEAKER_02

I don't think it was even I think it was because we were hitting that portal first so that we like made sense to the world.

SPEAKER_04

But I think you picked that, like it was your decision. The rest of us weren't really bothered.

SPEAKER_02

Because with the previews, it was saying that well, most people were saying, right, you should hit Super Nintendo World first, just to get it kind of done.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and it was the busiest one, but like I don't know, just when they did that opening ceremony with all the fireworks for each portal, like I don't know, like I got goosebumps and like I'm not a person to cry at fireworks and stuff like that, but it felt like everybody was there for the same reason. Um what else? And that first ride on Monsters Unchained, I remember getting off it and walking out of the little tunnel off the walking off the moving walkway, and just I remember you going, What did you think?

SPEAKER_02

And I was just like it was so weird.

SPEAKER_04

I didn't have any words and then uh riding hip hic wing gliders for the first time. Sorry, I can't speak today. Um and hearing as soon as it set off and you just hear the score and getting off that and being like, Oh my god, yeah, I ranked that one completely wrong. I thought that was gonna be like slinky dog dash. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Was not yeah, and then that had a five-minute wait time all day. Yeah, kind of show. It'd be back to back one time, didn't we?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. And then just sorry, another one, uh we had a rest towards the back end of the afternoon. Uh we all just got a margarita and a beer.

SPEAKER_02

I forgot about that.

SPEAKER_04

And sat and just, you know, debriefed the day and like watched the water fountain for a little bit and like you have the chill time to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um and it was kind of good that we like I say we battered it so we got so lucky with the wait times, it it we was able to do everything that we kind of wanted to do. So when we've gone back, which we'll go into in a minute, on our other trips, then we've kind of done the stuff that we've that we just kind of wanted to do just to see what it were like.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, the only thing we did not do on opening day was battle of the ministry because that was still two to three hundred minute wait.

SPEAKER_02

I think that's where everyone was there.

SPEAKER_04

Everybody was just there, which it made everybody else's experience way better.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um and like with the previews, they couldn't get everyone on that ride because they did a like a virtual kind of queue thing. So you had to almost like win your spot for like a callback time. Yeah. So like people who came for previews who also came for opening day, they wouldn't have been able to do ministry. Well, some of them wouldn't have been able to do ministry anyway, so it made sense why that was that the busiest one, and that was kind of as like his game plan when we came into choosing which portal to start with, because we just knew that everyone were gonna go there first.

SPEAKER_04

I wish I'd gone to dark first, yeah. But that's my preference. Um and we couldn't see you know Mario and Luigi and Toad when they came out of the portal because at that point, like it was swarmed.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

But it wasn't unbearable, nobody was pushing, no nobody was shoving.

SPEAKER_02

I think where we watched the opening ceremony from, although we didn't get to see all the portals. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And we because we didn't get to see all the portals, but we got to see the bit over Helios.

SPEAKER_04

We got to see my black fireworks.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. And my favourite memory was probably that first time walking down the stairs after when we got into Super Nintendo World, and there were just all the staff along each side of the walkway clapping and cheering and blowing bubbles. Yeah, and it just like it felt so good.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it did.

SPEAKER_02

And it was just like they were just such a vibe.

SPEAKER_04

Unmatched, like I've never had that since.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Yeah. So that that's kind of my core memory, I would have said, from that first day.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. What a good day.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So going on to our second slash third experience, because we did it in the same trip. Uh we did it in September.

SPEAKER_04

We've been three times now or four. Three. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Who was it September or October we went this year?

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, last year, sorry. Uh September time. Um, and we went on a Sunday and then we went on a Tuesday. And we've kind of been saying that Sunday is like the quietest day. So when people have asked us like w about going to Epic, we kind of say to them, Well, try go on a Sunday. Um, we got double lucky. Well, I think it probably was would have been quieter when we went on that Sunday because it was also a HHN night. So not that many people was wanting to do an Epic, then go to HHN. Um, and at this time, all UK visitors who can get we we've got access to a ticket from multiple ticket location uh services and their packages now currently have Epic Universe whenever you want over a 14-day period. So you could go all 14 days if you wanted to. Whereas I think in the US, I think your ticket packages are a bit different, so I think you don't really have that option, so you're still kind of paying quite a lot of money for a park ticket to go to Epic. But at that time that option wasn't, I think.

SPEAKER_04

And it was wasn't British school half term, so there wasn't a lot of British families there because you can't remember. Kids had just gone back to school for us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, we that was kind of like when I do say Sunday is kind of the quietest, it's Sunday, but then a bit of a caveat with all the other stuff that was going to be.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, based on our experiences, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um so yeah, Sunday was super quiet, and then we went back on the Tuesday and it was round. Pretty busy, yeah. Super busy. Yeah. And I've put this in the notes, but I think if Tuesday was our first visit, we'd feel pretty, pretty disappointed with Epic Universe as a whole. Yes. And we'll kind of go on to that in a minute, um, and just talk about like the kind of this concerns that people have had. Um like we put something on his Instagram today just to kind of do a poll to see if you loved it or hated it, or if you're undecided. And then I've kind of said like if you do feel like underwhelmed, or like if you have chosen you hate it, or you've chosen that you uh haven't decided yet, like kind of your reasonings before uh about it, sorry. And then I I don't want to out anyone, so I will I'll go into that when we're going to that section, but yeah, I'm just gonna kind of give what other people have been thinking. So what was your favourite memory from them trips, babe?

SPEAKER_04

The two other days, yeah, yeah. Oh interesting. I liked trying something new. So if you know us, you know, well, we like a beverage here. Um so I and we drink around Epcot a lot, most trips that we do. Um, so I really enjoyed trying a universal rendition of drinking around the world, drinking around the portals, and we've also got the video for that up on our YouTube, so go check that out. Um I enjoyed doing that, and I really liked ending it in uh the bar at the top of Helios. Like if you're you know an adult couple uh and you like that kind of vibe, it was such a nice way to end a park day. Yeah. Um what else from those trips? Just being able to go out and come back again, like we didn't feel like it was too much effort, like if we go to Disney because we still tend to stay at Universal, then you kind of feel trapped to stay there all day. Yeah, because it is a 25 minute drive.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, especially if we didn't have the car, we'd feel more trapped, wouldn't we?

SPEAKER_04

But I just loved having it's not nostalgia because it's not like years ago. Like I don't know, I still have the same fondness from it as opening day, which again we're wearing rose tinted glasses when we talk about Epic because we had such a positive experience on Opening Day, and we know that's not the case for a lot of people. Um but yeah, I I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. What about you?

SPEAKER_02

My experience was or like my kind of favourite memory or fondest memory was the midnight or like the midnight the what's it called? Sunset ride of hip hiccups we did.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that was nice.

SPEAKER_02

Um and then also meeting Shereen, which was a complete coincidence, but that's the first time we've met someone that we We've kind of met through this, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Out there. Um, we might did we or did we see Morgan before that?

SPEAKER_04

Oh, I can't remember which.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so yeah, that was just interesting to kind of see someone and like has been speaking to her online and then seeing her in person. Yeah. So that was another cool memory, and it was just weird the fact that we were just walking out of the restaurant and she was just in one of the tables.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then yeah, that that sunset ride of hiccups and yeah, maybe the the feeling of or I know what it is, the finishing of that Sunday when we'd done a full part day again.

SPEAKER_04

And we unboxed the little Frankenstein guy.

SPEAKER_02

But that was like because because we've been to Orlando so many times, we don't really do that many full part days anymore. We probably maybe do three a trip, maybe.

SPEAKER_04

And we always come away thinking, oh, we've not spent that much time in Ireland, we need to go back to Wall Street.

SPEAKER_02

Full day here. Yeah. Um, so yeah, it was just nice to be able to do a full day again.

SPEAKER_06

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, moving on. So this is the love it or hate it section. So this is kind of what I've been saying about the common concerns, I guess, that people have had about Epic. And like we said, if we went on that Tuesday and it was first time, we kind of would have been disappointed. And these are couple of reasons for that. And like the lot of the kind of neg negativity towards Epic comes from what I've kind of pinpointed, maybe these five things I think I've got.

SPEAKER_04

I can't read that from here.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So do my glasses. So the first of all is no shade. And that's juicy.

SPEAKER_04

That's what I've seen a lot of comments come through.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And the no shade is basically because like it's a new park, so there's like quite a lot of young trees there that they're they're saying that they want to put the park back into theme parks with Epic Universe, and that includes all the like landscape.

SPEAKER_04

And it is beautiful, but like we need to give those trees a chance to grow. And like and especially with that freeze they had over January.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, very true.

SPEAKER_04

That will have impacted the growth.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um, but like trees grow take so long to grow, don't they? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um talking two years.

SPEAKER_02

Longer than that, I think. And like, especially where they want like all the concept art had like massive trees and stuff. Yeah. Like I I do wonder if they do they could have like got already grown trees and brought them in. But yeah, um, and then that's one thing. But then also there's kind of a lot of the queues, especially in Isle of Burke, are like all outside, and there's like the air conditioning's like there's nonexistent, and there's just the fans, and it it's hot in Florida, so that's another thing. Um and then the wait times, the average wait times seem like the longer than any other park that they've got. And it's probably because it's down to it being a new park.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then we've got there's not that many indoor rides. So especially in Florida River, whether when it rains and rains a lot. Yeah. And like rides have to go down. You've got two indoor rides.

SPEAKER_04

Monsters Unchange. Oh, three. Ministra.

SPEAKER_02

And then Mario Kart.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but you've also got two shows.

SPEAKER_02

You've got two shows, yeah. And you've got all the restaurants and stuff. So it is it is difficult though, um, especially with like the whole, like most of the big rides are all outdoor. Um, and then the also that's also on the other side of the coin where everything's outside. So it's like the heat, like I've just mentioned.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I mean, when they were planning things and like, you know, they need time for the trees to grow, design work should, in my eyes, should have been put in for temporary shelter.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, but I don't think they want to jeopardise the openness and the park feel by st we all know what um in Hollywood Studios in Toy Story that has no shade, and then they just pop up these shitty umbrellas on the side, and depending on where the sun is in the sky, they're not shading you. And then like families of like 20 are trying to stand under one brawler, they just don't look good.

SPEAKER_02

And I tell you what, now they've put more shade on Woody's lunchbox. Is it Woody's lunchbox?

SPEAKER_04

It feels so crowded.

SPEAKER_02

It feels weird, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, I there's the other side of the coin, isn't there?

SPEAKER_00

Um and then the Yeah, there's not people say that there's not that much to do, which there's 11 rides. I can't remember how much that compared to.

SPEAKER_04

How far do we know though that's ever opened with that level of rides? Like I think people's standards now are like we get everything now, yeah, yeah. And it's you know, like other theme parks didn't open like that, and I know we're in 2025 when it opened, and we're not in 1990 now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. But I do think at the same time though, that that it is maybe reopened a bit too early, but only because like I feel like the state that it's opened in is fine. But then I think that if they really if they could have had another two years, yeah, they would have done way more and it would have been felt like a more complete part.

SPEAKER_04

I feel like that's the s the plan of the rollout of like the implementation of this part, because like the yeah, they get the people get a taste for it and expansions are already happening, they were already happening before the year mark had hit.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. So like with already permits, file and stuff in this.

SPEAKER_04

All over the shop. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And I think like even with like say video games now, you get a game come out and then there's already DLC ready for it to be. So I think like it's the same with Epic. The thing is, is the fact that especially before this it was combined in the other ticket, is that it's $180 to go.

SPEAKER_04

It is expensive, yeah. Um But I think that's how they're keeping well, mean trying to keep numbers uh manageable, capacity, because if they were popping on eighty to a hundred and twenty dollars a ticket, it'd be a lot busier than what it is.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. And I do think that they've like if people have not had the best time, they've been pretty good at like giving them tickets for other days. But then it's again it's like one of them, it's like if it's your second to last day of your trip and you're going home or it's like your first ever time going and you're not planning to go back again.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Once in a lifetime trip kind of thing, then and you have a bad experience, then I get that. Then I get that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um so like I've kind of got a story after this of like what I was kind of saying to like one of my best mates who's going for the first time, and it's it's kind of hard for us who are kind of so involved in it, and like we are going back every time, and like that kind of one of the hardest things that I've found about like making content around Orlando is that like we obviously have opinions and we kind of project our opinions on other people, but then if they don't have the best time, kinda it doesn't feel shitty, but it's like one of them it's like, oh like I'm sorry that you had didn't have a good time.

SPEAKER_03

Don't take it personal, you didn't build the theme park.

SPEAKER_02

I know I didn't take it to personally, but we absolutely love it and we're ranting and raving about it, and then someone grows and then. Oh, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, I don't like Star Wars, like I've never given it a chance, but I've just decided I don't like Star Wars.

SPEAKER_02

Very true. And Lord the Rings. Come on, we eat together.

SPEAKER_04

No, no, no, we don't. I'll stick with my monsters, thank you.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So like I've kind of like my best mate, like I said, is going um is going to Epic and it'll be his first time.

SPEAKER_04

Are we going with them?

SPEAKER_02

I did we did say that we were kind of going link up with him at some point. Um but we kind of said to him, go on a Sunday. We're gonna go around Halloween Horror Nights time. Middle of like end of September. So like for us, a good time to go is on Sunday, and my not biggest fear, but like I'm Oh, you just want him to have a good time. I do want him to have a good time, and I do know like sometimes he does like it like obviously not we don't all like the same things, so sometimes I recommended his stuff, and he's been like, not that ass. Like he's like you don't like wing stop, and I'm like, I fucking love wingstop.

SPEAKER_04

A couple of my friends don't like it either, and I'm just baffled.

SPEAKER_02

And they're just like it's this is alright, and I'm just like You're wrong. You're wrong. You're wrong, good chicken, but anyway, it's like yeah, I just want him to have one on one out to have a good time.

SPEAKER_05

I'm sure he will, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, but like I say, I kind of want it, I want him to go on a Sunday. But if he goes on Sunday or not, it's the different story. But like I say, if he has an experience like we did on that Tuesday, he's probably not gonna enjoy himself. Yeah. So there, that's kind of my love it or hate it. I do have a couple more um things on Instagram, which I'll just pull up quickly now. And what other people have kind of said, like I say, I'm not gonna out no one. Um I'm not gonna report you to universal. Um I'm not a mole.

SPEAKER_04

Not a mole.

SPEAKER_02

So someone said that there's There's some things that I kind of don't agree with, what some of them have said, but like I say, all own opinions. Yeah. Um so this person said that it feels like the park lacks something that Islands of Adventure has. And I did ask, like, what was it?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And they said that that IOA has more manageable ride wait times.

SPEAKER_04

But that's because it's been rinsed and it's been open since 1990, whatever.

SPEAKER_02

And I I think Ireland's probably has more rides as well.

SPEAKER_04

Um and everybody's in bloody hagrid's cute.

SPEAKER_02

Very true. Everyone's in ministry's cute to be there. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, it's it like you say, it will be because of the age of the park. Um, but I I do understand that point. Um, and then also they've put like shade.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

A big one.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um and not that many quick service options, which have not really considered actually. There isn't that many.

SPEAKER_04

There's a couple in Burke.

SPEAKER_02

There's like there's two in Burke in there.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and then the rest, like in Yeah, I no, I agree with that because if you're in Celestial Park, the quick service booths, I walk past and I just think that looks like shit, man.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I mean, what is it?

SPEAKER_04

I don't want a carrot hot dog. Yeah, yeah. It's literally like, come on, do something better for the vegans, man. No, just put a carrot in a bun and call it a day.

SPEAKER_02

And then there's like that ice cream place.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which obviously, if you want something to like a proper meal, you can't really go there.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then there's a lot more like sit-down y places, which yeah, I totally agree with that.

SPEAKER_04

But then there's the other two, that's the thing, at the opposite side, it's not open yet. So the the Italian and the Mexican quick service.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, the quick service, not sit down.

SPEAKER_04

I think the quick service, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um but that Starbucks, shout out to that Starbucks when you walk in to the park on the right hand side as if you're facing Helios. Stunning. The most beautiful coffee shop I've ever seen in my my entire life. I think it's the royal blue and the gold, like it just slaps.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Even though it's just a Starbucks, it fits the theme.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it does, and like they've done really well with it, and yeah. And then someone else put that like the wizarding world food and like is really, really bad.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02

And I have not heard a good thing about that.

SPEAKER_04

Everyone's like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But I think it's like $20 as well, isn't it?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. And it's like one of them's like a sweet. Everyone said it's sickle to share it, but then again, I can never have that because someone can't share food. So I'd probably have a mouthful.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

He's just glazed over though. I don't even know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00

I do. Joey doesn't share food. Joey doesn't share food. Um you might only want a mouthful though. So sweet.

SPEAKER_02

I feel like it'd make me feel sick though.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it takes a lot. We all saw him eat that cake slice at cake bake shop.

SPEAKER_02

So, yeah, they're kind of like another thing that people have said. I do have one more actually. Yeah. Um, like some people have said like they're not really that bothered about the IPs, which again, that's another thing.

SPEAKER_04

I wasn't bothered about how to train your dragon until we watched the films and like it made you cry.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. And like we only because only because we put the effort into watch the film.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but I don't know what it is. Like that dragon reminds me of my dog.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Especially that picture I put on my Instagram today. Yeah. Yeah, it just acts like Milo, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah. Toothless. Um and then someone else put that like there's like the shades come up again.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Um Hopefully that's coming though, guys. Give it a chance.

SPEAKER_02

And again, like there's not that many attractions, which I think when we go into his ranking, yeah. Like the kind of like the it's almost like the top section picks itself, like the top uh well not picks itself, but like they're all interchangeable of like how good they are. They could be anyone's number one.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

But then like at the bottom, you can't or not not even at the bottom, maybe struggle to rank the bottom because they're all a pile of shit.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly, yeah. So like that's what I get with like shy, but you know like they're just they're not our cup of tea. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, and they're not as good as what the top ones are.

SPEAKER_04

And you've got some it's gotta come last.

SPEAKER_02

Well yeah, yeah, summit's gotta come last. Um but yeah, for like say if you if you if everything at the top's got like three, four hour well, two, three hour waits for the queues, and then all the stuff at the bottom's like you're just kind of fighting between them. I couldn't understand why people not have a good time.

SPEAKER_04

The carousel in Celestial Park rack up a 45 minute wait, and I was flabbergasted that anyone would ever win our length of time for that. During the day.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. So are you gonna read out the last comment? Oh, was that it? Right, okay, sorry.

SPEAKER_02

It was just pretty much this consensus that everyone's kind of had, and then just like the last point is that like it's a separate ticket.

SPEAKER_04

Um hopefully later this year, next year, we'll see it arrive to the annual pass, and then the annual pass will be out of our budget.

SPEAKER_02

Which moves nicely on to what is coming next.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, right.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So there've been this is something that I was listening to Universal Speaking, and Kenny made this point that we've got like this. Is all about the open hub concept, and it's at the minute nothing confirmed, but then these so at the entry to each portal, there's some things that have been built into the ground, so it was this was thought about as it was being built, and they're basically connector points where you can put a unit on top of it and it'll become a gate for people to use the facial recognition to go through. So when you first get into pa the parks, you scan your face, and that's kind of like your key almost, or you you pass throughout the whole of Epic Universe. So if you go into lockers, use your face.

SPEAKER_04

I think that's such a good thing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's it's so much better than having to use the pass. Um, and it's pretty quick as well, it's probably as quick as the pass because the state of your photos. There's people trying to press the pass against the thing and you've got condensation all in it, you don't read it, and like you just use your face and like the back-to-back locker situation, because hell on earth is Gringotts lockers.

SPEAKER_04

Oh my god. Yeah, but all that stuff's wasted. Sorry to go on a tangent here, but like that when you get off Gringotts and you walk through that decrepit camera bit where nobody buys a photo from, just expand the lockers, make them back to back.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, that'd be a good shout. Yeah, yeah, because it's there's like two rooms you walk through almost.

SPEAKER_04

That are nothing in them.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so yeah, there's like an open hub, it's like a myth at the minute, but it's everyone kind of knows it's coming. Oh, but then like to what kind of out. Yeah, they've been testing them out there, yeah. And then I think they did have a private thing in Dart Universe or something.

SPEAKER_04

I want a private event in Dart Universe. Can we get renew our vows on Dart Universe?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, you heard it.

SPEAKER_02

Everyone who subscribes is invited. But yeah, so the whole concept is a bit straight. Like I don't really know how it's gonna work. And Kenny was saying that oh no, it was it was Cassie that was saying that she she heard from a friend and a friend and a friend. No. She saw someone else made a point that like it could be for people who just stay at Helios to be able to use the open hub part of it. So the concept is is that the middle part of epic is you can just walk around and you can use the shops. You can use but then there's only 500 rooms at Helios, so it's like surely there wouldn't be 500 times four. But then there'll be some people who'll have two in a room, so it's like you're kind of looking at maybe you're looking at 4,000 max if there's four in a room. Yeah. So quick maths. So would they have uh if they would have to employ more people to manage the ticket offices, more people to m manage the crowds in the open hub? Yeah. So would they pay then people for just two thousand people? Whereas so my thought theory is that it could be all universal guests. Like if you still have to all hotels, yeah. And it'd just be another city walk. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Well, yeah, but city walk you can access for free no matter where you are.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Not just the universal guest.

SPEAKER_02

So then it's a case of like because it'd be rammed if it was just another city walk. But then would it be because it's like like we said, the food isn't amazing other than Peter Moon, Pizza Moon's banging.

SPEAKER_04

I like Blue Dragon, and Blue Dragon's good. But this is why they're never into it. But these restaurants aren't getting the football because nobody wants to take an hour and a half out of their party to sit down and have a full-blown meal.

SPEAKER_02

Especially when they're paying $180 a day, yeah. So yeah, that's a that's a good point. Um, and then like they've got the capacity to expand the restaurants, but then again, it'd be like I think that's why they're not pushing the quick service openings, you know.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, because they want people in these big expensive restaurants, yeah. That's my opinion, anyway.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so yeah, we'll see what happens with that. Um, but I think the open hub concept is coming, but I wonder in what capacity it is.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And then we've got a new Harry Potter attraction which has been confirmed. Boo! Which a lot of the room.

SPEAKER_04

I'm not I'm not a part here, I'm not a part of here. I like Harry Potter.

SPEAKER_02

I just think I think it needs it though. That that land needs it the most.

SPEAKER_04

Do you think?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Well, everywhere else has got more than one ride.

SPEAKER_04

Dark Universe needs it. Well, they've got I'm I'm I want that creature, the black lagoon dark ride, man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's a want not need.

SPEAKER_04

No, no, I do understand, like it gets very congested in the ministry. Um and I'd say that 60% of people that are going to that park are going for that, you know, that that pole. Um I just I've always said it, I've said it in all our podcasts, like Harry Potter has been done so many times now. And that is the first thing to get an expansion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But it's also the like that's what I'm saying with like how it opened it, like it opened in a state that's fine. But like I feel like if they had another two years, that would it would have opened with another attraction. Everything would have at least had to.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm. Maybe. But this is gonna keep people coming back, like they've added that new section, they've added that this new section.

SPEAKER_02

So and then more restaurants like you were saying with the quick service. And I wonder if we do see like a maybe a few more sit-down restaurants, because Blue Dragon's really good.

SPEAKER_04

Um Yeah, we've not eaten at Deadlantis. No. Is that what it's called? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Maybe that's for one for the next next trip.

SPEAKER_04

You don't like seafood though, and it's predominantly seafood. I think you probably have something that is. But if you don't know, you can also just go and grab a drink at these restaurants as well. Um, and they've got some pretty good beverages to choose from. You can sit at the bars, uh, and they're stunning inside.

SPEAKER_02

And that's it, that's kind of all that's coming from. So, last section is just we're gonna go through our our ride rankings. Let's say we've had a year to kind of mull over this, we've had three trips. That's what I think about every day.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Some people it is, but so kind of gonna go through our last rankings and we did kind of match on a few of them, but it was like we only m ranked ten because we'd only just been to I hate how far how far down Monsters Unchained is on your list.

SPEAKER_04

Really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Maybe it's changed. So for my so I'll go ten upwards. So my ten were from ten it was Carousel, Yoshi's, Minecart, uh sorry, Mario Kart, Fire Drill, Curse of the Werewolf, Dragon's Race of Rally, Rare, Rare Rally, Monsters, Mario Kart, Hick. Cups, Stardust. Okay. And then for Becky's, it was. Do you want to read yours? Can you read yours?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, so 10th I had uh what is the carousel bloody called?

SPEAKER_02

Constellation Carousel.

SPEAKER_04

Constellation Carousel. Then I had Yoshi's Adventure, Dragon Racer's Rally, Mario Kart, Fire Drill, Curse of the Werewolf, Minecart, Hiccup's Wing Gliders, second was Stardust Racers, and then first is of course Monsters Unchained.

SPEAKER_00

Very good. Have you got your other list?

SPEAKER_04

I do.

SPEAKER_00

Should we go?

SPEAKER_04

So the list that I've been mulling over for 365 days is do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_02

Er Yeah. My number 11 is Constellation Carousel.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, yeah, right. So we just need to say that because we didn't get to go on Ministry, that didn't make the list the first time round. So we got 10 rides each there, but now it'll be 11 because we've done them all. So a year later.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, a year later. So 11 Constellation Carousel. Mm-hmm. Usually it's same.

SPEAKER_04

Yes. Oh, is this what we were just saying?

SPEAKER_02

And that was the same as last time, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_02

Number 10, I got Draggers Races Rally.

SPEAKER_04

Oh really? Why?

SPEAKER_02

Why?

SPEAKER_04

Why?

SPEAKER_02

Um I just because it's it was so short, the queue is massive, there's no express pass, it's all outside. Yep. And it's you get four goes round.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. It was Did you count? Course you counted.

SPEAKER_02

Because I remember on the second time we went on it, I was like, I'm there with not a brain cell going really. One, two. Because I got to the third one, I was like, right, I've got one more time to try and spin it. Never been able to spin it as well. That's another thing. Um but yeah, that's why that's number 10 for me.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Number 10, I have Josh's adventure. Same as yours, last year. Yeah, it didn't move. Um, it's so cute, but it's so boring. Um it's pretty and you get a nice view of Super Nintendo World. It's just I didn't get the egg thing. And that's what you go on the ride for to match the egg.

SPEAKER_02

I'm looking at my list and I put Yoshi's so high.

SPEAKER_04

The first time round.

SPEAKER_00

No, now.

SPEAKER_04

Have you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. And like, I don't know why. I think I've got like I'm a bit of a hater for the other rides that are on this. Right. Go on, watch what's your next one? Um is nine.

SPEAKER_02

Nine. Yeah. Is Mario K.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Why?

SPEAKER_02

Because it's slow.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I didn't really know what was going on.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It felt more like a shooter.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But it is the only one of the only indoor rides.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

But the queue's massive.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And it gave me a dick.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Nine, I have Dragon Racer's Rally.

SPEAKER_02

Is it the same as you got last time? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, yeah, I couldn't get it to spin. And the reason why it's nine and not ten is because that you do get a little bit of a thrill because you are fucking high up off the floor.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um that's the reason why I didn't go on it the first time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, because we were like on the.

SPEAKER_04

I'm not going on that, man. It looks terrifying. When I remember when they were like showing you it working before they opened, and I was like, that looks terrifying.

SPEAKER_00

So did you not go on it? Because we went on it twice, opening, did.

SPEAKER_04

I didn't go on it on opening. Oh no, I did. I did. It was me, you, your dad, and Craig.

SPEAKER_02

Did you go on it twice and opening?

SPEAKER_04

No, I went on once.

SPEAKER_02

Alright. So you missed it first time and then it took it to me.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. Um I couldn't get it to spin. I I don't know. What are the Tekas, man?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I seen some guy post on Reddit that he managed to get it like that. Span so many times that it like triggered a warning on the system. So then they had to bring him down. We just stood there for like 10 minutes trying to fix it. Um but that was like one of them that it was like, yeah, that didn't happen. But it might have done. Yeah. If you listen to this and you managed to spin it that many times and brought the ride, teach me how to spin it once.

SPEAKER_04

You're like, yeah, whatever.

SPEAKER_02

But Jay from in between us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Completed it, mate.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. Um Your eight, please.

SPEAKER_02

Number eight. Uh Fire Drill.

SPEAKER_04

Snap. Yeah, yeah. Um I did not anticipate it and soaked as we did.

SPEAKER_02

Um and when I listened to his podcast because I I did this list before listening back to the podcast to get the old list. So I didn't want to be influenced by our emotions then. I kind of wanted to do it off my memory and how I felt. So, but in the other podcast, we were going on about how like much fun we had.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. I just remember laughing the whole time.

SPEAKER_02

And I think if we went on it again, I think it'd probably go higher in my list. Um and it'd be something that I'd be wanting to do again. But again, it's like it's a water ride.

SPEAKER_04

I do think it's because we were in a group of six. Like I think if you're in a pair, you're probably gonna get paired with people you don't know. Banta might not be there. I don't know. We were just like trying to hit each other's target, so we were just trying to get everyone else soaked.

SPEAKER_02

I didn't really know what were going on in the middle. I didn't, I just funner.

SPEAKER_04

Whereas if you well, I'm not gonna go into that because it's next, but um yeah. I enjoyed it, it was good. It was longer than I thought it was gonna be as well. Um, and I love rough note, tough note.

SPEAKER_02

You're number seven.

SPEAKER_04

Uh right, Mario Kart.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_04

So the only reason why this is above uh fire drill for me is because the queue is so cool. And I don't know, should I really be pulling that into this ranking and using that as a factor, but that cue is so good. Like the the the little little details like the the the titles of the books on the bookcase and stuff like that, like it's so and then you go through the bomb room, it's so cool.

SPEAKER_02

My kind of advice for people what I've what I've been kind of giving out is that if you're going for EPA, go in Super Nintendo World, go straight to Donkey Kong, even though like Mario Kart kind of racks up probably more of a wait time than Donkey Kong does later in the day, even though they are pretty even. But if you go do Donkey Kong, then at least if you come back to do Mario Kart, then you could do it maybe like one in the afternoon, two in the afternoon. He might be waiting 90 minutes, but you inside.

SPEAKER_04

You're an aircon, grab a drink and a snack before you get in line and just look at everything. Yeah, it's so cool in there.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. You treat it as a bit of like a museum almost.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. But like I said, like Jake said, Um it's slow, like it's Mario Kart. Why are we not going quicker?

SPEAKER_00

I think it should have been quicker.

SPEAKER_04

You need to actually play the game. Yeah. But can you imagine how big the track would have to be if you were going as quick as you do on the game?

SPEAKER_02

Um yeah, you'd have to be double, but it could have made the space.

SPEAKER_04

The helmet's painful, like it hurt and I I'm an idiot and I didn't tighten it at the back because I didn't know you could do that. So mine was just like slipping down my face the whole time, so I couldn't see. I somehow scored second highest in the car though. I have no idea how I did it. I'd yeah, that I feel like the re-rideability is there with that one.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, and then you'll you'll learn the game, I suppose. But yeah, it's slow. It's slow.

SPEAKER_02

Was that number seven?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So my number seven. I can see, I can't believe I might have put Yoshi's is Curse of the Werewolf.

SPEAKER_00

Whoa! And uh Why have you done this? I don't know.

SPEAKER_04

Justify yourself. I left you on the sofa to do this while I went to the gym, and that is what you've done.

SPEAKER_02

I think I would have sat there, like thinking, yeah, Yoshi's cool.

SPEAKER_04

Yoshi is cool. The ride is for an infant.

SPEAKER_02

I know it is.

SPEAKER_04

You're a 32-year-old man.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know. I think I think I probably would have put Yoshi's. See, I'm being c I'm being influenced here now. But at the time when I was sat on the sofa, probably seven hours ago.

SPEAKER_04

No, it wants seven hours ago.

SPEAKER_02

Yoshi Yoshi's was at six, but yes, justify yourself.

SPEAKER_03

Justify yourself.

SPEAKER_02

Shortness, that's all it is. It's how short the ride is. And it's yeah, it's it's good. It's it's it's fairly fun. I mean it's better it's better than Yoshi's in terms of fun. So I'm probably gonna swap him around.

SPEAKER_03

But he's talked himself out of it.

SPEAKER_02

But like it's just so short, and it gets such a big wait time as well.

SPEAKER_04

I feel like it needs, you know, when you go backwards and forwards through the werewolf pit, I feel like it should send you backwards and then come back again. Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So yeah, it's just uh it's just so short. And I think I say it's almost like with Curse of the Werewolf, if you don't do it early, then you're waiting a long, long time and all outside.

SPEAKER_04

Whereas like with Yoshis Sorry's I can't believe you're comparing these two very differently.

SPEAKER_02

With Yoshis, you you it's almost a walk-on every time. I mean I have seen on crazy days where it's like 45 minute wait.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, and that's because everybody wants the pink Yoshi.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So yeah, I might as well go on six as well, wasn't it? Um so yeah, it was Yoshi's, but I'm gonna probably swap them around.

SPEAKER_05

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um but it was mainly for like the views of the park, and like especially loaned sex photos, there's so many unicangles from up there. Okay, but it is outside baking hot. It's slow, it's for an infant. And we didn't get the blue shell. We didn't get the blue egg.

SPEAKER_04

The blue Yosha.

SPEAKER_02

We didn't get the blue egg on an infant ride. If anyone knows where the blue egg is, let me know.

SPEAKER_04

Is that what you remember? Yeah, I have no clue.

SPEAKER_00

I remember it was like being like press because you had to press them when you saw me.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm like, I didn't see the.

SPEAKER_04

It reminds me of an early learn centre toy.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, true. I hear that.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. Right, my number six was Curse of the Werewolf. Um, it's fun, like I laugh the whole time, providing that there is somebody on the other side of us creating an imbalance and we spin quite a bit. Um and it's in my favourite portal. I love the theming of the queue. It's not chewing your face, but it's cool. I like the moon. Um I like the moon. Um, but it is incredibly short, and the the loading and on loading and offloading procedure is so for some reason takes absolutely ages, and I don't get why. Um so yeah, that's why it's six for me.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, do you do that?

SPEAKER_04

I do like it round that area at night time, it is cool, like the wagon outside when it's all twinkling. It's cool. Um, my number five, I will shock a lot of people here, is Battle of the Ministra.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04

Um again, the queue pulls this ride for me. Um I I got off it being a bit underwhelmed.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. With after seeing it on opening day, have a five hour wait.

SPEAKER_03

Why?

SPEAKER_02

I know. And then every other time we've been, it's been 300. But then so when we did it on a September trip, we managed to get on it.

SPEAKER_04

There was a 45 minute wait, and I think we waited 20.

SPEAKER_02

And then there was another one that were th 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_04

15 minute wait towards the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02

So it does drop. Yeah. So if you do see a massive wait time, don't feel obliged to go there. Yeah, yeah, don't waste your day. Similar to what I said about Mario Kart. If it's like an hour, an hour and a half, and it's blistering heat, or you feel like it's gonna rain soon, then go just get in the queue. And then you can you're at least inside and you can pass the time then. Um But again, if if you waited three hours for it, you'd feel a bit underwhelmed. But I think someone else actually put that comment in.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, the queue, amazing. Like I walked in and gasped. Yeah. Like, no photos will do that place justice. It is, excuse me, ginormous. Um Universal of the creative team with that have nailed it. Like better than the film. Like, um, but yeah, the the animatronics at the end, did you just run out of money? Like, what on earth happened to Ron and Harriet and Umbridge? Like, what when they're at the the courtroom scene at the end. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, they're terrible, aren't they?

SPEAKER_04

They're bad.

SPEAKER_02

But then there's some animals.

SPEAKER_04

I've seen better shop mannequins, like they're bad.

SPEAKER_02

But then that deaf eater. Yeah, like is that a person?

SPEAKER_04

Like, confusing. I love the I love the big Rhino thing, me. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Rhyum Rampant. I think it's called I think that's what it's called. Rampant. A Rhympant or something.

SPEAKER_04

Oh god knows. But um, yeah. I I I really like Harry Potter. We watch the films every year. I love the game. Um I'm just a bit pottered out.

SPEAKER_02

Potter.

SPEAKER_04

Potter.

SPEAKER_02

Is that number five, yeah?

SPEAKER_04

Uh yes.

SPEAKER_02

I got number five, Donkey Kong.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

And again, like I love Donkey Kong.

SPEAKER_04

You mean minecat? Madness, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which I put where did I put it? I put it third on my other one.

SPEAKER_04

Mm-hmm. Um That surprises me.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I love that.

SPEAKER_02

I did like it.

SPEAKER_04

Again, I think this again when actually I don't trust his opinion anymore after he's put Yoshi's where we put it.

SPEAKER_00

This was just my morning thoughts.

SPEAKER_04

Don't trust Jake before 12 pm. Umly because like my morning thoughts. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02

Um yeah, it's just because of this gets a massive wait time. All outdoor.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. No, it's not.

SPEAKER_02

Pretty much.

SPEAKER_04

You go inside for a little bit.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but it's like it snakes back there.

SPEAKER_04

Whew!

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but it's not like Find the Pikmin in the queue. It's not like got air conditioning there. It's not indoor, indoor.

SPEAKER_04

It is.

SPEAKER_02

It's not it's not locked off.

SPEAKER_04

You're sure? Yeah. I feel like it is when you go inside.

SPEAKER_02

Because you can see the cat go across when you're inside. You know where Gul Golden Monkey is?

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Oh yeah, but just because there's a doorway, how'd you get in and out of the building?

SPEAKER_00

No, it's not even a doorway, there's like a silk all open at the top.

SPEAKER_04

I don't know, but it feels cooler in there. It's shit, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00

It is it's more cool it's Find the Pikmin.

SPEAKER_04

All over. Find the Pikmin.

SPEAKER_02

Um so it's not like as an immersive cue as the others. Um and then I I think I was too overhyped with it.

SPEAKER_04

It's such a cool land though, that land is a vibe.

SPEAKER_02

I do and I love Donkey Kong. So the IP kind of makes it to where it is anyway. Um I just think the other rides are better rides. Your number are we a number four now?

SPEAKER_04

Uh yes. Mine, my number four is Minecart Madness because like I didn't grow up playing the games, like I don't have the same love for it, but it's so it's cute and it's cool. Um it's fast at points. Um, I do wish I think I said it in the opening day podcast, like the skimming over the water bit could have been better. Yeah, yeah. Um, like there could have been more of a shebang with the water.

SPEAKER_02

And I think the because they sold it with like the whole jumping. Yeah, yeah, it felt like that was a bit of a it nothing happens.

SPEAKER_04

Like, I feel like there should have been, you know, when you if you drive through water in a car, you feel some sort of friction. Yeah, yeah. Like I feel like that should have happened.

SPEAKER_02

Um, I feel like you should have gone up a little bit and come down rather than because you just feel like you go on the oh, you should have like dropped a little bit.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, it is cool. I like getting the golden nana.

SPEAKER_02

Um I like that that one of the first corners when it kinks in. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

It reminds me a little bit of Indiana Jones in Paris, just not as traumatizing. Like we got on that ride not knowing it went upside down, and I was like, oh, I really need the toilet, but I'll wait until we get off. Oh my god, I nearly wet myself.

SPEAKER_00

And the ride vehicle's like this, isn't it? It's like you're in a shopping trolley.

SPEAKER_04

It's proper like um what's them rides called in all the shitty parks? The mousetrap.

SPEAKER_00

Oh yeah, yeah, it feels like mousetrap.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, funny word. Uh my number three or yours? I've not done a number four. My number four is ministry. Okay. Yeah. So we've kind of just talked about talked about that, but yeah. I do think it's like again, I think it's a bit overhyped. Um obviously Potter and like the Q again. It's even just a good break to get out of the queue. Uh get out of the sun, sorry. Yeah, yeah. Um and then Yeah, the the ride itself, like all the animatronics and stuff other than the end, is like really good. But yeah, that's why it's fourth.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. My third then, now this my third and my second are are very, very hard, and I feel like they're interchangeable depending on what mood I'm in. Um but I put them this way for now. So my third is hiccups, wing gliders.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Did you put that last time? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

I feel like it was it was third last time.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

What an incredible ride. Like it's not the most thrilling, but it is at the same time. And if you love the films, you love the soundtrack, this is a roller coaster that will make you cry with happiness, like I swear. Um, it's such a good family coaster.

SPEAKER_06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, I wouldn't advise it for your kids first time on a roller coaster. Yeah. It's a bit too thrilling for that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, probably. Um unless they're super into like, I want to fly with dragons. If they sell them that point, then probably.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, it amazing. Such an amazing ride. I just don't have much else to say. Yeah. Amazing.

SPEAKER_02

All my the top three for me, and this is kind of like where what I said earlier with that the top kind of five are like so good.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And they all could be someone's favourite.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Whereas like and then the bottom ones are all like can't can be the same, like they can all be interchangeable. But then they're all like the gap between the top and the bottom is uh quite vast.

SPEAKER_04

Go on then your third.

SPEAKER_02

So my third was monsters.

SPEAKER_04

Disgusted.

SPEAKER_02

And it's mainly the reason that it's because it's not a coaster. Um but we we on this the episode that we talked about when we did the breakdown, we didn't want to give any spoilers away. And one of the things that I was talking about with monsters is that like the thought of every little detail and they could have could have quite easily taken a shortcut, but they didn't, they put their extra effort in to do it, and it was the bit where you see Igor at the start and he moves the the lever, yeah, but you could have quite easily just just gone down into one like position with the lever, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

But he like moves your twice to the side, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And it's like the fact that he does it in multiple directions, that was just so cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um but yeah, the only reason that it's third is because of that. But then again, monsters wait time always short, straight on almost too short the wait time because there's so much stuff to see in there. Yeah, yeah. So I guess that gives you more than a lot of people.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but you can be like, if you want to look, let people go in front of you. We did that a couple of times, didn't we? Yeah. Um and then I want a tour of that manor.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that would be pretty cool. Yeah if you did that. You'd like what they did with uh Men in Black.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_02

Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_04

My number led by Egor.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that would be so. My number two is see, these two are so like interchangeable. Um I on this list I've put Stardust, but I think probably hiccups goes there instead, I think.

SPEAKER_04

Well, say what you mean now in this moment.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know. It's too hard. Um but yeah, I I'm gonna I'm gonna stick with hiccups there second, mainly because of uh how good Stardust is. But yeah, hiccups because of everything we've said, like it just the the score, the the the thing that kind of puts me at not probably puts it below is the rider vehicle is fucking awful.

SPEAKER_04

It's just small, like but we're in a theme park made for children, not made for children, no, but it it like I am a woman with bigger legs, right? That crushes me, but we've figured it out. You've got to slip yourself right to the back of the seat and like slip down a bit, yeah, yeah. So it then pins your quads in comfortably, yeah, yeah. If you go to the gym, man, that ride vehicle's not built for you. Um or if you're in a bigger body person, like it will be painful, so yeah, try slip down in the seat a little bit, and then all outside queue.

SPEAKER_02

And yeah, that's it. All outside queue. And then yeah, that's kind of what it's like.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah. My second is status races. Um what a coaster. Yeah. What a coaster. It's just, yeah, like I'm I didn't get on it, you know, having the fear that I have when I get on Hulk.

SPEAKER_02

Do you think it's because you've done Veloc Coaster and you did Hulk first? Yeah, maybe, but it's because we wasn't like we wasn't that like we we were into coasters, but before we really did VelociCoaster, we wasn't like like I bagged myself getting on that. Yeah, exactly. But then now I feel like because I've done Velocicoaster, I could do fucking anything.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I said that we repried.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, that I went on that maybe three times, and then by the after that I refused to go on it.

SPEAKER_02

But because you've done it.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, it still terrified me every time. It's just not that ride vehicle was not health or safe. No wonder it went in the bin. Um yeah, Stardust, riding it at night, incredible. Um it's just a a great coaster. Like the fact that it You duel the other side and it's the ride ability because you can go on the yellow or the green. Um, it's fast, it's not quite as fast. That I think that's what I said in the last podcast that um it the only thing that held it back for me is I was anticipating a bit more speed, but that's because we've been on VelociCoaster. Yeah, yeah. Um, but I do like VelociCoaster a little bit better just because it rags you about a bit more.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and I think with Stardust going back to the very first part part of this conversation is about that memory and that memory of going on Stardust for the first time and going through the initial launch, and we were like, This isn't that fast.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, yeah. And then the second launch kicks in, and you're like, But we knew it were coming because like, well, you you kind of know, and then there's two launches on Velocicoaster.

SPEAKER_02

So it was like the yeah, that the launch at the start, there's like two parts to the launch, isn't there?

SPEAKER_04

I always remember taking your dad on Velocicoaster for the first time, and he just heard me go, we'd gone through the first bit, and you're looping round to go under the tunnel, and I just went, right you're ready, and your dad went, What?

SPEAKER_02

And then by the time we said, What it worked up over the top of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Oh, your number one.

SPEAKER_02

My number one's stardust.

SPEAKER_04

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. My number one, if you're not figuring it out by now, Monsters Unchained. Like Jake said, they nailed this. Every single detail was thought of. I love the law behind the ride and the town. Yeah. Um, the characters they've got around, like Igor. I've said it before, Universal, give this guy his own comedy show.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, like, you know, like what's the show called in Burke? The Untrainable Dragon. Like, Igor needs something like that. Please do it. You're missing an opportunity there. Um, and it's another indoor attraction. Yeah, very true. Very true. Like give him his own little skit show. He is amazing. He's got his own little fan base. I'm fangir right there. Like, love the guy. Um, yeah, the law behind it, it is just I could ride that over, I could chain ride Monsters Unchained. Yes. Um my favourite bit in that ride is where you go under that bell and you see that uh like thing hanging out of the bell.

SPEAKER_06

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04

And I I feel like a lot of people miss that because they've got their eyes shut because it's like the one of the first turns. But it's one of my favourite bits, and then the other one is um it's gotta be Dracula with his bloody trotters out.

SPEAKER_02

My favourite bit is when Frankenstein gets the moon.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, the the play, yeah. We need daylight, yeah. Yeah, honestly, I love that ride, and I know a lot of you do as well. Um, I yeah, I got off that the first time, absolutely speechless. Yeah, yeah. Good ride.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, and that's everything that wraps up our one-year celebration of Epic Universe. Yeah. Hopefully, we get more visits to Epic, which we've already we've planned vaguely planned our next um trip with some trips to Epic.

SPEAKER_04

But yeah, thank you very much for listening. Thank you very much for watching. This has been episode 23, so I'm surprised we've made it this far. Go us. Um, but yeah, give us a like and subscribe if you're over on YouTube and if you're on the uh podcast platforms, give us a five star review. It helps. Yeah. But yeah, thank you.

unknown

Bye.