Spur of the moment Universal trip day 3

Monday (May 5) Epic Day!  From Helios I knew we could get in the park at 10 am.  I underestimated guests' resolve to go early, so I was a little lax in my morning preparation.  I watched from our room as people were going through security by 8:30 and lining up at the "rope".  If you're not familiar, when you come out of the hotel, you can go right or left and you are held up before getting to any of the portals.  Next I watched as the rope dropped at 9:30.  Almost everyone went back to Nintendo World.  So, we finished getting ready and headed down to the security line which was still lined up outside the front of the hotel.  After getting through we decided to go to Star Dust Racers which had a 25 minute wait.  That is an amazing coaster - not too much upside down, but plenty of "air". 

After that we went into Wizarding World and noted that the Battle at the Ministry was down for the 11:00 time, but you could still try the virtual queue.  This is a very frustrating ordeal and we did not get a spot. Within the Wizarding World, there are spots where old wands will work, but some spots that you'll have to buy a whole new wand for (of course).  I believe they were $85.

So, we walked over to Monster's Unchained - again a really incredible attraction with a great story, ride mechanics, and audio-animatronics that are hard to tell from real life monsters.  The wait time was 60 minutes, but only took us 45.  It was worth it.  Because I don't know how to plan park visits, we went all the way over to Isle of Berk and did the Winged Gliders, also a fun coaster.  I don't know the How To Train Your Dragon franchise at all, so we went back to Wizarding World for lunch at Cafe L'air De La Sirene.  It was okay, but good enough for a quick lunch.  We tried again for a 3:00 Ministry queue, but still did not get one.  Finally going way back to Super Nintendo World, we went to the Mine Cart Madness.  Wait time was listed at 90 minutes (It was 150 in the morning) so I figured it would actually be around 60.  I though this would be acceptable.  About 2/3 of the way through the line, a thunderstorm came through (it is central Florida after all).  We waited anyway and ended up waiting 2 1/2 hours total.  It was a fun ride, but I personally wouldn't wait more than 45 minutes for it.  Even though I like the games, Nintendo World can be overwhelming - lots of stuff going on.  Still fun to see and there were a lot of interactive elements.  I mean it's based on video games, so there's that.

We went from here back to Dark Universe and did the Curse of the Werewolf.  By then it had about a 25 minute wait.  Fun, spinny coaster.  I noticed that the windmill at the Burning Blade was not burning.  For our last trip around the park we went back to Wizarding World for a dinner at Le Gobelet Noir.  It reminds me a lot of Three Broomsticks - in fact, as you walk into the main entrance, look on the wall for the 2 broomsticks and the unleaky cauldron.  Finally as it was after 8pm, we decided to do the atrium tour of the Ministry of Magic.  Luckily we were able to get on the ride thanks to a couple who got a spot in the queue and let us tag along with them.  Note: I had been checking throughout the day and the virtual queue would be opened at random times, so don't give up.  However, I still don't like the whole virtual queue thing.  The ride itself is technically amazing and a really fun story.

Overall, Epic is pretty much in line with everything Universal has done.  Immersive, lots of detail, technically amazing rides, fun for families.  Restaurants could be better, but hey, theme park.  It was nice that for at least the preview days they were opened until after sunset.  It has a whole different feel.  

After our tour of the Ministry, we headed out of the park, gathered our luggage and car and made the 2 hour trek home.  It was a great quick trip, but we'll be headed back soon I'm sure.