I was fortunate enough to attend a preview on Friday the 11th and have since taken the time to gather my thoughts! I won't get too deep into attraction spoilers, just general impressions, so if you'd like to hear my musings then read on.
This park is indeed a triumph. The world class attractions and placemaking are incredibly impressive for an opening day lineup. This park has more to do and see than Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, and arguably more than Sea World and Universal Studios Florida, and those other parks have been operating for decades. Aside from just attractions though, you could spend hours in each of the five lands just soaking in details, smaller interactives, and walkaround performers. The streetmosphere in Epic is extraordinary, particularly in Berk and Darkmoor. None of these lands are dead, they are constantly inviting you to engage and peel back layers of storytelling with a variety of interesting tactics that never get old.
Ygor carries a large, mysterious bag around Darkmoor and the more curious guest might ask what he has in the bag. He'll give a conspicuously dismissive response, prompting you to follow him further as he travels to various graves, carts, and crates throughout the land. He'll climb off of the guest pathways, into flowerbeds, and under carts to pull out props of severed body parts, then improv a story as to why he needs these specific parts. It keeps peeling back layers about what's going on in the manor, Ygor's relationship with Victoria, Darkmoor's history, and it's also all incredibly funny. This is what themed entertainment is all about. It pushes the medium to the limit and defines why a theme park experience is different from film, television, or theatre, and Epic is absolutely teeming with this level of care. This is just one example of many from my single preview day.
The immense scale of the park simply can't be captured on photos or videos and hits the best in person. I was initially opposed to the Helios Grand being the backdrop of the park, but seeing it at eye level convinced me. Everyone comparing this to the Riviera is off base, this thing looks great from just about anywhere in the park. I could nitpick and say I wish it felt less flat, but ultimately it does achieve the look of being a form of palace. The only negative visual sightlines I think are particularly pertinent are the Untrainable building and Curse of the Werewolf's netting, but even those aren't as egregious as other sightline issues in the other Orlando parks (looking at you, Forbidden Journey and Cosmic Rewind).
While I'm on negatives, Curse of the Werewolf is my least favorite attraction in the park and the only one I believe has more to dislike than like. The coaster itself was much more physically fun than I thought it would be, but the swing launch "scene" does not land well, and the ending "scene" felt incredibly cheap and tacky (and that's coming from a lowkey Dinorama enjoyer lol). If I had to put money on it, this is going to be the first Epic opening day attraction to be replaced in the future. Funny since it's right next door to my favorite attraction in the park.
Monsters Unchained is going down in theme park history. This is one of those generational rides that feels so full of life, creativity, and love. I don't want to give away all of its tricks, so do your best to go in unspoiled. Even when I had a number of effects not working properly it was still mind blowing.
I can not wait to go back! If you are coming from out of town for Disney, save a day for Epic; you won't regret it. My final tip: stay after the sun sets if hours allow! This park is absolutely gorgeous at night, everything looks stunning. I would love to chat with others who have been lucky enough to visit as well, and would love to answer questions for those on the fence!
