Epic Universe is the lowest rated theme park in Orlando

[Disstevefan1]

The Petting zoo could be closing based on what different sites mentioned.

Here is a different website with the info I mention.

RUMOR: Affection Section Petting Zoo to Close Permanently at Disney's Animal Kingdom

A new rumor circulating suggests that the Affection Section petting zoo will be closing permanently soon at Disney's Animal Kingdom

blogmickey.com

The petting zoo was very sad and empty the last time I was there in 2025.

 

[JoeCamel]

The Petting zoo could be closing based on what different sites mentioned.

Here is a different website with the info I mention.

RUMOR: Affection Section Petting Zoo to Close Permanently at Disney's Animal Kingdom

A new rumor circulating suggests that the Affection Section petting zoo will be closing permanently soon at Disney's Animal Kingdom

blogmickey.com

Epic Universe has a petting Zoo?
What are they petting Nifflers?

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Epic Universe has a petting Zoo?
What are they petting Nifflers?

Epic doesn't have a putting zoo. I was referring to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Also @Tom Morrow did mentioned about Animal Kingdom also on this thread.

Also @Jon81uk asked a question about the putting zoo Animal Kingdom has that I mentioned and I answered the question.

 

[Andrew C]

What are they petting Nifflers?

Maybe by end of year.

 

[Chi84]

1' / I /

Epic doesn't have a putting zoo. I was referring to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Also @Tom Morrow did mentioned about Animal Kingdom also on this thread.

Also @Jon81uk asked a question about the putting zoo Animal Kingdom has that I mentioned and I answered the question.

Maybe Epic can get “Tiger” to promote it.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Still a half day park. And a 2 hour park upon opening. Theme is on point though. Or was.

Asking genuinely.

Is it being a half day park dependant on being a first time visitor vs a repeat visitor?

I can certainly see it being a half day experience when you've visited before, but if it's your first trip... I could imagine being there from open to close.

 

[Andrew C]

Asking genuinely.

Is it being a half day park dependant on being a first time visitor vs a repeat visitor?

I can certainly see it being a half day experience when you've visited before, but if it's your first trip... I could imagine being there from open to close.

I don't think it matters.

I could also imagine being there for the full day...but that would be a lot of time doing not much of anything. But if some people want to do nothing there for much of the day other than enjoy the vibes, who am I to argue with that. As I said, beautiful park. But that behavior isn't the norm...

Also, side note....is it me or does that park feel like 20 degree hotter than the others? I feel like the lush vegetation shoots the humidity through the roof! haha

 

[Jon81uk]

Asking genuinely.

Is it being a half day park dependant on being a first time visitor vs a repeat visitor?

I can certainly see it being a half day experience when you've visited before, but if it's your first trip... I could imagine being there from open to close.

There are four shows, a drawing class, train ride, two large animal trails, character meets, plus the six rides (soon to be eight).

I found just trying to schedule all the shows and get the animal exhibits done before sunset filled most of the day.

 

[Laketravis]

Asking genuinely.

Is it being a half day park dependant on being a first time visitor vs a repeat visitor?

I can certainly see it being a half day experience when you've visited before, but if it's your first trip... I could imagine being there from open to close.

My son and I went a couple of weeks ago. 4 Day, 3 Park Passes with limited Express Pass. We hit all three parks each day and did everything we wanted to do. Sometimes multiple times (like Frankenstien Experiment).

It was his first time to Epic, my second. The first time I went in November you could only get a one day ticket. And even though I waited inline 2.5 hours for Harry Potter I was able to accomplish everything else except Mario Kart in roughly 8 hours.

It helps that the park was typically open from 9am (early entry) to 10pm. It did seem as though the wait times were actually worse the first hour or two as all of the resort guests headed to Epic instead of IoA of USO.

But I can't imagine being in Epic from open to close.

 

[Jon81uk]

But I can't imagine being in Epic from open to close.

We did it, took our time doing rides, filled up freestyle cups and took breaks, stopped for ice cream (although they really need to add a scoop shop), took time for dinner and lunch (the quick service hybrid places are great), played the powerband games and just soaked it all in before ending the night with the fountain show.

 

[Laketravis]

We did it, took our time doing rides, filled up freestyle cups and took breaks, stopped for ice cream (although they really need to add a scoop shop), took time for dinner and lunch (the quick service hybrid places are great), played the powerband games and just soaked it all in before ending the night with the fountain show.

Your tolerance level is far greater than mine

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

My son and I went a couple of weeks ago. 4 Day, 3 Park Passes with limited Express Pass. We hit all three parks each day and did everything we wanted to do. Sometimes multiple times (like Frankenstien Experiment).

It was his first time to Epic, my second. The first time I went in November you could only get a one day ticket. And even though I waited inline 2.5 hours for Harry Potter I was able to accomplish everything else except Mario Kart in roughly 8 hours.

It helps that the park was typically open from 9am (early entry) to 10pm. It did seem as though the wait times were actually worse the first hour or two as all of the resort guests headed to Epic instead of IoA of USO.

But I can't imagine being in Epic from open to close.

Maybe I just do theme park differently than most but I never leave before close at almost any park (except usually six flags)

It’s just how I personally do theme parks, stay from open to close. AK, HS, USO, EU, all of them are full day parks for me as I can always find SOMETHING to do that I will enjoy.

 

[marni1971]

We did it, took our time doing rides, filled up freestyle cups and took breaks, stopped for ice cream (although they really need to add a scoop shop), took time for dinner and lunch (the quick service hybrid places are great), played the powerband games and just soaked it all in before ending the night with the fountain show.

Sounds ideal.

 

[Baron Von Capybara]

Sounds ideal.

More than that , it sounds epic ...

 

[Tom Morrow]

n00b mistake: Getting to the park super early (and likely depriving yourself of sleep to do it), attempting to stay all day, getting tired and leaving before park close.

Pro move: Arrive early, take a nap at the hotel mid-day, returning for the evening.

If taking a mid-day nap is not doable, it is always better to stay until close rather than be there at open if you can't do the entire day in the park.

 

[Laketravis]

n00b mistake: Getting to the park super early (and likely depriving yourself of sleep to do it), attempting to stay all day, getting tired and leaving before park close.

Pro move: Arrive early, take a nap at the hotel mid-day, returning for the evening.

If taking a mid-day nap is not doable, it is always better to stay until close rather than be there at open if you can't do the entire day in the park.

Good point. We'd head to IoA in the mornings which was virtually empty because everyone else headed to Epic. Could walk on the headliners, hop over to USO for a few things, then go to Epic late afternoon when a lot of people were hitting the exit exhausted. I remember when both HP's opened how the waits were 60-90 minutes if not more. Now they've been consistently less than 30, often 15.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

n00b mistake: Getting to the park super early (and likely depriving yourself of sleep to do it), attempting to stay all day, getting tired and leaving before park close.

Pro move: Arrive early, take a nap at the hotel mid-day, returning for the evening.

If taking a mid-day nap is not doable, it is always better to stay until close rather than be there at open if you can't do the entire day in the park.

We will arrive about noon or 1pm, if all goes well, at RPR. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use one of our two Epic tickets for that half day until close? I see others recommending doing the evening hours only. I'm leaning towards doing what you said: Go sometime in the AM (not at opening) and leave for a rest, then back in the evening? What do you think?

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

n00b mistake: Getting to the park super early (and likely depriving yourself of sleep to do it), attempting to stay all day, getting tired and leaving before park close.

Pro move: Arrive early, take a nap at the hotel mid-day, returning for the evening.

If taking a mid-day nap is not doable, it is always better to stay until close rather than be there at open if you can't do the entire day in the park.

While I would generally agree with this approach much of the year, summer is a bit of a different beast.

In summer arriving early is important. Afternoon and evening are a bit of a crapshoot, due to weather. Afternoon breaks are generally essential, unless one really plans to skip the PM. If the weather is fine, after dark is the best time of day, but thunderstorms close many attractions. For a park like AK or even Epic, waiting until after dark may well = not riding.

Then there's WDW's LLMP pass system. It highly favors an early arrival and park hopping to get the most value.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

We will arrive about noon or 1pm, if all goes well, at RPR. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to use one of our two Epic tickets for that half day until close? I see others recommending doing the evening hours only. I'm leaning towards doing what you said: Go sometime in the AM (not at opening) and leave for a rest, then back in the evening? What do you think?

I was just at Stella going to the legacy parks, so the opposite. Going between the two parts of Uni's property takes a bit of time.

You are well versed in how long it takes to get around WDW. Getting around IoA/US/HRH/RP/Porto/CB/Aventura/SF/Citywalk is all pretty quick and easy. Getting between the Epic are and the legacy area of Universal takes is very doable, but it takes a little time. It would depend how you factor that into your personal planning, and the park hours.

My Epic experience was coming from Helios in summer, so it made sense to arrive for rope drop. We were about 5 people from front of the line for Mario Kart with Stardust was down most of the day. It was summer, so storms rolled in both days. Taking an afternoon break was somewhat essential, because much of the park closes during storms, and we had the convenience of staying at Helios.

My visit was also before the new ticket policy; I'm sure more people are park hopping now. There is probably a PM change in crowds while the weather is cold. I could also see people flocking towards Epic in the evening on a nice night. We saw people taking advantage of Early Entry in IoA then leaving for Epic.

Generally, I would say the weather is an important factor for days in Epic. Much of the park is outdoors, and much of the park (like AK) stops running during a thunderstorm. As with WDW, you can sometimes use that to your benefit.

My other big tip is to take time to appreciate theming. Universal did a great job with little details all over the park. It is easy to get caught up in rushing from ride to ride to minimize waits, but the park has many high quality, non-ride details. Personally, I'd want my first Epic day to be as full as possible so I have time to explore the non-ride parts of the park. Dark Universe has superb landscaping. The H Potter land also has many small details that are fun to explore, like all the new wand spells.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I was just at Stella going to the legacy parks, so the opposite. Going between the two parts of Uni's property takes a bit of time.

You are well versed in how long it takes to get around WDW. Getting around IoA/US/HRH/RP/Porto/CB/Aventura/SF/Citywalk is all pretty quick and easy. Getting between the Epic are and the legacy area of Universal takes is very doable, but it takes a little time. It would depend how you factor that into your personal planning, and the park hours.

My Epic experience was coming from Helios in summer, so it made sense to arrive for rope drop. We were about 5 people from front of the line for Mario Kart with Stardust was down most of the day. It was summer, so storms rolled in both days. Taking an afternoon break was somewhat essential, because much of the park closes during storms, and we had the convenience of staying at Helios.

My visit was also before the new ticket policy; I'm sure more people are park hopping now. There is probably a PM change in crowds while the weather is cold. I could also see people flocking towards Epic in the evening on a nice night. We saw people taking advantage of Early Entry in IoA then leaving for Epic.

Generally, I would say the weather is an important factor for days in Epic. Much of the park is outdoors, and much of the park (like AK) stops running during a thunderstorm. As with WDW, you can sometimes use that to your benefit.

My other big tip is to take time to appreciate theming. Universal did a great job with little details all over the park. It is easy to get caught up in rushing from ride to ride to minimize waits, but the park has many high quality, non-ride details. Personally, I'd want my first Epic day to be as full as possible so I have time to explore the non-ride parts of the park. Dark Universe has superb landscaping. The H Potter land also has many small details that are fun to explore, like all the new wand spells.

Thanks so much for the information I can't wait to see the HP land and Monsters. It all sounds amazing!