Big Changes to Early Park Admission at Epic Universe

We told you last month that Epic Universe was tinkering with their Early Park Admission process, so we sent one of our park reporters out this morning to get time stamps. We’ve got a clear picture of the new process now and can confidently say that they have closed the loophole many of us enjoyed at Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

Early Park Admission (EPA) allows on-site resort guests and certain annual passholders entry into the park 1-hour early. Disney World offers Early Entry of 30-minutes for resort guests.

EPA was 8:00am today and General Admission was 9:00am. The image above shows all of the attractions that were open for EPA this morning. Stardust Racers remains closed, but we managed to catch video of them testing unoccupied trains as we waited to enter. You can see the video on our Instagram stories.

Timeline

7:18am – security opens for everyone

7:30am – ticket taps open for everyone

7:51am – EPA guests are allowed to enter the park

7:51am – general admission guests (no EPA) are moved to the right side of the park

The general admission holding areas are very distinct right after admission. Folks are milling about, sitting on benches, or exploring the nearby food and merch locations.

Starbucks and a quick service kiosk are open to general admission guests as soon as the park opens. Reminder – Annual Passholders receive a discount at Starbucks here. This is different from Walt Disney World where AP discounts do not apply.

Other Worlds Mercantile is also open to all guests during EPA. This is a good time to get your Power Up Band if you don’t already have one. If you’re planning to spend time in Super Nintendo World, you’ll want a band. We’ve got lots of tips on how to use them on our blog. 

 

At 8:30am general admission guests will be told to “fill in all available space” and the two lines merge into one.

The general admission line grows quickly from 8:30am – 8:45am. The image above shows where we saw the line back up to this morning.

We’re smack in the middle of spring break crowds, so it’s no surprise that lines built up quickly. The image above shows posted wait times 32 minutes after everyone was allowed into the park.

Be sure to download our free Lines app, Lines UOR, before your visit. You can see screenshots from the Lines UOR app above. Len and team have recently updated our Crowd Calendars for Disney and Universal. You can read Len’s post explaining the updates here. 

Express Pass Notes

Express Pass does not allow guests Early Park Admission, but it can be used during EPA. We don’t recommend that, though, since you should be able to tackle a few rides during the 60-minute Early Park Admission.

1 Day Express Pass allows 1 express admission to every attraction at Epic Universe except Dragon Racer’s Rally. Express Pass is separate from park admission and often sells out weeks in advance, so don’t plan to purchase it same-day during busier times.

We have several testing dates scheduled for Epic Universe and will report back with any new info! 

Photos: Amy Schinner