First Look! Universal Nights at Epic Universe

The very first Universal Nights at Epic Universe, an after hours event, took place last night and we’re shocked at the low crowds and even lower wait times! As always, we paid for our ticket and were not hosted by Universal.

One Minute Recap

We’ll provide lots of details below, but if you’re looking for the one minute review, we’ve got that, too:

• Only 3 dates remain.
• Event runs 9:00 PM to midnight but event ticket allows you in at 7:00 PM.
• Exceptionally low crowds! We logged 8 minute & 12 minute actual waits for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry!
• Included (and unlimited!) snacks are Kimchi Bao Buns, bagged berry flavored popcorn, and fountain drinks. The popcorn ran out before the end of the night.
• Rides shut down prior to the end of the event depending on the lines.

The Basics

This is a new after-hours event at Universal’s Epic Universe. There are only a few dates scheduled for this limited-capacity event, but we’re hopeful they’ll add more.

The whole park is open during Universal Nights including character meets and entertainment. There are “free” snacks and unlimited drinks, too.

Remaining Dates & Prices: 

As of the date of this post, only 3 dates remain.

• October 24, November 6, and November 20
• Tickets are $179.99 plus tax per person, = $191.69

Hours:

• The park closes to day guests at 8:00pm. Guests without Universal Nights tickets may stay in the park for Universal Celestial Goodnight, the new nighttime spectacular, but ride access ends at 8:00pm without an event wristband.
• Event guests may enter the park at 7:00pm.

Just like all special ticket events in Disney World, you’ll need to have your wristband on for the entire event.

Wristbands may be secured at the main gate and at the Concierge between Darkmoor and the Helios Grand Hotel.

Guests will need to show their event wristbands to enter the 5 portals from 8:00pm on. This was when we realized that this was basically a golden ticket. The park was EMPTY! Keep reading to see just how great the wait times were..

Included Snacks

Event guests are entitled to unlimited Kimchi Bao buns from 9:00 PM to midnight. The buns have crispy chicken tossed in gochujang sauce, scallion yuzu aioli and Korean slaw. They’re small but tasty, and unlimited. Unlike Disney After Hours events these snacks can only be found at one location in Celestial Park.

Bagged popcorn is the second included snack. These bags of berry flavored popcorn can also be found in Celestial Park. Grab an extra bag early in the evening if you want a snack for the ride home because they ran out before the event was over.

We were able to get one of the included cups to use at the many Coke Freestyle machines around the park before the event started. Team Members were adding tags to the cups before handing them out to guests with event wristbands around 8:00 PM. From 9:00 PM on, the machines were turned on and event guests were able to use any cup for the rest of the night.

Wait Times

Dare we say this ticket is worth the price if all you do is ride Battle at the Ministry over and over? We do dare. We’ve waited hours for this ride during the day. Hours, and hours. Our tester clocked two actual waits during the first Universal Nights ~ 8 minutes and 12 minutes!!!! These would have been shorter if other guests weren’t stopping for pictures!

We monitored wait times the entire night and remain shocked at the low waits around the park.

Stardust Racers maintained at 10 minute posted wait for nearly the entire 3 hours of the event!

Mine-Cart Madness was the highest wait of the night with a steady 25 minute posted wait and a spike of a 40 minute posted wait at 11:30 PM.

Be sure to hop in line for your favorite ride prior to 11:30 PM because they will shut down before the event ends. Mine-Cart Madness reached capacity and stopped letting new guests in line at 11:37 PM. Battle at the Ministry did the same just a few moments later at 11:50 PM.

Your Universal Nights ticket will include the usual daytime character meets, like Toothless in the Isle of Berk! We waited 19 minutes to meet Toothless

The “Crowds”

The photo above is exactly what every land looked like after 9:30 PM during the first Universal Nights.

A 10 minute posted wait!

If you’re planning to be in Orlando on one of the three remaining Universal Nights, we strongly suggest skipping the Epic Universe day ticket in favor of this after hours event.

How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk is our favorite land during the day but is extra special at night with no lines!

In summary, this event was a huge hit in our book. We love Epic Universe but the daytime crowds and long lines can take some of the joy out of the experience. Having a nearly empty park, included snacks, and such short wait times is well worth the price of this special ticket.

What do you think? Are you interested in giving this a try? Let us know!