The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of UNIVERSAL NIGHTS at Epic Universe

This week’s SATURDAY SIX heads to Florida’s newest theme park, Epic Universe, to check out their after hours UNIVERSAL NIGHTS event and see how it compares to other separately ticketed events we have experienced at Universal over the years including including Rock The Universe, an Orlando Informer Meetup, HHN’s Premium Scream Night and Volcano Bay Nights.

The biggest surprise for the debut of Universal Nights at Epic Universe was seeing this sign when approaching the park…

That’s because debut events are generally much less attended until the word gets out and the general public decides whether or not the value is there. We’ve written several articles about how great Epic Universe is since its grand opening last Summer, and it seems we were not in the minority with this week’s Universal Nights event being Sold Out. There are three more opportunities to experience this event: October 24, November 6, and November 20. Tickets are $179.99 plus tax per person, for a total of $191.69.

# 6 – The “Bad”: Checking Into Event OUTSIDE

Universal Nights at Epic Universe takes place during the hours of 9PM-Midnight, but ticket holders are eligible to get into the park at 7PM.

Once checked in, Universal Nights ticket holders obtain a wristband.

This wristband allows you access to every area of the park for the rest of the night. Epic Universe closes to day guests at 8PM, and those without wristbands won’t be able to access any of the portals or ride the attractions in Celestial Park.

Here’s how I think Universal could have made this more special for Universal Nights ticket holders. Near the main entrance of the front of the park there is a dedicated ticketing building that generally goes unused because pretty much every day guest has to purchase their park tickets online.

Here’s an aerial photo of this building during construction. As you can see it is deceptively large.

Let’s take a look inside this building, which – as you can see – is absolutely gorgeous. It’s mind boggling to believe Universal went so hard on an area that most guests will never see. It definitely has been previously used as a “check-in” area for special events.

This is where I think Universal should have had Universal Nights guests begin their journey. The building is air conditioned, and has plenty of room to set up tables with complimentary snacks, water and soda. I would also include either live entertainment in the form of musicians, or an exclusive meet-and-greet photo opportunity with a character (such as a rotating Hiccup/Astrid from Isle of Berk or go extra special and make it event exclusive like Maya of the Skies.)

Guests are paying a premium price for an event with very limited hours, and something small like a “VIP” experience when entering the park immediately shows them the difference between Universal Nights and when they come to Epic Universe any other day of the year. If American Express can put free bags of Rold Gold pretzels and water bottles in their lounges inside the parks, I think Universal can offer similar snacks to people paying almost $200 for three hours of park time. Speaking of the snacks that are offered…

# 5 – The Ugly: The Food

This section is heartbreaking because with Epic Universe, Universal finally turned the corner when it came to delivering food inside their theme parks. From the full service offerings like the Atlantic Restaurant to quick service places like Pizza Moon and Oak & Star Tavern, all the way to the snacks like the mac & cheese cones in the Isle of Berk, Epic Universe is head and shoulders above anything Universal Orlando has ever offered to its guests in terms of culinary experience.

For Universal Nights, Epic Universe put every single one of those great food items behind a separate paywall and offered ticket holders two complimentary options: Kimchi Bao buns and Celestial popcorn.

The Kimchi Bao buns have crispy chicken tossed in gochujang sauce, scallion yuzu aioli and Korean slaw. They’re small but tasty, and unlimited.

Below is the “full” bag of Celestial popcorn. These were served in smaller paper bags, about 2/3 filled, and most have been sitting in the Florida humidity for awhile so were a bit…chewy. As the old saying goes, not only were these berry flavored popcorn bags not the best tasting, there also wasn’t enough of them as the event ran out of them well before the night was over.

There are unlimited soft drinks available, as guests could use any of the Coke Freestyle machines throughout the park. This includes the exclusive flavors found in the Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and Celestial Park.

The limited food offerings at Universal Nights reminded me of what is given at the after hours event Volcano Bay Nights. This is another park that has so many great food options – such as the longboard pizza – but the freebies are popcorn and churros.

I’ve been told repeatedly that expecting Universal to do better than this is unreasonable, especially considering that it is very similar to what Disney gives out at their similarly priced After Hours events.

Here’s the thing, I’m not defending Disney’s lack of creativity but at least the Mickey bars and ice cream sandwiches are – for the most part – unique to the parks and can be considered “special.” They are also offered at MULTIPLE locations throughout the park during After Hours events, whereas both Universal Nights and Volcano Bay Nights have their free food at one singular place near the front of the park.

The “good” news is that all the food you want to have at Epic Universe is available to purchase during the event, including the DK Crush Float in Super Nintendo World, Butterbeer in the Wizarding World, and the mac & cheese cones in the Isle of Berk.

# 4 – The Good: The Characters

Okay, with those mild criticisms out of the way, let’s get to what Universal Nights at Epic Universe did right...which is  pretty much everything else. This includes a full assortment of character meet-and-greets along with walk around characters, including the mega popular Toothless meet-and greet in the Isle of Berk.

When my family and I went to Epic Universe earlier this year, we used our Early Admission time to get in line for the Toothless meet-and-greet, because queues for that grow large fast during your normal day in the Isle of Berk. During Universal Nights, the wait to meet Toothless is much more reasonable.

Always nice chatting with a local Viking…

…or an Invisible Man in Dark Universe.

Captain Cacao certainly joins the list of top five greatest Captains of my lifetime. The cute bear joins fellow Captains: America, Crunch, Jean-Luc Picard, and Planet.

# 3 – The Good: So Much Room For Activities!

Universal Nights is great for the theme park fans who enjoy being immersed in their surroundings because there is so much more you can take in when its not wall to wall people. I would also recommend it to any amateur photographer who wants to improve their craft because these are the rare times you can truly capture so many iconic areas without those pesky guests ruining your shots!

I have flown across the United States many times in my life, but only one time – on a flight home from Aruba – did I ever have a seat in first class. The seats were HUGE. There was so much leg room. The staff were offering us drinks before we even took off in flight! First class seating had taken everything I hated about flying and flipped it on its head. Thats the only way I can describe what it’s like being at one of these After Hours events if you’ve spent your entire life only visiting theme parks as a Day Guest. It has all the things you love about the parks, but those things you don’t like? They’re gone.

# 2 – The Good: Wait Times…ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

For the vast majority of people considering a ticket to Universal Nights, the only things they want to know is how many rides they can get on. Here’s the good news: ALL OF THEM. I have been to Epic Universe three times over the last year during an average park day. During all of those visits I have yet to experience Mine Cart Madness and have only been able to check out Battle of the Ministry a single time. Why? Because the wait times are too ridiculous to justify in my book. Almost everything at Universal Nights is essentially a walk-on, including Battle at the Ministry.

TouringPlans’ intrepid reporter got in line for Battle at the Ministry on multiple occasions, and each time the wait was about 10 minutes. The wait would have been even less except guests in line kept stopping to take pictures (and I can’t blame them, the one time I was in that queue I was completely blown away!)

These wait times are straight up BONKERS.

Stardust Racers was a consistant 10 minute wait the entire night. Unbelievable!!

# 1 – The Great: Epic Universe AT NIGHT

As far as I’m concerned, Epic Universe is best experienced at night. Unfortunately, because of how early the park closes, the general public doesn’t get to enjoy the lighting spectacle.

Everything in the park pops at night. Everything.

Nighttime is also when you can check out something truly special. During Universal Nights, a Team Member from Stardust Racers was out with a UV light pen writing on the photoreactive sidewalk outside the coaster entrance! Kids were also given the light to write and draw, as well.

So there you have it: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of UNIVERSAL NIGHTS at Epic Universe! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

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Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, Ace Photographer Diservations, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Thickey for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by Lightning Lane Influencer Professor Leisure. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide.