Our 2025 Universal Studios Trip, Days 1 & 2 - Arrival & Epic Universe

We went on a trip to Universal Studios with my best friend and her family for fall break this year, and we had the very best time!  Nobody in our family had ever been to Universal Studios, so it was a new experience for all of us.

Wednesday, the kids had school until noon, so Brian and I had the car packed and ready to go so we could leave straightaway when they got out.  We stopped for lunch at Chick-Fil-A and then headed for Orlando.  We managed to make it there with just one stop, and somehow, even though we’d both left at different times and made different stops, we caught up with our friends on the road and managed to pull in the parking lot of our hotel with them, which made arrival even more exciting!  (They had also Facetimed for 30 minutes on the car ride, so that kept the kids busy for a bit on the long drive.)

We stayed at Stella Nova Resort, which is a brand new Universal Studios property, and the outside of the building was so impressive – it shimmered in lots of different colors as we drove up.  We parked in short-term parking, snapped some pictures in front of the building, and headed to check in at the front desk.

After we were all checked in, the guys went to pull the cars up to the front so we could load up the luggage, and then they went to park in the long-term parking lot.  We went up to our rooms to settle in after that, and it was nice, because both rooms were on the sixth floor just down the hall from each other.

The hotel is very futuristic, and it looks like something from The Jetsons.  Our window faced Epic Universe, so we had a view of the roller coasters, and the kids loved being able to watch the cars go round and round right there from our room.

Since we’d arrived at 6:30, it was way past dinner time by the time we were settled in, so the eight of us went in search of food.  Our hotel had a full bar, a café with lots of different grab-and-go items, and a restaurant, so we opted to order from the restaurant. 

But first – we stopped in the gift shop to purchase bands for the kids for Super Nintendo World.  The bands give the kids an interactive experience, and we wanted to purchase them prior to entering the park so we wouldn’t have to waste any precious time.

Once the bands were purchased, we all ordered at the counter at the restaurant and ate together.  Then after dinner, we decided to go exploring.  Our hotel was right near Epic Universe, so we wanted to see how the walk was so we could be prepared for the next morning.  The walk ended up being pretty short – around 15 minutes, I think?  And part of the 15 minutes was waiting foreverrrr for the green light to cross a very large intersection. 

When we arrived at the Epic entrance, we walked around a bit and looked into the park.  It was nearing closing time, so lots of people were leaving for the day.  We decided to take the bus back to the hotel just to give that a whirl, and James decided to walk just to see who’d get there faster.  He actually beat us, just barely, because we sat at the terminal for so long waiting for more people to get on the bus. 

When we got back to the hotel, we went outside to take a peek at the massive pool, and it is such a nice area.  There is a large pool and a big hot tub with a huge bar right next to both, and they play  movies on a big screen right by the pool.  It was so chilly outside, I couldn’t imagine being in the pool, but Brian said that it’s temperature controlled so it probably wasn’t cold at all.  There were also lots of outdoor tables and a fire pit, although the fire pit wasn’t on.

We were all exhausted by that point, so we headed back to our rooms.  We prepped for the park for the next day, and then we were in bed by ten since we had to wake up early the next morning.

Thursday morning, we were up at 6:30 AM after a terrible night of sleep.  I rarely sleep well when I’m not in my own bed, but I slept particularly poorly the first night in our hotel.  Thankfully, I slept a little better each night for the rest of the trip, though. 

We met Jeannine and James and the fam in the hotel lobby promptly at 7:30 AM and we were standing at the gate at Epic Universe by 7:50 AM after the walk over.  We were some of the first people there, so we got in line for security while loads of people poured in behind us. 

There was a Universal Studios employee that was getting everyone hyped up for the day, and he was having us yell and chant and get all excited, so that was a good way to start the day and keep everyone busy as we waited since the park didn’t technically open until 9 AM. 

They opened security at 8:10 and then we were second in line to scan tickets to get into the park.  When we arrived at the ticket scanners we had to wait a few more minutes, and they finally scanned us in at 8:30 AM.  We ran to the left side of the park which was closest to Super Nintendo World where we had to wait another 20 minutes for rope drop, and they finally dropped the ropes at 8:50 AM.

We took off for Super Nintendo World, and it was SO NEAT… it definitely exceeded all of my expectations.  It was so immersive, and it truly felt like you were in a video game.  When we arrived, we didn’t take much time to look around because we wanted to run to Mine-Cart Madness, the Donkey Kong ride.  The wait times can get really long for that, so we wanted to make sure we all rode before the lines got too long.  Sure enough, we’d gotten there early enough, and the wait was only five minutes. 

We were able to hop right on, and the ride was so much fun!  It’s a medium intensity roller coaster, but it’s super unique because it looks like the cart is going off the tracks over and over again.  All eight of us rode and loved it, except for Olivia… she screamed her head off the whole time, and she was traumatized when we got off, but she ended up recovering quickly and then saying that she was glad she rode it.  Haha.

Once that was done, we made our way over to Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge as the line for that one gets long, and along the way, the kids stopped to hit all the question boxes.  Those bracelets we’d bought the night before allowed the kids to collect points and tickets, and we were able to track them in the Universal app, so they were all hitting every single question box that they could possibly find, sometimes multiple times.  Each box really makes the sound that it makes in the video games, too, and it was such a cool throwback to my childhood.  I played Super Mario Brothers (several different versions) a TON when I was a kid.

When we arrived at Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the wait was 30 minutes, but it went quickly as most of the wait takes place in Bowser’s castle.  The castle was SO COOL… everything in there was really cartoon-y and realistic as if you were in the video game, and the props in there were so intricate and just so, so neat.  I took a TON of pictures in there.  We were all amused with the book titles in his library, too.  My personal favorite was, Off the Edge: A Rainbow Road Story.  Hahahaha.  IYKYK.

After we were done with that ride, we walked around Super Nintendo World for a bit, and the kids played one of the key challenges in the middle of the park, Piranha Plant Nap Mishap… they had to run around and tap multiple alarm clocks as they lit up.

We headed to Yoshi’s Adventure next, which is a slow-moving ride that gives you an aerial view of Super Nintendo World.  The wait for that was 45-ish minutes at that point, so we settled in.  Thankfully, most of the wait was indoors, although, part of it was outside, but it was covered, so we weren’t in the sun. 

Jeannine had brought Bingo cards for the kids that she’d made to give them something to do while we waited in line.  They had to find random things in the park like a couple holding hands, a person with blue hair, etc. and whoever completed their card first won. 

Once we were done with that ride, it was lunchtime, so we headed to Toadstool Café… another Nintendo themed place.  We were able to order the food from the Universal app, and then there was a line to be seated.  We were seated within five minutes, and they were able to seat us altogether.  The food came out shortly after that.  I ordered the grilled chicken salad, and it came with little star shaped croutons.  Brian ordered the spaghetti and meatballs, Jacob got the spaghetti, and Olivia got a burger.  All of these pictures don’t make the food look appetizing, but it was just because the lighting in there was so bad.  Everything was really good, and it was super cute how themed everything was.

Jeannine bought one of the Princess Peach cakes for Buckley as a late birthday celebration, and the cake was delicious with its whipped topping and fresh fruit!

Just as we stepped out of the restaurant, Mario and Luigi were leaving their posts to take a break, so we were able to see them and wave hello.  It would have been cool to take a picture with them, but the lines were long all day.

After that, we decided it was time to move along to another section of the park as there are four different sections within Epic Universe.  We decided to go to the Isle of Berke AKA How to Train Your Dragon area next, and while the seven of us did that, Brian ran over to Stardust Racers to get in the single rider line.  He was the only one brave enough to ride, and it worked out nicely because the single rider line was super quick compared to the normal queue. 

That was the one ride he’d been wanting to do for months, and sadly, a few weeks before we went on our trip, someone passed away on the ride from multiple blunt force injuries, so they shut it down for two weeks.  The ride ended up reopening just a few days before our trip, and Brian wasn’t going to miss it, much to my dismay.  I was honestly shocked that they reopened the ride so soon, but they had conducted an investigation and determined it was safe.  I wasn’t about to let the kids ride it, but they didn’t want to anyway.  Brian was the only crazy one in our whole group who actually wanted to do it.  Haha.

While he did that, the rest of us walked around How to Train Your Dragon world and Brian met up with us a few minutes later talking about how awesome the ride was.  I was glad he’d ridden it like he’d wanted to, and without issue.  Whew.

Once Brian met up with us again, Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack wanted to ride Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, and Jeannine, Olivia, Buckley, and I were perfectly happy skipping that one… it looked a little more intense than the roller coaster that had traumatized Olivia earlier in the day, so it didn’t look like a good time to her.  Haha.  And I’m still not riding anything too crazy after all of my vertigo and dizziness issues. 

Instead, the four of us went to the playground AKA Viking Training Camp so Olivia and Buckley could run around for a bit while Jeannine and I rested.  They had a nice shaded area and bathrooms, and only one entrance/exit, so it was a good place to let the kids loose so we could rest.

Since the boys had such a long wait, we ended up walking over to Constellation Carousel since it was just outside the entrance to Isle of Berk.  The wait was only about 15 minutes, so we knew we’d be on and off before the boys were done.  The carousel ride was so neat – it’s not a traditional carousel – instead of staying in one place and moving up and down, each of the animals moves around on the carousel in addition to the carousel going round and round, so it is very unique.  We all loved it!

We got done at the carousel just as the boys were done with their ride, so we all met up and headed to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area.  As we arrived, it started raining a little bit, though it was more of a drizzle – nothing too bad – but we decided to take cover and watch the show Le Cirque Arcanus as it was just about to start. 

The show was about 20 minutes, and it was really entertaining, and by the time we wrapped up there, the rain had stopped.  The next order of business was to get a wand for Olivia so she could cast spells in the park.  Buckley already had one for their family, and we thought it would be fun to have one for our family, too. 

The store had wands for each of the characters in Harry Potter, and Olivia ended up choosing Hermione Granger’s wand, which was no surprise.  Her wand is actually the prettiest IMO, so it was the one I would have chosen as well.

The wands are “magic” and there are spots all around each of the parks in Universal where you can cast spells.  Her wand had come with a map of all the spell spots, so we walked around for a bit and let her complete some of the spells.  You have to move the wand in different motions for each spell, so it was a little hard to get the hang of at first.  Once you completed a spell, the tip of the wand lit up and vibrated, and you could see the results from your spell – candles would light up, birds would fly, steam would rise, etc.  It was pretty cool.

We saw a sweets shop on our journey, K. Rammelle, so we all stopped in to check it out.  They had macarons, so of course, our kids had to get some of those.  That is their favorite treat, and we don’t have many places in town to get them. 

Next up, we walked through the ride Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.  The line for the ride was insanely long, so nobody wanted to wait to actually ride it, but they do have an area where you can observe as it looks just like the set in the movie.  We headed inside, and as you walked in, green smoke puffed up from the ground all around you.  So neat!

We did a few more magic spells after we left the ride, and then we decided it was time to head to another area.  We went back to Isle of Berk so Jacob and Mack could see the playground, and we spent a few minutes there so the adults could rest and get together to decide what to do next. 

We decided to see how long the line was to meet Toothless as they don’t put the wait time for that in the app.  When we got there, the wait time was 45 minutes, and the kids didn’t want to wait that long, especially because the area was in the sun and it was hot and humid at that moment in time.  We debated going to see the show The Untrainable Dragon after that, and we were just going to get in line for it when the employees came around to tell us that the show had been cancelled.  Boooo.  They didn’t say why, but I’m assuming it was due to technical difficulties?  We don’t know for sure.

After that, we decided to head back to Super Nintendo World, and on the way out, we got to see a performance from Gobber from How to Train Your Dragon. 

When we arrived at Super Nintendo World, we went through the portal (the portal was closed when we came in for early entry at the beginning of the day), and it’s so neat because it feels like you’re coming up out of one of the green pipes in the game. 

When we got in there, Princess Peach was standing outside of her castle meeting people, but they’d just closed the rope because she was about to take a break, and the employees told us she’d be back out in 40 minutes.  Buckley really wanted to meet her, so Jeannine and I sat at the front of the line and rested while the boys took the kids all around to play all the games and hit the question boxes so they could power up their wristbands.

When Peach came back out, we were first in line, so we got to meet her, and then since the kids had gotten the three keys to complete the challenge in Super Nintendo World, we got to go in the secret attraction – Bowser Jr.’s Lair.  None of us had any clue what to expect, but it ended up being SO COOL because they put you in a video game.  You get to jump up and down and wave your arms to hit things and get coins just like you’re in Super Mario Bros, and it was so much fun.  Our team recovered the “Golden Mushroom” and won the challenge, so I had to get a photo of the letter from Princess Peach on the Way out.

The sun was starting to set around that time, so we thought it was time to make our way to Dark Universe.  But first, pictures!  I was so sad that these came out all wonky, though... I hate that our only good group shots were warped.

There wasn’t much for us to do there, but most people wanted to ride Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.  Everyone who wanted to ride took turns riding, and then as the last two were finishing up, we walked to Pizza Moon for dinner. 

Pizza Moon was another place where you order in the app and they bring the food out to you, and it’s HUGE so there were plenty of tables available.  It felt so good to sit down after the long day, and the pizza there was delicious. 

Shortly after we arrived, we realized it was POURING outside, so we’d timed things really well.  When we were all done eating, we booked it to the carousel so everyone could ride, this time in the dark.  Thankfully, the rain let up right as we walked out the door, and we didn’t even need the ponchos. 

After we were done on the carousel, the boys wanted to go ride Hiccup’s Wing Gliders one more time, so they headed that way while Jeannine, Olivia, Buckley, and I headed back to Super Nintendo World.  There was no wait at all for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, so we walked right on to that and rode, and when we came out, it was POURING again.  Brian had our ponchos, so we hung out in the gift shop until they made their way to us. 

While we were in the gift shop, Olivia saw a boy from her class, which was wild!  She knew he was going to be there because he’d told her at school before they left, but we never thought we would actually see him in that big place.  She ended up seeing him twice that day. 

Since it was pouring and nearing 10 PM, we decided to leave for the night.  We all put on ponchos and headed for the gates, and thankfully, the rain let up as we were walking, so we didn’t get too wet.

We took the bus back since we were so tired, and then the kids got showered, and we all fell into bed exhausted.  It was a great first day!

And just in case you want to see our entire day summarized, here it is…

 

Summary:

Hours spent in park – 14 (8 AM – 10 PM)

Rides/Attractions – 13

Characters met – 6

Steps taken – 13,878

Miles walked – 5.87

Weather – Partly cloudy, occasional rain, high of 81 degrees, low of 75 degrees

 

Schedule:

Wake at 6:30 AM

Meet in hotel lobby at 7:30 AM

Walk to Epic Universe at 7:30 AM

Arrive 7:50 AM

Mine-Cart Madness (everyone)

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge (everyone)

Piranha Plant Nap Mishap (Jacob, Olivia, Mack, Buckley)

Yoshi’s Adventure (everyone)

Lunch at Toadstool Café (everyone)

Saw Mario and Luigi (everyone)

Walk around Isle of Berk (Lindsay, James, Jeannine, Jacob, Olivia, Mack, Buckley)

Stardust Racers (Brian)

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Brian, Jacob, James, Mack

Viking Training Camp playground (Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, Buckley)

Constellation Carousel (Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, Buckley)

Le Cirque Arcanus (everyone)

Purchased a wand (Olivia)

K. Rammelle sweets shop (everyone)

Walked through Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry (everyone)

Did some of the magic spells in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area (everyone)

Viking Training Camp playground (everyone)

Met Gobber from How to Train Your Dragon

Walked around Super Nintendo World (Brian, Jacob, Olivia, James, Mack, Buckley)

Met Princess Peach (everyone)

Bowser Jr.’s Lair (everyone)

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (Brian, Jacob)

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (James, Jeannine, Buckley)

Dinner at Pizza Moon (everyone)

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (Brian, Jacob, James, Mack)

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge (Lindsay, Olivia, Jeannine, Buckley)

Left park at 10 PM (everyone)

 

Happy Monday, y’all!