We went at the end of October 2025 and did every ride. It’s a matter of strategy. In early access we hit Dark World, finished that in less than an hour with double-rides, then hit Berk when it opened. We finished the rides there in about 2.5 hours, hit WW – did the magic, the ride, and the show, and were back at Berk for the dragon show by mid-afternoon. Got to Mario an hour before sunset and really enjoyed it, did the rides, played the games, got dinner at Berk as we strolled around admiring details. Then rerode MoM (got lucky there – it rained for maybe two hours and everyone left so the ride became a walk-on) and hit Dark one last time before the fountain show. (Fountain show was not worth it; go to carousel in the dark instead. We did carousel on our way from Dark to Berk, and it was surprisingly great, but I bet it’s awesome at night.)

My wife only fit on two rides so we do not plan to return any time soon, but we had a wonderful day and our dd loved it so much that she says it is her favorite park.

The restraints for slow-moving rides are particularly ridiculous. But also: she fit on major roller coasters at MK, without any difficulty. Not even close. At Universal, on rides much less intense in terms of people getting shaken around, she fit almost none of the restraints. The only ride she doesn’t fit in all of WDW is Flight of Passage.

I think it is outrageous. In fact, I think Universal should put all of its test seats outside the parks – in CityWalk or something – because it is frankly coming close to committing fraud by selling these expensive tickets while building parks to be as unfriendly to certain people as possible. The fact that they deliberately built their queues to not fit scooters was…a choice. It sure shows their philosophy.

I will say there has been one improvement: seven years ago, the only wheelchairs at ride entrances were transport chairs, meaning the user could not wheel themselves. Now they have real wheelchairs, but the queues are still so aggressive that users can’t wheel themselves in many spots because their hands would scrape against walls or not even fit between chair and wall.

I think this is particularly unforgiveable because it assumes all guests who use a mobility device will have someone with them who is willing AND ABLE to push them. So…an elderly couple that uses mobility devices? Not welcome. A family with an adult and a child that both need assistance? Not welcome. A couple in which one person uses a device and other has some sort of limitation that keeps them from pushing a chair for miles (those queues are very long)? Not welcome. A disabled adult traveling alone? Not welcome.

It is just absurd and I don’t understand how they get away with it, though I guess private companies can do what they want. You would think they would want more customers.

This situation is why my family only went to Universal once, seven years ago. We returned this time solely because our dd turned 11 and wanted to visit the Wizarding World. This time, we knew what to expect. We made the best of it. You know: shows, photos, appreciate the theming. But we are very unlikely return (despite our dd saying she loved Epic more than any other amusement park ever).

We have never applied for disability services, and at Disney we never had any trouble – there are some queues with stairs, but we would be spotted and whisked away. Otherwise, we happily wait in line. But any time I raise this issue in Universal forums, I am immediately accused of trying to get some line-skipping pass. So, to be clear: it does not matter if my wife could skip the line. She tried the test seats and did not fit. There are two problems at Universal: they build tiny rides AND ALSO purposefully narrow queues. Even the rope queue for Toothless was too narrow for a scooter! WTF is going on with these people?!

I didn’t include show quality because it’s always such a wildcard. Our advice is typically to visit a complex new attraction ASAP, because some of its opening day effects may be disabled for good at some point. This was definitely vindicated with Rise of the Resistance, for instance, and I fear it’ll be true with Monsters Unchained.

With that said, they have very obviously lowered SQS at times when the capacity is needed, and that’ll definitely be reversed. The pre-show to Monsters Unchained is a good example of that. At some point, if it breaks, that’ll trigger downtime. (Hopefully?)

I will definitely go to Epic at some point but committing 2 days to get through 9 or 10 attractions doesn’t seem like a good use of time at this point. That just seems like a bad value for the time being. I am sure I will love it when I get there but I can’t justify it at this point.

One suggestion you made above really stuck with me, which was adding an after-hours upcharge event. The more I think about it, the more brilliant this is – since the daytime would be less crowded due to an earlier close, and the nighttime would be less crowded due to the nature of the event. They’d essentially be able to sell more tickets this way, with each guest having a better overall experience. Though I do note that maintenance would be rough in this scenario…that’s clearly something they already need to find a way to upscale.

Totally agree with all of this. It’s why we have the dueling Epic Universe posts that basically could be boiled down to “2 days or not at all.” That gives maximum flexibility if needed…but hopefully it won’t be needed!