We had a family cruise for the week of Thanksgiving, so we flew in early to enjoy a mini NPA. Whitney and Wyatt flew in from Iowa and we enjoyed a day at the resort with them. Then Aunt Jerie flew in to be our “official” tour guide at the new EPIC park. EPIC is the 4th Universal park in Florida and opened in May 2025. Jerie had everything mapped out, it was a fast and furious day, but awesome all at the same time. We lucked out because the park closed early on the day we went due to an amusement park convention and apparently, this scared people away, as the park only had about 40% capacity and we encountered only a few short lines. With Aunt Jerie’s planning, we were able to watch 2 shows and enjoy 10 rides.

Jerie wanted to be in the park and ready to go, so we were the 10th car in the parking lot…lol

It was going to be an EPIC day. As you enter the park you pass through a “portal” That portal theme is carried throughout the park. Jerie and Jade were ready with their personalized shirts.

All the guests, gathered for “rope drop” and then it was a speed walk to Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Waking through the Wizarding World portal

Jim giving us his best “influencer” pose…lol

This section is designed to look like Paris in the 1920s and even the restrooms matched the theme

You walk through a portal to Harry Potter and the Battle at the Minstry

Battle at the Minstry had no line, which was good, but also bad, as we didn’t get to enjoy the details leading up to ride as much as we would have liked. We grabbed a few pictures.

The attraction follows the events leading up to the trial of Delores Umbridge.

Ready for some adventure…the ride had amazing graphics and lots of action. You would have to ride it several times, to absorb everything.

Back through the Wizard portal

Our next stop was the portal to the Isle of Berk

How to Train Your Dragon is set in the Isle of Berk, so there was great detail to re-create scenes from the movie

The area has the Dragon Racer which is a high speed roller coaster.

There were also fun displays, like the one for the ride, Hiccups Wing Gliders. You can move the wings to tilt your flying car, but it takes a lot of effort to move the wings

In the middle of EPIC is the onsite lodging, the Helios Grand Hotel.

The portal to the Dark Universe

The Dark Universe centers on the Universal horror films, so lots of scary displays, and again the rest rooms follow the theme!!

Monsters Unchained takes place in Frankenstein Manor

The attention to detail was amazing. The Dark Universe also has the attraction Curse of the Werewolf, which is a roller coaster.

We headed back to Harry Potter for the show Circus Arcanus. It takes place is an old-fashioned circus tent.

The show is about the Fantastic Beasts of the Wizarding World

There were puppets and moving stages, and the closing curtain was a dragon

We enjoyed Butter Beer, it tastes like Butterscotch

Uncle Jade bought a “2nd generation” wand that everyone enjoyed using at specially marked spots throughout “Paris”. Wave the wand and watch the magic happen

There was one very amusing station for the wands. It spit water at you…lol

We rode Stardust racer which is located in Celestial Park. It is probably the park’s most intense ride, but our group rode it several times…lol…adrenalin junkies.

We headed back to the Isle of Burk to attend the show, “The Untrainable Dragon, which had amazing puppets and special effects.

“Hiccups flew above the audience on Toothless.

It was time for lunch and we chose Spit Fyre Grill…the specialty was Mac-N-Cheese cones

During lunch, we enjoyed the fire breathing dragon. Approximately every 10 minutes, the dragon would breathe “fire”

After a late lunch we went on Fyre Drill which is an interactive water ride where you use water canyons to hit targets and other boats.

The portal to Super Nintendo World is a moving escalator through a green pipe.

Super Ninetendo World has incredible details

Our first attraction was at Mario Cart: Bowsers Challenge.

The line walks you through the library filled with books to help you learn to win the race

You learn how to make the weaponry for your car

You are then given a Mario cap that has special glasses that attach so that you can see the targets you hit during the ride.

Poppy and CIG tried really hard to figure out the glasses

There were lots of activities that that followed the video game theme. We bought a special magic band so that you can play the interactive games. Uncle Jade and Wyatt earned lots of points in a very short time.

Yoshi’s Adventure is a slow moving ride where you look for eggs.

While waiting for Donkey Kong: Minecraft Madness, we enjoyed a Banana sundae topped with star sprinkles. Jerie said it is truly all about the details.

Uncle Jade and Wyatt found more places to earn points with their Mario band

Minecraft is an elevated roller coaster. CIG did not know that during the ride and kept yelling where is the track…lol

Jade said Ninetendo World was amazing, cuz I am just a big kid.

The water show was the day’s last attraction

Universal EPIC did not disappoint. We walked 25,000 steps and ended the day at Del Taco, our favorite inexpensive place to eat.