{"id":306491,"date":"2026-06-13T17:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306491\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T17:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:11:17","slug":"i-spent-489-to-save-over-350-minutes-in-ride-lines-at-epic-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/306491\/","title":{"rendered":"I Spent $489 to Save Over 350 Minutes in Ride Lines at Epic Universe"},"content":{"rendered":"

In terms of theme parks, Epic Universe<\/a> is still brand-spankin\u2019-new\u2026and it SHOWS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A truly \u201cEpic\u201d entrance<\/p>\n

Most of the time, the newest Universal Orlando park\u00a0stays\u00a0packed, even in the \u201coff-season.\u201d Because of this, you might find yourself waiting in many long lines to hit up the park\u2019s various rides. The typical way to skip those waits is to purchase Express Pass<\/a>\u2026but recently, we decided to try the luxury route!<\/p>\n

Our very own Fry Bucket recently made a trip to Epic Universe, and she did it up the\u00a0fancy\u00a0way\u2026with a VIP Tour<\/a>! On the day she visited, the tour cost $489 per person, but you also need to purchase your park admission. That meant that she spent $707.15<\/a> (including tax) to get the full experience. Was it worth it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Battle at the Ministry<\/p>\n

Well, first of all, she got to skip more than 350 minutes of ride waits throughout the day. And yes, it was BETTER than using Express Pass. Why? Because for some of the rides, you don\u2019t use the Express Lane \u2014 you get taken directly to the ride exit or loading area to board. Even\u00a0faster.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Super Nintendo World<\/p>\n

Also, she got the chance to ride Dragon Racer\u2019s Rally<\/a>, which isn\u2019t included with Universal Express Pass. The only way to skip the line for that attraction is to do a VIP Tour.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dragon Racer\u2019s Rally<\/p>\n

In total, our group accomplished nine rides during the tour, which ran from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Fry was in a group of 12 people, but you can also spend more to pay for a private VIP Tour if you\u2019ve got the budget. Essentially, you hit the ground running when your tour begins to accomplish everything.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Hiccup\u2019s Wing Gliders!<\/p>\n

Along the way, your tour guide will share fun facts about the park and behind-the-scenes info, so that\u2019s a great bonus if you\u2019re a theme park nerd like we are here at AllEars. Because you\u2019re going through ride exits and skipping parts of the queue, it feels really special.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Monsters Unchained!<\/p>\n

The line-skipping on the day that Fry Bucket visited included passing over an hour-long wait for Mario Kart: Bowser\u2019s Challenge<\/a>, as well as 90-minute waits for both Mine-Cart Madness<\/a> and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry<\/a>. That\u2019s HUGE.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mine Cart Madness<\/p>\n

Once the tour is complete, your VIP lanyards allow you access to the Express Lanes for the rest of the day. You\u2019ll get access to Express for each ride one time. This means that if you\u2019re done mid-afternoon like we were, you\u2019ll have time to go back and explore at your own pace. Fry was able to complete twelve more rides herself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Constellation Carousel<\/p>\n

Also, with this VIP Tour, she had time throughout the day to eat a mac & cheese cone in Berk<\/a>, drink Butterbeer<\/a>, eat dinner in the Wizarding World, and watch the Celestial Park light show. She said at the end of the day, she definitely felt like she got her money\u2019s worth. But\u2026is it the right way to do the park for your group?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Celestial Park in Epic Universe<\/p>\n

First of all, this probably isn\u2019t for you if your group is on a tight budget. You could do Express Pass for cheaper, or opt to wait in standby and single rider queues throughout the day. In addition, we might not recommend this tour for your very first time in the park,\u00a0unless\u00a0your priority is rides.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dark Universe<\/p>\n

If you want to slow down and soak in the atmosphere or spend time with just your family and friends during your day, this might not be your vibe. Doing the tour with strangers can be weird for some folks, and rushing through the park to get to each ride might be a bizarre first experience. However, if you don\u2019t mind either of those things, this would be a great first-visit activity to get as much accomplished as possible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mario and Luigi<\/p>\n

We really appreciated the chance to enjoy the park without having to wait in a bunch of lines, and it was definitely a luxury experience. Shout out to Fry\u2019s tour guide, Kavan, for a great VIP day!<\/p>\n

We Tried Out 5 Weird Tricks in Epic Universe (But Only 3 Worked!)<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your best tip for navigating Epic Universe? Tell us in the comments!<\/p>\n

Post a Comment <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In terms of theme parks, Epic Universe is still brand-spankin\u2019-new\u2026and it SHOWS. A truly \u201cEpic\u201d entrance Most of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-306491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}