A new theme park means new possibilities for a family adventure.
Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida, officially opened its main portal this summer and welcomed park-goers into its five worlds: How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, Dark Universe and Celestial Park.
But if you’ve got young kids in tow, you might be curious what family-friendly features you can expect to find throughout the theme park.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Epic Universe with young members, from family-friendly rides and height requirements to the virtual queue and the child swap program.
(Universal is owned by TODAY.com’s parent company, NBCUniversal.)
Family-friendly rides and height requirements
While some worlds lean more family-friendly in thematic nature, like How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk and Super Nintendo World, the other worlds (Dark Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic and Celestial Park) remain more mysterious. But all five areas of Epic Universe have something for families to enjoy.
Here are the family-friendly rides to take advantage of, including all height requirements.
Constellation Carousel
Location: Celestial Park
Height restriction: None
No theme park is complete without a carousel — and this one is front and center. Celestial Park is the first world that you walk into when you enter the park, and straight ahead is the blue-domed Constellation Carousel, where riders can pick their constellation of choice to ride (lions, dragons, bears and more).
Curse of the Werewolf
Location: Dark Universe
Height restriction: Minimum height 40″
This spinning roller coaster, which fits four people per individual car, is generally considered a family-friendly ride for its moderate speed of 37 mph and minimal height requirement. However, some thrills are involved, considering the premise is that riders are escaping a pack of werewolves.
Dragon Racer’s Rally
Location: How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
Height restriction: Minimum height 48”
Visitors exploring Isle of Berk will occasionally spot the swooping motion of Dragon Racer’s Rally, a thrill ride that takes passengers up and down to replicate a flying motion. While the height requirement is higher than some of the other attractions, it’s a fairly mild ride that keeps you in an upright, seated position — unless you’d like to take a stab at flipping upside down.
Fyre Drill
Location: How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
Height restriction: None
This kid-friendly water ride takes passengers on Viking ships equipped with water cannons that can reach up to 28 feet away. While the main goal is to shoot flame-like targets throughout Berk, riders will get the chance to turn their water shooters against passengers on other boats.
Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
Location: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic
Height restriction: Minimum height 40”
This motion simulator ride follows Harry, Ron and Hermione as they attempt to catch Dolores Umbridge and bring her to trial at the Ministry of Magic. This attraction resembles an elevator lift and uses a combination of screens and set designs to bring the story to life, with a few nods to “Fantastic Beasts” along the way.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
Location: How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
Height restriction: Minimum height 40″, under 48″ must be supervised
When in Berk, do as the locals do: Fly alongside fire-breathing dragons. This roller coaster has passengers weaving through high-speed launches, twists, turns and drops, with a special appearance by Toothless himself. While it’s categorized as a thrill ride, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders has a playful backstory and smooth track sequence that creates an inclusive experience.
Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
Location: Super Nintendo World
Height restriction: Minimum height 40”
Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge mimics the popular video game of the same name that has players zipping across race courses, grabbing miscellaneous items and, of course, crashing into one another in an attempt to win gold. The attraction takes riders through the colorful, animated world of Mario using AR glasses that makes it a 3D/4D experience.
Yoshi’s Adventure
Location: Super Nintendo World
Height restriction: Minimum height 34″
For visitors who simply want to take in the views of Super Nintendo World — with all its gold coin, yellow block, piranha plant glory — take a ride on Yoshi’s Adventure. This kid-friendly attraction takes riders on a slow-moving, elevated track around the Super Mario Land section of the world, with three egg sightings to look out for along the way.
Epic Universe virtual queue
Visitors can try securing a virtual queue return time for the desired ride of their choice.
After entering Epic Universe, sign into the Universal Orlando Resort app and navigate to the “map” tab at the bottom. In the upper right-hand corner, click on the magnifying glass and search a ride, then click into its details page. If a virtual queue time slot is available for the ride at that time, a “virtual line” icon will appear on the page. If one doesn’t show up, scroll down for when the next batch of return times is expected to be released.
See here for more information on how to navigate the virtual queue process.
Bag policies
Visitors who bring bags, backpacks, purses, packages, strollers and other personal items inside the park are subject to having their belongings checked via X-ray or inspection. Prohibited items include coolers (with the exception of soft-sided coolers smaller than 8.5” wide x 6” high x 6” deep), suitcases and bags with wheels, folding chairs and more. See the full breakdown of conditions of entry here.
Locker rentals
For those who want to secure their belongings in one place for the day at Epic Universe, all-day locker rentals are available to purchase near the park entrance. Visitors can choose between family-size lockers (12” x 16.25” x 16.9”) and large lockers (11” x 11.75” x 17.7), available a first-come, first-serve basis.
Epic Universal also has single-time use lockers for three of its thrill rides, located inside the queue area, to secure small loose articles at no additional cost:
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
- Stardust Racers
Child swap
Each ride and attraction at Epic Universe has a child swap program that allows one adult to stay behind with a child in a waiting area, while the rest of the party goes on a ride. Then, once the riders are finished, the adult who stayed behind is able to experience the attraction while someone else stays back.
Strollers and stroller rentals
Strollers are permitted inside the park. Visitors can either bring their own stroller or rent a double stroller for $40 per day upon entering Epic Universe.
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