I remember visiting Universal Islands of Adventure with my family while growing up in Florida. When my three siblings and I were old enough to go on the big-kid rides, we filled a car with my dad, mom, and closest childhood friends to make our trip. I was about 10 years old then, and my family loved theme parks as we do now.
That was one of the best family vacations in my opinion, filled with dizzying fun, thrilling rides, and photo ops that date all the way to the early 2000s — back when mankind still used disposable cameras!
Fast-forward to about 20 years later, and our family party looks a bit different now. We’ve got a few more additions: my 8-year-old niece, brother-in-law, and special guest on this year’s visit, my paternal aunt.
As for the rest of us, we’re all at our own unique stages of life. My older brother is a girl dad, my older sister was expecting her first child during our recent visit, my mom is happily a grandmother, and my younger brother and I are the fun-loving millennial uncle and auntie of the group.
It’s been a while since that visit years ago, and my family is still taking Universal Orlando Resort vacations together. We consecutively visited Universal Volcano Bay and stayed at Universal Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn & Suites in 2023 and 2024 (because once just wasn’t enough)! This year, we were all excited to make our first trip to the newest addition in the world of Universal theme park fun: Universal Epic Universe.
Where We Stayed
Picture this: After an hours-long car ride, you approach a building decorated in a spectrum of tiles that glow in the late afternoon light as you drive up to it. Enter Universal Terra Luna Resort, the destination of solace you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Universal Orlando’s new hotel invited my family into a world of leisure and relaxation. Terra Luna Resort provided not only a great stay and cozy lodging, but amazing value with the Florida Resident rate. This offer has given my family incredible pricing as Sunshine State Residents, something we’ve welcomed given our large party!
Morning
When the day finally arrived for us to visit Epic Universe, we were excited to get started as soon as we could. We took advantage of Early Park Admission, which gave us the chance to catch a quick shuttle from our hotel an hour before the park opened. After waiting in line and snapping pictures at the Chronos entrance portal, we were officially in — excited to leave our world and immerse ourselves in an entirely different universe.
It didn’t take us long to decide on our first destination: the one, the only, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.
SUPER NINTENDO WORLD really will take your breath away as you enter the green pipe that transports you to the Mushroom Kingdom. From the floating coins that catch your eye when you first enter to the snapping Piranha Plants, it was truly mesmerizing to step into the world of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and more.
After some light ooh-ing and ah-ing, we chose our first ride of the day: Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. We got a kick out of exploring the intricacies of Bowser’s Castle in the queue, and an even better time racing in our kart in a competitive frenzy of shell-tossing fun.
Afterward, we hopped on over to the next world to begin our excursion in Dark Universe. We snapped a picture in front of Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment before heading to Curse of the Werewolf for our first roller coaster of the day. I was especially excited that my niece got to ride this one. Thrill rides are something she’s really looked forward to as she grows taller every year, and it was nice that Epic Universe gave her a few options to enjoy roller coasters with the rest of us.
PRO TIP: Other family-friendly coasters at Epic Universe include Hiccup’s Wing Gliders and Mine-Cart Madness!
Afternoon
We just had to stop for barbecue at The Oak & Star Tavern in Celestial Park and take a moment to risk it for the delicious brisket and refuel, before the latter part of the day led us to brand new adventures.
PRO TIP: Starting at 10:45 a.m., you can enjoy live music in The Oak & Star Tavern!
Next up: How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. Take it from me, if you’re a fan of the movies, you’ll fall in love with this world all over again when you walk in.
It’s got a glittering sea that wraps around the entire Viking landscape. It’s got an animatronic Cloudjumper dragon winking at passersby below. And it’s got Mead Hall, a restaurant where my sister, who was in her eighth month of pregnancy, was able to enjoy herself with my mom and aunt, while the rest of us left for Hiccup’s Wing Gliders (my niece’s favorite ride of the day!).
Have I mentioned that my sister visited Epic Universe in her eighth month of pregnancy? Even though she opted out of the attractions, she had fun exploring the different worlds with us. And when the time came for us to hop on rides, she was able to relax in air-conditioned spaces like Mead Hall or in dedicated family rooms at the start of attractions that provided convenience throughout the day. But even though she was far along in her pregnancy, she still bounced around the theme park, full belly in swing, leading our crew with her Universal Orlando Resort App (a useful tool for my fellow Type As in the room!).
I’d recommend you check with your doctor if you’re an expectant mother thinking of visiting any theme park, but for our soon-to-be-mom, Epic Universe was an absolute blast.
Evening
As the afternoon settled into early evening, we embarked on our greatest adventure of the day: Stardust Racers in Celestial Park.
Our first trek on this coaster blew our hair back with excitement, but it really is the kind of ride that makes you want to immediately do it again afterward. And that’s just what we did!
It was even more fun, though, to enjoy this experience with my mom and aunt. Both in their 60s, they couldn’t resist the thrill of this coaster, and I was proud of them for doing it. Afterward, we exchanged that sweet post-ride chatter as we all walked out of the attraction giddy from the experience, and it was truly great sharing it with them. But even more meaningful was seeing an older generation of sisters embark on this daring adventure together. It really was fun for the whole family.
We finished our day with a quick stop at Toadstool Cafe in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, where the Super Mushroom Soup was exactly the kind of warm and comforting meal to conclude a day of fun with. We also shared Toadstool Cheesy Garlic Knots, and I found them to be the perfect snack before our final adventure in Donkey Kong Country.
The sun went down as we waited in line, recounting the day and chatting with one another. It was nice that this queue gave us such an opportunity to hang out.
Mine-Cart Madness was truly a blast and one of my favorite rides in the park. We were surprised at just how much of a thrill it gave all of us. I think the adults enjoyed it almost as much as my niece did! Before we even got on the ride, it was fun watching my niece bounce around in the queue, excited to go on yet another roller coaster she could enjoy with the rest of our family. And earlier, it was a pleasure seeing her punch the ? Blocks in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD with her interactive Power-Up Band, snapping pictures with her dad. It’s been such a joy to watch her make memories like these, knowing that someday she’ll look back and treasure them like I do with my Universal Orlando memories.
We walked out of Epic Universe still talking about our experience, and with the satisfaction of a day more than well spent, caught the shuttle back to Terra Luna Resort. I personally looked forward to the next vacation we’d take together.
We’ve made it a point to take these family trips and savor them more, following my dad’s passing in 2022. Since then, we deeply cherish the memories we have, knowing our family will look different over the years.
Since our visit to Epic Universe, my sister has had a healthy baby boy, and we’re excited to continue sharing times like these as our family grows, adding new members to our party to couple with the new experiences we’ll all enjoy together.
We’re happy that the Universal Orlando Resort family has opened its arms to ours over the years. From the expectant mother to the girl dad and his power-up princess, to the baby boomers, to the childhood gamer, and the millennial funcle and aunt — Epic Universe truly succeeded in providing epic fun for our entire family.
What worlds in Epic Universe are you most excited to experience with your vacation party? Let us know in the comments!