Universal Kids
Just got back from an afternoon trip today with our 2 year old as full-fare paying locals. We are pretty experienced theme park travelers - annual pass/magic key holders at Disney on both coasts and Universal Orlando APs as well, so have a decent basis for comparison. Figured the community would appreciate hearing from someone who is not a paid shill, journalist, or content creator.
First the positives: Our kiddo had a blast, which is obviously the number one priority. The variety of playgrounds, splash pads, misting stations, and sensory gardens in almost every land gives a lot of space for little ones to run around. Shrek’s splash pad was a highlight for the big water bucket tilt and the anticipation of the ringing bell before it spills. The lines for rides were universally empty on a Sunday afternoon but I’m fairly certain they are artificially capping capacity in the early weeks after opening (the parking lot was less than half full even though the park itself was sold out). Team members were friendly and plentiful. Security and park entry were a breeze
Next the neutrals: The food we had was fine. The pizza and empanada hot dog at Jurassic Park Canteen were pretty good, the SpongeBob grilled cheese was ok. Overall it’s not Epic Universe quality but I think it is better than average for a theme park.
I don’t think anyone would call the park a lush oasis, but given all the negative publicity I was actually pleasantly surprised at the plants and theming. There is a TON of landscaping that to my eye will be in great shape in even a season or two once filled out. The infamous bare concrete walls of the minions water ride also got a coat of paint (taupe in parts, green in others) that greatly improve the brutalist aesthetic I saw on preview videos. It seems like they have plans to put more murals/theming on these which would help a ton - few cloud scenes have already gone up.
Now negatives: it was cloudy when we were there, but the sun is going to be a problem until the tree shade grows in and it needs to be addressed. Epic has this problem as well but it has MANY more places to get relief in the form of food locations, dark rides and merch locations. The splash pads and water spots are great but are just not going to be enough for a North Texas summer.
The other issue is the rides. Barnacle Bus was great fun and a quick ride, but there weren’t many other standouts. Happily Ogre After and Double Helix Spin were duds. I was actually expecting more rides with no height requirement but it does seem like 36 inches is the “cut-off” to be able to enjoy the majority of the attractions.
The biggest problem to me is that the park on crowded days is going to be a ride capacity nightmare with some of the lowest RPH rides I’ve ever seen.
I’ll use Double Helix as an example. The unload to load process for a single 1-4 person vehicle involves the following:
Team member unlocks exit door
TM explains exit process to riders disembarking
TM opens ride door
TM escorts exiting riders to exit
TM locks exit door
TM walks to line and asks boarding guests party side
TM explains loading process
TM escorts loading riders to ride vehicle
TM explains ride rules once riders are loaded
TM locks entry door
Thumbs up to either begin ride or proceed to have next vehicle put in position for unloading/loading
The ride design is such that only one vehicle can be accessed at a time. We used our stop watch and the above process took a little over 2 minutes. Counting ride time, this ride is going to generously average 50 people an hour, and it is one of 13 attractions in the entire park. Shrek wasn’t a whole lot better, and also had been down multiple times during the day. If these attractions aren’t eating people, I could see wait times spike on crowded days, and these are not the types of rides anyone is going to be happy waiting even 30 minutes for.
I realize this is still early days, but the ride capacity issue seems more inherent in the design vs operation.
All-in-all, we had fun and will likely be back at some point, if not annual passholders. I selfishly hope the venture succeeds for Universal and the park gets some investment. It’s beating a dead horse at this point, but if you are NOT in possession of a 2-10 year old there is pretty much nothing here of interest for you.