RIDING THROUGH EPIC UNIVERSE

Thrills, spills and let-downs in Orlando, Florida

- MEKADO MURPHY

“I hope you have an epic experience,” my Lyft driver said with a bit of an ironically cheerful tone as he dropped me off at Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. No worries. I was already primed to do just that.

I had been reading about the park for the last couple of years, looking over designs, watching construction videos, imagining the worlds and anticipating the works. Now, I was on a mission. I booked two days at the park in June, only two weeks after its official May 22 opening, to experience each of its 11 rides and see if they lived up to what my imagination was conjuring.

Here, the eight that I found worthy of attention, based on the ride experience, consistency of theming and just sheer fun.

SURPRISE FAVOURITE

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders

How To Train Your Dragon - Isle Of Berk

As a roller coaster nerd, I went in expecting that I would be most wowed by the park’s aggressive signature coaster, Stardust Racers. But I was even more taken by a family coaster in the How To Train Your Dragon - Isle Of Berk section. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders is a pleasure from beginning to end. Iove a well-thoughtout themed coaster and this one has fun little titbits all along the journey. I had a smile on my face the whole time.

The concept is that the character Hiccup, from the How To Train Your Dragon movies, has built a flying machine that helps Vikings (like you) soar. You encounter him and the dragon Toothless in animatronic form early on, then Toothless presses a button with his paw (adorable) and launches you into the main part of the ride. There are some delightful weightless moments, and the track weaves its way across green landscapes, directly over water (with impressive splash effects), into a tunnel and through mist. It even has a moment involving some hatching dragon eggs in which the ride goes briefly in reverse before launching you again.