Universal Orlando’s Crowd Control Strategy for Epic Universe

Epic Universe is a brand new theme park coming to Universal Orlando next year featuring a new Harry Potter land, a Super Nintendo land, an area themed on How to Train Your Dragon plus a land themed around the classic Universal monsters that will include cutting edge technology.

This will be the first major theme park built in the Orlando market since Universal Islands of Adventure opened in 1999 which means the demand to experience this new theme park will be huge especially because of the popularity of all the IPs coming to Epic Universe like Nintendo and Harry Potter.

Since the opening date and ticket details have been released for Universal Orlando, the next step to consider is how will Universal Orlando control crowds for Epic Universe? We got the first hint at that strategy in today's ticket details!

Epic Universe Opening & Ticket Sale Dates

Universal Orlando will officially open on May 22, 2025 along with the new hotel Universal Helios Grand Hotel with its own dedicated theme park entrance.

Multi-day tickets and vacation packages, including reservations for the new Universal Helios Grand Hotel, will go on sale October 22, 2024. Universal Orlando Annual Passholders will be given the opportunity to purchase single day tickets ahead of the public starting October 24, 2024. As for single day ticket sales for the general public, Universal stated they will be available in the “months ahead.”

Many different factors impact crowds at Universal Orlando, which we discuss in our Universal Orlando crowd calendar, but a brand new theme park opening is going to open up its own unique category of demand!

READ MORE- All the Ticket Details Announced for Universal Epic Universe!

How Will Universal Control Crowds for Epic Universe?

One of the most popular methods of crowd control strategies that the Disney Parks and Universal have used with new lands and experiences have been utilizing advance reservations and virtual queues. This is something we've seen both major theme parks utilize with the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney and Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.

However, access to Epic Universe will NOT be limited or controlled with a reservation system. When guests purchase tickets, they will be prompted to enter the start date they want their multi-day ticket to be valid and then you will be able to visit any of the parks beginning on that date. These dates can be changed after the fact but you do not need to pick one specific day to experience Epic Universe.

Since there are no reservations needed, guests will be guaranteed access to Epic Universe as long as they have their ticket.

How Universal Orlando Will Control Crowds

So what is Universal planning to do to control crowd levels? The last time a major Orlando theme park opened was Universal's Islands of Adventure in 1999 and prior to that the last major opening event at Universal Orlando was the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010. Things have changed considerably in the last 25 years since Islands of Adventure opened!

It would not be a great guest experience if Epic Universe was overrun with guests and overcrowded beyond control. This is likely the main worry for many guests that want to go experience Epic Universe in those first few opening months!

Well, Universal revealed some details in their ticketing fine print that reveals how they plan to control crowds. The details share that they plan to “manage attendance at Universal Epic Universe” to provide the best experience possible. As part of that process, “ticket inventory and capacity will be controlled” so all guests that purchase tickets can enter the park. Ticket inventory is going to be limited and controlled which is how Universal will control crowds.

Another method that Universal is using to control crowds for the opening of Epic Universe is to limit access to single day Epic Universe tickets, at least at first. Initially guests can only purchase multi-day tickets with one day access to Epic Universe with single day tickets sold at a later date. Annual passholders are also limited with their access and can only purchase single day tickets for Epic Universe that are limited to one per person, per day. Single day and two-day tickets for Epic Universe will go on sale at a later date but I imagine quantities will be far more limited for those tickets for that first opening month.

If Universal crunches those capacity numbers and only sells the number of tickets for Epic Universe during these first few opening months that the park can reasonably handle then the experience might be more seamless than one might imagine.

Epic Universe Will Offer Express Pass

Epic Universe will also offer Express Pass for its attractions right away on opening day. This means if you are worried about crowd levels, purchasing Express Pass is essential for a good experience at Epic Universe. Express Pass will be available to add on to your Epic Universe tickets at a later date.

I imagine we will see the highest cost for Express Pass we've ever seen to add it on to your Epic Universe ticket. This is also why staying at a Universal Orlando hotel that includes Express Pass might be a great bet for Epic Universe stay. Currently, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay, and Loews Royal Pacific Hotel all offer Express Pass to their hotel guests.

Early Park Admission for Hotel Guests

Another strategy to consider when planning your trip to Epic Universe is to stay on-site at a Universal Orlando hotel. Universal has already confirmed that Epic Universe will be a part of Early Theme Park Admission starting on opening day on May 22, 2025.

With all these crowd control measures in place, it is likely to help keep the opening month of Epic Universe manageable but you can still expect higher than average crowd levels!

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