Super Nintendo World — Local services in Oak Ridge

Epic Universe markets itself as a park with 5 lands, but truly there are 4, and a central hub. The 4 lands, or portals as they call them, are Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, Harry Potter and How To Train Your Dragon. The central hub is called Celestial Park, and is more of a lobby or central area than a true land.

For us the highlight of the park and the main attraction was Super Nintendo World, but that may be different depending on the person. I am happy to report that this land met and exceeded any expectation I could have had. It was mind blowing. Huge. Meg immersive. Made the Hollywood version in California look quite dinky in comparison, sadly.

Super Nintendo Land even has a SUB land called Donkey Kong Country, yes based on the SNES game, and it’s incredible. Only problem is that the main ride, Mine Cart Madness: was down on this visit.

And that was the huge downer of this trip, and risk we knew was possible when going for a preview visit, is that 50% of the park was down.

On this visit the following rides were NOT working:

•Mine Cart Madness •Curse of the Werewolf •Battle at the Ministry •Stardust Racers •Hiccup’s Wing Gliders

Guys that’s nearly 50% of the total attractions there. A letdown, but I won’t complain much as I am thankful to have even seen this place at all!

We caught both of the big shows, and the Dragon Show specifically was amazing. Overall the use of technology and animatronics is WORLDY CLASS here and I was impressed with what I saw.

The park is much SMALLER than I anticipated, and I mean that we had lapped the entire park and all 4 lands in 2 hours!! It looks so much bigger in videos and commercials, but truly you can see the back of the park from the front: it’s just not that big at all! I do wonder how they can possibly work out all the kinks by 5/22, with the park being 50% operational and having a lot of glitches and process bumps just a week before the grand opening. I suppose we shall see!

Overall I enjoyed the space, and found it very clean, very new, very fresh and very HOT. The Florida sun is BRUTAL and even as a Texan this was a ton of heat to handle. For me the Super Nintendo / Donkey Kong Country area alone was worth the price of admission, but your results may vary. Hopefully they work out the kinks and expand on the park...

Firstly, you cannot use your Universal Hotel inclusive Express Pass in Epic Adventure Park since Universal promotes their hotel there (Helios) and only grant express pass to guests there. Secondly individual Express Pass "sells out" in the morning which is nonsense since the Express lines are empty which means they create artificial scarcity so you pay up 169 per person for a single ride EXCLUDING the best ones which is Harry Potter and Donkey Kong. Browser's Challenge which is seemingly the most coveted ride next to Harry Potter one, and requires 2-3 hours wait, is a pathetic, slow motion pseudo VR polarized visor, poorly executed experience which will only appeal to 5 year old children, immature teens and seniors. 2-3 h of your life you will never get back. There's a technical break every 20 minutes on most rides because they're fixing something and the staff in the restaurants looks like their are either unhappy, came for a summer job or just hopped off the boat. There are NO SIGNS directing you to attractions at all so you wander in 95 degrees looking for entrance. The lines go for half a mile and curl up deceivingly and wait times are not accurate. Overall compared to Disneyworld, Universal still has tons to learn because based on Epic Adventure it's a poorly designed, poorly executed and sloppy money grab. Sorry but we left very disappointed. Stay in Helios or buy your express pass ahead of time because otherwise the wait times make it a complete waste of time. Disneyworld has been and is the gold standard where quality shines through and is worth...

⭐☆☆☆☆ Great concept, poor execution. The Mario Kart ride at Universal Studios is a disappointment wrapped in flashy colors.

We waited nearly two hours in line — which would be fine if the experience was well-designed… but it’s not. You’re given a hat that tightens around your head way too early, even though the actual visor (the one that matters) is handed out much later. It makes no sense. The whole process is clunky and unnecessarily complicated.

Then comes the absurd surprise: to get to the ride, you have to walk down a staircase that feels like five stories. Why? No one explains. But if you’re with kids, older adults, or simply want to enjoy without feeling like you’re in an emergency drill, get ready for frustration.

It honestly feels like they copied the Japanese version of the ride without adapting it for a completely different audience. What might work in Japan —meticulous, segmented design— falls apart here. In America, we appreciate smooth, immersive, and intuitive experiences. This ride missed the mark.

Mario Kart is a beloved franchise that deserves a fun, well-thought-out attraction — not one that starts with a headache and ends with disappointment.

A shame. Hopefully Universal starts listening more to their guests and less to their...