I am not entirely sure why I am writing this one. I already reviewed the parking lot of Epic Universe (EU), which is the only aspect of the park that I can unironically present myself as speaking with authority about. But I actually like the stuff inside of theme parks more than their parking lots. So I am going to review that stuff too.
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Photo credit: Universal. ©2021 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved. |
Celestial Park ★★★★
Once inside the park, you are inside Celestial Park, which runs from the entrance to the Helios Grand Hotel. The end closest to the park entrance features covered arcades lining the shops.
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Photo credit: Universal. ©2021 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved. |
Further into the park, the shade ends. This leads to one of the only negative comments I have heard about EU, that there isn't enough shade, especially in Celestial Park. I am not very concerned about the shade issue in this area of the park. The landscaping here will eventually fill in. Only the paths crossing the central water feature will be in the direct
sun in a few years time.
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Photo credit: Universal. ©2021 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved. |
The buildings in this part of the park are ornate in a way that I wasn't sure would work, but after seeing it in person, I think it is very successful.
The central water features include dozens of fountains and jets that add a great kinetic element to this area. Overall, I came to this portion of the park with fairly muted expectations, and was impressed by how nice it is. From my perspective, this part of the park is a very pleasant place.
Constellation Carousel ★★★☆
Between Super Nintendo World and Dark Universe is a large domed structure housing the parks "carousel". I put it in quotation marks because it isn't mechanically a carousel, and only some of the seats have motion similar to that of a carousel.
The ceiling of the dome has cool spinning things, and is really fun to look at. The center of the attraction at ground level feels a bit empty, though.
On my first visit, the ride broke down about 20 seconds into the cycle, and we were instructed to exit the ride from a non-home position. For those of you keeping score, that means I get to count this as a ride evacuation!(1)
After the evacuation, the ride was reset and we got to do a complete ride. It is fun! The motion is as gentle as a conventional carousel, but the forwards and backwards movement is a nice addition. The animals and other vehicles you can ride look nice, and are about as comfortable as any other carousel animal.
One unusual aspect of this ride is the inclusion of individual seat belts (similar to the restraints on Soarin' or Star Tours. It is hard to imagine them doing much other than slowing the ride cycle time. Speaking of which, the dispatch interval on both visits for this ride was quite low. Hopefully that is something that will improve as the operators gain experience.
Stardust Racers ★★★½
Stardust Racers is a pair of two exceptionally long dueling/racing coasters with a comet chasing motif and a great onboard audio system. On my first visit, I made the mistake of riding while dehydrated, hungry, and overheated. So I had a pretty awful time. But I rectified each of those problems for my ride on my second visit, and all of my concerns went away.
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Photo credit: Universal. ©2021 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved. |
This ride is great!
Other people can describe coasters better than I can, so I won't attempt to try. But it is a lot of fun.
The queue features the two-sided locker system and metal detectors that were first used at VelociCoaster in Islands of Adventure. Everything about the experience is very good.
If I had one complaint, it would be that the line feels very slow after the line splits between the two tracks. Every time I rode, the ride was operating with two trains on each side. This pair of coasters appears to be capable of four trains per track, which would help with this problem immensely. But in the meantime, it reminded me of how slow the line for Dueling Dragons (Islands of Adventure 1999-2017) felt after you choose thy fate.
The amount of queuing space for this ride is immense, but the ride rarely had a wait exceeding 30 minutes with almost all the line in between the metal detectors and the station. I am sure it mostly has to do with the great hourly capacity (even with two train operation), but this facility is intended to handle way more people that I was seeing on both preview days. Is the ride just too intense? I'm not sure.
Atlantic [restaurant] ★★★★
Atlantic is the table service restaurant in the center of Celestial Park, overlooking the central waterway and fountains. The interior is really nice, with cool stained glass light-up fish on a track "swimming" above. It is such a relaxing place to cool down.
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Photo credit: Universal. ©2021 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved. |
On both visits to the park, I had lunch here, and both meals were excellent.
Overall, Celestial Park really exceeded my expectations.
Series Directory
Review of Epic Universe Part 2: Celestial Park
Review of Epic Universe Part 5: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic
Review of Epic Universe Part 6: How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
Notes
(1) The rides I have been evacuated from, including the approximate year, include:
2025: Constellation Carousel (Epic Universe)
2024: Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom)
2019: Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! (Disney California Adventure)
2017: Universe of Energy (Epcot)
2011: Journey into Your Imagination with Figment (Epcot), *Mission: Space (Epcot)*, Spaceship Earth (Epcot)
2007: Toy Story Midway Mania (Disney's Hollywood Studios)
2006: Spaceship Earth (Epcot)
*Occurred as a part of ride operations training, so I might not get to count this instance.
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