Hello, this is your one and only Nana. I hope everyody is having an epic day. We had a really busy August with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Oogie Boogie Bash, the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, Destination D23, The Beak and Barrel opening, and HHN. Did I cover all of them? Not all of them, but I did cover most of them.
Anyway, we haven’t reported from Epic Universe in a while, so I am pretty excited about going back there.
Morning from Epic Universe
The weather has been pretty nasty lately, with rain starting earlier than usual. It was my concern, since I had our unofficial intern with me, and this was her second time visiting Epic Universe. I know she wanted to experience some outdoor rides.
As soon as I walked in, there was a sign, “Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry will be closing early today.”
To me, this is nothing new. More like, “Is there a day that won’t close early?” Our unofficial intern never got to experience it when she was here during the team member preview. Also, I need to know everything is still working fine, so we made our way to the Ministry of Magic.
And guess what! The Battle at the Ministry is “DELAYED.” I do not want people to get me wrong. I love Epic, but I feel like it is not fully functioning. Everything feels “delayed” or “closing early.” I am local, so I can come back tomorrow (if I decide to pay for another ticket) to try again. But most guests cannot.
Anyway, this was our start. So we decided to check out stores in the Ministry to make sure nothing got added while I was gone, and this is what we found.
Personalize Your Wand
Since I started covering Universal in the summer of 2024, I had to do the interactive wand adventure (even though I am not a Harry Potter fan). So now I own a wand that I can swing around. I will bring it to play with it — if I don’t forget to take it out of my car — but I genuinely love my wand.
When I walked into Cosme Acajor, I found this sign about wand personalization.
I asked the Team Member when they started it, and they said they’ve been doing it since May. But somehow I haven’t seen it yet. I got so excited and did it!
It’s $25 to personalize. You can put your legal name (max 12 letters) or a nickname associated with your legal name. You can’t pick where to put your name on the wand.
Also, if you have already purchased your wand during a previous trip, they can still customize it for you (they are not like Disney).
The way they personalize the wand is they print your name on the side. It is printed, not an engraving. I still love it.
As a bonus point, because it’s Universal Orlando Passholder Appreciation Days, I got 50% off. Nothing can beat this.
The Battle at the Ministry was still not operating, so we went to watch Le Cirque Arcanus. This show never disappoints me. I like the Fantastic Beasts films over Harry Potter because of the magical creatures. This show hit me at the right point.
Finally, The Battle at the Ministry started to run, so we decided to ride it. The queue still amazes me, even though this is not my first time.
When I saw the concept art, I legit thought, “Oh, the ministry will be exactly the same as The Making of Harry Potter – Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Tokyo, Japan.” But Epic did it way bigger and better. I often get asked, “I’ve gone to Epic, should I go to Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Tokyo?” My answer is always no and won’t be changed.
At the ride platform, they added group numbers to the floor for easy boarding. I took attendance of all the animatronics, and it’s safe to say they were working fabulously.
Dark Universe
The weather was getting a little bit darker, but I found Ygor. He had someone’s chopped leg and scared a kid.
I told him, “You made the kid cry.” Ygor goes, “I’ll get a promotion.”
While I was making a loop in Darkmoor, I ran into Gregor the Hound. He hosted a story time for grown-ups, so we listened.
Universal’s roaming characters are the best of the best, and I think they’re better than Disney’s. They get more freedom and can personalize their experiences to have better encounters with guests (as long as you don’t break the basic character). It is more memorable and enjoyable.
As usual, I went to ride Monsters Unchained to take attendance of the animatronics. Everybody showed up and was working nicely. It’s a good day.
We totally forgot to eat our lunch, so we had a late lunch at Tom’s favorite place, Pizza Moon.
We shared the Pizza Lunare and Moon Cheese Caesar. Great portions and great taste for both.
Isle of Berk
After the late lunch, we decided to hit the Isle of Berk, and guess what? Big rain hit us. All the outdoor rides went down. We were sheltered at Hooligan’s Harbor Hideaway.
A couple who watched our YouTube videos recognized me, and we chatted for a good 30 minutes. I love talking to our readers and viewers; they are the reason why I am still doing food reviews (I am not a big fan of doing food reviews, but you all like them).
The rain stopped, so I started to make a loop in Berk to take attendance of the characters.
Hi Hiccup!
Fun fact, I haven’t officially met Hiccup yet. His line is so long and random. You won’t know who you’ll meet until you get to your turn. I’ve been getting so many villagers instead of Hiccup, and I gave up.
There is no update on the dragon tails. The left dragon is still not swinging.
The black sheep’s neck is finally connected again; however, neither of the sheep were making noise.
We went back to Celestial Park to walk around, and one of the staircases by the fountain was falling apart. Of course, it’s blocked and not being used.
Umm… When did this park open? I guess Florida’s summer and rain were meaner than they thought.
I hadn’t ridden Constellation Carousel yet, so I finally decided to go ride it. What did I think about it?
“This ride is the most underrated ride.”
The music was popping, and the lighting was too good. If I were a baby, and this were the only ride I could ride, I would still enjoy this very much.
However, lots of the animals’ paint was already fading or chipping off, and it made me sad. I might be nitpicking on those, but Epic is only a 3-month-old theme park. It shouldn’t be this damaged.
We decided to go find some sweets, so we headed back to the Ministry and came across Auror Agent Lou Ferme, who is really strict about having a wand permit. He didn’t see me carrying a wand today. Nana is not causing any trouble! Though maybe just for today.
It was nighttime after the rain ended, so he had his jacket on. Florida summer is slowly fading away.
Fun fact: Agent Lou actually went to Beauxbatons! I always thought Beauxbatons was a girls-only school, but it turns out they have boys too. I guess I should read the book.
We went to K. Rammelle, but we didn’t find what we wanted, so we went to Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets.
I LOVE CHEESECAKE (without crust), but somehow this blue thing on top didn’t make me hungry and felt overpriced. So, we decided to call it a day.
Oops! We can’t forget Captain Cacao has been restocked! But now he is priced at $40. He used to be $27.
Overall, I felt like the brutal Florida weather, or guests, have been destroying Epic Universe. Hopefully I will make my return to Epic again soon, after I fly to Tokyo.
Thank you for reading Nana’s Death Note/Princess Diary. Have a magical day, and see you real soon!
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