We made it to Epic Universe, Universal Studio’s newest park, on New Years Eve 2025 and I wanted to rank every ride we did in the park. I love thrill rides, so tend to have a little emphasis on the ones that I was most impressed by. If you are also considering Disney World, be sure to check out my Disney World page.
*Last updated January 7th, 2026
Ranking Every Epic Universe Ride
#12 – Fyre Drill (How to Train Your Dragon)
.
Full disclosure, we did not ride this ride. We went on New Years Eve, it was cold from a polar vortex and nobody wanted to get wet. If it was crazy hot summer, this ride might get bumped up a few spots
#11 – Constellation Carousel (Celestial Park)
This was a pretty carousel, but it is still just a carousel. Also, it stopped working while we were in line so I guess it is less reliable than a traditional carousel.
#10 – Yoshi’s Adventure (Super Nintendo World)
.
This is a slow moving kids ride, so it doesn’t rank high in the thrill category. However, it does give a great, high-up view of Super Nintendo World, which is spectacular. Additionally, we rode it at night, which was really cool to see everything outside all lit up.
#9 – Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge (Super Nintendo World)
.
Mario Kart was probably the most disappointing ride at Epic, because I had high expectations. The theming in the line is fantastic, and feels like you are getting ready to line up for the real-life Mario Kart game. Unfortunately, the ride it self is a little clunky. You wear a 3D visor, but the controls are limited and it just could have been better executed in my opinion. Additionally, this is another ride that was shut down part of the day while we were going to get in line.
#8 – Bowser Jr Challenge
I guess it is a stretch to consider the Bower Jr Challenge to be a “ride”. First, it requires the purchase of a $45 power band. Next, you have to unlock 3 keys in the app to be eligible, but the key challenges were fun for the kids and it does seem like you are getting into a special access attraction. To be honest, none of the rides in Super Nintendo World are that amazing, but the theming and immersive nature of Nintendo World are just amazing. There was a 20 minute wait for us to get into the challenge, but once you get in there are about 20 or so people that interact with Bowser Jr on a screen, similar to a video game.
#7 -Dragon Racers Rally (How to Train Your Dragon)
Dragon Racers Rally is a spinning glider, not to be confused with Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, which is the roller coaster next to it. It is short, spins around and you can control the glider with your arms to spin left and right. However, I was able to get mine to spin upside down and do barrel rolls, and at one point even get stopped in an upside down position. However, my 12 year old daughter tried and was not able to go upside down, so maybe it works better for someone who is a little bigger and heavier to get enough momentum to spin.
#6 – Mine-Cart Madness Donkey Kong (Super Nintendo World)
Mine-Cart Madness usually has one of the longest lines in Epic (along with Battle at the Ministry). As a kids ride, it is fun and well themed. It is unique in that the real track is maybe 8 feet below the car and their is a fake track in between that gives the illusion of the game, where your cart can “jump” the tracks.
#5 – Hiccups Wing Gliders (How to Train Your Dragon)
.
Hiccups Wing Gliders was a fun, kid-friendly coaster that traverses through the Isle of Berk. The tracks travel over water and the line goes through scenes from Hiccups workshop. Definitely a good area and ride for anyone a fan of the How to Train Your Dragon films.
#4 – Curse of the Werewolf (Dark Universe)
I had read mixed reviews on this ride, but it was my 8 year old’s favorite ride. It is a standard coaster, except the carts are on a swivel so they swing around during the ride. It isn’t too long, but it does give a little extra excitement to what is a kid-friendly coaster.
#3 – Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment (Dark Universe)
Monsters Unchained is the kind of ride that you come to expect from Universal. It has a similar 4 person cart and is similar to the Harry Potter Forbidden Journey ride at Islands of Adventure, if you are familiar with that one. The smaller carts get you a little closer to the action and the story of battling monsters with the help of Frankenstein is a fun one. We were even able to meet Frankenstein himself that evening just across from the start of the ride. It is worth noting, that the line theming scared my 8 year old enough that she wouldn’t ride this one. However, the ride itself isn’t too scary, in my opinion.
#2 – Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry (Ministry of Magic)
As an actual ride, I think Monsters Unchained is a better ride. However, the indoor theming of this ride, as well as Ministry of Magic and all the Harry Potter areas in Universal, are just fantastic. The ride itself is a large “room” with about 16 seats that takes you through the ride. The line can get long, but we were there on New Years Eve and rode it a second time around 10pm and it had dropped to an hour wait at that point.
#1 – Stardust Racers (Celestial Park)
Stardust Racers is a pure thrill coaster and I think that Universal created another classic right up there with Velocicoaster and Hagrids. I think that is probably the best “racer” style coaster I’ve ridden and fun how the two carts spin around each other throughout the ride. There are two tracks, green and yellow, and if you ask the crew members, they will tell you they are the same. However, they are slightly different in that one might corkscrew or spin before or after the other. But, they are similar enough that I didn’t feel like I had to return and ride the other track. Another advantage to the double tracks is that it gets twice as many people through the lines, so I expect the queues to be less than something like Velocicoaster at Islands of Adventure.
Conculsion
So there it is, my Epic rides ranking! We really enjoyed Epic Universe and I’d love to go back. The rides are okay, but the different Universe theming is all spectacular. Harry Potter Ministry of Magic is set like the Parisian theme and How to Train Your Dragon Isle of Berk are set up just like the movies. However, Super Nintendo World sets a new standard for theme park design and feels like you are walking straight into a real-life version of the video game. Enjoy your visit!