It’s not just Disney World where all your wishes come true, because Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe has finally brought guests an after-hours event, and it may be the BEST ONE we’ve ever been to!

Epic Universe’s very first after-hours event, called Universal Nights at Epic Universe, has finally arrived, and we wasted no time to go and check it out for ourselves. Universal Nights at Epic Universe is a hard-ticketed event takes place on October 3rd, 17th, and 24th, as well as November 6th and 20th. The event has a lot to offer, but now that we’ve had the chance to check it out, we can finally answer the question everyone’s been asking since it was announced. Is Universal Nights at Epic Universe worth it?

Universal Nights at Epic Universe is a very limited event, as there are only a total of five nights (at least for this year). This is a separate ticketed event, and the pricing starts at $179.99 plus tax per person. There is no separate ticket for kids, so that’s something you’ll want to keep in mind if you’re planning on bringing kiddos. Having a normal day pass to Epic Universe will not give you access to the event, and regular guests will be required to leave at 8 PM.

The after-hours event begins at 9 PM, and it goes until midnight, but when we went, the special event really started more at 8 PM. If you have a ticket for Universal Nights at Epic Universe, you can actually arrive as early as 7 PM to enjoy a couple of extra hours at Epic Universe. That’s a total of five hours of park time with your Universal Nights ticket. However, only three of them will see the perks of having limited capacity, which will mostly reflect in the time you wait for attractions.

Is the price of the ticket worth the five hours you get? Well, there is a lot that is offered at this event, from entertainment to eats to character interactions. We think the greatest value lies in the short wait times for attractions. During Universal Nights at Epic Universe, every single attraction is open! We know, we were surprised too! Guests can do everything in Celestial Park, Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, Isle of Berk, and Ministry of Magic.

If you’ve been following us at the Disney Food Blog, you wouldn’t need to go to Epic Universe to know how brutally long the lines can get. Especially for rides like Mario Kart game — Bowser’s Challenge, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, and Mine Cart Madness.

Instead of waiting two to three hours for these attractions, you’re usually waiting no more than 10 minutes for these rides — yes, even the BIG ones! Mine Cart Madness and Curse of the Werewolf did have a few delays throughout the night, so those wait times did rise a bit more than others, but for the most part, everything was a walk-on.

As for shows, there were two showings of Le Cirque Arcanus throughout the night, as well as one showing of The Untrainable Dragon, and we were able to see both! These weren’t overly packed by any means, so there was no worry of the show filling up like you see on some regular park days. We also were able to catch the fireworks show that happens every night at 8 PM, which was an added bonus.

Other lines that can get fairly long are the lines to meet characters. We got in line for Toothless the moment we entered the park around 7 PM (which was still when regular guests were in the park), and he was at a 45-minute wait. Thankfully, we only waited about 25 minutes, so that was a big win. As for other characters, we saw Astrid roaming around Isle of Berk at 10:45 PM, and we also spotted The Invisible Man and Ygor wandering around Dark Universe as well. You’re more likely to see wandering characters than an actual set in stone meet and greet later in the night, so that’s something to keep in mind!

We hit nearly every ride in the park, got to see both shows AND the fireworks, met some characters, and got to try some eats all in just those few hours. The best part? We didn’t feel rushed at all! The park did really feel empty, and seeing nearly every ride as a walk-on was an amazing experience. It was the most chill after-hours event we’ve ever been to, and in our experience, it was absolutely worth the cost, especially if you’re trying to experience as much of the park as you can in one day.

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Do you want to go to Universal Nights at Epic Universe? Let us know in the comments!