BB1

I totally didn't just forget that this topic existed and didn't think to post in here about my Hijinx in 2025. 2025 was arguably one of the most interesting years in terms of my usual trips. Epic Universe, hands down was the most exciting adventure I have ever had in my life. Opening day, through opening week was blessed with low to no waits, the ability to go virtually anywhere in the park and feel like it's yours for the day and be able to experience every ride and some. Having the ability to ride in every seat on both sides of Stardust Racers, having the opportunity to really take my time at Epic and look around has been arguably the reason why it grew so much on me. Which now, I'm thrilled to say I've been to epic 12 times this year, having been able to experience virtually every season at the park; Spring and Christmas are arguably my favorite seasons. The Christmas overlay of Celestial Park's already wonderfully scored orchestral serenades just hit a nerve that I feel like it went above and beyond in certain parts of the park. Which Universal in the past has been pretty light in terms of how they decorate, it's mainly wreaths and lights; HOWEVER the package Epic got was amazing. Sure, we missed Nintendo and Darkmoor's Christmas season but we still got 3 of the lands themed for 2025. That being said, my favorite area of the park is Darkmoor, which is so wonderfully done besides the glaring issue of Werewolf but we won't talk about that as they made it work. Speaking of Darkmoor, Monsters Unchained is arguably my favorite darkride period. I easily have 50+ cycles on that ride alone, probably closer to 100 at time of writing. I have had at least a few dozen cycles where everything was running correctly and Dracula was not in B mode. The story, the theming was absolutely brilliant. Sure there were a few spots that needed work but overall it is a ride that still needs to work out the technical issues as it does have a sporadic one or so animatronics down on a good chunk of my cycles. Celestial Park is hands down my favorite "anchor" of any park period. Every park has an entry, but Epic takes it to a whole other level with what they did with that park. Every corner, every nook has some element that helps tell the story of the park and how it came to be. Don't get me started on how even the bathrooms are well themed. (Darkmoor hands down has my favorite bathrooms in a theme park, period) Not getting the pass addon for 2026 is a bummer, but the prices per day isn't too terribly bad in my opinion with the pass discount. Something I'd like to callout is the amazing actors who are the streetmosphere characters in virtually every land. They all do alot of work and honestly immerse you deeper into the land's lore and stories. Which yes, they have stories they tell you and give you more into what's going on in the land. My favorite part is that they are out as you get closer to park close in certain sections, so if you don't catch them earlier in the day you can catch them later when the crowds, on average, die down. I did stay at Helios for my week long stint at Epic which was at a considerable discount in comparison to current prices. The view was amazing, the access to the park was phenomenal. The pool was great, especially with view of darkmoor behind it. They even brought around complimentary frozen grapes for you just sitting on the pool deck. Flora Taverna is my favorite resort restaurant just ahead of the rooftop bar which had the BEST wings I have ever had period. (pomegranate and greek yogurt ontop of sauced wings) If you have the chance to go to the rooftop bar, do it, if you are legal, my favorite drink there is the Athenian Nectar (It's a greek yogurt based drink, believe me you HAVE to try it) My most recent trip I was able to experience Stella Nova, their new hotel that is literally a direct line for the bus to go from the hotel to Epic. Amazing room design, the cafe breakfast was phenomenal, the whole atmosphere of that resort is fresh and optimistic. Disney however, still keeps making me depressed that my childhood is being ripped away from me. We lost Muppets, the Muppet Courtyard, for what, Monsters? A property that released originally how many years ago?? We lost Dinoland, we are officially losing Dinosaur in Feb. I have made it an objective every time I'm in Orlando to cycle Dinosaur at least 2-5 times before heading out. We lost the Rivers of America, the steamship attraction which was the last themepark ride I rode with my grandfather before he passed. I can say, without a doubt, it's seriously in the air whether or not if I keep my Disney AP. With all of the removals and a critical lack of new additions, it's almost elementary to continue to spend thirteen hundred a year when I could chuck that to Epic and call it a day. Yes, you read that right, I, a self proclaimed third generation Disney adult, am considering not renewing for 2026 for Disney. There's just nothing of value that draws me over rather than doing Epic that day. My last trip in December was quite literally two days, fly down one fly back the next, I spent one full day at Epic, then did every park at WDW, every park at USO besides epic on the following day before flying home. I'm glad I was able to experience the attractions we lost before they went, as from recent experiences the replacements are not up to the pars that Disney has set itself up to in the past. I can say however, my sleeper hit for new attractions in 2025 was Siren's Curse. Cedar Point got "two new additions" for 2026, TT2 and Siren's Curse. Both I rode, but I was far more impressed with Siren's Curse than TT2. The theming, the experience, the purple Kool Aid water it just adds a layer that the park needs for their coasters. The layout itself was a major sleeper hit. I LOVED that first drop, which mind you my first ride on it was the back seat which was out of this world. The layout, the experience was absolutely brilliant and has really made me reconsider if it was the biggest blunder, it wasn't. Lastly, I'd be remised if I didn't call out my home waterpark and theme park: Kings Island and Soak City. Kings Island, 2025 was interesting. The Haunt upcharge was a bitter sweet experience. I feel like this was corporate saying we need cash and they will pay.....they didn't. In fact, I would say opening night and the first few weeks were duds in terms of lines. I got the all season with express upcharge, which was 90 some odd dollars I believe. Did I get my money's worth? Yeah, I'd say so. I went enough to at least pay for the express. The new policy however I feel like it was a money grab, because it absolutely was. The quality of virtually every house went down in terms of scares besides Slaughter House unfortunately. The "new animatronics" to help scare people and was publicized as this big investment into the guest experience did absolutely nothing for me in Hotel St Michelle. In fact, they removed two of my favorite scare spots in that house for those props, which I felt like was a major loss for the overall cohesion. Order of the Dragon hands down was my favorite house. Besides the fact that I cut myself opening night on a sharp edge of plywood, it was a house that had a solid story, amazing theming and great set pieces. The Conjuring, I guess it was an experience? Not entirely sure it was worth draining other haunts but it was there. The River Racers addition was much needed, very short in terms of what a watercoaster could be but it was a welcomed addition nevetheless. I think it filled a major gap in our waterpark, now do I agree with a portion of our waterpark being river themed and the rest being tropical? Not so much, but at least we got something that expanded our slide count, and the new childrens area has a lot more for little guests to experience. I have said it once, and I will say it again, I wish we had more merch for the waterpark. Give me something that at least has slides on it and is made for our waterpark, please! I feel like we have a lot of work to do in terms of the dining menu options. After Epic literally having everything on my usual diet plan and more, I looked back at KI and really thought about the fact that we don't have a truly "healthy" option at the park. Think grilled food, salads, fruits, veg, Grain and Grill was designed to do that sure but we don't really have any low fat low carb offerings besides the shrimp with a sauce on it. Would love to see if the culinary team can step it up this year with something new and different that isn't just slapping tenders at every meal stand as I genuinely want to experience new flavors/tastes at the park that fit a more broad health focus. 2025 arguably was the year of Epic. My merchandise purchases were 85% from Epic Universe (I am the one who wears the epic merch line including ID holder to the office all the time and people love it, that with the car magnets), arguably my favorite merch line of any park period is from Epic Universe. I wish we had more Stardust Racers merch but I'm sure that's coming. Food experiences were foundationally renovated from what I got at Epic. Mead Hall, The Atlantic, Das Stakehaus, Toadstool Cafe, Pizza Moon and Oak & Star Tavern all have reshaped my wants and needs for culinary experiences. The Pizza Moon's The Nanarossa is now why I have to go to Coporosso every few weeks for their Margaretta pizza. It's all seriously that good. I've been to every restaurant and bar at Epic, it's all wonderful and I have yet to have a poor experience besides the Crepes at the L'air de Siren which was primarily because they were too sweet for my tastes but was still a pretty good product. I think my last key point here is that I am so blessed to say I went to Opening Day for Epic, I have my medallion and opening day ticket sitting on my desk as I type this and I can say I was in the documentary about Epic in the crowds for opening day. The fact that I can sit here today and say I'm already planning my next visit in a few short weeks. I'm hoping to be back down for the one year anniversary in May and I'm thrilled to say 2025 was an amazing year with some amazing experiences I'm looking forward to revisiting in 2026!

There was broken concrete the first week of operation. They have a few hurdles to get through but even with the bottleneck later in the day it’s not a bad spot to get through. Epic, in and of itself, is still my favorite themepark period. Stardust Green is ranking very well for me and it keeps going up after every visit.

Christmas overlay is epic, the choke point due to broken concrete isn’t.

Anyone have any requests for photos/looks in Epic? Heading down tomorrow and will be there all day Thursday! (For context, I’m doing WDW, USO, IOA and KI in one day Friday so wish me luck!)

Considering the calendar already shows December schedules that align with Winterfest I'm sure it's here to stay next year. I follow a simple adage "I vote with my feet" - that is to say, I visit the park for events when they are active that I actually enjoy and focus on trying to spend in park to reinforce that I like the product. Winterfest is something I try to get to every day possible (sans an orlando trip or so) so that the event continues to operate throughout the years.

PSA lots of ice as you walk to the front of the park. Good portion of the parking lot is snow/ice which isn’t the best to drive on.

A snippet of the new products for Winterfest in the North Pole Mercantile. The red and white hoodie definitely feels like a nod to Banshee merch in the lettering.

Which days will you be doing the parks?

Okay I can step in here and give some clarification. The associate at bottom plunge is to pulse the amount of people on the stairwell, but also to make sure you don’t have metal that cannot be worn on the drop box slides. As I’m sure you would be very upset (as many were when I was a lifeguard) that you waited 20 min to be told no due to metal. As for security, I know they patrol around that area as it’s pretty vacant/scarce and they don’t want any unsavory individuals doing unsavory things. Of course the one section of the park that has the least lifeguard foot traffic will have more security. Never mind the fact that being down there by yourself later in the evening was always difficult to tell someone not to run as that section stays slick and can lead to some serious injuries if you’re not safe.

There are a lot of reasons why companies have ebbs and flows on the market. For some this is great news, others this is terrible news. (This is not financial advice, nor is it put out to be such) I'm not at all surprised with how SIX has turned out. The haunt program absolutely was a flop, sure you squeezed out some more dollars but at the cost of losing your trust of your most loyal fanbase who is honestly probably the biggest driver of costs. Which, I'm glad they called out the "upgrades" as they removed several spots where scareactors would be housed and added in animatronics instead. This year alone we saw disjointed enforcement of the chaperone policy, lackluster PR communication and now we're seeing the "biggest sale of the year" leak into practically month 3. Is that an indicator of poor sales or a desperate plea to get people to go to other poorer performing parks? Let's not even forget the preferred parking fiasco that I now deal with every time I go to KI. (Last time I kid you not the attendant said good luck finding a spot". Notice how they are not promoting the silver pass anymore and mainly the gold pass, how the park passport has literally been cheapened out beyond belief. I can honestly say, this is the most absurd management of a chain I have ever seen. The product is far cheaper, which will create more logistical problems I don't think this management can really handle. The chain is not working, the combined company experience is going belly up at the altar of "synergies" and the shareholder, who is now feeling a ~46% reduction in value from this time last year. In my humble opinion, demerge, cut your losses, if that means we lose a smaller park or two so be it, but this experiment has gone on far enough. Again, this should not be taken as financial advice, nor is an intention to solicit any transaction associated with the FUN stock.

I’ll be back down in Orlando in a week-two weeks depending on how I schedule things out but ultimately will probably wait to revisit epic till November! I would definitely say the SDR hype is back and people are going crazy to get back on it.

I have now 28 recorded rides on each side of Stardust Racers, it still slaps. Rode front row green as usual and it was still a religious experience.

Stardust is open and is in normal operations! Currently in line, no augmentations or changes made

Update: the coaster is still testing and has yet to open.

I’m at the park today and I’m planning on being there on ride within the first few cars!