A grand mix of fresh magic and sensational nostalgia await at Epic Universe’s Helios Grand Hotel in Orlando, Florida. If you think you’ve been “stupefied” by the magic at Harry Potter’s Wizarding World, you may have been mistaken. For beyond the trails of the common muggle folk lies a new, sparkling path — and one of epic proportions.

That is, Epic Universe of course. Which we had the pleasure of visiting as a family of four most recently (following our recent Disney trip). This is a completely honest review of our travel experience (nothing was sponsored for this particular blog post & article).

See for yourself with this full video tour!

In this post I’ll be detailing the pros, cons and tips about the room, the park and the access!

Hello Travel Blog Snapshot

How to Train Your Dragon Kids’ Suite

So much modernity and convenience! Here’s what this room included:

• Dragon Themed Guest bedroom with two full sized beds

• Master suite with views of the park and nightly fountain shows

• A separate living room with a couch bed and TV

• One shared (spacious) bathroom with sink + vanity separate from toilet/ tub

• Kitchenette at entrance of suite

• Direct access to the Epic Universe park

• Technology to control the room’s AC, blinds and more via the in room iPads

Pros:

• Extra rides access without using Express passes until later in the day

• New resort with direct access to the park

• Direct access to the restaurants also

• Convenient cafe located on site for grab and go breakfast/snacks

• The kids could experience every ride except the stardust racers and monsters unchained rides due to the height requirements (they were 3 and 6 at the time)

Cons:

• The price tag is a bit higher for the room itself

• Early entry to the park can get quite backed up (There is a line even one hour before)

• We were overall not blown away by the resort’s restaurants or the ones inside the park. There wasn’t one particular meal that we were impressed with compared to a lot of the dining options at Disney.

• There is a drink “limit” which they make you feel criminal about. For example, my husband couldn’t simply order me a drink while I was with the kids. I had to be there physically in front of them. It’s not a big deal but kind of annoying.

The Park

Super Nintendo World Highlights

The insane immersion into the Mario World/ Donkey Kong Country was unapologetically parallel to the Nintendo 64 games we were raised on. It was the perfect mix of nostalgia and new age bliss as we witnessed our babies breathe in the magic themselves. A simultaneous vibe of new age and 90s babies merging into one collective moment.

My first Nintendo 64 game was Donkey Kong. What a thrill to experience the characters and real life animatronics of the Mine Cart ride. Pure bliss and adolescent fulfillment in the least.

Yoshi’s Ride brings it home— all of the hours you used to spend N64 transcends into reality when you ride this. The views of the Mario World ignite all the core memories and blur the lines of reality, frankly.

Favorite Rides (all parks):

These were the rides we enjoyed the most with our three and six year olds:

• Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge: our absolute favorite ride as a family! We loved riding in the karts and being immersed into the rainbow road/ Mario Kart challenge. It’s a really fun combination of a ride and video game challenge.

• Hiccup’s Wing Gliders Roller Coaster: the smoothest roller coaster for the littles

• Fyre Drill Boat Water Ride (great to cool off! You will get wet!) This was a great family ride to cool down. It involves shooting targets with water and getting sprayed yourself!

• Yoshi’s Ride (great view of the entire Nintendo World): a nice slow ride hunting for 3 hidden eggs within the ride.

• Harry Potter and the battle of the ministry: definitely feels like you’ve stepped foot into the books.

• Curse of the Werewolf (dark universe): this was a fun ride because of how it moves. It not only is a roller coaster, but it also twists and turns simultaneously. So fun!

• Constellation Carousel (perfect for all ages). The kiddos loved this classic ride.

• Mine-Cart Madness (our daughter loved this roller coaster but it is quite bumpy! Such a perfect Donkey Kong experience)

***make sure you check the height requirements before going to the rides!