We are just days away from the opening of Epic Universe, the third and most advanced theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort. The new theme park features five distinct lands that transport guests to worlds they only dreamed of — SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Dark Universe, and Celestial Park.
While lands like Dark Universe and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic are getting a lot of attention, and character meet-and-greets at the Isle of Berk are leaving guests speechless, there is another land that is one of the most stunning you will see.
Universal calls Celestial Park “the cosmic heart of Epic Universe, where wondrous discoveries await among the lush greenery, tree-lined walkways and dancing fountains.” It is one of the most stunning lands Universal has ever created, and offers not only visually stunning areas, but incredible dining spots, a memorable sweet shop, great shopping spots, and more than one must-do attraction.
The highlight of Celestial Park is the Stardust Racers roller coaster. The dual launch coaster is similar to the former Dueling Dragons ride that guests once loved, but is now home to Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure.
Stardust Racers reaches speeds of 62 miles per hour and heights of 133 feet. It also includes the “Celestial Spin”, an inverted crisscross spin that will leave guests wanting to come back time and time again.
Epic Universe is currently undergoing Annual Passholder previews and will not officially open to the public until May 22. Unfortunately, despite the fact that current visitors are Universal loyalists, not everyone who visits Epic Universe is showing respect for the new theme park.
Reddit user Several_Teach_6879 recently visited Epic Universe and waited nearly an hour to ride Stardust Racers. But just as the ride was picking up speed, getting ready to shoot off into the stars, the attraction came to a screeching halt.
And it was all because two guests decided not to follow the rules.
Today I waited 45 minutes for stardust. On the first booster, both vehicles came to a screeching halt. We were there for around 25 minutes before a TM came and checks that everybody is wearing shoes. Two women towards the middle of the yellow train literally took their flip-flops off. Is it likely these people were expelled from the park? I really hope so… Some people have no common sense anymore.
Commenters were shocked at the common sense the two women seemed to lack. Shoes are required on most rides in case of an emergency, and the attraction needs to be evacuated quickly. Of course, guests are allowed to remove their shoes on rides where their feet dangle, but Stardust Racers is not one of those types of attractions.
As someone who works at another theme park relatively close to Orlando as a ride operator, you HAVE to have shoes on a roller coaster. If we need to escort you off of the coaster at a far point, and you don’t have shoes on, you will cut your feet on the catwalks next to the coaster. They’re designed for safety, not for comfort. So please, wear secure shoes to a theme park so you can wear them on all the rides. We will not let you ride my roller coaster I work at without shoes.
Credit: Andrew Boardwine, Inside the Magic
However, one commenter thought that it was more the Universal team member’s fault than the two women’s. They suggested that the team members should not have allowed the women to ride the attraction at all while wearing sandals. However, it should be noted that sandals are allowed in the theme park, and there is no rule against wearing them on the various rides.
Honestly if I was you I would be more upset with Universal than the 2 women. People can just be oblivious to their surroundings, and people that don’t usually go to theme parks and ride roller coasters just don’t think about these things a lot of the time. The attendant at the entrance to the ride shouldn’t have allowed them to join the line wearing flip flops and the ride operators DEFINITELY shouldn’t have allowed them to get on the ride either. I have no idea how they then figured it out after the train was dispatched, unless another guest noticed and said something? It also doesn’t make any sense that it would take them 25 minutes to come out to you because of this reason. Just seems like that team completely dropped the ball. Did they compensate you for the loss of time with a one-time express pass or something? If not, you should have gone to customer service. They would have definitely given you at least that to make up for the loss of time.
Credit: Universal
In another comment, the OP (Original Poster) said that the women were actually sitting on their sandals, and when the ride stopped, they reportedly rushed to put their sandals back on. That could indicate that either the women thought there was an emergency, or they knew they were supposed to have their shoes on.
Some Universal attractions, like Velocicoaster, are very strict about loose items, and they are not allowed on the ride. Flip-flops that are not on feet are most likely considered a loose item.
Thankfully, the ride shutdown did not last long, although some commenters were surprised that it was stopped at all simply because of a pair of sandals. The OP said that the other riders were compensated for the trouble by being given a one-time Express Pass that they could use at any other attraction in the theme park.
Do you think that Universal needs to make its footwear policy more straightforward? Should guests be allowed to wear flip-flops in the theme park, or should Universal have some kind of sneaker policy? Do you think a ride should be stopped when someone isn’t wearing shoes, or should the riders receive a warning when they exit the attraction? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
