Universal Epic Universe is set to have its grand opening on May 22nd, but we have attended early preview opportunities to experience Universal’s third theme park ahead of time. To help you decide if a visit to Universal Epic Universe is worth it, we’ll have a series of articles that explore the new theme park and the attractions and experiences within it. We already have an initial review of Epic Universe that explores a lot of what you can expect to find, but with more visits under our belts, it’s time to dive deep into the rides, experiences, restaurants, and more! In this article, we’re going to review the thrilling Stardust Racers roller coaster.
Theming & Backstory
We’ll start where we always do – with a look at the theming and backstory. Stardust Racers is a dueling roller coaster, with only a minimal amount of theming. Unlike other recent additions to Universal Orlando Resort such as Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, there isn’t a ton of backstory or theming to speak of. That said, there is some spoken and written theming that adds a little bit to the experience.
The backstory of Stardust Racers actually builds upon the backstory of Celestial Park as a whole. As the story goes, Celestial Park is filled with citizens, referred to as Celestians. The Celestians have a deep connection to the universe, using the Chronos seen at the front of Epic Universe to create some amazing experiences and even portals to other worlds.
For Stardust Racers, the engineering corps of Celestial Park has figured out a way to use the energy of the cosmos to capture comets. Racing those captured comets has become a pastime of Celestians, and guests explorers visiting Epic Universe are invited to join in on the fun and see whose comet is the fastest!
The entrance gate is protected by two goddesses, each capturing a comet with the words “Just lose yourself among the stars and dance across the night – you’ll catch a comet in its flight”. In terms of the architecture, you can expect to see a lot of exposed metal, painted in a deep green. The whole thing feels very Parisian, very Grand Palais, while also retaining a uniqueness established in Celestial Park. It essentially carries forward the design language seen at the entry to Celestial Park with the Chronos and the flanking gift shop areas around the entry gardens.
I do like the look and feel of the Celestial Park entry, and, by extension, the queue and structures for Stardust Racers. Just don’t expect some highly-themed, super-immersive space like many of the roller coasters at Walt Disney World.
Moving into the queue, it’s not really anything to write home about. It is completely outdoors, but almost completely covered too, which will make waits during the hot Central Florida Summers more bearable. When doing promo for the roller coaster, creatives said that there would be hundreds of crashed comets in the queue. Dozens of shiny orbs are more like it. Either way, we’re not necessarily expecting a masterclass in theming. This is a non-IP roller coaster, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing – it shows. I think that it’s fairly obvious from the second you lay eyes on the roller coaster that it won’t be a highly-themed experience like Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
Stardust Racers Height Requirement, Locker Info, and More
Stardust Racers has the tallest height requirement at Epic Universe at 48″. Child swap is available for families with young racers that don’t measure up to the height requirement, and the child swap area actually offers pretty good views of the first launch of the roller coaster.
Not only are lockers available, but they are required for Stardust Racers. Stardust Racers is the only attraction at Epic Universe that utilizes a metal detector to make sure that guests have emptied their pockets for a safe ride.
Just like other lockers at Epic Universe attractions, the Stardust Racers ride lockers are free to use while experiencing the attraction. Universal’s wonderful facial recognition tech is implemented for the locker system, and it has worked flawlessly for us on multiple visits and multiple uses per visit. Officially, Universal Orlando Resort says that the single-use attraction lockers at Epic Universe are 11.8″ x 11″ x 13″.
Stardust Racers Fun Facts
Stardust Racers clocks in at about 1 minute and 30 seconds long, traversing some 4,800 feet of track. That makes Stardust the longest roller coaster at Universal Orlando, and it’s even the longest roller coaster that manufacturer Mack Rides has ever made as well (to date). Speaking of Mack Rides, the German company patented the signature ride element on Stardust Racers, the “Celestial Spin”.
Stardust Racers has a top speed of 62.6 mph and reaches to the stars some 133 feet into the air. It is the tallest roller coaster at Epic Universe and the fastest.
The first launch is actually two launches in one, with the launch reaching a g-force of 4 G’s.
When designing the roller coaster, Universal’s creative team decided that they would not light the tracks, allowing the illuminated ride vehicles to dart through the night sky like comets.
Stardust Racers Ride Review
Ok, with our camera bag stored away, it’s time to head upstairs, pass through the metal detector and make the toughest choice of the day: yellow side or green side? Yes, the tracks are different colors, as tough as they may be to distinguish. I think I would’ve preferred a little bit more contrast here to play into the “dueling” element, but perhaps there’s a good reason why the tracks aren’t red and blue, or something like that.
Guests looking for the yellow track should stay to the left at the fork in the road just past the metal detectors. Guests looking for the green track should stay to the right. Early word of mouth seems to have created a longer wait for the green side, and I think that green is slightly more intense than yellow, but both are a ton of fun.
For guests looking to ride in the front row, there is an extended queue for row one, and Team Members have (mostly) been accommodating with row requests during our preview visits.
The load station has a cavernous feel, with guests surrounded by the same deep green exposed metal that was seen at the entrance to the queue. One of the things that I like about the load station is how dynamic it feels. The ride vehicles return to the load station by passing over your head, and because it’s Universal, there is always applause when riders return. I’m not a huge fan of this tradition, but it’s well-deserved for Stardust Racers.
For the rest of this section of the review, we’ll describe the ride, twist-by-twist, offering our thoughts on the various ride elements along the way.
Stardust Racers Trick Launch
We’ll start with my second favorite moment on Stardust Racers – the two-speed trick launch. After a slow turn out of the load station, the ride vehicles turn toward each other. Before you know it, you’re zooming along, under the load station and toward what looks to be a very vertical piece of track in front of you.
Just when you think you’ve hit top speed, the Stardust Racers punches you into the back of your (comfortable) seat, accelerating up to its top speed just moments before sending you into the first top hat of the ride. There are not enough words to describe how awesome this moment is. You go from “this is a lot of fun” to “HOLY S**T” real quick, and what follows is 90 seconds of screaming and smiling as the coaster twists not only through the landscape of Epic Universe but also twists around itself, creating an unmatched dueling experience.
That first top hat makes you want to throw your hands in the air, but you’re quickly slung over the peak as you barrel toward the ground. After a dip toward the ground, you enter another climb to an outward turn away from the other roller coaster that you’re racing against.
As you race back toward the station, you’ll weave over and under the other coaster, previewing the interaction that is about to come.
The yellow coaster veers to the left of the station (as seen from the rider’s perspective), while the green coaster heads to the right side of the station. Yellow hits a couple of airtime hills at a relatively leisurely pace, while green zips over some airtime hills that are structured with more of a turn, and a double climb feature before both coasters hit the u-turn trough that is visible at the “front” of the coaster as seen from Celestial Park.
From there, green enters another airtime element, while yellow hugs the top of the load station to meet the green side at the coaster’s second launch.
Second Launch & Signature Celestial Spin
With green and yellow now side-by-side, there is no stopping or stalling as we hit the second launch for Stardust Racers. The next 8 seconds is what really sells Stardust Racers. Let’s set the scene a bit.
Earlier in the ride, you turned toward the other roller coaster trains when leaving the station, waving to other guests if you are able to settle your nerves enough to appreciate your surroundings. From there, you enter the best launch sequence of any roller coaster I’ve ever been on with the brilliant stutter-step, two-speed launch into the top hat. At some point, your vision narrows and you lose sight of the other roller coaster as you turn away from each other. Focused on some wonderful airtime, you start to see the other coaster return to view as it passes over you or under you before you’re split up again.
A thrilling dip through the trough allows you to see the other coaster briefly as it zips by on the other side of the road from you. Then, after teasing a race, you’re finally side by side, both roller coasters effortlessly and smoothly accelerating, while also simulating a straining race as each tries to nose ahead of the other.
You’re then sent up into another climb into the cosmos with a vertical hill element, but this time instead of being a standard top hat, you’re sent into the signature “Celestial Spin”. I should say the signature and patented Celestial Spin. Here’s a look at the Celestial Spin as seen from the queue, followed by an on-ride screenshot from the official Universal Orlando YouTube channel.
I mean, look at how awesome this moment is. There’s nothing else like it. You’re what feels like just feet above (or below) the other roller coaster as the coasters perform a dance some 100+ feet in the air. You really have to experience it yourself to understand just how cool it is. While I liked riding in the front row for the same reasons that anyone would like to ride in the front row of a roller coaster, the middle to middle-back rows provide the best experience during the Celestial Spin.
The stutter, two-speed trick initial launch, and Celestial Spin elements do most of the heavy lifting for the Stardust Racers experience, and they do not disappoint. What could be disappointing is if the vehicles ever stop dueling. If that happens, Stardust Racers gets knocked down a few spots and becomes a better-than-average coaster. Of course, we’re reviewing the coaster based on it actually working as designed, as we would any ride, so it remains #1 in our books.
After the Celestial Spin, the vehicles head into the “back 9” of the ride, featuring overbanked turns, sweeping curves, and even some more “dueling” elements where the tracks sidestep each other to switch sides. The majority of the back half of Stardust Racers features long, sweeping curves and airtime hills that are very reminiscent of old wooden roller coasters. Universal has successfully blended new, innovative ride elements with some classic vibes, all wrapped up in a steel ride system that is buttery smooth.
A final sprint to the (literal) checkered flag, and the race is over.
One more thing that’s worth mentioning is that Stardust Racers has on-board audio with completely original music. Universal has original compositions for all of the Celestial Park music, and Stardust Racers has its own soundtrack that changes from daytime rides to nighttime rides. It’s beautiful but easily drowned out by screaming and wind noise.
Stardust Racers Review: Closing Thoughts
I love Stardust Racers. For my money, it’s the best roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort, and only second behind Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Orlando. Actually, while we’re on the topic of the highly-themed Cosmic Rewind, it is worth underlining (and perhaps belaboring) the point that both Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and Jurassic World VelociCoaster are better as themed experiences. The theming of Stardust, while nicely extending the design language of Celestial Park, does not come anywhere close to those other Universal roller coasters when it comes to themed experiences.
Where Stardust Racers earns the title of best roller coaster at Universal Orlando is for the actual ride experience. The trick launch and Celestial Spin elements are not only great roller coaster elements, but they’re also great memories. The dueling element puts Stardust Racers over the top when it comes to roller coaster ride experience, earning the top spot at Universal Orlando in my book.
Stardust Racers FAQ
Does Stardust Racers have a height requirement?
Yes, the height requirement on Stardust Racers is 48″.
Does Stardust Racers have child swap?
Yes, child swap is available at Stardust Racers near the load station.
Does Stardust Racers have lockers?
Yes, Stardust Racers has the same locker system as other Epic Universe attractions. The lockers are free to use for guests experiencing the attraction.
Officially, Universal Orlando Resort says that the single-use attraction lockers at Epic Universe are 11.8″ x 11″ x 13″, which seems smaller than what I was able to reliably squeeze into the lockers.
Does Stardust Racers have metal detectors?
Yes, guests will be required to have empty pockets to ride Stardust Racers, and they will be required to pass through metal detectors after storing items in a locker.
Is Stardust Racers too intense for me?
Stardust Racers is an intense roller coaster. Guests should be prepared for an experience similar in intensity to Jurassic World VelociCoaster or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.
Does Stardust Racers have inversions?
Yes, Stardust Racers places guests upside down as part of the Celestial Spin element, which is sort of like a twisting, loose barrel roll.
Does Stardust Racers have Express Pass?
Yes, Stardust Racers is a Universal Express Pass eligible attraction.
Does Stardust Racers have Single Rider?
Yes, Stardust Racers has a Single Rider queue that will open based on operational needs.
What type of restraints does Stardust Racers use?
Stardust Racers uses lap restraints.
For our comprehensive review of Universal Epic Universe, check out our article below!
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