Parkday

Monsters Unchained Hits Massive 10-Hour Outage at Epic Universe

Universal Orlando’s newest attractions faced significant downtime this week, alongside widespread price hikes on Express Passes and VIP tours.

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3 min read

Universal Volcano Bay
Photo: Universal Orlando Resort

The most striking operational bottleneck at Universal Orlando Resort this week did not come from a roller coaster, but rather a journey into Dark Universe. ParkFi's trackers measured a massive 649-minute unplanned outage at Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment on Thursday, August 27. The attraction, which carries a modest 14-day average standby wait of 13 minutes, was down for nearly eleven hours before finally returning to service.

This extended downtime was part of a challenging two-week stretch for Universal's ride reliability across both its classic gates and its newest park.

Ride Downtime Breakdown

While Monsters Unchained suffered the longest single outage, Mine-Cart Madness™ at Universal Epic Universe was plagued by a series of frequent closures. The Donkey Kong-themed coaster, which averages a hefty 77-minute standby wait, experienced several major operational halts:

  • Wednesday, August 26: Went down for 266 minutes starting in the late afternoon and remained CLOSED for the rest of the day.
  • Thursday, August 27: Suffered a midday outage lasting 127 minutes, followed by a separate 146-minute outage later that afternoon.
  • Friday, August 28: Went down for 139 minutes starting in the morning, and later suffered a second 130-minute outage that kept the ride CLOSED for the remainder of the evening.
  • Saturday, August 29: Hit a late-night outage of 167 minutes, ending with a CLOSED status.
  • Monday, September 7: A late-afternoon outage kept the ride down for 119 minutes, though its 14-day average standby wait had climbed to 88 minutes by this point.

Over at Universal Islands of Adventure, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure™ (typically a 57-minute standby wait) also struggled with reliability. On Wednesday, August 26, the coaster went down in the late afternoon for 279 minutes, failing to reopen before the park closed. It suffered another afternoon outage of 170 minutes on Thursday, August 27, and a massive 254-minute outage on Monday, September 7, which began in the afternoon and resolved shortly before the end of the operating day.

Additionally, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry™ at Epic Universe (58-minute average wait) was down for 178 minutes during midday on Saturday, August 29.

If you are visiting Epic Universe or Islands of Adventure, we recommend prioritizing these headliners during early park admission or tracking their live operational status closely on our board.

Widespread Express Pass and VIP Tour Price Increases

On the ticketing front, Universal has raised prices across almost its entire portfolio of skip-the-line products. Ledgers tracked adjustments on September 5 and September 6 across multiple Express Pass tiers and seasonal event add-ons.

Multi-day Express options saw some of the largest jumps. The 5-Day Universal Express Pass: 3 Parks saw price hikes on six distinct dates. For example, the price for a September 5 visit rose from $694.99 to $714.99, while a December 3 date surged from $444.99 to $524.99. The 4-Day Universal Express Pass: 3 Parks followed a similar pattern across six dates, climbing from $649.99 to $669.99 on September 5.

Single-day Express products were also affected:

  • 1-Day Universal Express Pass: 1 Park (Sku ...1376): Increased by $10 on six dates, moving from $209.99 to $219.99 on September 5 and from $109.99 to $119.99 on September 10.
  • 1-Day Universal Express Pass: 1 Park (Sku ...3343): Rose from $214.99 to $224.99 on September 5, and from $114.99 to $124.99 on September 10.
  • 1-Day Universal Express Pass: 2 Parks: Increased from $224.99 to $234.99 on September 5.
  • 1-Day Universal Express Unlimited Pass: 1 Park (Sku ...1379): Climbed from $259.99 to $269.99 on September 5.
  • 1-Day Universal Express Unlimited Pass: 2 Parks: Increased from $274.99 to $284.99 on September 5.

Even seasonal horror fans will pay more. On September 6, the price for the Halloween Horror Nights R.I.P. Tour was adjusted for two dates. The tour on October 2 rose from $519.99 to $549.99, while the October 14 tour increased from $469.99 to $509.99. If you plan to attend Halloween Horror Nights, read our coverage of the latest character arrivals in our HamiKuma meetup guide and lock in your tours early before further seasonal increases take effect.