June 19, 2025 • 21 mins
Join Matt and Jon from Poppin's Travel on an EPIC adventure! What happens when two theme park enthusiasts are granted VIP access to Universal Orlando's Epic Universe before its grand opening? A 19-mile walking marathon, 25+ attractions, and an evening of complimentary food and signature cocktails that transformed us into living testimonials for the park's perfectly chosen name.
Our adventure began with a whirlwind tour through Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, conquering classics like ET's Adventure and modern marvels like Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. By afternoon, we'd ridden 15 major attractions and were preparing ourselves for the evening's exclusive preview of Epic Universe.
Stepping into Epic Universe feels like entering multiple worlds at once. The attention to detail is staggering—in the 1920s Paris area, buildings stand at true-to-life scale with no forced perspective tricks. At the Blue Dragon restaurant, bartenders crafted smoky, theatrical cocktails that delighted our senses. The Dark Universe section delivered both thrills on Monsters Unchained and theatrical drinking experiences at the Burning Blade Tavern, where servers stayed perfectly in character while serving "eyeball" garnished cocktails.
Super Nintendo World brings tears to the eyes of lifelong games. The Isle of Berk captured How to Train Your Dragon's magic through both its stunning environmental design and family-friendly coasters that deliver excitement without excessive intensity.
As fireworks and drones lit up the night sky, we reflected on what makes Epic Universe special. It's not just the rides or the perfectly themed areas—it's how seamlessly everything works together to create genuine moments of awe. This isn't just Universal's newest park; it's their masterpiece.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Matt (00:07):
Captain's Log, may 2025.
This is Matt and I justcompleted a truly epic adventure
.
I was invited to the grandopening celebration for Epic
Universe, the new park at theUniversal Orlando Resort.
I was able to meet up with andshare this adventure with my
dear and longtime friend, john,who is also from our sponsor,
the Poppins Travel Company.
(00:27):
John and I traveled our waythrough both the Universal
Studios and Islands of Adventureparks before attending the
grand opening celebration forEpic Universe at night.
Together, we walked a total of19 miles and rode well over 20
major attractions in one day.
This episode is a compilationof live recordings taken
throughout the day.
I hope you enjoy listening toour epic adventure.
(00:52):
Hey everyone, this is Matt fromMatt and Friends Drink the
Universe.
I'm here at Universal Studios,orlando with John from Poppins
Travel Hello there, and we havebeen invited to an exclusive
opening event for Epic Universethis evening.
Looking forward to thatFireworks drone show.
Blue carpet apparently DrinksDrinks.
That is why I'm here.
(01:13):
We're going to see what drinksare available and we're going to
drink Epic Universe.
Here we go.
John and I decided to beresponsible humans in the 90
plus degree Florida heat thatfelt like 96 degrees, and
instead of consuming any alcoholin the morning, we decided to
hit the rides in UniversalIslands of Adventure and
(01:36):
Universal Studios pretty hard.
We then found ourselves back inour hotel room regrouping
before the grand opening event.
Matt and John back again givingyou a little update here, john,
how many rides did we hit today?
Uh 15.
Are you able to rattle them off?
Jon (01:54):
In no particular order.
Let's just, we'll make thiseasy.
Okay, we rode ET's Adventure,harry Potter and the Escape from
Gringotts, hogwarts Express,both directions, so from Diagon
Alley to Hogsmeade and backagain, or I guess the other way
actually.
(02:14):
But then we also got to rideMen in Black, revenge of the
Mummy, transformers, VillainCon,minion Blast, the Amazing
Adventures of Spider-Man.
Matt (02:27):
I need to raise point of contention with your score for
Villain Blast.
I'm displeased that I lost you,but continue.
What else is new?
Jon (02:39):
Hagrid's Magical Creatures, motorbike Adventure, harry
Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
And then we also got to ridevelocicoaster popeye and bluto's
bilge rat barges, uh, whichpromptly ended all sense of
being able to walk with dryshoes.
Matt (02:58):
So john was just uh drying his shoes with a hair dryer in
our hotel room sink drying hisshoes with a hair dryer in our
hotel room sink.
Jon (03:05):
Yeah, they don't smell great at this point in time.
Matt (03:09):
But it's okay, we're only going to a quasi-fancy reception
, it's fine.
Jon (03:14):
It's fine.
If I meet Scar Jo, she'llunderstand.
Matt (03:19):
She'll understand your smelly shoes.
Jon (03:21):
I hope I mean same way.
Matt (03:25):
You would hope Emma Watson understood.
Very true.
All right, we got about an hourto go.
We're going to head over tothis reception and see what's up
, walking down the blue carpetand crossing our fingers as we
get to the Ministry of Magic.
After a whirlwind of getting toEpic Universe, grabbing our
credentials, waiting in a shortline and then making a beeline
to ride the Ministry of Magic,which we did gleefully, John and
(03:47):
I were able to regroup in 1920sParis outside of the Ministry.
To give you an update, John isnot in the mood to Morocco right
now, but we did find someneutral seltzer and what?
Jon (04:01):
do you got Florida Sunshine ?
Matt (04:02):
Lager.
We just got off the Ministry ofMagic Turned out we're being
wined and dined a little bithere.
Jon (04:09):
Yeah, they handed this right to me and I couldn't bring
myself to say no, because thatwould be rude when, in Paris,
that bartender is working veryhard for a living.
Matt (04:18):
Gotta give him a reason, that's right.
Jon (04:20):
That's right we'll see what the next ride is, but this man
is going hard with the maracawith the blue hat.
Well done, sir.
I applaud your maraca ink.
You could ask for anything more, not me and we got cowbells.
(04:40):
It's a lovely blend of ofthings going on over here.
I would live here.
This is amazing, yeah.
So another thing that'sincredible about this area of
the park they built everythingto actual one-to-one scale, so
the buildings you are seeing arethe exact size they would be in
Paris, including that buildingin the back.
All the way over there it isactually that tall.
(05:01):
No forced perspective here,folks.
Epic is the word.
Epic is definitely the word.
Matt (05:13):
Next up, john and I decided to make our way over to
Darkmoor and Epic's DarkUniverse.
On the way, we were told bypark staff that we had to stop
and check out the Blue DragonPan Asian restaurant.
We were told to sample theirfood and to request one or two
of their signature cocktails.
As we approached, their staffgave us a warm, loud welcome.
Once inside, we met Brielle andWill, two of their star
(05:34):
bartenders, who accepted ourchallenge to make us two of
their favorite signaturecocktails.
Jon (05:40):
Your favorite two cocktails yes, doesn't matter.
Matt (05:41):
Whatever you want Really, make what you want to make for
us.
Bar Tender (05:44):
Szechuan and yuzu.
Szechuan and yuzu, szechuan andyuzu.
Okay, szechuan and yuzu okay.
Matt (05:48):
Do you want them to walk around, do you?
Bar Tender (05:50):
like cucumber?
And do you like whiskey?
Matt (05:54):
They're going to be separate szechuan.
Bar Tender (05:57):
I'm making the szechuan right now.
Small cups for both.
Yeah.
Matt (06:03):
We got Brielle and Will helping us out here.
Bar Tender (06:05):
Do you have any more yuzu juice over there?
Okay, I bet, thank you.
We don't have any yuzu overhere.
Oh, we are very low on it rightnow.
Oh, you're going to ask thembefore give more yuzu juice.
Do you work for Universal aswell?
Jon (06:24):
No, no, no, just a travel agent.
I own an agency, yeah.
Bar Tender (06:29):
Thank you.
Matt (06:31):
Well, that's what I'm saying he will do that and I am
an unworthy podcaster, oh nice.
Matt and friends drink theuniverse podcast.
Bar Tender (06:41):
There we go.
Let's get you on your way todrinking the universe.
Matt (06:45):
Billy's a fitting title for this it sure is.
Jon (06:49):
It fits in just fine.
Bar Tender (06:52):
So Szechuan Smash is one of the drinks he chose that
one, the Yuzu drop, is myfavorite.
Okay.
Matt (06:57):
This is Kukori rice whiskey.
Bar Tender (06:59):
So it's a whiskey that's distilled from rice.
It's actually kind of a lot ofit Two and a half ounces.
Matt (07:03):
Alright.
Bar Tender (07:08):
Some honey.
It's just normal honey, it'snot alcoholic but it's just
delicious.
Jon (07:17):
And then I'll rinse this out with an ounce of yuzu juice,
making sure that's what I'mpouring.
Bar Tender (07:23):
This isn't really fun drink.
You'll see why in a second I'llgive it a rough little shake
here, alright.
Look how cooked it is.
Uh, oh Well I guess I wasputting it in a smaller cup here
, but I'll still be able to dothe fun magic trick with it Okay
(07:43):
.
It gets some smoke on it, butyeah, I think it'll work.
I think it'll work.
Matt (07:57):
She is smoking a cocktail for us right now.
Jon (08:01):
What is that one?
Matt (08:02):
That is the, that's the yuzu.
Jon (08:04):
This was the Szechuan smash .
Bar Tender (08:06):
Oh, that's the Szechuan smash.
So it's a ginger-infused smokeon top of it.
Matt (08:09):
Oh, that's cool.
Ginger-infused smoke on top.
Here we go.
Yep, 100%.
I got just fruity amazingness.
They're all different things.
It's always the ones that don'ttaste like alcohol that are the
problematic ones.
Oh boy, mm-hmm yeah.
Jon (08:30):
I can see myself getting into trouble with that.
Bar Tender (08:32):
Oh yeah, that's good so this one is made it's kind
of our take on an Asian lemondry.
It uses soju, which is anotherrice-based liqueur.
It's a spirit distilled fromrice.
It's two and a half ounces, soit's pretty strong as well.
And then a little bit of StGermain Yuzu juice, of course.
(08:52):
So these are both drinks thatuse yuzu juice.
Matt (08:56):
All right.
Bar Tender (09:04):
Some simple syrup.
It's really tasty.
Matt (09:33):
And then cucumber bitters.
I got an order from the bar andI got more of that.
Jon (09:35):
No, I'll do the next one.
Matt (09:37):
You want the next one.
Bar Tender (09:40):
Grab the barfly shaker.
This is embarrassing.
I want this next one.
You want the next one?
Grab the barfly shaker.
This is embarrassing.
Jon (09:45):
Happens to everyone True.
Bar Tender (09:51):
Oh my God, it's harder you work than you drink.
The better it tastes.
Matt (09:54):
Yeah, you know, that's all that means Damn the humidity in
Florida, do we?
Bar Tender (09:59):
have a strainer, or Do you grab the stuff from here?
Alright, and then this one getsgarnished with a dragon fruit.
Matt (10:11):
Garnished with a dragon fruit.
Bar Tender (10:12):
That was an oozer drop there you go.
Jon (10:18):
Oozer drop.
Are those buzz buttons in there?
What was that?
Are those buzz buttons in there?
What was that?
Are those buzz buttons in there?
They are Session One popcorn.
Okay, it has a similar.
Yup, it's similar to that.
Thank you.
Matt (10:33):
After riding Monsters Unchained, which was absolutely
spectacular, we decided to headover to the Burning Blade Tavern
to try two of their signaturecocktails.
If you'd like to see a video ofthe tavern on fire the actual
Burning Blades check out ourInstagram.
So we are at the Burning BladeTavern right now.
We're hoping to catch anon-fire windmill in a few
(10:54):
minutes, but I'm going with thePure of Heart which is mojito
style, a little on the sweeterside, and John went with the my
only weakness Very cool.
Jon (11:07):
All right, Charlie, this is my only weakness.
Bar Tender (11:09):
There is an eyeball on top.
I don't know which creature itcame with.
We keep a stockpile but nolabels.
Matt (11:14):
Perfect, very nice eyeball .
It looks good.
I'm sure the creature is notmissing it at all.
Bar Tender (11:19):
You don't have to compliment them, they're already
dead.
Jon (11:21):
Oh, that's delicious.
Bar Tender (11:25):
Is this your first time in Darkmoor?
Have you been here before this?
Jon (11:27):
is our first time, our first visit to Darkmoor.
Bar Tender (11:29):
Well, I might have to do a little extra work, but
that's okay as long as it keepsyou somewhat safe.
That's all that matters.
Appreciate that.
The rides so far have beenamazing, oh you're getting a
smoked beverage coming up, sothe primary ingredient in this
drink is going to be werewolf'sblood.
We do have to purify it just tomake it a little safer for you
(11:50):
to consume.
As a bonus to you at noadditional cost, this should
mask your scent from monsters orthings that smell like monsters
and dark lore.
Present company is included.
Matt (11:59):
Okay.
Bar Tender (11:59):
Like most things in the village, though, it's not
100% effective.
I highly recommend running ifsomething chases you and in the
event, they catch up to you andit has been nice knowing you.
You all seem like great peoplebut don't bring them back to the
tavern.
That is your pure of heart.
Thank you.
Feel free to use these to wardoff monsters.
Don't know how far you're goingto get, though.
Have a great time.
Matt (12:16):
Try to come back in one piece.
Ok, appreciate, it Will do.
Thank you so much, man.
All right, so I'm going in forthe pure fart right now, john.
Ok, very tasty, a little likeblackberry brandy vibes going on
.
Ok, fruity sweet, exactly whatI was hoping for at this point,
(12:38):
given that it's a milliondegrees out, and I needed
something a little on therefreshing side.
Jon (12:43):
But I've got my only weakness with the eye of
something.
So there's some kind of eyeballhere, Nondescript eyeball.
Whoa, how to?
Mm.
That is a really, really tasty,but like fruity gin and tonic.
Okay, that's good, that'srefreshing Again.
(13:05):
Kind of what I needed right nowbecause it's 150 degrees
outside.
Matt (13:09):
I saw it had a apriole in it and a few other things.
I think I saw some blackberryin there too.
Jon (13:15):
No, the drinks in there are good.
Matt (13:16):
Oh yeah, 10 out of 10, matt and friends drink.
The universe Gonna call theBurning Blade a stellar sip.
You need to go.
Once John and I finished up atthe Burning Blade Tavern and saw
it on fire.
We moved over to the Curse ofthe Werewolf coaster, which was
(13:38):
absolutely fantastic, one of myfavorites for the day.
From there we moved over toSuper Nintendo World, which was
just fantastic.
Minecart Madness over in theDonkey Kong area fantastic.
That ride is just a cut above.
And then the Mario Kart ride islike being inside of all your
childhood Mario Kart drivingfantasies.
From there we stopped at a placecalled the Bubbling Barrel for
(13:59):
a DK Crush float, which came ina tropical DK barrel with lots
of banana flavor.
Of course absolutely had tomention that ice cream float
Fantastic.
Hits the spot when you're alittle parched.
Towards the end of the night.
From there we went over to theIsle of Berg, which was
completely mind-blowing.
The rides there are fantastic.
(14:20):
The area there is just so welldone being how to Train your
Dragon themed.
It was again mind-blowing.
From there we watched the endof the night fireworks
spectacular and a little droneaction at the end.
And then John and I were ableto regroup one last time to wrap
up the event for you.
Okay, epic is underselling thenightmare.
Jon (14:48):
Listen.
Epic doesn't quite get it.
Matt (14:50):
No, have we paid for a drink yet this evening?
Jon (14:55):
No, we have not.
No, that's the thing we quiteliterally drank the universe,
yes, all expenses paid.
Courtesy NBC Universal.
I'm sorry.
Matt (15:05):
Yes, we drank multiple universes.
I'm finishing up the night on aparallax punch right now.
I wish I could tell you thename of the bar I got it from,
but I can tell you.
It's just to the right of theHelios Hotel, which looks
gloriously epic as I'm standingin front of it right now.
John and I, as we went throughand hit rides tonight, started
with the Ministry of Magic.
(15:26):
We then moved on to DarkUniverse and we hit Monsters,
unchained and the Werewolf, yeah, and then we moved over to
Mario and in Mario we did DonkeyKong, which I'm gonna be really
honest, and I will tell youDonkey Kong a little herky-jerky
, got the elbow a few times.
Jon (15:43):
It's a little rough and it's a little short.
It is.
It's still cool.
If you're a fan of thefranchise, oh yeah, like I am, I
grew up playing that, I had toride that and I will ride it
again, but I'll be betterprepared for the jerkiness.
Matt (15:55):
Probably wrap yourself in bubble wrap or something.
Jon (15:57):
That's probably a good idea .
My knee still hurts.
Matt (15:59):
Yes, the Nintendo world in general is overwhelming when
you walk in If you're a videogamer at all.
I actually had tears in my eyesbecause all of you have
listened to my podcast beforeand know I'm a huge gamer.
It was unbelievable, walking inthere, killed you there we did
yes, we did the mario kart ridealso, which was phenomenal, and
then we moved over to the isleof berk.
Jon (16:20):
I didn't miss anything right no, uh, isle of berk is
just I.
I can't wait to see it duringthe day because we saw that
night at night crazy cool.
I mean, the concept art lookedawesome.
It didn't do it justice.
It's way better.
We got the opportunity to ridethe roller coaster over there
(16:42):
Hiccup sliders or something, Idon't remember what it's called
Hiccup.
Matt (16:45):
sliders is the one we were worried was gonna flip us
upside down.
Jon (16:48):
No, it was a different one.
Matt (16:50):
We rode how to Train your Dragon, I think was the name of
that ride.
It wasn't no, no, it was areally cool coaster.
Jon (16:56):
Fun family coaster.
A lot of cool surprises on it.
Definitely enjoyable,definitely a ton of fun.
I'll ride it again and again,and again and again.
Matt (17:05):
Oh, yeah, not overly intense.
Jon (17:07):
No, very relaxed.
Matt (17:08):
Matt here does not not do upside down twisty-turvy roller
coasters in general, and thatone was just perfect.
Jon (17:14):
We rate things here on the number of mats that it would
take to ride the coaster.
That particular coaster was one.
It's a one mat coaster, Whereaslike Velocicoaster is like a 12
mat coaster.
Matt (17:29):
That's true.
There's way too much gravityinvolved in that coaster for me
to get on it.
Jon (17:34):
Matt was fine on that coaster.
Honestly, everything in thispark is pretty approachable.
Matt (17:40):
Yeah, I would put my nine-year-old on any of the
rides here.
I think she would absolutelylove that.
Jon (17:45):
They're really approachable .
Matt (17:46):
Nothing's too crazy, no, but everything is spectacular, I
mean, I feel like we, almostshort, sold ourselves on
checking out all the places toeat or drink.
Jon (17:58):
Yeah, we do that.
Matt (18:00):
We miss the Moonshine Bar at Harry Potter.
I'm so glad that we got to seethe Flaming Blade up at Dark
Universe.
That was a highlight for me.
But next time I come back hereI could probably walk around and
just find places to eat ordrink all day.
And thank you to Universal ingeneral they took such good care
of us tonight I can't evenbegin to describe how well we
(18:23):
were.
Taking care of Wine and dinedoesn't even do it.
I can't wait to bring my familyback later to do this with me.
Jon (18:32):
I've been on this planet for 39 plus years.
I've never been wined and dinedthe way I was this evening.
No Very enjoyable experience.
The crowd levels were obviouslyvery, very, very low, yeah,
which made for a really goodtime.
I don't think there were morethan 5,000 people.
Here is what they said.
So every ride was five minutes.
(18:52):
Walk on, walk on, walk on, walkon.
Matt (18:54):
Yeah, we didn't wait for a ride.
We were a little spoiled thisevening.
Jon (18:59):
All day.
Yeah, yes, this park isincredible.
It's everything it was built upto be and then some and words
do not quite do it justiceThey've found the perfect blend
of technology and realism thatwe creates for an immersive
experience.
Matt (19:18):
But we didn't get on one ride that John had me primed for
.
I was willing to step it up atthe last minute here.
Jon (19:24):
Yeah, someone didn't want to go on the Stardust Racers,
but we didn't get to becausethey closed it right as we were
about to, so the fireworks couldoccur, which was a really good
show.
That was a lot of fireworks.
Matt (19:35):
There it was.
It was epic.
I have a video of that onInstagram.
Epic Ha, it's a pun.
Bar Tender (19:42):
Go ahead and check out that video overall.
Matt (19:46):
We're probably going to have to run out of here shortly.
But, John, how many rides didwe do today?
We did 14 before we left theUniversal Park.
Jon (19:56):
We're easily over 25.
Yeah, we did a lot of ridestoday, but we do have nine
minutes left before they kick usout of here and the bar is
closed in nine minutes, so weget another one.
The only way that we couldpossibly do this in proper Matt
and Friends Drink the Universefashion is to grab another
beverage on our way out the door.
Matt (20:15):
It's been awesome hanging out with John from Poppins
Travel.
We're gonna make our way out ofthis park.
We're gonna raid one more bar,thank you.
Captain's Log, may 2025.
This is Matt and I justcompleted a truly epic adventure
.
I was invited to the grandopening celebration for Epic
Universe, the new park at theUniversal Orlando Resort.
I was able to meet up with andshare this adventure with my
dear and longtime friend, john,who is also from our sponsor,
the Poppins Travel Company.
(00:27):
John and I traveled our waythrough both the Universal
Studios and Islands of Adventureparks before attending the
grand opening celebration forEpic Universe at night.
Together, we walked a total of19 miles and rode well over 20
major attractions in one day.
This episode is a compilationof live recordings taken
throughout the day.
I hope you enjoy listening toour epic adventure.
(00:52):
Hey everyone, this is Matt fromMatt and Friends Drink the
Universe.
I'm here at Universal Studios,orlando with John from Poppins
Travel Hello there, and we havebeen invited to an exclusive
opening event for Epic Universethis evening.
Looking forward to thatFireworks drone show.
Blue carpet apparently DrinksDrinks.
That is why I'm here.
(01:13):
We're going to see what drinksare available and we're going to
drink Epic Universe.
Here we go.
John and I decided to beresponsible humans in the 90
plus degree Florida heat thatfelt like 96 degrees, and
instead of consuming any alcoholin the morning, we decided to
hit the rides in UniversalIslands of Adventure and
(01:36):
Universal Studios pretty hard.
We then found ourselves back inour hotel room regrouping
before the grand opening event.
Matt and John back again givingyou a little update here, john,
how many rides did we hit today?
Uh 15.
Are you able to rattle them off?
Jon (01:54):
In no particular order.
Let's just, we'll make thiseasy.
Okay, we rode ET's Adventure,harry Potter and the Escape from
Gringotts, hogwarts Express,both directions, so from Diagon
Alley to Hogsmeade and backagain, or I guess the other way
actually.
(02:14):
But then we also got to rideMen in Black, revenge of the
Mummy, transformers, VillainCon,minion Blast, the Amazing
Adventures of Spider-Man.
Matt (02:27):
I need to raise point of contention with your score for
Villain Blast.
I'm displeased that I lost you,but continue.
What else is new?
Jon (02:39):
Hagrid's Magical Creatures, motorbike Adventure, harry
Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
And then we also got to ridevelocicoaster popeye and bluto's
bilge rat barges, uh, whichpromptly ended all sense of
being able to walk with dryshoes.
Matt (02:58):
So john was just uh drying his shoes with a hair dryer in
our hotel room sink drying hisshoes with a hair dryer in our
hotel room sink.
Jon (03:05):
Yeah, they don't smell great at this point in time.
Matt (03:09):
But it's okay, we're only going to a quasi-fancy reception
, it's fine.
Jon (03:14):
It's fine.
If I meet Scar Jo, she'llunderstand.
Matt (03:19):
She'll understand your smelly shoes.
Jon (03:21):
I hope I mean same way.
Matt (03:25):
You would hope Emma Watson understood.
Very true.
All right, we got about an hourto go.
We're going to head over tothis reception and see what's up
, walking down the blue carpetand crossing our fingers as we
get to the Ministry of Magic.
After a whirlwind of getting toEpic Universe, grabbing our
credentials, waiting in a shortline and then making a beeline
to ride the Ministry of Magic,which we did gleefully, John and
(03:47):
I were able to regroup in 1920sParis outside of the Ministry.
To give you an update, John isnot in the mood to Morocco right
now, but we did find someneutral seltzer and what?
Jon (04:01):
do you got Florida Sunshine ?
Matt (04:02):
Lager.
We just got off the Ministry ofMagic Turned out we're being
wined and dined a little bithere.
Jon (04:09):
Yeah, they handed this right to me and I couldn't bring
myself to say no, because thatwould be rude when, in Paris,
that bartender is working veryhard for a living.
Matt (04:18):
Gotta give him a reason, that's right.
Jon (04:20):
That's right we'll see what the next ride is, but this man
is going hard with the maracawith the blue hat.
Well done, sir.
I applaud your maraca ink.
You could ask for anything more, not me and we got cowbells.
(04:40):
It's a lovely blend of ofthings going on over here.
I would live here.
This is amazing, yeah.
So another thing that'sincredible about this area of
the park they built everythingto actual one-to-one scale, so
the buildings you are seeing arethe exact size they would be in
Paris, including that buildingin the back.
All the way over there it isactually that tall.
(05:01):
No forced perspective here,folks.
Epic is the word.
Epic is definitely the word.
Matt (05:13):
Next up, john and I decided to make our way over to
Darkmoor and Epic's DarkUniverse.
On the way, we were told bypark staff that we had to stop
and check out the Blue DragonPan Asian restaurant.
We were told to sample theirfood and to request one or two
of their signature cocktails.
As we approached, their staffgave us a warm, loud welcome.
Once inside, we met Brielle andWill, two of their star
(05:34):
bartenders, who accepted ourchallenge to make us two of
their favorite signaturecocktails.
Jon (05:40):
Your favorite two cocktails yes, doesn't matter.
Matt (05:41):
Whatever you want Really, make what you want to make for
us.
Bar Tender (05:44):
Szechuan and yuzu.
Szechuan and yuzu, szechuan andyuzu.
Okay, szechuan and yuzu okay.
Matt (05:48):
Do you want them to walk around, do you?
Bar Tender (05:50):
like cucumber?
And do you like whiskey?
Matt (05:54):
They're going to be separate szechuan.
Bar Tender (05:57):
I'm making the szechuan right now.
Small cups for both.
Yeah.
Matt (06:03):
We got Brielle and Will helping us out here.
Bar Tender (06:05):
Do you have any more yuzu juice over there?
Okay, I bet, thank you.
We don't have any yuzu overhere.
Oh, we are very low on it rightnow.
Oh, you're going to ask thembefore give more yuzu juice.
Do you work for Universal aswell?
Jon (06:24):
No, no, no, just a travel agent.
I own an agency, yeah.
Bar Tender (06:29):
Thank you.
Matt (06:31):
Well, that's what I'm saying he will do that and I am
an unworthy podcaster, oh nice.
Matt and friends drink theuniverse podcast.
Bar Tender (06:41):
There we go.
Let's get you on your way todrinking the universe.
Matt (06:45):
Billy's a fitting title for this it sure is.
Jon (06:49):
It fits in just fine.
Bar Tender (06:52):
So Szechuan Smash is one of the drinks he chose that
one, the Yuzu drop, is myfavorite.
Okay.
Matt (06:57):
This is Kukori rice whiskey.
Bar Tender (06:59):
So it's a whiskey that's distilled from rice.
It's actually kind of a lot ofit Two and a half ounces.
Matt (07:03):
Alright.
Bar Tender (07:08):
Some honey.
It's just normal honey, it'snot alcoholic but it's just
delicious.
Jon (07:17):
And then I'll rinse this out with an ounce of yuzu juice,
making sure that's what I'mpouring.
Bar Tender (07:23):
This isn't really fun drink.
You'll see why in a second I'llgive it a rough little shake
here, alright.
Look how cooked it is.
Uh, oh Well I guess I wasputting it in a smaller cup here
, but I'll still be able to dothe fun magic trick with it Okay
(07:43):
.
It gets some smoke on it, butyeah, I think it'll work.
I think it'll work.
Matt (07:57):
She is smoking a cocktail for us right now.
Jon (08:01):
What is that one?
Matt (08:02):
That is the, that's the yuzu.
Jon (08:04):
This was the Szechuan smash .
Bar Tender (08:06):
Oh, that's the Szechuan smash.
So it's a ginger-infused smokeon top of it.
Matt (08:09):
Oh, that's cool.
Ginger-infused smoke on top.
Here we go.
Yep, 100%.
I got just fruity amazingness.
They're all different things.
It's always the ones that don'ttaste like alcohol that are the
problematic ones.
Oh boy, mm-hmm yeah.
Jon (08:30):
I can see myself getting into trouble with that.
Bar Tender (08:32):
Oh yeah, that's good so this one is made it's kind
of our take on an Asian lemondry.
It uses soju, which is anotherrice-based liqueur.
It's a spirit distilled fromrice.
It's two and a half ounces, soit's pretty strong as well.
And then a little bit of StGermain Yuzu juice, of course.
(08:52):
So these are both drinks thatuse yuzu juice.
Matt (08:56):
All right.
Bar Tender (09:04):
Some simple syrup.
It's really tasty.
Matt (09:33):
And then cucumber bitters.
I got an order from the bar andI got more of that.
Jon (09:35):
No, I'll do the next one.
Matt (09:37):
You want the next one.
Bar Tender (09:40):
Grab the barfly shaker.
This is embarrassing.
I want this next one.
You want the next one?
Grab the barfly shaker.
This is embarrassing.
Jon (09:45):
Happens to everyone True.
Bar Tender (09:51):
Oh my God, it's harder you work than you drink.
The better it tastes.
Matt (09:54):
Yeah, you know, that's all that means Damn the humidity in
Florida, do we?
Bar Tender (09:59):
have a strainer, or Do you grab the stuff from here?
Alright, and then this one getsgarnished with a dragon fruit.
Matt (10:11):
Garnished with a dragon fruit.
Bar Tender (10:12):
That was an oozer drop there you go.
Jon (10:18):
Oozer drop.
Are those buzz buttons in there?
What was that?
Are those buzz buttons in there?
What was that?
Are those buzz buttons in there?
They are Session One popcorn.
Okay, it has a similar.
Yup, it's similar to that.
Thank you.
Matt (10:33):
After riding Monsters Unchained, which was absolutely
spectacular, we decided to headover to the Burning Blade Tavern
to try two of their signaturecocktails.
If you'd like to see a video ofthe tavern on fire the actual
Burning Blades check out ourInstagram.
So we are at the Burning BladeTavern right now.
We're hoping to catch anon-fire windmill in a few
(10:54):
minutes, but I'm going with thePure of Heart which is mojito
style, a little on the sweeterside, and John went with the my
only weakness Very cool.
Jon (11:07):
All right, Charlie, this is my only weakness.
Bar Tender (11:09):
There is an eyeball on top.
I don't know which creature itcame with.
We keep a stockpile but nolabels.
Matt (11:14):
Perfect, very nice eyeball .
It looks good.
I'm sure the creature is notmissing it at all.
Bar Tender (11:19):
You don't have to compliment them, they're already
dead.
Jon (11:21):
Oh, that's delicious.
Bar Tender (11:25):
Is this your first time in Darkmoor?
Have you been here before this?
Jon (11:27):
is our first time, our first visit to Darkmoor.
Bar Tender (11:29):
Well, I might have to do a little extra work, but
that's okay as long as it keepsyou somewhat safe.
That's all that matters.
Appreciate that.
The rides so far have beenamazing, oh you're getting a
smoked beverage coming up, sothe primary ingredient in this
drink is going to be werewolf'sblood.
We do have to purify it just tomake it a little safer for you
(11:50):
to consume.
As a bonus to you at noadditional cost, this should
mask your scent from monsters orthings that smell like monsters
and dark lore.
Present company is included.
Matt (11:59):
Okay.
Bar Tender (11:59):
Like most things in the village, though, it's not
100% effective.
I highly recommend running ifsomething chases you and in the
event, they catch up to you andit has been nice knowing you.
You all seem like great peoplebut don't bring them back to the
tavern.
That is your pure of heart.
Thank you.
Feel free to use these to wardoff monsters.
Don't know how far you're goingto get, though.
Have a great time.
Matt (12:16):
Try to come back in one piece.
Ok, appreciate, it Will do.
Thank you so much, man.
All right, so I'm going in forthe pure fart right now, john.
Ok, very tasty, a little likeblackberry brandy vibes going on
.
Ok, fruity sweet, exactly whatI was hoping for at this point,
(12:38):
given that it's a milliondegrees out, and I needed
something a little on therefreshing side.
Jon (12:43):
But I've got my only weakness with the eye of
something.
So there's some kind of eyeballhere, Nondescript eyeball.
Whoa, how to?
Mm.
That is a really, really tasty,but like fruity gin and tonic.
Okay, that's good, that'srefreshing Again.
(13:05):
Kind of what I needed right nowbecause it's 150 degrees
outside.
Matt (13:09):
I saw it had a apriole in it and a few other things.
I think I saw some blackberryin there too.
Jon (13:15):
No, the drinks in there are good.
Matt (13:16):
Oh yeah, 10 out of 10, matt and friends drink.
The universe Gonna call theBurning Blade a stellar sip.
You need to go.
Once John and I finished up atthe Burning Blade Tavern and saw
it on fire.
We moved over to the Curse ofthe Werewolf coaster, which was
(13:38):
absolutely fantastic, one of myfavorites for the day.
From there we moved over toSuper Nintendo World, which was
just fantastic.
Minecart Madness over in theDonkey Kong area fantastic.
That ride is just a cut above.
And then the Mario Kart ride islike being inside of all your
childhood Mario Kart drivingfantasies.
From there we stopped at a placecalled the Bubbling Barrel for
(13:59):
a DK Crush float, which came ina tropical DK barrel with lots
of banana flavor.
Of course absolutely had tomention that ice cream float
Fantastic.
Hits the spot when you're alittle parched.
Towards the end of the night.
From there we went over to theIsle of Berg, which was
completely mind-blowing.
The rides there are fantastic.
(14:20):
The area there is just so welldone being how to Train your
Dragon themed.
It was again mind-blowing.
From there we watched the endof the night fireworks
spectacular and a little droneaction at the end.
And then John and I were ableto regroup one last time to wrap
up the event for you.
Okay, epic is underselling thenightmare.
Jon (14:48):
Listen.
Epic doesn't quite get it.
Matt (14:50):
No, have we paid for a drink yet this evening?
Jon (14:55):
No, we have not.
No, that's the thing we quiteliterally drank the universe,
yes, all expenses paid.
Courtesy NBC Universal.
I'm sorry.
Matt (15:05):
Yes, we drank multiple universes.
I'm finishing up the night on aparallax punch right now.
I wish I could tell you thename of the bar I got it from,
but I can tell you.
It's just to the right of theHelios Hotel, which looks
gloriously epic as I'm standingin front of it right now.
John and I, as we went throughand hit rides tonight, started
with the Ministry of Magic.
(15:26):
We then moved on to DarkUniverse and we hit Monsters,
unchained and the Werewolf, yeah, and then we moved over to
Mario and in Mario we did DonkeyKong, which I'm gonna be really
honest, and I will tell youDonkey Kong a little herky-jerky
, got the elbow a few times.
Jon (15:43):
It's a little rough and it's a little short.
It is.
It's still cool.
If you're a fan of thefranchise, oh yeah, like I am, I
grew up playing that, I had toride that and I will ride it
again, but I'll be betterprepared for the jerkiness.
Matt (15:55):
Probably wrap yourself in bubble wrap or something.
Jon (15:57):
That's probably a good idea .
My knee still hurts.
Matt (15:59):
Yes, the Nintendo world in general is overwhelming when
you walk in If you're a videogamer at all.
I actually had tears in my eyesbecause all of you have
listened to my podcast beforeand know I'm a huge gamer.
It was unbelievable, walking inthere, killed you there we did
yes, we did the mario kart ridealso, which was phenomenal, and
then we moved over to the isleof berk.
Jon (16:20):
I didn't miss anything right no, uh, isle of berk is
just I.
I can't wait to see it duringthe day because we saw that
night at night crazy cool.
I mean, the concept art lookedawesome.
It didn't do it justice.
It's way better.
We got the opportunity to ridethe roller coaster over there
(16:42):
Hiccup sliders or something, Idon't remember what it's called
Hiccup.
Matt (16:45):
sliders is the one we were worried was gonna flip us
upside down.
Jon (16:48):
No, it was a different one.
Matt (16:50):
We rode how to Train your Dragon, I think was the name of
that ride.
It wasn't no, no, it was areally cool coaster.
Jon (16:56):
Fun family coaster.
A lot of cool surprises on it.
Definitely enjoyable,definitely a ton of fun.
I'll ride it again and again,and again and again.
Matt (17:05):
Oh, yeah, not overly intense.
Jon (17:07):
No, very relaxed.
Matt (17:08):
Matt here does not not do upside down twisty-turvy roller
coasters in general, and thatone was just perfect.
Jon (17:14):
We rate things here on the number of mats that it would
take to ride the coaster.
That particular coaster was one.
It's a one mat coaster, Whereaslike Velocicoaster is like a 12
mat coaster.
Matt (17:29):
That's true.
There's way too much gravityinvolved in that coaster for me
to get on it.
Jon (17:34):
Matt was fine on that coaster.
Honestly, everything in thispark is pretty approachable.
Matt (17:40):
Yeah, I would put my nine-year-old on any of the
rides here.
I think she would absolutelylove that.
Jon (17:45):
They're really approachable .
Matt (17:46):
Nothing's too crazy, no, but everything is spectacular, I
mean, I feel like we, almostshort, sold ourselves on
checking out all the places toeat or drink.
Jon (17:58):
Yeah, we do that.
Matt (18:00):
We miss the Moonshine Bar at Harry Potter.
I'm so glad that we got to seethe Flaming Blade up at Dark
Universe.
That was a highlight for me.
But next time I come back hereI could probably walk around and
just find places to eat ordrink all day.
And thank you to Universal ingeneral they took such good care
of us tonight I can't evenbegin to describe how well we
(18:23):
were.
Taking care of Wine and dinedoesn't even do it.
I can't wait to bring my familyback later to do this with me.
Jon (18:32):
I've been on this planet for 39 plus years.
I've never been wined and dinedthe way I was this evening.
No Very enjoyable experience.
The crowd levels were obviouslyvery, very, very low, yeah,
which made for a really goodtime.
I don't think there were morethan 5,000 people.
Here is what they said.
So every ride was five minutes.
(18:52):
Walk on, walk on, walk on, walkon.
Matt (18:54):
Yeah, we didn't wait for a ride.
We were a little spoiled thisevening.
Jon (18:59):
All day.
Yeah, yes, this park isincredible.
It's everything it was built upto be and then some and words
do not quite do it justiceThey've found the perfect blend
of technology and realism thatwe creates for an immersive
experience.
Matt (19:18):
But we didn't get on one ride that John had me primed for
.
I was willing to step it up atthe last minute here.
Jon (19:24):
Yeah, someone didn't want to go on the Stardust Racers,
but we didn't get to becausethey closed it right as we were
about to, so the fireworks couldoccur, which was a really good
show.
That was a lot of fireworks.
Matt (19:35):
There it was.
It was epic.
I have a video of that onInstagram.
Epic Ha, it's a pun.
Bar Tender (19:42):
Go ahead and check out that video overall.
Matt (19:46):
We're probably going to have to run out of here shortly.
But, John, how many rides didwe do today?
We did 14 before we left theUniversal Park.
Jon (19:56):
We're easily over 25.
Yeah, we did a lot of ridestoday, but we do have nine
minutes left before they kick usout of here and the bar is
closed in nine minutes, so weget another one.
The only way that we couldpossibly do this in proper Matt
and Friends Drink the Universefashion is to grab another
beverage on our way out the door.
Matt (20:15):
It's been awesome hanging out with John from Poppins
Travel.
We're gonna make our way out ofthis park.
We're gonna raid one more bar,thank you.
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