Universal Epic Universe is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, United States. Owned by NBCUniversal and operated by Universal Destinations & Experiences, the park officially opened on May 22, 2025, as the fourth park at Universal Orlando Resort. It is situated within a larger land acquisition a few miles south of the resort's other parks and features five themed areas: Celestial Park, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
Construction was underway by August 2019 but was later delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Details about the park's themed areas and attractions were limited during development, with Super Nintendo World becoming the final themed land to be officially unveiled more than three years later. Major attractions include the motion-based dark rides Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, the dual-tracked roller coaster Stardust Racers, and the augmented reality dark ride Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge.
History On August 1, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that it was building a new theme park at Universal Orlando named Universal's Epic Universe. Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts at the time, released a statement labeling Epic Universe the "most immersive and innovative theme park" the company had ever created. Officials anticipated the new park's state and local economic contribution would be significant, including the hiring of an additional 14,000 employees and nearly doubling tax revenue generated by the resort. Governor Ron DeSantis shared positive feedback in a public statement.
Concept art released by Universal during the official announcement left details purposely vague. It was widely speculated that the various lands within Epic Universe would be based on franchises such as How to Train Your Dragon, Fantastic Beasts, Universal Classic Monsters, and several Nintendo properties including Super Mario and Donkey Kong. Comcast executives confirmed the addition of Super Nintendo World in January 2020, although official confirmation did not occur until February 2023. CEO Mark Woodbury would later call it the "worst-kept secret in history".
With construction underway by August 2019, the park was originally scheduled to open in 2023, but was later pushed to 2025. This delay was at least in part due to pauses in construction during the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted construction from July 2020 to March 2021. In May 2022, Universal donated of land near Epic Universe toward the Brightline rail route corridor project that was underway.
In March 2023, Universal rebranded Universal Parks & Resorts as Universal Destinations & Experiences and changed the park's name from Universal's Epic Universe to Universal Epic Universe, removing the possessive "s" in the name. Universal also released a new logo featuring a starry backdrop inside the compass, larger text, and a simplified golden compass design. Celestial Park was unveiled in a press release on January 30, 2024, which is the first world guests encounter when entering the park. The unveiling included a map detailing the overall layout of Epic Universe.
After Hurricane Milton caused minor damage in October 2024, construction was briefly paused. Later that month, Universal confirmed the park's grand opening date of May22, 2025, approximately two weeks before Universal Orlando's 35th anniversary. Tickets went on sale following the announcement, but they were initially only offered as part of a multiday ticket purchase or with the purchase of a vacation package. Single-day tickets became available for annual passholders the following week, as well as reservations for the new Helios Grand Hotel.
The first previews for employees began on March1, 2025. Early entry for pass holders and Universal hotel guests began on April 17 and was later extended to the general public. During this time, there was limited availability of certain attractions and experiences. Also the same month, a replica of Epic Universe's portal Chronos was featured in a national tour of select US cities to promote the park through June 2025. A celebrity and executive preview event was held the day before the grand opening, and the park officially opened to the public as planned on May 22, 2025.
Initially, the park featured a nightly Cosmos Fountain show combining the fountains with lighting and music. On July 7, 2026, the original show was replaced by an expanded nightly show, Universal Celestial Goodnight, which incorporates fireworks along with synchronized fountains, music, and lights.
Areas and attractions
Epic Universe uses a hub-and-spoke layout, consisting of four themed lands branching off a central hub called Celestial Park, with each land featuring a uniquely themed gateway. The themed lands, in clockwise order from entry, are Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe (themed to Universal Classic Monsters), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, and How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk. The restaurants, ambient music, staff uniforms, and infrastructure in each area reflect its theme, even down to the food and cutlery. Themed portals, with digital LED signage, lead from Celestial Park to each land.
Epic Universe utilizes facial recognition technology instead of tickets for entry, lockers, and express lanes for rides.
Celestial Park The hub of the park is Celestial Park, a garden with walkways, fountains, and ponds featuring design motifs based on astrology, which connects the other four areas together. Celestial Park is themed as a crossroads for interdimensional travel powered by the Chronos, a tower that serves as the park's icon and entrance gateway. The area features two rides: the Constellation Carousel, a celestial-themed carousel flat ride similar to the SeaGlass Carousel in New York, and Stardust Racers, a dual-tracked launched roller coaster manufactured by Mack Rides. Celestial Park also contains the Helios Grand Hotel (operated by Loews) and several notable dining locations, including an underwater-themed seafood restaurant encased in glass called Atlantic, and the Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant. There are also four walk-up bars and concierge booths in this area, as well as smaller restaurants including Frosty Moon, Meteor Astropub, The Oak & Star Tavern, and Pizza Moon.
Celestial Park contains seven million individually controllable embedded LEDs.
AttractionYear openedManufacturerDescriptionPhotoAstronomica2025Kids' splash pad play areaConstellation Carousel2025CarouselStardust Racers2025Mack RidesDueling launch coaster
Dark Universe Home to the Universal Classic Monsters and intended as a modern-day follow-up to the classic era of the films, Dark Universe is set in the dreary Darkmoor Village. The area's backstory focuses on Dr.Victoria Frankenstein, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein, a character who appears in Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Victoria has assembled various creatures for experimentation, including Frankenstein's monster and Count Dracula, but they break free and terrorize the brave volunteers inside the catacombs underneath Frankenstein's manor. The name Dark Universe revives the name of Universal's canceled Dark Universe film franchise that had been intended to serve as a reboot of Universal Monsters, but was abandoned following the poor box office performance of The Mummy (2017).
In late 2021, patent applications were filed for a new motion-based dark ride, which features elements similar to the technology used on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This was later revealed to be Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a dark ride using KUKA arm technology. Another featured ride is Curse of the Werewolf, a launched spinning coaster manufactured by Mack Rides themed after the gypsy character Maleva and her Guild of Mystics from the film The Wolf Man (1941). Notable dining options include Das Stakehaus, a vampire-themed steakhouse; The Burning Blade Tavern, a themed bar; and De Lacey's Cottage.
In June 2024, it was announced that Danny Elfman was set to compose the music for the land.
AttractionYear openedManufacturerDescriptionCurse of the Werewolf2025Mack RidesA spinning roller coaster based on the film The Wolf Man (1941). Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience 2025A makeup shop in the former lab of Dr. Pretorius that gives guests an opportunity to become their own monster. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment2025A KUKA arm dark ride featuring the Universal Monsters.
How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk is themed to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, and is set between the second and third films. The area is the largest of the four IP-based lands in the park, and it features three rides: Hiccup's Wing Gliders, a launched roller coaster manufactured by Intamin, Dragon Racer's Rally, a pair of Gerstlauer Sky Fly rides, and Fyre Drill, an interactive boat ride manufactured by Mack Rides. There is also a children's play area called the Viking Training Camp, as well as large free-flying dragon drones.
The area's notable dining options include Mead Hall, Spit Fyre Grill, and Hooligan's Grog & Gruel. Mead Hall serves "Yaknog", a themed drink made of malted chocolate, cinnamon, and whipped cream.
+AttractionYear openedManufacturerDescription Dragon Racer's Rally2025GerstlauerA Sky Fly flat ride themed to dragon racing.Fyre Drill2025Mack RidesInteractive Boat RideHiccup's Wing Gliders2025IntaminA launch family roller coaster themed to dragon training. The Untrainable Dragon2025 A How to Train Your Dragon-themed stage show. Vikings in the dragon sanctuary are having problems with handling a specific dragon, so they call on Hiccup to deploy his training methods to get the dragon in line.Viking Training Camp2025Play area with a variety of activities.
Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World is themed to various Nintendo-owned franchises, with a primary focus on the Mario franchise. Its entrance from Celestial Park is themed as a Warp Pipe that appears in many of the Mario series video games. Unlike the ones in Hollywood and Japan, it includes escalators. Like the version of the land constructed in Universal Studios Japan, it includes Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, an augmented reality racing simulator based on the Mario Kart series, as well as Yoshi's Adventure, an omnimover attraction themed to the character Yoshi from the Mario franchise. The area also features an additional section themed to the Donkey Kong Country franchise, which includes Mine-Cart Madness, a new type of roller coaster patented as the "Boom Coaster". The coaster is designed with a false track that trains move over while being attached to a hidden track underneath, allowing the track's design to implement gaps that create the illusion the trains are jumping over missing portions of track.
The land is divided into two sections: Super Mario Land and Donkey Kong Country. Notable dining options include Toadstool Cafe, which serves American cuisine, and Yoshi's Snack Land.
A "Power-Up Band" for sale allows guests to explore the area and collect digital coins. Guests who complete three challenges and collect keys using their Power-Up Band can unlock Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown. This virtual reality experience has guests physically dodging, jumping, and battling Bowser Jr. and his flying Clown Car to reclaim the Golden Mushroom.
+AttractionYear openedManufacturerDescriptionMario Kart: Bowser's Challenge2025Dynamic AttractionsAR Dark Ride based on the Mario Kart seriesMine-Cart Madness2025SetpointA "boom coaster" based on the Donkey Kong Country series.Yoshi's Adventure2025Sansei TechnologiesOmnimoverBowser Jr. Shadow Showdown2025A "secret level" VR experience
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic