Universal Epic Universe, May 2025

We were lucky enough to visit Orlando’s newest, shiniest, most advanced, and most epic theme park: Universal Epic Universe – during it’s preview event.  We’d only been to Universal back in December, and we weren’t planning to head to Epic until next year when it had all settled down, but when they announced preview days for passholders and hotel guests, we got insanely jealous and had to try and get there while it was quieter. Luckily enough, the stars aligned, and we managed to get a cheap flight with Aer Lingus and a week at Universal Stella Nova Resort for a bargain price too! 

Fortunately – or unfortunately, preview tickets had been extended to the general public, so while the parks would now be even busier, we were able to secure tickets in advance.  So, we did.  3 hopefully epic days awaited us at Epic Universe. 

What can I say about Epic Universe?  It IS epic. The park is epic, the rides are epic, the theming is epic, food choice also epic. Overall, just EPIC.  Problem is, when it fails, that’s epic too! 

We’d already had our sneak peak at Epic Universe from the Helios Bar at the top of the new Helios Grand Hotel.  It was Jo’s birthday on the Sunday, so we booked a table.  Unfortunately, the weather was against us but eventually cleared for some amazing nighttime views.  It looked amazing from the Helios Bar balcony, seeing the park all lit up, watching Stardust Racers illuminated across the sky.  And from the ground level outside, looking from the hotel and seeing the Helios Statue and fountains just made us more eager to get in the park the following morning. 

As I mentioned, we were staying at the Universal Stella Nova Resort – one of the 3 new hotels built alongside Epic Universe, with its sister hotel Terra Nova and the impressive Helios Grand.  Whilst Stella Nova and Terra Luna are pretty much identical, Stella Nova does have one small advantage: It has a walking path to Epic Universe. Yes, in around 10 minutes you can just walk to the park. 

Stella Nova and all Universal hotels all benefit from the Universal bus service which now takes guests to either CityWalk for the other parks or straight over to Epic. The bus from Stella Nova was handy on a raining or lazy day.  We took it on day one but walked on days 2 and 3. It was quicker. 

As hotel guests you’re given Early Park Admission to the Universal Parks.  Usually Islands of Adventure, but now Epic Universe is included too, so we could enter the park at 8am, an hour before the general public at 9am.  EPA at Epic allows you into Super Nintendo World and all its rides, plus Stardust Racers. 

It’s worth keeping an eye on the other areas on the app too. On days 2 and 3, Mario Kart and Donkey Kong were having delays, leaving the area with only Yoshi’s Adventure, and Stardust Racers was down on day 3, but we noticed Hiccup’s Wing Gliders over in Isle of Berk on a 5 minute wait and Monsters Unchained in Dark Universe was also running before 9am. We headed to the portal’s side gates and showed our hotel passes and were allowed to enter Dark Universe and get a walk-on ride on Monsters Unchained. 10 mins later and the queue was an hour! 

Entry to the park was straightforward enough.  Through the metal detectors, scanned ticket and do the facial recognition checks and away.  On days 2 and 3 we didn’t even have to scan the tickets as they were linked to our image through the app.  Best keep it handy though! 

It doesn’t matter how many pictures I’ve seen or YouTube videos of people walking in, that first time passing through the Chronos is spectacular. A true jaw dropping moment for a theme park enthusiast. The look and design of it is amazing. In gold and green colours, featuring symbols from all the worlds in Epic Universe and the twisting, turning planetary gyroscopic rings at the top of the tower all come together to bring it to life. And then there’s the pulsing heartbeat as you pass through. Amazing. 

Once you’ve passed through the Chronos, you’re into Celestial Park. A wide-open central hub area that connects the worlds of Epic Universe together.  Celestial Park is home to 2 rides along with several shops, bars and restaurants.  It is beautiful. Very grand in design, with its iconic statues of Luna and Helios at either end, fantastic architecture, lush landscaping, patterned pathways and lighting all around.  The beautiful Constellation Carousel dome at its centre, the large fountain pools and the imposing Helios Grand hotel at the back, with the portals to the other worlds around the sides. 

For food and drink, there are loads of options in Celestial Park.  Pizza Moon is an impressively themed pizza restaurant, with the Moon with a Pizza in its eye sign outside, and circus character designs on the interior. The Oak and Star Tavern has more of a traditional pub feel to it, but again the design work inside is amazing.  Look up to see the treetop canopy and the stained glass windows while you enjoy breakfast or barbeque meals.

Blue Dragon offers Pan Asian dining, Atlantic looks amazing inside and offers seafood dishes, Meteor Astropub serves burgers and hotdogs and there are a few food and drink kiosks around too serving different styles of food.  There’s also space for further restaurants to open in the next phase of the park. 

Celestial Park also has 2 (yes 2) Starbucks locations,  Frosty Moon serves fancy ice cream treats, and while most of the sit down restaurants serve beers and ciders, if you want a fancier alcoholic beverage, cocktails and such, you can choose from the Celestiki Tiki Bar, Zenith Bar or the ordering window at the Oak & Star, called The Plastered Owl. 

The main souvenir shop at the entrance is the Other Worlds Mercantile, where you’ll find t-shirts, souvenirs, toys, ornaments from all the worlds of Epic Universe etc. Similar can be found at Sensorium Emporium.  Just outside Super Nintendo World you’ll also find the Nintendo Super Star Store with more Nintendo merch available.  This one though has the brilliant Mario fountain outside, some amazing stained-glass windows of the characters inside and the ceiling is decorated with constellations featuring the characters too. 

North Star Wintry Wonders is the parks year-round Christmas shop, filled with fancy Epic-related decorations and ornaments, while Lens Flare is where you can pick up your ride photos and arrange your photo passes. 

The last shop in the area is Moonship Chocolates and Celestial Sweets, a stunning sweet shop with its toy filled hot air balloon at the centre featuring its mascot, Captain Cacao. 

For attractions, Celestial Park has the Astronomica splash pad. They’re always great fun for kids, though I don’t see the appeal of getting intentionally soaked in the middle of a theme park! The area also has a brilliant fountain shows.  There were a few small ones through the day, but they have a longer show at the end of the night which looked fantastic with all the fountains and lights dancing to the themes of the parks worlds. 

As for rides, Celestial Park has 2. The first is Constellation Carousel, set in the stunning dome at the centre with the vehicles as constellation animals.  This looks exceptional at night.  The highlight attraction in Celestial Park (and I might argue Epic Universe as a whole) is the Mack Rides duelling coaster Stardust Racers. Both sides are amazing, and it really is an iconic centrepiece in Epic Universe. 

Super Nintendo World was the first portal we’d entered, and it really is WOW.  Entering any of the portals felt like a special event, but in Super Nintendo World, the portal leads to a set of escalators going up a warp pipe, complete with the sounds from the games! 

You step out onto the terrace of Princess Peach’s castle and into a sea of colour and movement.  Koopa shells zipping from side to side, Piranha Plants bobbing up and down, Goombas, Thwomps and everything from the Super Mario games is there.  Like you’re actually in the Mushroom Kingdom.  

There area has lots of interactive points that you can use your power-up band with (about $40 for one). You can hit ‘?’ blocks for coins, play music, take part in games, find hidden pictures and more. Super Nintendo World looks and is amazing. 

You also have the bonus of Donkey Kong Country, a side area within Super Nintendo World. Designed to look like the jungle and temple areas from the Donkey Kong Country games, filled with more interactive points and characters. 

The only negative I’d say about the area is it’s very busy and very noisy.  It feels a lot more compact than the other lands and there is lots of movement around and a lot to see, so it can feel overwhelming. The music is loud, plus the sounds from the games boost the levels greatly. If you struggle with this type of loud, claustrophobic environment, then Super Nintendo World might not be for you. 

If you want your picture taken with a Nintendo character, then you’re in the right place!  You can line up for a meet and greet with Mario and Luigi on the lower level of Super Nintendo World, and unlike Mickey Mouse… they’ll talk!  You can meet Toad here too.  Upstairs, outside her castle, you can meet Princess Peach, and over in DK Country you can queue for a picture with Donkey Kong himself! 

In Super Nintendo World most of the merchandise can be found in the 1-Up Factory. Here you’ll find a large selection of Mario and Donkey Kong related toys, clothing, souvenirs and such.  Mario Motors is the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge gift shop, so has a few more ride related items (yes, I bought a Mario Kart trophy).  Funky’s Fly & Buy over in Donkey Kong Country is themed as Funky Kongs aeroplane and features all Donkey Kong related items.  Just outside the land is the Nintendo Super Star Store which looks amazing.

For treats, the main spot is the Toadstool Café, serving an array of Nintendo themed items like Mario Burgers and ‘?’ Block Tiramisu. For a quick snacks and drinks, there’s Turbo Treats and Yoshi’s Snack Bar which serves red-shell calzones. 

But the most fun place to grab something is the Bubbly Barrel in Donkey Kong Country. Go pick up the DK Crush Float: a banana ice cream in a waffle, topped with salted caramel popcorn, in a cup of pineapple Fanta.  Sounds weird but tastes good!  It also comes with a souvenir DK barrel cup and spoons, so it’s worth the cost as a one off! 

Across the 2 areas there are 3 rides. You’ve got Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge, an interactive racing/3D/shooting ride based on the greatest game of all time – Mario Kart, then there’s Mine Cart Madness, the unique ‘Boom’ coaster designed by Universal to give the appearance that you’re jumping across the tracks in a mine cart, and Yoshi’s Adventure, a cute omimover kids ride in Yoshi shaped cars that slowly travels around the Mushroom Kingdom. 

I think this has to be my favourite area of Epic Universe. Dark Universe is themed to the classic Universal Monsters characters: Dracula, Frankensteins Monster, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein. Set in the fictional village of Darkmoor, the theming here is incredible.  From the moment you enter it’s eerie.  There are misters all around to give that fog effect and add to the eeriness.

On our first visit, it was raining badly which actually really helped to set the tone of Darkmoor. Coffins and crypts lie around the entrance pathways, the gateway to the catacombs with voices shouting to you, all the buildings and shops look ancient and decrepit, and then there’s the amazing sight of Frankenstein Manor with the electricity flashing and buzzing around its tower. This façade for the ride building is really stunning.  And if it looks good in the day, you can imagine just how awesome the whole of Darkmoor looks at night! 

Dark Universe has some fantastic, quirky dining options.  Try the Frankenstein Pretzel at DeLaceys Cottage or enjoy a sit down meal at Das Steakhouse, surrounded by gothic paintings and the corpses of staked Vampires along the walls. But the best place to visit is the Burning Blade Tavern. Go grab a drink or a snack and watch as the blades of the tavern’s windmill catch fire, just like in the film. This happens every 15 minutes I believe. 

To get your monster souvenirs, you can visit Pretorius Scientific Oddities or the Manor Storehouse, each with an array of gothic looking ornaments, clothing, toys, costumes and souvenirs from the rides, Burning Blade Tavern and all your favourite Universal Monsters. 

In Dark Universe you can often stumble upon the standout character from the Monsters Unchained ride – Ygor. He was always around, interacting with people and being generally crazy.  He stopped for a while and chatted to Elliott one day, and the actor playing him is brilliant. 

The Invisible Man can also be found (yeah, I know, he’s wrapped so we can see him) wandering and chatting, in a very spooky manner.  The area also has violinists who stop in the street and tell monster tales, with musical accompaniment which is really cool. And if you want a more personal meeting with the monsters, there is a meet and greet area where you can queue to meet Frankensteins Monster and his bride. 

The only attraction in the Dark Universe is the Monster Makeup, where for $40 and upwards, you can be transformed into one of the monsters. More money = more to your outfit.  If you’re sweating off your new face, then you can always head back and have it touched up for free. Adults beware though, you cannot buy alcohol in the park if you’re made up like a Werewolf, unless that’s how you look on your ID normally, I suppose? 

Curse of the Werewolf is a fun looking Mack Rides spinning coaster.  This was down for the entire week we were there, so we missed out on it, but by all accounts, its ok, but a little short.  We’ll get it next time we’re here! 

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is the standout attraction here though.  Behind that amazing Frankenstein Manor façade is a brilliant story filled ride through the catacombs featuring all of the Universal Monsters.  

The walk through the portal into Ministry of Magic was jaw dropping. Passing around the walls, you see the grand archway and enter 1920s wizarding Paris, just like in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and it is massive. Just… massive.  Wide streets, tall buildings, forced perspective towers in the distance, fantastic attention to detail. Everything is pristine.  It just looks phenomenal with all the French inspired architecture and neatly dressed shop windows full of easter eggs from the films like Nifflers in the chandeliers and Pickett undoing a padlock. There are new spell points in the windows for the 2^nd generation wands, moving pictures and more. I doubt we even saw half of what was there. It all just felt so vast. 

You don’t need to go on the Battle of the Ministry ride to enter the British Ministry of Magic, and that is an experience in itself.  The building is huge and contains a perfect replica, in style and size, of the Ministry from the film. Green tiled walls from floor to ceiling, with red around the office window areas, the giant gold statue at the centre, giant screens with paper aeroplanes flying make the room look even more vast.  The ceiling is a projection of a stormy night sky and the giant moving banner at the back lets you know you’re here for the trial of Dolores Umbridge. Amazing. 

Entering this area you even get the treat of using the Floo Network, with clouds of smoke and green light as you travel through the fireplaces and into the Ministry building. Everything about the area is just plain magical!  

I’m pretty sure every façade had some kind of shop or restaurant behind it in the Ministry of Magic / Wizarding Paris area, and I don’t think we ventured into them all.  K. Ramelle is the sweetshop (like a 1920s Honeydukes of Paris), Tour En Floo is the Ministry gift shop for ride merchandise and souvenirs. You also have Cosme Acajors Baguettes Magique (Wand Shop) and Les Galeries Mirifiques for robes and wizarding gear. 

I love it when parks have actors walking around, and whilst you’re not going to bump into Newt Scamander or Harry Potter here, there are a few costumed characters in the area for chats and photos.  There are a group of students from different wizarding schools, there was one gentleman reprimanding people outside Bar Moonshine for not having permits (did he wrok here?)! and Cosme Acajor, the wandmaker, was also been spotted in her fanciest robes, chatting to park guests.  

We did also catch the musical street show with a trio of musicians playing trumpets and flutes, with their pet Puffskein on the trolley behind them! 

There’s plenty of food choice and seating available in the Wizarding World.  Café L’air de la Sirene is the main sit-down restaurant and looks incredibly fancy inside and out.  Here you’ll find French inspired breakfasts, baguettes and meal options along with the now famous Butterbeer Crepe (Or Bieraubeurre if we’re speaking French). Le Goblet Noir is the other sit-down restaurant, offering elevated sandwiches, fish and stew dishes in a pub setting that has a 3 Broomsticks feel to it.  You can also grab a Butterbeer from the Bieraubeurre Cart in the street or for some fancy adult beverages, try Bar Moonshine! 

Ministry of Magic is home to La Cirque Arcanus, a brilliant circus inspired show taking place in the Fantastic Beasts movies. With actors, puppets and screens telling the story of the circus and the creatures from Newt Scamander’s stolen suitcase. 

There is only one ride in The Ministry of magic, and unfortunately, we didn’t get to ride it. Harry Potter and the Battle of the Ministry was scheduled to be closed for the entire week we were visiting.  A shame, but a reason to go back.  Battle of the Ministry is, buy all accounts, one of the best ride experiences in the world.  It’s an elevator ride through the Ministry during the trial of Dolores Umbridge, with screens and animatronics galore. 

The queue itself is an experience as you pass through the winding tunnels of the Ministry, with talking portraits, ministry offices, Umbridge’s office and her house elf ‘Higgledy’.  We were lucky enough on day 3 that they allowed us to walk through the queue, so at least we got to see how amazing that was.  Can’t wait to eventually get on the ride itself! 

And whilst Battle of the Ministry was due to be closed all week, it did reopen without a virtual queue on the Friday, with queues ranging from 2 to 5 hours!  Madness! 

The Isle of Berk is an amazing world.  This was the land we were probably looking forward to the least as How to Train Your Dragon isn’t a film series we know well or have seen much, but it ended up being one of our favourites.  It’s definitely the most complete area of the park, with great dining and shops, the theming is on point, brilliant characters around the area, meet and greets, loads of brilliant animatronics, it has an amazing show and 3 rides. 

You really do feel like you’re in one of the How to Train Your Dragon films here at Epic Universe. It looks that good.  The buildings and statues look like they’ve been pulled through your TV screen, the animatronic dragons and sheep give it that feeling of movement everywhere, plus the film music playing all around.  It’s a great land for adults and kids. 

That initial walk through the portal when you see the statues on the water, the mountain in the background and the colourful buildings all around, you can’t help but smile.  It’s a lot more open than Super Nintendo World too, so you don’t feel as confined, and you can see everything from wherever you are. 

The main dining location in The Isle of Berk portal is the Mead Hall. Themed like the Viking dining hall from the films, it’s a large open room with big wooden chairs and tables, with Viking and dragon images and carvings all around and a giant medieval candle chandelier in the centre.  Here you can get some lovely food options and fun items for the kids.  For quick service food, try Hooligans Grog & Gruel for the now internet famous Mac and Cheese Cones, or you can visit Spit Fire Grill, serving a variety of food bowls and the Mac and Cheese cones. Word of warning, we’d seen the Mac and Cheese Cones get bigger queues than some of the rides, so choose your mealtime wisely! 

Head to How to Treat Your Dragon for sweets, cakes and some merch.  Hiccups Workshop is the Hiccups Wing Gliders exit shop and Viking Traders both stock costumes, toys, clothes and the usual souvenirs. You’ll finds similar over at Toothless Traders too, but here you can pick up a plush dragon and have a naming ceremony from the staff, much like they do for Pigmy Puffs over at Diagon Alley. 

There are several meet and greet opportunities at the Isle of berk. The main one being meet Toothless and Hiccup.  This one always has a big queue, as Toothless looks amazing.  I think you can also meet Astrid and her dragon here, but they have been spotted walking around the park for pictures too. 

Theres another meet and greet area where you can meet Gobber in his workshop. We did this and he was brilliant with Elliott and chatted for a while with everyone.  We also met Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who were lots of fun and caught one of the baby dragon animatronic shows, which was really cute and clever. 

The Untrainable Dragon is an amazing show. I’m not usually a fan of theme park shows, but this one was something special. It’s a fun musical show with great sets and puppets and even has a flying Toothless! 

Isle of Berk has 3 rides.  Fyre Drill, a really great looking splash battle.  It was a bit hit and miss for us but looks the part.  Dragon Racers Rally is a pair of Gerstlauer SkyFlys, where you can flap the wings of your dragon and try and get it to spin as it flies through the air. 

The highlight of the area is Hiccups Wing Gliders, an awesome family launch coaster with some great elements, amazing theming, Hiccup and Toothless animatronics, onboard audio and a fun story.  If you’ve ridden Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure over as Islands of Adventure, it’s a colourful kid’s version of that, and is definitely worth a ride… or several! 

Each land has its own, unique entry portal, much like the Chronos to enter Celestial Park. They give you a real sense that you’re being transported to another world.  All four look amazing, styled to the lands they represent and covered in imagery and symbols from them with a slogan above the entry and an icon that points to the sky.  Super Nintendo World has Warp Pipes blasting Mushrooms and Stars, Dark Universe has withered tree branches wrapped around a glowing electricity pylon from Frankenstein Manor, Isle of Berk has a mountainside tower with a dragon symbol atop and Ministry of Magic has a hand holding the Elder Wand. Heading through, and they all have coloured screens that act like a gateway through before changing into the land beyond. The portals look stunning at night and each, along with the Chronos, shoot beams of coloured light into the sky. 

I’ve heard the word ‘kinetic’ bandied around a lot in regard to Epic Universe and it’s easy to see why.  Unlike other parks, there is a lot of movement here. Super Nintendo World is positively wriggling, while Isle of Berk has moving dragons around every corner, the flashing lights and music all around, the fountains, it all adds to the feeling that the park is alive in many ways.   

Each of the worlds at Epic Universe are amazing in their own unique way.  The theming really is ‘next level’, the headline attractions are also next level. It’s hard not to use the word ‘epic’ when talking about it.  They’ve taken the lessons from their previous Wizarding Worlds and thought “lets just do that to everything”.  Shops, restaurants, rides, queues… just stunning. 

Is it perfect? No. I know we were there for technical previews, but there was a lot of ride downtime. We did Early Park Access one morning and Mario Kart and Mine Cart Madness were both down. Pretty sure Mine Cart was off every day first thing, and for a lot of the day. Stardust wasn’t without fault either. 

Over in Dark Universe, Curse of the Werewolf wasn’t running, so there was only one ride, and for a ride as technologically advanced as Monsters Unchained, it seems pretty reliable and had generally short queues. But the ride has a LOT of amazing animatronics, and they had issues. We had 5 or 6 rides throughout the 3 days, and the first ride we had was the only one with everything working.  Second day, Victoria Frankenstein was broken, so they put up barriers and switched to a screen for the preshow, but that blocks the screen at the back from Dracula. Inside the ride, Ygor was broken at the start for every other ride we did, on the Wednesday, the Mummy wasn’t working. 

In Isle of Berk, Hiccups Wing Gliders had some downtime, as did Fyre Drill. Battle of the Ministry was off all week (as expected) but opened with 5-hour queues. 

And if it rains, everything is off.  Our first day had a torrential downpour, for a few hours, so understandably, the outdoor rides were closed, which left Mario Kart and Monsters Unchained as the only available rides, plus the 2 shows. And Battle of the Ministry if it had been open, but with a potential 5-hour queue? 

Again, we understand its all technical previews and such, and I know that rides generally experience issues and have downtime, but most parks have other rides that can soak up the capacity while the issues and rain pass. What if it happens at full capacity and Monsters or Mario Kart is off? The ministry queue will be a nightmare, you might not want to see the shows again, and you can’t just go to the restaurants and eat everything.  Trust me, we tried! 

Whilst some rides were definitely experiencing big problems, there is the possibility that they were intentionally stopping other rides to see how things worked out or spot checking them through the day, and this won’t be an issue in the coming weeks as the park opens officially.  

My worry is that these were lower attendance previews with 90–120-minute queues every day for the likes of Mine Cart Madness and Mario Kart.  How will it cope on a full park day in summer if the main attractions all have issues like we’ve seen on this trip? And the rides are so technologically advanced that if the animatronics are down, it spoils the experience. Disney struggle with the Kylo Ren animatronic on Rise of the Resistance. Monsters unchained has several Kylo Rens to contend with! 

We did overhear some staff talking about the future expansions that will be happening over the coming years. Each land will be expanded with the exception of Isle of Berk, but do they need a few extra rides now?  Nothing elaborate, but some basic rides to fill the gaps?  If so, Universal, a Bowser swinging ship ride will fit in Nintendo! 

If you get to Epic Universe and have a day where the rides are all available and the animatronics are working and the weather is on your side, there is no doubt in my mind that Epic Universe is the greatest theme park in the world ever, and it’ll continue to grow more and more epic. 

But if it’s a rainy day, or rides are down… it could be catastrophic. 

The time we spent at Epic was in the former, where we had a great time.  The rain in the morning on the first day meant the park was quiet, and in one day we saw both shows, had several rides on Stardust Racers, Hiccups and Monsters Unchained, and pretty much all the rides… apart from Donkey Kong, but we did that the next day. We spent the next days lazily walking around, sampling all the great food and drinks, seeing the sights, watching the fountains, doing re-rides and generally enjoying this fantastic place.  Yes, we saw the downtime, but tried to not let it affect our day. 

We loved Epic Universe, and we can’t wait to visit again in the future. I hope the park flourishes and my worries are unfounded. Only time will tell. 

Full info on this amazing new theme park can be found on the Official Universal Orlando website.