Have you heard that Universal Orlando is building a new theme park? Well if you haven’t, you know now. It’s called Epic Universe and it truly does look like it will be epic.
Originally slated to open in 2023. It is now scheduled to open in the summer of 2025 and was pushed back due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. Hopefully, that extra time really lets Universal put together a truly awesome and epic theme park. If looking at the new offerings at Islands of Adventure (Hagid’s Motorbike Adventure & VelociCoaster), we know it will be amazing.
What do we know so far at Epic Universe in Orlando? Sadly, not a lot has been released just yet but we do know some things. Below you will find everything that we know so far as of October 2022.
Location and size
Obviously, we know where Epic Universe will be. Unfortunately, it is not attached to the other two theme parks but it is a short distance away. Epic Universe will be located off of Kirkman Rd. Universal Blvd will also get you there.
As you can see from the map above, Epic Universe is still pretty close to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, CityWalk, and Volcano Bay. Endless Summer resorts are currently the closes Universal Hotels. However, there are plans for a new Hotel attached to Epic Universe.
The top section in Green that houses all the theme parks and the first six Universal Hotels (Aventura, Cabana Bay, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific, and Sapphire Falls) is roughly 735 acres. The Endless Resorts area is 64 acres.
Epic Universe sits on roughly 750 acres and that’s just what we are aware of. Who knows, Universal might have more land in that area to expand later.
What’s Coming
Epic Universe is going to be a huge theme park split up into several different lands. It is going to be the first Universal theme park to feature the wheel and spoke design that was made popular back in 1955 at Disneyland. This will really help make each land stand out and separate itself from the other areas of the park.
You’ll walk from the main hub and go through a “portal” to the new land. We imagine it being similar to how you get into Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Orlando. This really helps you feel like you are there. In that world and being apart of it.
Epic Universe is going to be split up into four different lands. As of Oct 2022 we know that one of the lands is going to be based around Super Nintendo World. Luckily, Universal Studios Japan has it’s own Super Nintendo land already open so we can get a good idea of what that land will probably look like. Hopefully, they do change it up a little bit.
We also know some of the rides that will be coming to the Super Nintendo World. Construction on these rides are also coming along nicely at this time. Even Hurricane Ian couldn’t stop Mario and Yoshi on their adventure to save Princess Peach.
Other lands that are rumored to be in Epic Universe are Classic Monsters, DreamWorks (How to train your dragon), and Harry Potter. None of them should come as a surprise. All three are wildly popular IPs and have so much to offer.
If we get a Classic Monsters land, I am sure we will see plenty of things that reflect Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, and maybe even the Mummy. I can picture a gift shop that looks like Frankenstein’s Lab. Or going to a quick service place that sells horror inspired dishes like eyeballs with worms (Spaghetti and Meatballs).
I would also be willing to bet that the ride would be some sort of dark ride. I just hope they don’t use a ton of screens like they are currently doing with a lot of the newer rides. Just take a ride on ET and then go on the Fast and Furious Supercharged. Which one is better? While ET might be a little dated. The animatronics are the way to go.
The DreamWorks Land I feel would be more geared towards kids. This land is rumored to have a couple of flat rides, a coaster, and even a boat ride. The DreamWorks land also appears to be the largest of the four lands and is definitely rumored the most attractions.
A Harry Potter themed land would be the fourth one at Epic Universe. This really shouldn’t shock anyone when you consider how popular both lands are at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. The land is rumored to be centered around the Ministry of Magic.
It also appears that each land will only have one way in and one way out much like Diagon Alley at Universal Studios. I feel that this is a good thing since it really makes you feel like you are there. Even if it’s in the middle of a Florida Summer.
Hotels and Restaurants
One thing we know for sure is there will be one heck of a hotel connected to Epic Universe and it looks like it will grant direct access to the park. This hotel is rumored to be called Universal’s Helios Grand Hotel. It is said to have 500 rooms and have a space theme just like the other two rumored hotels.
Helios Grand Hotel I would expect be a Premier level hotel like Hard Rock. If it’s not a premier level hotel it might be a class of its own. The concept art really looks amazing.
The other two hotels are rumored to be right on Universal Blvd where Kirkman road ends. These two hotels might be called Universal Terra Luna Resort and Universal Stella Nova Resort. I would expect one of these hotels to be a value resort, possibly Terra Luna Resort.
There have also been rumors of a little shopping district in the area much like CityWalk. There has been next to nothing coming out about most of the projects and ideas. We just have to wait and see what happens.
I am planning on following up with this post in six months or so. Hopefully, we will have much more confirmed information in the coming months. Summer 2025 can’t get here soon enough.
Kozmo Photos 