Believe the hype: Epic Universe, the first major new theme park to open in Central Florida in 26 years, lives up to its name and then some.
Honestly, I’m as shocked as you are.
But epic-ness was indeed my takeaway after recently spending two days inside Epic Universe as part of “technical rehearsals,” a type of soft opening. When it officially debuts on May 22, the estimated $7 billion-plus property should narrow the gap between the Universal Orlando Resort, long the challenger brand in Orlando’s $92.5 billion tourism market, and Walt Disney World, which has dominated since arriving in 1971.
Epic Universe, eight years in the making and sprawling across more than 100 acres, represents a dramatic evolution for Universal, and in some ways, the American theme park industry. It’s more interactive, a reflection of consumer obsession with instant gratification and personalization. It’s also more immersive, with layer upon layer of storytelling from the front gates to the furthest corner. The theming extends far beyond rides to include things like music, smells, landscaping, food, cutlery, staff uniforms and even toilets (they’re black in an area dedicated to movie monsters).
Epic Universe will use a facial recognition system at its entrance plaza: No more fumbling with tickets or digital fingerprinting. The aim is to speed entry. Facial recognition will also be used for lockers and at express lanes for rides.
Adult single-day tickets start at $139 and go up to $199 during peak holiday periods. Express access to rides costs an additional $130 to $330 per person.
Epic Universe also has a unusual layout. There are a few shops at the entrance. But visitors are not subjected to the usual avenue of stores hawking overpriced tchotchkes. Instead, you immediately enter a vast area of actual parkland: trees, flowers, grass, meandering paths, circular “tide pools.” This section, Celestial Park, also features Bellagio-style dancing fountains, with some jets reaching 135 feet in the air; four walk-up bars; a smattering of restaurants; and concierge booths for phone charging, locker rental, information and perhaps an emergency Band-Aid.
“We wanted to put the park back in theme park,” Mark Woodbury, chairman of Universal Destinations & Experiences, told me as we stood on an overlook. Part of the goal is to slow you down and make Epic Universe feel like less of a mad dash from ride to ride.
Tunnels called portals connect Celestial Park with four areas — essentially mini theme parks with rides, shops, restaurants, costumed characters and interactive games. One area, Isle of Berk, is based on the “How to Train Your Dragon” movie franchise. Another, Dark Universe, is home to classic ogres like Frankenstein’s monster. “Harry Potter” gets a portal, as do characters from Nintendo games.
Universal hopes that with the park’s addition, families will view the Universal Orlando Resort as a weeklong destination and not just a one- or two-day add-on to a Disney vacation. (Universal Orlando will consist of four parks and 11 hotels.)
But the magnetic poles in Orlando are not going to reverse: Disney, which attracts roughly 50 million guests annually to its Florida parks, has too powerful of a hold on childhoods. Also, Disney World remains comparatively colossal consisting of six parks and more than 25 hotels. Disney, which recently announced summer deals, also has new rides on the way.
Universal has a history of rocky openings.
Among theme park fans, the company is still remembered for its botched 1990 arrival in Central Florida; major rides malfunctioned on opening day. And in 2010, when it opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a 20-acre addition to an older park, there was a six-hour wait just to get inside the gate.
Universal seems to be leaving nothing to chance this time around, hence the lengthy soft opening. I’m not sure about crowd control in those tunnels, though. They’re so cool that selfie traffic jams are bound to happen.
Here, a guide for what you can expect:
Celestial Park
Celestial Park is conceived as the “cosmic heart” of the Epic Universe experience, and its ornamental architecture was inspired by World Expo designs from the 1800s. It includes an actual hotel, the luxury Helios Grand, which looms at one end. Rooms start at $490 and provide instant access: Just walk out the front door and start riding.
In the evenings, Celestial Park will feature fireworks and light shows. Universal says there are seven million individually programmable LED lights embedded in the area. (The evening displays were not running on the days I was there.)
Constellation Carousel, a new twist on a classic, sits between tide pools under a dome of blue glass. To one side sprawls Stardust Racers, a dual-launch roller coaster that hits 62 m.p.h. and aims to make you feel as if you’re riding a comet. (Perhaps don’t hop on it first thing in the morning as I did.)
Dark Universe
Of all the portals, Universal was the most unsure of this one. Classic movie monsters? Like, from the 1930s?
Perhaps overcompensating, the company built an ultra-elaborate ride called Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. After making your way through a foreboding Frankenstein Manor, which is rigged with bright blue electrical lines, you hop in vehicles connected to robotic arms and zoom through catacombs where experiments have gone terrifyingly awry.
Cut to a revolt of enraged monsters like the Wolf Man, the Mummy and the Creature From the Black Lagoon. The ride blends digital effects with physical sets and animatronic figures, including a nine-foot-tall Frankenstein’s monster that weighs 800 pounds and can walk. There are also flying Draculas. (Yes, plural.) The ride is destined for the theme park hall of fame. It’s that good.
Dark Universe is populated with walk-around characters like the Invisible Man and Ygor, who carries a suitcase filled with bloody limbs. A beauty parlor offers monster makeovers ($45 for face paint, $169 if you want a full costume).
Super Nintendo World
This colorful and kinetic area was mobbed, with families running maniacally through obstacle courses to collect digital coins using a Power-Up Band ($42) and the Universal app. It looked as if they were having the time of their lives.
It was too much for me, but I’m not a gamer. It was also 90 degrees, and there are no trees for shade in the front section. That’s the cost of such rigorous theming: Since you’re supposed to be inside a game, anything that gets in the way of that illusion is banned. (I took refuge under a toadstool.)
The big ride here is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, which involves racing a car while wearing augmented-reality headgear. The vehicles have buttons that throw digital turtle shells — hopefully at Bowser and his associated baddies and not at Mario and Princess Peach. I didn’t understand it at all the first time I rode, but I did better on a second try, nearly doubling my score.
Isle of Berk
This lighthearted land of rugged Vikings and rambunctious dragons was my favorite, in part because it was the most unexpected. Gothi’s Hut from “How to Train Your Dragon” sits atop a towering faux mountain. Real wooden ships navigate an icy fjord. Shops sell dragon eggs that hatch. A tavern serves frosty Yaknog, which tastes like malted chocolate and cinnamon. One ride simulates dragon flight while a family-friendly coaster dips and glides around the landscape.
“Watch out for dragon drool,” a voice intones as you step off it.
There are 31 animatronic dragons on the prowl here, including free-roaming babies. Universal is working on two dragons that will fly overhead using drone technology, at least one of which may breathe fire.
The Ministry of Magic
This is the pièce de résistance. Universal already does Harry Potter exceptionally well at its older parks. But this addition, themed predominantly to 1920s Paris, is the only Wizarding World to feature characters from two sets of movies: the original “Harry Potter” blockbusters and the spinoff “Fantastic Beasts” series.
The marquee ride is a genuine mind blower called Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which uses a mix of Universal-invented vehicle technology, video walls and animatronic figures to transport riders to the trial of the half-blood witch Dolores Umbridge. Perhaps to offset her severe personality, the ride adds a new character, a house elf named Higgledy.
Wands for amateur witches and wizards have been a runaway hit for Universal at its older parks. Epic Universe gives the interactive toys a major upgrade, adding lights and haptic effects (vibration). When linked to the Universal app, these wands ($85) activate personalized messages and other rewards at interactive spell-casting spots inside the Ministry of Magic.
Food and Merchandise
I already have a drawer full of old wands at home, but I couldn’t resist leaving with a little merch. I picked up a stuffed Niffler ($59) from “Fantastic Beasts” and some dragon bootees ($29).
For my nephews.
However, I did treat myself to an inordinate amount of Epic Universe food. My favorites included king oyster mushroom ceviche at Atlantic in Celestial Park. Das Stakehaus, supposedly a vampire hangout (note the lack of garlic in menu items), served tasty yogurt “brain” with raspberry “blood” sauce.
The longest line I saw during my visit was at a stand in Isle of Berk serving mac and cheese in hulking bread “cones.” They come topped with goldfish crackers or pulled pork with peanut bacon jam.
Vikings apparently don’t diet.
