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I think everyone knows that Orlando is theme park central. From Walt Disney World to the Universal Resort and even Fun Spot America, central Florida is a theme park lover’s dream. However, things are about to level up in an epic way. Universal Orlando has been flirting with the idea of a new park since 2019 , but COVID-19 threw a massive wrench in the planning and construction. Nearly six years later, the idea is finally coming to fruition: Epic Universe opens May 22! Now, if you’re a major Universal fan like me, then this is nothing new to you. You’ve been keeping up with all of the updates and rumors surrounding the new park for the past half-decade. If not, no worries; that’s the whole point of this article. I’ll be going over all five of the “worlds” within Epic Universe, highlighting the stuff I’m excited for and calling out some areas for improvement.

What is Epic Universe?

Based on all the official marketing material that Universal has put out, the park itself will contain five different worlds that aim to fully immerse guests into distinctive, highly themed experiences. Right off the bat, one thing I don’t love about Epic Universe is its distance from the rest of the parks. Based on the map the official Universal Orlando Twitter page posted, it looks unwalkable, too, which is super annoying. I get that this was probably the closest land the company was able to acquire, but I’m still allowed to be annoyed! Looking past the awkward distance for the time being, I’m super stoked about the “worlds” that Epic Universe has to offer: Celestial Park, Dark Universe, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD (yes, the all-caps is necessary), How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.

Celestial Park , in my opinion, has the weakest theming of all of the “worlds” within Epic Universe. It’s not connected to any specific film or existing intellectual property. Instead, its vibe is described using words like “cosmic” and “otherworldly.” I mean, OK, I guess. I just feel like this isn’t really a “world”, it’s more of a hub between the other worlds, holding all of the “portals” (entryways). To be fair, Celestial Park does include a ton of restaurants and quick-service spots that seem cool, including two themed sit-down dining experiences: Atlantic and The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant. Also, Stardust Racers , which Universal presents as the hallmark of Celestial Park, looks awesome. It reminds me of one of my former faves, the Dueling Dragons ride that used to be in Universal Islands of Adventures, but with a galactic twist. There’s also a carousel, but there’s not really much more to say about that … it’s a carousel. One weird aspect of Celestial Park is that the brand-new Universal Helios Grand Hotel is literally connected to it. They literally share a fountain area; isn’t that odd?

Dark Universe is basically a villain’s park. Its theme is dark, mysterious and low-key scary. It’s kind of like the PG version of Halloween Horror Nights. Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man all make several appearances in rides, meet-and-greets and general theming in this “world.” The pinnacle of this area is the ride “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.” On social media, Universal has taken a lot of flack for screen-based attractions that, in a word, suck. Based on the animated figures and technology from this ride alone, it seems like the creative department had something to prove. The figurines are huge, move fluidly and seem genuinely scary. so I’m really excited to see how it all unfolds. There’s also a family-friendly ride, Curse of the Werewolf , that seems alright. It looks like a souped-up version of Cobra’s Curse from Busch Gardens, which is also just meh. As for food, there are two sit-down restaurants: Das Stakehaus, a Dracula-themed steakhouse and The Burning Blade Tavern, a monster hunter-themed bar situation.

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD (SPW) is what got me hype about Epic Universe in the first place. The Universal Hollywood Resort got a mini version of this area a couple years back , and I’ve been waiting impatiently for Universal Orlando to get it. Because Florida is much bigger than its California cousin, SPW in the Orlando resort is much more fleshed out. It boasts both Super Mario Land and Donkey Kong Country. The reason I’m so hype for this particular area is that the theming is actually perfect. The colors are vibrant, the sound effects are spot-on, everything just comes together and makes you feel like you’ve been sucked into an actual video game. There are three main rides in this world: two in Super Mario Land and one in Donkey Kong Country. The DK ride is a runaway minecart rollercoaster that has an interesting ride technology that makes it look like the cart is “jumping” the track. Yoshi’s Adventure is kind of like PeopleMover at Magic Kingdom at Disney World or Seuss Trolley Train Ride in Universal’s Islands of Adventure; it’s a slow-moving attraction that’s really more of a chance to sight-see than an actual ride. Saving the best for last, the third and final ride in SPW is Mario Kart ^TM : Bowser’s Challenge . This ride system relies on augmented reality to create an individualized experience for each rider, literally bringing guests into the classic video game. This ride is a childhood dream come true. Well, not quite. Unfortunately, while praising the theming of the ride and the world itself, many California parkgoers have complained that the ride doesn’t mirror Mario Kart in the ways you’d expect and is actually kind of hard to grasp. Oh, and it’s slow … like almost annoyingly so. However, it’s important to consider that Universal has had years to tweak any issues with the ride system, so who’s to say these same issues will exist in the Orlando resort? Moving on to what I consider a pretty interesting feature of Nintendo World, the Power-Up Bands . Similar to how each of the Harry Potter areas has interactivity with wands, SPW has games available for those who opt to purchase a Power-Up Band. Although it’s a clear cash grab, I honestly think that this would be perfect for younger kids who aren’t quite tall enough to ride all of the rides or even adults who want an extra oomph of fun. The dining options in Super Nintendo World are all quick-service, one of which pays homage to the Mushroom Kingdom and my favorite Mario Kart character, Toad.

How to Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) should have been added to the Universal Orlando resort ages ago, but I’m happy that the beloved franchise has found a home in Epic Universe. Chronologically, this world exists in between the second and third movies, “ Berk 2.5 ” as described by Katy Pacitti, executive producer with Universal Creative. The park will feature three rides and one interactive play area for smaller children. The most daring of the rides seems to be Dragon Racer’s Rally. It’s kind of hard to describe without just saying “spinny upside down thingy”, but take a look at the concept art if you want a better idea. The next ride, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders , seems like an HTTYD version of The Flight of the Hippogriff over Islands of Adventure, and it’s definitely a kid-friendly coaster. The final ride, Fyre Drill , is a water ride with a game involved. Each side of the boat is armed with water blasters that they can use to hit targets and other people. I would 100% skip this one if it’s less than like 70 degrees out because you will for sure be soaked. The Isle of Berk also has a live musical/show performance, The Untrainable Dragon . There’s very little information about the plot of the show, but I think it will be similar to the one of the same name featured in Universal Beijing. Similar to Super Nintendo World, The Isle of Berk only has quick-service dining options: Mead Hall , straight from the movies; Hooligan’s Grog & Gruel , which features loaded mac and cheese cones and a signature ginger-beer float called Yaknog; and Spit Fyre Grill , which, based on its description, sounds like a Cava/Chipotle/Bolay situation. The aspect of The Isle of Berk that intrigues me the most is the meet-and-greet with the iconic Toothless . Depending on how well-made the figure/suit is, this could either be amazing or amazingly cringy.

Excited truly isn’t a big enough word to describe how I felt about the opening of a third Harry Potter area in Universal Orlando. That is, before I saw the concept art. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the world; I, and many others, just expected more. The idea of a broomstick-based ride , with a similar ride system to Flight of Passage over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (10/10 ride, might I add), was thrown around on social media, so I think I got my hopes up that the world would be more attraction-based. Also, no tea, no shade, but it’s clear that Universal thought that the Fantastic Beasts franchise was going to be a lot more popular than it ended up being. Are the movies good? Yes! Do they deserve their own world when so many fan-favorite elements of the Harry Potter franchise have yet to be incorporated? No comment. Anyways, enough of my whining, let’s talk about the park area.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic transports guests into 1920s Paris and 1990s London. Yes, both; we’ll get to that in a sec! Upon entering the portal for this world, park-goers will be greeted with the scenery of a life-sized Parisian street, not buildings that use optical illusions to seem life-sized as done in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. To mimic the vibe of an actual (Muggle) Parisian street, shops and restaurants make up the bulk of the storefronts, namely, a pastry and full-meal Café L’air De La Sirène and a wand shop, Cosme Acajor . Just like in the other Harry Potter areas of Universal Orlando, most of the wands purchased here have interactive capabilities with various things around the park. Additionally, similar to how Diagon Alley in Universal Studios has Knockturn Alley, a shady part of town for dark wizards and witches, a dark area of the Paris area hosts Le Gobelet Noir , a full-service restaurant that is similarly themed. One major difference between this world and the other Harry Potter areas and something that I truly cannot wait to see is Le Cirque Arcanus , a live theatrical, musical and acrobatic production hidden in plain sight. The flagship ride of this world, and what I think is the shining star of Epic Universe as a whole, is Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry . Allegedly, to get to this ride, park-goers will have to travel via Métro-Floo, which is a fun way of saying magic fireplaces, to the British Ministry of Magic circa 1990s. Based on the level of detail in the queue area and the way the creative team speaks about the journey to build this ride, I low-key think that this ride is Universal’s response to Disney’s Rise of the Resistance. I mean, think about it: both rides are long-awaited, complex ride systems with extremely thematic queues, centered on each company’s most popular franchise.

Epic Universe is the fourth major addition to the Universal Orlando resort. To me, it’s clear that Universal’s goal with this move was to compete directly with Walt Disney World for long-term vacationers. Previously, Universal, with its two parks and waterpark, was considered a weekend vacation, especially during the winter months. On the other hand, with four theme parks and two water parks, out-of-state or infrequent visitors are more likely to spend a full week at Disney. Adding in a third theme park with so many attractions substantially levels the playing field. This leaves the ball in Disney’s court to fire back with something new, and I really hope they do. The constant battle for power between Disney and Universal leads to more innovative ride technologies, more immersive experiences and more fun for me!