Yup, it’s Epic

Universal’s new park is one jaw-dropping moment after another

The anticipation for Universal Epic Universe, the theme park that Universal Orlando will be debuting May 22, 2025, has been off the charts. Along with others, I’ve been speculating and rhapsodizing about it for quite some time. Now, I’ve been able to experience it. The park is in soft opening for invited guests ahead of the official launch, and I got to visit as part of a media preview. I’m happy to share that much of the aptly named park is extraordinary. Believe the rhapsodies.

In the coming weeks, I’ll do some deep dives with attraction reviews and more. But for this article, I want to share first impressions and general thoughts about two of the lands.

Guests enter the Chronos tower portal at the main entrance to Universal Epic Universe. (Arthur Levine)

A walk in the Celestial Park

Making their way through the Chronos tower portal at the front gate, guests enter Celestial Park. While it serves as a gateway to Epic’s four other lands, the expansive area is considerably larger than most park’s entry plazas, such as the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street U.S.A. or the Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure.

“It’s where we put the ‘park’ back into theme park,” is how Mark Woodbury, chairman and CEO, Universal Destinations & Experiences, describes the land.

With its lovely flowers and landscaping, fountains, whimsical architecture, statuary, stirring music, and kinetic energy, Celestial Park sets the tone for Epic. The stunning Universal Helios Grand Hotel anchoring the far end of the land helps establish its Mediterranean influence and chic, cosmopolitan vibe. By the way, the distinctive copper domes of the hotel are a new highlight of the skyline in Orlando’s I-Drive area. Additional shade and greenery as well as benches would give Celestial Park more of a park-like feel (and a break from Florida’s sometimes brutal sun), but this is a place designed for people on the move.

The Universal Helios Grand Hotel anchors the far end of Celestial Park. (Arthur Levine)

Speaking of on the move, the dual-launch, twin-track racing coaster, Stardust Racers, is the featured attraction in the land. Holy moly, what a ride. It ranks right up there with Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, Mako at SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal’s own Jurassic World VelociCoaster among the elite thrill machines in Florida–and really anywhere. A true dueling coaster (the best of its kind IMHO), its “Celestial Spin,” in which one train inverts directly above the other and then trades places, is a coaster do-si-do for the ages. Wild acceleration, robust and abundant airtime, great pacing, lovely themeing: Stardust Racers has it all.

The Constellation Carousel in Celestial Park is an intriguing and beautiful contraption that’s as much fun to watch as it is to ride. Instead of hanging from above, the animals and chariots are mounted on poles that can turn as well as rise and fall. The entire platform spins of course, but it can reverse direction, and there are concentric circles within the larger platform that independently rotate. The prancing horses and other vehicles are programmed to dance in harmony with a variety of musical compositions.

Constellation Carousel (Arthur Levine)

When Universal Orlando opened the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure, it changed the course of theme parks by crafting a meticulously detailed land themed to a single IP. It took immersion and world building to the next level. The new park capitalizes on the trend by presenting four lands, each devoted to one property, including Universal’s third take on the Potter mythology. Each land has its own portal tower through which guests enter. Their tunnels have projected imagery to enhance the transitions.

Become part of a battle at the Ministry of Magic

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic first transports guests to a 1920s-era Parisian neighborhood inspired by the Fantastic Beasts spinoff series. It is reminiscent of Diagon Alley, the Potter land at Universal Studios Florida, in scale and scope, but is even more grand and enveloping. There is a wonderful show, “Le Cirque Arcanus,” which is nominally a circus presentation, but is really a pretense to showcase a Fantastic Beasts storyline with engaging puppetry, special effects, and theatrical sorcery. The pre-show is so long and elaborate, I thought it might be the main event until we were ushered into the theater.

Place Cachée, a neighborhood in Paris of the 1920s (Arthur Levine)

The featured attraction, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, takes place in 1990s-era London and the British Ministry of Magic, which guests reach via the Metrofloo. Whisking passengers through space and time, the magical passageway is something of a disappointment. It’s really little more than a short tunnel enveloped by a bit of green theatrical fog through which guests walk. The attraction itself, however, is a revelation.

The long queue, which looks like it’s capable of accommodating multitudes of muggles, is nothing short of stunning. There’s no functional reason why it’s such a cavernous, lavishly appointed space with a ceiling that is perhaps 40 feet tall and includes a changing, projected sky other than to immerse and wow guests. Consider me wowed. The audacity sets the stage for the attraction.

This towering statue is one of the stunning set pieces for the queue of Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. (Arthur Levine)

Guests board 14-passenger “magic lifts” to witness the trial of uber-meanie Dolores Umbridge. Picture ride vehicles like those in Disney’s Tower of Terror. Now imagine these massive, box-like vehicles mounted on (what must be enormous) Kuka robotic arms, the same technology that’s used on the groundbreaking Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at Islands of Adventure. Now imagine the vehicles and the arms tethered to roving motion bases, the kind used for one of Universal’s other genre-busting attractions, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. I believe that is what is going on at Battle at the Ministry. Whatever is going on, I was positively floored.

Rather than relying mostly on screens (although the content on the screens that are present, which is not 3-D, is remarkably crisp and realistic), the gargantuan sets include animatronics, practical scenery, projections, effects, and other themed design trickery. Combined with the wild movements of the vehicles, it is a jaw-dropping tour-de-force. It is the kind of attraction that makes my heart sing and reminds my why I love parks.

Next time, I’ll share some thoughts about Universal Epic Universe’s other three lands: the monsters-inhabited Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World, and How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.

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Shoot me some questions or share your thoughts about Celestial Park, the new Potter land, or Epic Universe in general.