A model new theme park is opening subsequent week in Orlando, and CNET has been there already. We’re right here to offer you an insider’s information to Universal Resort Orlando’s Epic Universe, which has 5 lands: Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic and Celestial Park.
Opening May 22, Epic Universe would be the fourth Universal Orlando theme park after Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and water park Volcano Bay. Universal says it is hoping to develop into “a weeklong trip vacation spot,” very similar to its predominant competitor Walt Disney World, which has six theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, together with water parks Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon.
Part of Universal’s growth additionally consists of three new inns: Universal Helios Grand Hotel, Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort, bringing its complete to 11 inns. (Disney World has greater than 20 inns, for comparability.)
Check out CNET’s information under for what you have to learn about Epic Universe, together with ticket costs, new rides, eating places and opening dates. And learn right here for extra on Universal’s deliberate UK theme park.
Watch this: Up Close With Dragons and Frankenstein: Epic Universe Tech That Blew Us Away
Super Nintendo World and Donkey Kong Country
Princess Peach’s fort in Super Mario World at Epic Universe.
Universal Orlando is lastly becoming a member of Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood in opening a Mario-themed land. Much like within the Japan and Hollywood parks, the marquee trip is Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the place you hop inside a kart, gather cash and throw shells to attempt to win the cup.
There’s additionally Mine Cart Madness, a Donkey Kong-themed curler coaster, and Yoshi’s Adventure, the place you board a Yoshi and go egg-spotting by way of the Mushroom Kingdom.
There’ll be meet and greets with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad, and the Toadstool Cafe to your eating wants.
Buy a Power-Up Band and you can gather cash all through the land and rides on the wearable wristband. It works all through all three Super Nintendo World places.
How to Train Your Dragon’s Isle of Berk
Wooden dragons in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk land.
How to Train Your Dragon is lastly getting some house in a Universal theme park, 15 years after the unique film (which nonetheless has 99% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes) was launched in 2010.
The much-loved DreamWorks film, which featured Hiccup the teenage Viking and his quest to befriend relatively than kill a dragon he names Toothless, spawned two sequels (each with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes), in addition to 10 seasons of two separate animated sequence and a live-action model of the primary film, which releases in 2025.
Now, you can go to Berk (Florida’s model). It will not be as chilly, however it is going to be stuffed with Viking characters strolling across the land, dragon robots you may greet on the bottom and dragons flying over the colourful wood buildings.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders is the primary attraction, a curler coaster that simulates the expertise of driving on a dragon. A second trip, Dragon Racer’s Rally, will see every rider strapped into a person dragon-shaped seat connected to a pendulum arm, flipping the wrong way up because the arm swings up and round.
There’s additionally a water trip referred to as Fyre Drill, the place you will board a Viking longboat and shoot water cannons on the dragon targets and different boats you sail previous, whilst you in flip get soaked.
For the youthful guests, Viking Training Camp is an journey playground the place they’ll climb, run, slide and play with interactive components.
Rounding out the land is a stay present starring Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Gobber, and Mead Hall, a eating possibility serving Scandinavian choices like fish, meat, ale and mead.
Dark Universe: Classic Universal monsters
The entrance of the Curse of the Werewolf trip.
This sinister-sounding land is devoted to all of the traditional Universal monsters on the market, with villains from Frankenstein’s monster to Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon roaming Darkmoor Village.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is a trip inside a spooky Victorian manor, the place you have to escape the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein. A second trip, Curse of the Werewolf, is a coaster that soars by way of the forest as you escape a pack of werewolves.
You may also expertise the wonders of theatrical make-up and be reworked right into a werewolf, vampire or mummy with the Monster Makeup Experience.
There are two eating places in Dark Universe:
Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
An animatronic home elf in line for the Battle on the Ministry trip.
This is the third Harry Potter location at Universal Orlando, after the Diagon Alley space in Universal Studios Florida and the Hogwarts/Hogsmeade space in Islands of Adventure.
It’ll span each the Fantastic Beasts motion pictures and the unique Harry Potter sequence, that means many of the land is themed after Paris within the Twenties, from the place you may journey by the Métro-Floo community to the British Ministry of Magic within the Nineties.
The predominant attraction is the Battle on the Ministry trip, the place you will assist the trio combat Dolores Umbridge. It’s much like the mechanics of the Hogwarts trip, besides you will be in an elevator compartment on the Ministry of Magic, and it additionally options much-updated know-how so it is much more immersive.
There’s additionally Le Cirque Arcanus, a stay present with performers, puppets and particular results, and is about within the Fantastic Beasts universe.
There’ll be lots to discover on this new space, together with a brand new wand retailer referred to as Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique, extra interactive wand places and a French restaurant referred to as Café L’air De La Sirène.
It’s not related to the Hogwarts Express practice trip that connects the opposite two Harry Potter lands in Orlando, nonetheless, as a result of park’s distance from Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
Celestial Park and that double curler coaster
The dueling coasters in Celestial Park.
Celestial Park is themed as a cosmic getaway, the place you may trip a rocket at speeds of as much as 62mph on the dual-launch curler coaster Stardust Racers — or if one thing slower-paced is extra your factor, you may trip the Constellation Carousel.
There are additionally two eating places — Atlantic and The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant — in addition to a buying location referred to as the Nintendo Super Star Store.
Celestial Park is the hub of the brand new theme park: you will enter Epic Universe into Celestial Park, and from there can take one of many 4 portals into the opposite lands.
How a lot do Epic Universe tickets price?
The portal into Super Nintendo World, which has an escalator taking you up into the sub-park.
Ticket pricing relies on what number of days you need to spend at Universal Studios Florida, in addition to which parks you need to go to, and whether or not you need to go to a couple of park every day. Here are the choices and beginning costs. Keep in thoughts that pricing will change relying on what day of the week and time of yr you go to, too.
For now, you may solely buy multiday park tickets to go to Epic Universe, until you are a Universal passholder. In future, Universal will let you purchase a single-day ticket solely to go to the brand new park, however that possibility isn’t but obtainable.
3-day park tickets
- 3 day, 4-park hopper: $452/grownup, $442/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite two days you may hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay).
- 3-day, 3-park hopper: $412/grownup, $402/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite two days you may hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).
- 3-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $352/grownup, $342/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, sooner or later at Universal Studios and sooner or later at Islands of Adventure).
4-day park tickets
- 4-day, 4-park hopper: $486/grownup, $476/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite three days you may hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay).
- 4-day, 3-park hopper: $436/grownup, $426/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite two days you may hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).
- 4-day, 4 parks, one park per day: $421/grownup, $411/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, sooner or later at Universal Studios, sooner or later at Islands of Adventure and sooner or later at Volcano Bay).
- 4-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $371/grownup, $361/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, sooner or later at Universal Studios and sooner or later at Islands of Adventure).
5-day park tickets
- 5-day, 4-park hopper: $522/grownup, $512/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite 4 days you may hop between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay).
- 5-day, 3-park hopper: $462/grownup, $452/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, whereas on the opposite 4 days you may hop between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure).
- 5-day, 4 parks, one park per day: $452/grownup, $442/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, after which select between Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay to your different one-day tickets).
- 5-day, 3 parks, one park per day: $392/grownup, $382/little one (Note: you may solely spend sooner or later inside Epic Universe, after which select between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to your different one-day tickets).
Express Pass and VIP excursions at Epic Universe
You can now additionally buy a 1-day Express Pass for Epic Universe that’ll let you skip the strains at every attraction as soon as. The price is between $130 and $310 per particular person (on prime of your common ticket), relying on what date you go.
And if you need a really luxe expertise, you may fork over between $390 and $650 per particular person (additionally on prime of your ticket) for a 4-hour VIP guided strolling tour of the brand new park. With a VIP package deal, you will additionally get precedence entrance to the rides, a reduction on merchandise, complimentary valet parking and extra.
