Epic Universe Review
From the moment I stepped into Celestial Park – the first of the five lands that make up Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park, Epic Universe – there was something undeniably wondrous about the adventure I was about to embark on. Ahead of me lay four portals to fictional universes that I’d long dreamed of visiting, worlds filled with magic, monsters, dragons, and plumbers. And while the journey to those realms isn’t without its stumbles, Epic Universe lives up to its name and then some.
What I’ll remember most about my time at Epic Universe won’t be the attractions – with the exception of the animatronics-stuffed graveyard smash Monsters Unchained, which has cemented itself in my mind as one of the best rides in the world – but the immersive moments that transported me from Orlando and into these stories that I love so much. Where else in the world could I gain the trust of How to Train Your Dragon’s Toothless, help Dr. Frankenstein capture Dracula, jump into the Mushroom Kingdom and Donkey Kong Country, or travel back to the Wizarding Worlds of 1920s Paris and 1990s London? Nowhere but Epic Universe, and that’s why it’s a must-visit.
Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World and its Donkey Kong Country area have already opened in other Universal parks, so there isn’t much that’s new in Epic Universe’s Mario and Donkey Kong-themed land. But that doesn’t make it any less impressive or exciting: This was my first time at any Nintendo-themed park and, as someone whose path to writing for IGN began with countless, cherished late nights of finishing Super Mario World alongside my mom, it was so incredible to be in a re-creation of Mario’s world.
Emerging from the portal from Celestial Park to Super Nintendo World – shaped, naturally, like a Warp Pipe (complete with sound effects) – it felt like I was welcomed back to a familiar place, rather than entering a new one. The flag pole atop Mount Beanpole with its spinning coins, menacing Thwomps, Koopa, and stack of Goomba; Peach’s Castle, with paintings that beckoned me to jump into them just as they do in Super Mario 64; the K-O-N-G letters littered around Donkey Kong Country that I could collect just like on every level of the games – they’re all translated from video game to real life masterfully.
And the Question Blocks! Guests can turn Super Nintendo World into a game itself by purchasing a Power-Up Band to collect digital coins, stamps, and keys across the land, but even without one, you can still interact with environmental elements like Question Blocks. It felt as though I’ve been training my whole life to jump up and punch one of these immaculately designed, illuminated cubes – just the type of immersive moment I live for at theme parks.
I was impressed by the little touches and Easter Eggs packed into every corner of Super Nintendo World. There are Pikmin hiding about, a Yoshi’s Story book in a queue, and so many other great nods to Nintendo’s history while you wait for Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. There’s even a part in an underground-like area where you can use your Power-Up Band to make an 8-bit, Super Mario Bros.-style Mario pop up.
In a surprising twist, I found the land’s attractions to be its weakest part. They’re in no way bad, it’s just that Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, Yoshi’s Adventure, and Mine-Cart Madness each had an aspect that left me wanting a bit more.
Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge didn’t give me that sense of speed I was hoping for, and while it’s cool to see Mario Kart characters through the ride’s AR glasses, I found the glasses restricted my field of vision, which took me out of the experience a lot. Yoshi’s Adventure has the most adorable queue of all time, but the ride is painfully slow and left me baking in the hot Orlando sun for way too long. Mine-Cart Madness is a bit rough on the body, and I found that sitting in the back of the four-person cart makes the ride’s signature track jumping illusion less impactful.
The rides all have their strong points, but I found they didn’t compare to actually walking around Super Nintendo World. I also really want to highlight the accessibility of this land, because Super Nintendo World has a lot of stairs. Thankfully, elevators are plentiful – and I found that to be the case throughout the park and in its attractions.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
I reached my hand out, and the life-size animatronic extended his head to meet me in an act of understanding. His eyes closed, and he made sounds of approval. I could hardly believe it: It felt like I was actually petting a living, breathing dragon.
The Toothless meet and greet at Epic Universe’s How to Train Your Dragon-themed land, Isle of Berk, is without a doubt, the greatest character encounter I’ve ever had at a theme park. The animated figure responds in real time to what guests are doing, and is so expressive with his motions. It’s some of the most astounding tech I’ve ever seen, and was easily the highlight of my entire time at Epic Universe. And to top it all off, I was guided through it by a character actor doing a spot-on rendition of Toothless’ companion and rider, the young viking Hiccup. His fellow dragon riders Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Gobber can also be seen elsewhere in the land and they are just as hilarious, delightful, and screen-accurate.
Berk and all of its vibrant colors, mischievous dragons, and hilariously adorable sheep are present in the land. There’s also a ton of water, and it adds to the beauty and aesthetic and even plays an integral part of the star attraction, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, which was my second-favorite ride of this trip and my pick for the best family coaster in the whole park.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders takes you on a tour of Berk via a winged flying machine of Hiccup’s own design. It’s a thrilling and smooth ride, and I never felt too overwhelmed or anywhere close to motion sick. John Powell’s masterful How to Train Your Dragon score kicks in at the perfect moment to add to the sense of soaring through the sky, and it filled my heart with so much joy.
By comparison, Isle of Berk’s other two attractions, Dragon Racer’s Rally and Fyre Drill, are more of a nice glide. Dragon Racer’s Rally has a fun element of control, allowing you to move the ride vehicle up and down with levers, but it didn’t feel so much like flying to me, and there was a noticeable lack of music, which I’m hoping was a glitch. Fyre Drill, with its cutouts of dragons and humans from the movies, is adorable, but it’s also a pretty slow water ride with water guns that I wish were a little more powerful. I think these will be more fun for younger guests, but they lack the qualities that might make them an all-ages hit.
For those younger guests, Isle of Berk also boasts a fantastic multilevel playground whose peak provides the best view of the entire land. Theme parks often have a lack of open areas where kids can simply play, but not here – I can just imagine stopping by the playground in the middle of a long day so my kids can let out a bit of their seemingly endless energy.
Some of the wonder from the Toothless meet-and-greet is replicated in Isle of Berk’s big live show, The Untrainable Dragon, which features colorful, expressive, massive dragons of its own. I was blown away by the craft and technique on display, but the story itself left a bit to be desired. Still, it’s worth the time commitment to see these dragons come to life.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
Much of the early buzz surrounding Epic Universe’s Harry Potter land focused on the Battle at the Ministry and its jaw-dropping queue, but it was the glimpses of 1920s Paris’ Wizarding World that surprised me in the best ways.
The land is stunning. It truly felt as though I’d gone back in time and across the Atlantic – a sensation best captured by my lunch at Café L’air De La Sirène. As I sat at an outdoor table eating French onion soup and a butterbeer crepe, I was in Paris. I could have spent all day there, watching the people go by and listening to the fantastic live band accompanied by Plume the adorable Puffskein.
It was all so transporting: The ambience, the towering buildings, the character actors dressed in their 1920s finery. And that extended into the best show in all of Epic Universe, Le Cirque Arcanus. No spoilers, but this show is filled with fantastic beasts, supremely talented live performers, and various Potterverse flourishes that had me laughing, amazed, and even tearing up at moments. A must-see.
What didn’t work as well, sadly, were the interactive wand experiences that had me casting spells, making instruments perform, or shutting suitcases. In theory, at least: I may just be a weak wizard, but it took me at least two to three tries to get my spells to work each time, and that was a bit frustrating! Oh well, back to Hogwarts for me!
I’ll also gladly add to the ever-growing chorus praising the queue of Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Its scale and lighting and detail are unmatched by any other attraction. The only thing that might compare is stepping aboard the Star Destroyer in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – but, despite my massive Star Wars fandom, I have to give the slight edge to Battle at the Ministry.
Leaving Paris behind through the Métro-Floo, a plume of green smoke takes you to the hub of magical governance in 1990s London. Beyond the sheer scale of the place, I found myself disarmed by the actual offices adorning the atrium, the reception booths where visitors stop to check in, the Daily Prophet newspapers to read, and even moving wanted posters that set the scene for the ride’s centerpiece event, the trial of Voldermort stooge and despised Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge.
It’s also important to note that the queue itself is very long. IGN’s Casey DeFreitas had a chance to check out Battle at the Ministry at a preview event and noted that it took her about 1,300 steps – roughly 20 minutes – to get from the ride entrance area to the boarding area. Universal is obviously expecting big lines for this ride, and it built the space to accommodate for that.
Perhaps there’s a reason so much attention is being paid to the queue: While the ride itself is impressive and pulls off similar illusions of scale, it’s very jerky and uses a lot of video screens that sometimes don’t look great. There are some memorable moments, and fans of Harry Potter will have a lot to look forward to, but I tend to prefer more practical effects-driven rides that guide you through a space. The Tower of Terror-like mechanics of Battle at the Ministry pull off some remarkable spectacle, but there are better rides to be found in Epic Universe
Dark Universe
Prior to my Epic Universe trip, Dark Universe was the land I felt the least attached to – the classic Universal Monsters just haven’t been a part of my life the way Mario and How to Train Your Dragon have. Yet it ended up making the biggest impression on me, because the land’s marquee attraction is one of the greatest rides I’ve ever been on, hands down.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment gives Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and their creepy cohorts a moment in the spotlight, and it’s a thrilling ride that I didn’t find too scary. Sure, there’s plenty of intensity and exhilaration, but this isn’t a ride with a high barrier to entry fear-wise – it’s more entertaining, through and through.
I just had the biggest smile on my face for the entire ride: Though there are some video screens in play, they transition seamlessly into some marvelous animatronics of Drac and the gang. I was able to ride it four times in a row, and never felt sick to my stomach or jostled. This is the undisputed champion of Epic Universe’s opening-day attractions.
Monsters Unchained is joined by Curse of the Werewolf, which is a very fun spinning roller coaster that sends riders fleeing from werewolves in a forest. I think my favorite part is that you sit back to back with two other guests, and as I spun around I was able to see other guests’ reactions and laughter (and vice versa). It’s a distinct feature that adds to the thrill of the ride. It’s a little more aggressive and bumpy than Monsters: Unchained, but still manageable for most people in my estimation!
That said, Dark Universe is the one land in Epic Universe where the attractions overshadow their surroundings. There’s still some great atmosphere in the village of Darkmoor – the imposing Frankenstein Manor façade of Monsters Unchained, the Burning Blade Tavern with its windmill that actually catches fire – but it’s hard to be spooked in the middle of a blistering hot Orlando day with a ton of theme park guests around you. That changes a little after the sun goes down, but being around so many people still takes some of the dread out of the walking the village streets.
I didn’t mind running into so many great meet-and- greets, though. Come prepared to be roasted by mad scientist’s assistant Ygor, pay your respects to Frankenstein’s Monster and his bride, or be serenaded by a haunting violin player. Kudos to Universal Parks and Resorts casting: They’ve populated Epic Universe with top-notch character actors who contribute as much to the immersion as any flaming windmill blade or winding Ministry of Magic corridor.
Celestial Park
Celestial Park is more than just a stopover on the way to the more familiar lands of Epic Universe.
As the name suggests, it has a cosmic feel all its own, which informs its shops, restaurants, and rides like the phenomenal Stardust Racers. This dueling coaster sends you soaring upside down and rightside up across Celestial Park, inducing free-fall feelings and thrills that give Islands of Adventure’s VelociCoaster a run for its money. The twin-track system lends a sense of competition and coordination to Stardust Racers, a chaotic element that leads to surprises like seeing your fellow riders speeding overheard or matching your speed around a loop.
While it’s great at any time of day, Stardust Racers really shines at night. Even from afar, the dueling coasters look like shooting stars in the sky; being on one of those shooting stars in the dark adds a whole new layer to the ride. Nighttime is also the best time to ride the other attraction in this land, Constellation Carousel. It’s a pretty slow ride, as merry-go-rounds usually are, but it’s still a fun dance amongst the stars and a good way to cool down for a moment or take a break from the more intense rides. My one gripe is that the abundant pillars and beams of the ride building block what could’ve been a gorgeous panoramic view of Celestial Park.
Beyond massive fountains and giant sculptures and the themed portals to the other lands, Celestial Park is also a place with a ton of open space for kids to run around. There’s very little shade in these areas, though, and that’s a problem with Epic Universe as a whole. Temperatures were in the 90s the whole time I was at Epic Universe, and there are very few places in the park to escape the sun. Make sure to pack a lot of sunscreen and map out some indoor spots where you can take a break – or plan your trip for the cooler months of the year.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.
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