Announced to the public when I was just 12 years old, Epic Universe, Universal Studios’ most ambitious and immersive theme park, opened its gates last year. The third park in its Orlando resort, Epic Universe, grabbed my attention at a young age. I’ve always been fascinated by theme parks—how they function, how they decide what works and what doesn’t—and, of course, they’re just extremely unique and fun experiences. When my family decided to go to Universal Orlando over February break, I was overjoyed.
We stayed in the Helios Grand Hotel, which is basically the focal point of Epic Universe itself. It towers over the park, giving by far the best view of the land below. When we checked into our room, the hotel receptionist, Ryan, was nice enough to give us a free upgrade to a room with a view of the park. I was blown away by the view. Literally! It was so windy trying to open the door in the lobby to get a better look at the place.
Epic Universe is composed of five different themed lands, each with its own portal acting as a “gateway” to each respective universe. The central hub is known as Celestial Park, themed to the stars, meteors, moons, comets, and other astrology-related iconography. While it may initially seem like a lot of concrete, you’re able to take in the full beauty of this land as you explore it more and notice the striking bodies of water and the surprising abundance of trees (for a Florida theme park). It’s the largest land by far, as it connects to all the others and is home to many shopping and dining options. The Pizza Moon restaurant was joyous, offering unique yet instantly classic pizza options with a visual theme that resembles the cover of The Smashing Pumpkin’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Celestial Park has two rides: Constellation Carousel and Stardust Racers. Here’s how my family rates them:
Constellation Carousel: Jillian 7/10, Mom 6/10, Dad 5.5/10, Me 7.5/10
I think it’s as good as carousels get. Each ride has a new song and emotion behind it, and the lights and even water features react to the music. Peaceful and fun. Nice to know carousels are still being built.
Stardust Racers: Jillian 8.5/10, Mom 9/10, Dad 3/10, Me 8/10
The quintessential “thrilling roller coaster” of the park. Two coasters duel with one another on separate tracks for a pretty fun visual. It even lights up at night. The launches are intense, and the inversions even more so. My sister closed her eyes and doesn’t remember any of it (still gave it an 8.5 though), and my mom calls it “the best rollercoaster I’ll never ride again.” I loved the ride, but it definitely left me feeling a little ill afterwards. Maybe that’s a sign of an impressive coaster!
Next, we have the land that awakens my inner child: Super Nintendo World. I’d been to the iteration of this land in Hollywood, but Orlando takes it to a whole new level (Get it? Level? Mario?) with a two-story area, two additional attractions, and a lot more to interact with. The main gimmick of the land is the power-up band, which you can use to play minigames with family and friends and unlock a secret game where you fight Bowser Jr. in his castle. It’s all very silly but shockingly fun and addictive. My dad and I had a blast just running around, laughing and collecting virtual coins. Toadstool Cafe is an adorable little restaurant, and the Donkey Kong Country area had a great sweet treat. After going through a tunnel, Donkey Kong Country felt like you were transported to a cartoonish tropical hideaway. It’s impressive how they make that kind of immersion possible. Super Nintendo World was home to Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, Donkey Kong: Minecart Madness, and Yoshi’s Adventure.
Yoshi’s Adventure: Jillian 7/10, Mom 7/10, Dad 6/10, Me 6.5/10
Very short, classic dark ride that moves you from scene to scene. You get a fantastic view of the vibrant world of Mario below and all around you. My mom likes this ride for its “good vibes.” I just like hearing all the Mario sounds come out of physical characters and not my TV screen. It took me back to my childhood again!
Mariokart: Bowser’s Challenge: Jillian 6/10, Mom 2/10, Dad 7/10, Me 8/10
This one is a little more controversial. It’s an augmented reality attraction, which means you have to wear a visor and these attachable goggles to see the virtual images overlaid on top of tangible environments. It’s a neat effect—when it works. For some people, it’s hard to get their visors working. Additionally, this ride is more of a game than anything. You have to turn your wheel at the right time to score points and look around to shoot Koopa shells at enemies. I think maybe I like this one the most because I usually get the highest score. There’s also something special about seeing all the Mario characters react to you and ride alongside you.
Donkey Kong: Minecart Madness: Jillian 8.5/10, Mom 9/10, Dad 8.5/10, Me 8.5/10
A clever coaster that hides the true rollercoaster track beneath a fake “broken” track. This leads to the illusion of jumping the track, switching lanes, and being shot out of a barrel, just like in the games. Donkey Kong’s world lends itself better to a theme park attraction than Mario, and the use of practical animatronics and physical sets elevates this one quite a bit. Plus, the drops, despite being relatively small, pack a bit of a punch.
Isle of Berk is the next portal, themed to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise by DreamWorks. I cannot express how jaw-dropping the reveal of this land was when you turn the corner and gaze upon the lake, the statues, and the kinetic energy of it all. This is how you make an emotionally effective, visually pleasing, exciting theme park land. The sweeping score from the trilogy follows you around the park, making for a truly connective experience. The animatronic dragons also breathe life into the area. The attractions in the Isle of Berk include Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, Dragon Racers Rally, Fyre Drill, and The Untrainable Dragon stage show.
Dragon Racers Rally: Jillian 5/10, Mom 5.5/10, Dad 7.5/10, Me 7/10
A short attraction but an effective one. You glide at a diagonal angle, and have the option of using giant metal dragon wings to sway side-to-side or even flip upside down. You get phenomenal views of Berk, and the ability to control the thrill level is a huge upside. Definitely more forgettable than some other attractions, but still solid.
Hiccup’s Wing Gliders: Jillian 9/10, Mom 9/10, Dad 9/10, Me 9/10
A nearly perfect family coaster. Tows the line of thrillseeking and casual parkgoing. Everyone in my family agreed that it was one of the best attractions in the park. The launches are fun and exhilarating, the baby dragons are adorable, and the soundtrack coming in through the speaker creates an otherworldly experience. If you’re a fan of this franchise, your head might explode from how perfectly they captured the essence of the world of How to Train Your Dragon. There’s a reason we rode this more than any other attraction.
Fyre Drill: Dad 7/10, Me 6/10
My dad and I were lucky enough to be among the first riders back on this water-shooting ride after a month-long refurbishment. The goal of the ride is to hit various wooden targets with a water blaster in order to set off contraptions that will soak the other boats. Unfortunately, the ride was still not working at its fullest potential when we got to ride it, but it was still fun nonetheless to try to hit as many targets as possible. The environments are also loosely inspired by the illustrations in the How to Train Your Dragon book series.
The Untrainable Dragon: Jillian 9.5/10, Mom 9.5/10, Dad 8.5/10, Me 9/10
A spectacular stage show unlike anything I’ve seen before. The scale of these dragon puppets blew us away. It was also surprisingly a musical, which, in my opinion, added to the emotional effect of the performance. It’s very short, but it perfectly embodies the themes and characters of the franchise. When Hiccup flies overhead on Toothless’ back, I was completely transported to another universe, and isn’t that the goal of this park as a whole? An unskippable attraction.
Dark Universe is the only portal besides Celestial Park that isn’t really tied to an intellectual property. Instead, it’s simply inspired by all the classic monster movies and stories: Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Invisible Man, etc. The intended ambience of this portion of the park only really went into effect when the sun went down, and the fog emerged. This is a land that definitely loses its luster when you see a gift shop next to a gothic mansion, but when you’re just exploring the environment, it really is a treat. At one point, my mom pointed at Ygor (Frankenstein’s assistant), and he walked up to us really close and warned us not to point fingers at people because it could be misconstrued as “selling your goods.” The actors really sell you on the creepy nature of Darkmoor, the town which you walk through to get to the attractions: Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment and Curse of the Werewolf.
Curse of the Werewolf: Jillian 7/10, Mom 8.5/10, Dad 8/10, Me 7/10
A fun coaster that, unfortunately, has the loosest theme in the park. You go back and forth on a coaster track, and the carts spin individually. You catch glimpses of these giant werewolf sculptures from time to time, and the thrills are definitely felt, but I couldn’t help but feel like they could’ve done a little more with the “werewolf curse” theming.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment: Jillian 7.5/10, Mom 8/10, Dad 9/10, Me 9/10
A one-of-a-kind dark ride with some of the greatest animatronic characters I’ve ever seen. This is the type of ride I can see becoming a classic theme park favorite a few decades from now. The storytelling is simple, but it draws you in. Victoria Frankenstein (the latest and most ambitious mad scientist in the Frankenstein family) needs our help to capture Dracula, the remaining monster not under her control. Unfortunately, Frankenstein’s monster accidentally shuts the power down and now all of the monsters from classic literature are chasing us down. The up-close moments with the creatures are equal parts thrilling and awe-inspiring. Ygor, of course, is the standout character, delivering some iconic lines while trying to control our vehicles to steer us clear of Dracula’s attacks. Really dynamic and exhilarating attraction, if a little tame for a “scary ride.”
The final portal of Epic Universe leads to the latest entry in Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter regions. This new Harry Potter-inspired land is actually based on Wizarding Paris, as seen in the generally unpopular Fantastic Beasts films. The buildings are all to scale, so you get the impression that you really are walking through the bustling streets of Paris. Since the location isn’t prominently featured in the films (which aren’t super well known in the first place), the designers were able to add a lot of originality with the area, infusing the streets of Paris with the magic of Harry Potter’s world. I always have to get a Butterbeer when I visit Universal, and this park happens to have a Butterbeer flavored crepe. It was delicious, definitely one of the best treats we tried at Universal. This area has two attractions.
Le Cirque Arcanus: Jillian 7.5/10, Mom 8.5/10, Dad 8/10, Me 8.5/10
The second stage show, located in Epic Universe, Le Cirque Arcanus brings the magical creatures of the Wizarding World to life in unimaginable ways. The puppeteering is almost invisible, so these animals feel tangible and conscious. The circus performers themselves were also impressive, and it was cool to see these types of entertainers getting their time to shine in a world where circus performances are starting to die down. The plotline wasn’t very strong, but the main intrigue was to observe the inside of Newt Scamander’s briefcase from the films, which was a joy to watch unfold.
Harry Potter & the Battle at the Ministry: Jillian 7/10, Mom 8/10, Dad 9/10, Me 8.5/10
One of the most intricate ride experiences out there today! As you enter the queue, you get to step through the floo-powered “Metrofloo” to teleport from Paris to the British Ministry of Magic. A simple yet whimsical effect. The queue is a staggering achievement in theme park design. From the sheer size of the statues and ceilings of the ministry, to the attention to detail in the offices—just boarding the ride is a treat. The ride itself was an extremely responsive simulator ride with some impressive state-of-the-art animatronics and screen effects. I think the response to this attraction online may be a bit overblown though, because I boarded it with much higher expectations than what I got. Still though, it’s an awesome experience that easily ranks among the most memorable and detailed theme park dark rides in the world.
That’s all for Epic Universe! I ultimately had the time of my life exploring these worlds and becoming one with their environments, characters, and vibes! This is escapism done right—inspiring imagination and amazement without distracting from the incredible real-life achievements of the designers, performers, and engineers. We also visited the other two parks, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure and VelociCoaster are must-do rollercoasters that bring both magic and thrill to the vacation. VelociCoaster especially was unbelievably intense yet immensely satisfying and exhilarating. After this jam-packed trip to Universal, I truly believe that Disney has some steep competition in the coming years. Film lovers and thrill seekers alike—Universal Orlando is the absolute pinnacle of nerd paradise.