CNN
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Universal Orlando Resort announced Thursday morning that its long-awaited new theme park, Epic Universe, will open on May 22, 2025, just before Memorial Day weekend.
The new park will be the largest of the resort’s three theme parks and will be part of a 750-acre development that is more than double Universal’s footprint in Orlando. The facility currently consists of two theme parks and a water park.
This new park, Epic Universe, consists of five “worlds”: Super Nintendo World; How to Train Your Dragon: Berk Island; Dark Universe and Celestial Park.
“This is a huge moment for our destination, and we are excited to welcome guests to Epic Universe next year,” said Karen Irwin, president and chief operating officer of Universal Orlando Resort. We are doing so.”
“With this fantastic new theme park addition, guests will embark on an unforgettable vacation experience filled with a week’s worth of thrills. It’s going to be nothing short of epic.”
Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services, is a consultant to theme parks around the world. Although Speigel was not involved in the construction of Epic Universe, he has followed Universal’s $6 billion-plus spending and development of the project since its inception.
He said the themes included in the park speak to a new generation of visitors who love fairy tales but are also looking for the characters and friends they grew up with.
“We expect this new Epic Universe theme park to easily exceed 6 million visitors in its first 12 months of operation,” Speigel told CNN in an email. “Since the introduction of Harry Potter in 2010, Universal Studios theme parks have grown tremendously.”
Speigel said the park will chip away at Orlando’s theme park market, where Universal and Disney are the biggest players.
Disney hasn’t opened a new theme park in central Florida since 1998. Spigel, along with many theme park fans, is wondering how Disney will respond to competitors’ moves and whether new parks will open in the next few years.
Tickets and prices
Tickets for Epic Universe will be sold in stages.
Initially, only vacation packages and three-day (or longer) tickets to Universal Orlando Resort, including a day at Epic Universe, will be on sale starting October 22nd. In our pricing example, 3-day tickets range from $374.88 to $554.87. (excluding tax) Prices vary depending on the person and schedule.
Current Universal Orlando Annual Passholders will have priority access on October 24th to purchase Epic Universe single-day tickets before the general public.
Additional ticket options, including one-day tickets for the general public, will be on sale in the months leading up to the park’s opening.
The 500-room Loews Hotel Universal Helios Grand Hotel will also open on May 22nd (reservations accepted starting October 22nd). Located within the new theme park, it will feature Universal’s first theme park entrance exclusively for hotel guests. By then, two more new hotels are expected to open near the park.
Guests first enter the Epic Universe via Celestial Park. It has a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, stores, restaurants, and portals to four other worlds.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic is an extension of the Harry Potter world, set in 1920s Paris, where much of the Fantastic Beasts series is set, and in 1990, when the famous Hogwarts students faced off against Voldemort. Both create an atmosphere of British Ministry in the 1990s. .
A new attraction called “Ministry Combat” allows guests to enter the Ministry’s atrium via the Flo Network, ride an omnidirectional lift with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and evade attacks from Death Eaters .
Universal’s other theme parks already have two Harry Potter areas: Hogsmeade at Universal Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.
Super Nintendo World will be similar to those recently opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles and Universal Studios Japan. Guests can ride the attractions “Bowser’s Challenge” and “Trolley Madness with Donkey Kong.”
The “How to Train Your Dragon”-themed world includes a Viking village, a family roller coaster called “Hiccup’s Wing Glider,” water attractions, and live shows.
The Dark Universe is a world of shadows, and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment puts guests in the middle of a monster rebellion.
