Orlando’s newest theme park isn’t resting on its laurels, as the award-winning Universal Epic Universe continues to introduce new experiences for guests. This third theme park at Universal Orlando Resort opened in 2025, joining Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. As Orlando’s first theme park of the 21st century, Epic Universe is a standard-setter of the modern era of theme park design, and it’s already looking toward its future.
Universal revealed a new nighttime spectacular coming to Epic Universe that will combine all of the park’s signature character worlds: mythology, Nintendo, Universal Classic Monsters, Harry Potter, and How to Train Your Dragon. The new show opens sooner than you might think, and we have the details. Mickey Visit brings you the latest theme park news and planning resources, including Disney’s plans to change classic rides and a test to prevent safety issues happening at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
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Epic Universe Reveals New Show Combining All 5 Worlds
The thesis of Universal Epic Universe revolves around portals leading into five fantastic worlds: Celestial Park, Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, and How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.
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Since opening day in May 2025, Epic Universe has concluded most days with an unnamed, 10-minute show at the Cosmos fountain in Celestial Park. This differs from other Orlando nighttime shows in that there are no fireworks involved, and the fountains don’t double as water screens to project movie clips onto.
Each world of Epic Universe is represented in the show, accompanied by 360-degree music and lighting effects that incorporate all of Celestial Park. For instance, when composer John Powell’s soaring “Test Flight” theme from How to Train Your Dragon plays, yes, the water of the Cosmos fountain dances accordingly, but every building of Celestial Park also radiates the red-orange glow of Berk.
Unadvertised but majestic, this fountain show is a nice way to end a day at Epic Universe. It’s grand in execution, yet somehow feels more intimate than a traditional nighttime show.
Universal will now adapt the essence of this fountain show to its next level as a fully produced nighttime spectacular, complete with fireworks, to be launched from behind Universal Helios Grand Hotel.
The show, titled Universal Celestial Goodnight, will debut on July 7, 2026, as a new show performed nightly at Epic Universe. It will feature 600 synchronized lights, more than 350 fountains, and 7 million LED lights across all of Celestial Park. The fireworks will be at the end of the show rather than throughout.
It’s unclear if Celestial Goodnight will be a new show, start to finish, or mostly the existing show with more pomp and circumstance. In any case, all five worlds of Epic Universe will be part of the production.
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Special fireworks presentations have only happened during the park’s grand opening celebrations, as well as on the Fourth of July 2025 and New Year’s Eve 2025.
It will be nice to have nightly fireworks in Epic Universe, and even if it’s for budgetary reasons, I’m glad the pyrotechnics portion is limited to the end of the show, as this will let the outstanding lighting and water effects truly have their moment to shine without being overlooked.
Universal, no doubt, is glad to have a reason for guests to stay in the park longer. I hope the anticipated crowds that come with a nighttime spectacular of this nature will be manageable within Celestial Park. The open walkways of the sprawling plaza seem to be designed with this in mind, which will hopefully prevent the bottleneck crowds of Magic Kingdom‘s post-fireworks frenzy.
Unlike Universal’s other parks, Epic Universe is not included with any annual pass option. The park does, however, offer Universal Express Pass privileges, including the new Universal Express Now on select days.
Plan your Epic Universe visit with our ride guide and food rankings.
Changes in Orlando Theme Parks
Universal Celestial Goodnight is among several ongoing changes happening throughout Universal Orlando and the greater Orlando theme park region.
At Universal Studios Florida, the new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster is under construction, set for a 2027 grand opening.
At Universal Islands of Adventure, the entire land known as The Lost Continent is being demolished to make way for unannounced future attractions.
Down the road at Walt Disney World, EPCOT management teams are testing changes for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind to prevent a safety issue caused partially by guest behavior.
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