Universal Orlando's newest theme park, Epic Universe, opens in just 77 days! As the opening draws near, we will be covering the news released each week as we continue to find out more and more about this brand new park.
Epic Universe is the first major theme park opening in the Orlando area since Islands of Adventure opened in 1999 which was preceded by Animal Kingdom in 1998. Suffice to say, this is a big deal for theme park goers to see a park of such scale join the market of Orlando theme parks!
Epic Universe officially opens to the public on May 22, 2025 and I will be there on opening day to cover this big moment and share my review with our readers. Let's get into all the details of the Epic Universe news for this week of March 6, 2025.
Planning a Disneyland Vacation?
Get exclusive access to prices on hotel & tickets just for Mickey Visit subscribers. Don't miss our travel hacks newsletter!
Epic Universe Details We're Still Waiting For
These are some of the biggest details we are still waiting for as we get closer to the Epic Universe opening date.
Epic Universe 1-day and 2-day tickets– We still do not know the details of when Epic Universe 1-day or 2-day tickets will go on sale to the general public nor exactly how much they will be. 1-day tickets have already gone on sale for Annual Passholders with prices ranging from $122-173 depending on the date. According to Universal Orlando, these tickets for all other guests “will be launched at a later date before the park opens.”
Express Pass- There have been rumors swirling that Epic Universe won't offer Express Pass when it opens. This does not appear to be true as the official website states, “Express Passes for Universal Epic Universe will be launched at a later date before the park opens. More details will be announced closer to the launch of these products.” The language here has led many of us to wonder if Express Pass will work differently at Epic Universe but so far, we don't know anything yet.
Universal Hotel Express Pass- We do know that Epic Universe will have Early Park Admission for hotel guests but we do not know if the hotels that offer free Express Pass will be able to use it at Epic Universe. Again, how Express Pass will work is our biggest piece of missing information right now!
VIP Tours at Epic Universe- VIP Tour experiences will include Epic Universe but information on these will also, again, be “launched at a later date before the park opens.”
As of now, we do not know an official timeline for when we will get these details beyond that it will be before Epic Universe opens on May 22, 2025.
Epic Universe News This Week
Universal Team Member previews are now in full swing and have been extend through March 14, 2025 during Phase One of the previews. Phase Two will likely include family and friends, right now the previews are for team members only. During the current round of previews, team members are required to sign a NDA and no video or photo footage has been allowed. So far, I haven't seen any visual “sneak peeks” of the park so these rules have been taken seriously by team members.
Team members have been sharing their reactions on social media and so far the area that is getting the most attention has been Dark Universe. Specifically the Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment attraction has been getting rave reviews especially in regards to the impressive animatronics. The Harry Potter attraction, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry of Magic, has appeared to be struggling with operating all ride vehicles at once so not many team members have had the chance to experience that attraction yet.
If you're trying to avoid spoilers, you might want to watch out for social media comments recounting the detailed storylines of the attractions as I've seen some of these floating around. In that spirit, I'm going to avoid recounting spoilers of rides as we get closer to the opening. If I decide to dig into rider spoilers, I'll link to another article for it!
In other news, Epic Universe has been added to the Universal Orlando app so guests can start viewing the layout of the park. We had a good idea of the layout from all the construction updates we've seen but it's great to see the finalized version. Right now you can see how Celestial Park is the centerpiece of the park as it acts as a hub throughout the area with all the portals surrounding it.
Single rider lines have been confirmed at Epic Universe for seven attractions via the Universal Orlando website. Of course, this is always subject to change but right now single rider is going to be offered for the park's most popular attractions like Stardust Racers, Curse of the Werewolf, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, Hiccup's Wing Gliders, Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, Mine-Cart Madness, and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. This is welcome news but I am still waiting for information on Express Pass!
This week I discussed my thoughts about Epic Universe crowds at opening and why I think we might actually not see the massive levels many of us are expecting. I looked at ticket and hotel availability along with past theme park experiene to see what we could expect opening weekend.
This week Universal released a video announcing their plans to continue to expand Epic Universe among other projects they have been working on in this stage of growth. We covered this announcement and discussed how Universal is moving to compete with Disney on both coasts and at other locations in the United States in our article reporting on the news. This is exciting news for Universal fans. Universal isn't planning on stopping here with Epic Universe and are already thinking future forward on how to expand the space.
With the updates added to the Universal app and website, we're starting to learn more about Celestial Park lore which is the only land not based on IP at Epic Universe. With the details of shops and dining revealed, we learned that a new character named Vincent Various has “converted his workshop into a variety of stores” in the description for Sensorium Emporium which seems to be the main store in the land. Universal fans might instantly wonder if there will be a connection to the steampunk vibes of
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen but we'll have to wait and see!
Epic Universe Construction Updates
Okay here's this week's roundup of updates from the team member previews courtesy of bioreconstruct on X.
Okay this is the photo I am most excited about this week, look at this shot of the small dragons in How to Train Your Dragon- Isle of Berk.
Here is a wider shot of the land and you can see team members in the land during the previews.
This is another exciting one! Check out this close up of the Mine-Cart Madness in Super Nintendo World.
Here's a wider shot of the coaster from another angle during the team member preview. This land is stunning!
Here's an aerial shot of the Mario area of the land in Super Nintendo World. The space is so much larger than what we have over at Universal Studios Hollywood which is great.
Check out this great shot of Stardust Racers during the team member previews. This ride has also been getting great reviews.
Here you can see how the coasters are timed to really be “racing” in the attraction. Thrill seekers are going to love this ride.
Here we can get a look at the queue at the bottom of the picture. Great work from Universal making sure this queue is entirely covered!
With team member previews continuing to take place over the next week, I'm sure we have many more great photos to come.
First image via Universal Orlando.
Read More Disney Planning Advice
For the best resource and helpful information for planning your Disney trip, make sure to subscribe to our FREE Deals newsletter. We’ll provide you with helpful planning information, exclusive Disney deals, and access to the lowest-priced Disney tickets anywhere.
Planning a Disney Vacation? Get Exclusive Discounts + Free Bonuses
In addition to exclusive discounts for Mickey Visit subscribers, get our free planning printable and guide to make your life SO much easier.
