chronos epic universe

Everything to Know About Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe

Walking up to the entrance of Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, a massive gate rises in front of you, with spinning orbs, glowing lights and gleaming touches of gold.

“Beyond this gate find gardens green and epic worlds to fill your dreams,” it reads.

But it’s not just a gate. It’s the Chronos — a portal to the multiverse and into first new theme park to open in America in 25 years.

Once you’ve walked through it and into the park, the gate has another message for you on the other side:

“You wonder next which path to chart, the answer lies within your heart.”

The concept is simple and complex at the same time. By stepping through the Chronos, you’re entering the multiverse, where infinite opportunities present themselves to you. From there, you choose where to go: into virtual fantasy, gothic thrills, magical time travel or a mythic island filled with dragons.

The sheer triumph of Epic is difficult to condense, but in a sentence: It’s beautiful, with mind-blowingly advanced rides, next-level immersion into fantasy and the kind of food you want to come back for again and again.


Here’s what to know about Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe.

Celestial Park

Epic Universe’s central hub is Celestial Park, which is a lush interstellar paradise, full of gorgeous water features, retro-futuristic design elements and celestial mythology and Victorian-era steampunk travel imagery. It’s where the park’s fine dining seafood restaurant, Atlantic, overlooks the land’s lagoons, including the evening Cosmos Fountain Show. It’s also the location of the park’s biggest thrill ride, Stardust Racers, which is a dueling coaster that evokes the beloved, long-gone Dueling Dragons at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, but with the intensity of the VelociCoaster, topping out at 62 mph and 133 vertical feet.

nintendo land

Super Nintendo World

Whether you haven’t played a Nintendo game since the original NES Super Mario Bros. or you’ve already preordered the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza for the Switch 2, Super Nintendo World will hit you in all the feels. (I say this as someone who hasn’t bought a game system since the Playstation 2.) Once you step through the portal — which says, “Here we go!,” Mario’s signature catchphrase — you’ll hear that unmistakable sound of traveling through a warp pipe and emerge into the Mushroom Kingdom, where Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad are all waiting to greet you.

In the main area of Super Nintendo World, called Super Mario Land, there’s Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventure, plus a series of interactive games you can play (using a separately purchased Power-Up Band) to get to the final showdown with Bowser Jr. in his castle, where it genuinely feels like you’re stepping into a video game.

donkey kong

The land also has another mini land inside, Donkey Kong Country, where everything is bananas (literally). Donkey Kong comes out to meet guests, or people can see him on Mine Cart Madness, a coaster that evokes the experience of being in the Donkey Kong games, complete with broken pieces of track that your ride car has to jump.

darkmoor

Dark Universe

Dark Universe, inspired by Universal’s genre-defining classic monster movies, brings people into a world filled with macabre delights. The village of Darkmoor is a dangerous place, run by vampires, where monsters like the Bride of Frankenstein and the Invisible Man walk freely among humans, and Ygor runs around with his bag of parts, finding more material for the experiments inside Castle Frankenstein.

Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is a motion simulator ride that brings you inside the castle, with incredible animatronics including scientist Victoria Frankenstein (heir to the castle) and Dracula. Curse of the Werewolf is a spinning coaster, and the Monster Makeup Experience allows you to paint your face like one of these preternatural creatures if you’re so inclined.

burning blade epic universe

Das Stakehouse is a garlic-free restaurant run by vampires and their familiars, but the Burning Blade Tavern — with a real windmill that ignites every 20 minutes — is a haven for monster hunters. Step inside, order a Reaper’s Reserve beer (only brewed for that land) and have a conversation with one of the hounds, the humans who have devoted themselves to ridding Darkmoor of its monsters.

epic universe harry potter ministry

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic transports you to 1920s Paris. Wizards and witches from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic roam the streets, wands at the ready, while investigators from the Ministry of Magic lurk around corners, asking you what you know about Albus Dumbledore.

Within this land is the Cirque Arcanus show, inspired by the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, and the park’s most highly sought-after ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, which features real stars from the films. Even if you don’t ride the ride (which you should, it’s not very intense), check out the queue, where you can portal through the Metrofloo transit system and explore the inner workings of the Ministry of Magic.

butterbeer crepe

At Cafe L’air de la Sirene, sit in what feels like a real French brasserie and order the single most buzzed-about food at Epic: the Butterbeer Crepe. Topped with a Bieraubeurre shortbread cookie (this is “Paris,” afterall), it’s a surprisingly delicious and not-too-sweet take on the Wizarding World’s signature beverage.

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How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk

You could spend a whole day in Isle of Berk, themed after the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies, and still not see everything the land has to offer.

This fantastical Viking landscape is dotted with dragons, including a ton of animatronic installations. They’re tucked away snoozing in nests on top of buildings, lovingly terrorizing Berk’s flying sheep and soaring overhead in real, free-flying activations. A Snow Wraith dragon blows freezing air at you, and Toothless (with Hiccup, of course) makes frequent appearances to greet his fans. If you approach carefully, he’ll likely let you pet his head — but if you scratch under his chin, he’ll fall asleep instantly. The cutest of all is Pouncer, the baby dragon who walks around the land playing with guests.

That’s all in addition to three rides — the boat ride Fyre Drill, the soaring Dragon Racer’s Rally and the family-friendly coaster, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders — and the unmissable Untrainable Dragon show. Plus, the mac and cheese cones everyone keeps talking about, which are as delicious as they look.

mac and cheese cones
Mac and cheese cones in Isle of Berk.

Eating and Drinking Throughout the Park

As someone whose favorite Disney park is Epcot, I don’t say this lightly — Epic Universe rivals that Walt Disney World experience. Even if you didn’t get on a single ride, you could still have a delightful day at Epic, just strolling around, eating, grabbing drinks at the park’s walk-up bars like CelesTiki or the Plastered Owl, and just taking in all the vibes.

There are so many snacks to try that, even though I’d spent several days in the park, I’d barely scratched the surface of what’s available.

Each of the lands has at least one sit-down restaurant, highly themed to the space. In Super Nintendo World, Chef Toad cooks up video game-inspired treats at Toadstool Cafe. In Isle of Berk, there’s the Viking Mead Hall, which serves grilled meats and fish and a truly unmissable mead (which is fruity and refreshing, not cloyingly sweet). Tucked away in a dark corner of the Wizarding World, there’s also Le Gobelet Noir, a German-meets-French tavern with hearty fare. And in Dark Universe, the aforementioned Burning Blade Tavern has a small but mighty menu (and because it’s the only human-run restaurant in a town full of vampires, there’s a lot of garlic on the menu).

In Celestial Park, besides Atlantic for seafood, there’s the Italian Pizza Moon, the barbecue Oak and Star Tavern and the Asian street food-inspired Blue Dragon restaurants. Plus, there’s food and drinks to try at the Epic Universe’s hotels, including the rooftop Bar Helios in the Helios Grand.

Seriously, come hungry.

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Staying on Epic Universe Property

Epic Universe has three hotels: the luxury Helios Grand is attached to the park, and has an entry gate in the lobby, while the value-price Universal Stella Nova and Terra Luna resorts are a 3 minute shuttle away. The campus is connected to the rest of the Universal Orlando resort via bus shuttles. It takes about 12 minutes to get from Epic to Universal Orlando’s other parks and hotels. Resort guests all get early entry into select lands at Epic Universe.

Contact a AAA travel advisor to help you find the best deal on your Universal vacation.
Will you visit Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe? What are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments.

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