Epic Universe, the newest theme park at Universal Orlando Resort, is set to open to the public on May 22, 2025. Starting on October 22, 2024, guests will be able to start purchasing tickets and reserve their spots for the largely awaited grand opening.
Fans have been anticipating the opening of Universal’s Epic Universe since plans for the park were revealed and construction commenced in 2019. This project has been in the works for quite some time now and has been regarded as Comcast’s NBCUniversal’s single largest investment in its theme parks. Recent updates indicate that construction has been progressing smoothly, with the grand opening set to proceed as scheduled.
This new addition is said to be the largest of the four theme parks at Universal Studios Orlando Resort, at 750 acres, featuring five themed worlds: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—The Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon—The Isle of Berk, Celestial Park, and Dark Universe. Some of these attractions will bring new experiences to Florida’s resorts, such as Super Nintendo World, which is currently only available in the California and Japan parks. With the addition of this new theme park, fans will find themselves immersed in their favorite fantasy realms.
“I think it’s good because they can expand their horizons and include more themes.” Says sophomore Isabella Rondon. “Personally, I think it’s also beneficial because little kids have access to more characters and things, rather than just Disney, for example.”
Along with the new park, Epic Universe will contain a new hotel: the Universal Helios Grand Hotel. It will be located inside the theme park, being Universal’s first hotel to have its own dedicated entrance to the park for hotel guests. The Helios Grand Hotel will be part of Loews Hotels and will contain 500 rooms, providing guests with a space to rewind after a long day in the parks. The hotel is set to open on May 22 of the upcoming year, along with Epic Universe. In the meantime, though, two more hotels will also be opening around the area in order to accommodate for the expected increase in visitors and tourists.
Sophomore Lauren Saddler shares, “Most of the parks are usually crowded, so they would be able to accommodate more people with their new areas. It wouldn’t be as densely packed as before, which is good. I think it’s really cool, and I can’t wait to see it!”
As far as admission to these hotels and the park itself, Universal will be selling multi-day packages with one day of admission into Epic Universe on October 22, before the official grand opening. Two days later, a special deal is available for annual passholders. They will have the chance to purchase single-day admission tickets to the new theme park before they go on sale to the general public. More options regarding admission will be available soon, as the park nears completion.
Throughout the construction of this project, citizens and tourists remain enthusiastic with the idea of these new worlds finally being brought to Florida. If everything goes to plan, the new park should be up and running by next year.
