Top 5 Things We're Looking Forward to at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe

The opening of the brand new theme park Epic Universe at Universal Orlando is a major event this summer in 2025! This huge expansion will introduce a new Harry Potter land, Super Nintendo World, a How to Train Your Dragon land, and a Dark Universe land themed around the classic Universal monsters.

There are so many amazing new experiences coming to Epic Universe, and we will count down the top 5 that we are most excited about!

5) The new family-friendly roller coaster Hiccup’s Wing Gliders will be a highlight of the How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk land coming to Epic Universe! This ride takes you on a journey aboard “a winged flying machine" where you’ll encounter Hiccup and Toothless along the way as you get a “dragon eye’s view" flying around the Isle of Berk.

We also recently got a new look at the How to Train Your Dragon character experiences coming to the park! The Toothless dragon looks incredible, and this is bound to be a very popular character interaction.

4) Stardust Racers is the dual-launch coaster in Celestial Park that will reach speeds of up to 62 miles per hour and go to heights of up to 133 feet along 5,000 feet of track. The ride will include an inverted crisscross called the “Celestial Spin." The coaster has a similar ride system as the Velocicoaster in Islands of Adventure and is expected to be just as thrilling!

It is likely that this ride, along with the others on this list, will offer Express Pass. See everything we know about Express Pass at Epic Universe and how we expect the offering will work.

3) Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness in Super Nintendo World is another Epic Universe experience we’re looking forward to! A version of the ride exists already at Universal Studios Japan and is now coming to Universal Orlando in Epic Universe’s Super Nintendo World. On this family-friendly coaster, you’ll help Donkey Kong protect the Golden Banana. The ride features the same maneuvers seen in the Donkey Kong Country video games, like the mine cars appearing to jump across gaps in the track!

2) The new ride in the Harry Potter land at Epic Universe, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, promises to be “Universal’s most impressive ride to date." The ride will feature “massive incredibly detailed environments, powerful storytelling, unprecedented ride technology" on an adventure alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The entrance to the ride will be a highlight as guests step into a full-scale recreation of the Ministry of Magic where the infamous Dolores Umbridge is about to stand trial. They will then board the attraction which utilizes “omnidirectional lifts" similar to the ride vehicles used in the Tower of Terror ride at Walt Disney World. You can see everything we know about this groundbreaking new Harry Potter ride.

1) Lastly, the new Dark Universe ride, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, is the Epic Universe experience that we are most excited about! The ride takes guests down to the catacombs of the Frankenstein Manor where Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s demonstration of her experiments to control monsters goes wrong, resulting in a revolt of monsters including The Wolf Man, The Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and more.

This Epic Universe new monsters ride will feature 14 animatronics, and the creators of the animatronics in the ride claim that they are the most “technologically advanced figures that have ever been built in the attraction industry." We will be watching closely to see how the Universal Orlando Express Pass works for this new park.

These are just a few of the things we’re looking forward to at Epic Universe! Beyond the new rides, we’re really excited to experience the new themed foods, character interactions, shows, and beyond. You can see more of the things we’re looking forward to at Epic Universe when it opens! You can also check out Jeremiah’s own list.

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