Thanks to aerial photographer @bioreconstruct on X, it’s time to take a flight over Universal Epic Universe and check out How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, one of the new park’s themed lands.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk Construction
Guests will enter each IP-inspired land through a sci-fi portal in Celestial Park, the central land of Epic Universe. Each semi-circle portal is made of large metallic rings. Towering above the portal is a rocky structure. This is currently unpainted with scaffolding all over it. Compare to the concept art below.
The concept art shows approximately what the land’s entrance will look like when completed, with grassy cliffs behind the portal and a tower topped with a dragon medallion. Another dragon medallion will be on the top of the portal. In construction photos, we can see the blank space where that medallion will go. In the background is a rocky spire.
The spire is on top of Meade Hall, the land’s main dining location. Crews have been sculpting the rockwork on, around, and above Meade Hall.
A small house was recently installed on top of the spire. This is likely Gothi’s hut. Gothi is a wise old woman who appears in the “How to Train Your Dragon” films and lives in a hut on a mountain.
Like the rockwork around the portal, the spire and hut have yet to be painted, so are currently a pale gray color. Details of the hut, like windows and shingles, are clearly defined. Forced perspective will make it look life-size to guests on the ground even though it’s actually tiny.
Two of the three rides in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk will be Hiccup’s Wing Gliders and Dragon Racer’s Rally. The former is pictured in the center of the above photo. It’s made of two spinning structures, which were caught testing a few months ago. Work on Hiccup’s Wing Gliders seems to be mostly complete but the ground around the double ride is still under construction.
The framework more in the foreground is around part of Dragon Racer’s Rally, a roller-coaster. The framework is for grandstands that the coaster will drive through.
Scaffolding covering the track is to protect it from falling materials during construction.
Uneven beams on the top of the structure are themed elements that may later be painted to look like wood. We’ve seen a similar technique on other structures for the coaster.
For example, this shed-like structure at the ride’s first launch is painted steel. Bioreconstruct added the yellow arrow, which points at a themed mechanical wheel.
The first launch comes around the corner from the ride’s boarding area.
Guests will go up a hill and then turn down. Themed fencing under the track hides a backstage area. There are wing-shaped nets around the higher sections of track.
Crews are casting concrete foundations on the other side of a rock wall next to the roller-coaster.
The coaster’s second launch comes near the grandstands scene. The large rocky area in front of the track is for a play area.
In the background is Starfall Racers, a dual-racing coaster in Celestial Park that has begun testing.
The rockwork of the play area blends in with the coaster’s theming. Two large “rocks” cross over the tracks, so trains will dive beneath them. These rocks have been partially painted and covered in green moss.
This building will be Grog & Gruel, a quick-service dining location. The Grog & Gruel sign was installed in January but has since been painted gray. Themed elements around the sign have also been painted. Walls of the building look like logs.
The other How to Train Your Dragon attractions will be Fyre Drill, a water ride, and The Untrainable Dragon, a stage show likely inspired by “Untrainable” at Universal Studios Beijing.
Check out our recent construction updates about the park’s Dark Universe land and nearby Stella Nova and Terra Luna resorts.
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