Aerial photographer Bioreconstruct flew over Epic Universe twice this week, sharing photos on X of work on the new Universal Orlando theme park following Hurricane Milton. The park didn’t see any major damage but the water features filled up with rain water and some trees were knocked over.
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Epic Universe Construction
Epic Universe includes five themed lands: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, and Dark Universe.
The above photo of the park shows the main entrance in the lower center. Celestial Park runs through the center of Epic Universe, with the in-park Helios Grand Hotel at the opposite end of the entrance portal. On the right next to the entrance is How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. On the right next to the hotel is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. On the other side of the hotel is Dark Universe, followed by Super Nintendo World to the left of the entrance.
Compare to the Epic Universe concept art below.
Celestial Park is the only non-IP-based land. It acts as the park’s connective tissue, with magical portals leading to the other four lands.
Celestial Park
Guests will enter the park beneath a tall green tower housing the golden Chronos device, which draws power from the universe to sustain Celestial Park and open portals to other worlds. In front of the entryway is a colorful circle of pavement.
An American flag was on top of the entrance tower for a few months celebrating the topping-off of the structure. It was removed ahead of Hurricane Milton.
On the other side of the portal is the Luna Overlook. A series of cascading water features leads to the center of the park.
A large sculpture of the moon goddess Luna is at the overlook, with circular elements around her. A show at dusk will see the sun god Apollo hand the park over to Luna, transitioning the park’s lights from day to night.
Just a couple of days after Bioreconstruct took those first few photos, a second circular concrete form was in place between the entrance portal and Luna Overlook.
Helios Grand Hotel guests will have their own dedicated parking and entrance to the park. At the base of the hotel is another statue.
This bronze statue depicts Helios, the personification of the sun. He’s poised with a bow and arrow aimed at the other side of the park.
Around Helios are more cascading water features. An overlook juts out from the hotel facing the statue. A bridge crosses the ponds in front of the statue.
Golden roofing covers domes atop the hotel. Panels are still being installed on the largest, central dome, which houses a lounge. Crews installed lighting around the roof’s perimeter a few weeks ago.
A large circular fountain is in front of the hotel, with tiered seating around it for show viewing. A couple of gazebo structures with green roofs are between seating sections.
Brown rock elements are on one side of the fountain. Between the fountain and the hotel is the Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant. Neon lights will illuminate the restaurant inside and out. A dragon archway will be installed later.
The building in the lower right of the above photo is Meteor Astropub. It currently has blue roofing and a combination of brick and golden walls. A giant skylight is on the roof of a circular section of the building.
In front of Blue Dragon is another circle of colorful pavement, with sidewalks leading through water features to the sides. There are holes in the circle for future structures — maybe the dragon archway.
Beyond the show fountain and the next water feature is a splash pad called Astronomica. This interactive wet-play area will come alive with light and color.
It features colorful pavement resembling a compass rose, with arrows pointing in different directions. It’s dotted with fountains.
Astronomica is located along the same water feature as the Constellation Carousel, one of two rides in Celestial Park. The large building in the background of the above photo is The Oak & Star Tavern, a barbecue restaurant located next to the Dark Universe entrance.
The blue deck of Constellation Carousel was recently unveiled. Similar to the ride’s roof, it features golden astronomical designs. Scaffolding filled this area until recently. Crews have not yet covered the vertical supports in themed elements.
These two photos were taken one week apart. Before Hurricane Milton, the Constellation Carousel water feature was full of clear water. A chain of fountains was visible in the pond.
Crews have already cleaned out much of the muddy stormwater, revealing the fountains again.
The yellow arrow in the top right of this photo points at the corners of a star-shaped section of pavement in progress near Stardust Racers.
Foam blocks around the Constellation Carousel pond will create a themed berm. As seen on the right, the berm will be covered in grassy green elements and lighting.
The ride’s entrance structure is still just a framework with no roof. Nearby is Pizza Moon, another restaurant near the Super Nintendo World entrance.
The Pizza Moon sign features a golden moon with a face and a pizza slice in one eye — an homage to the classic 1902 film “A Trip to the Moon,” directed by Georges Méliès and inspired by Jules Verne novels. A famous image from the film is a moon with a rocket in one eye of its face.
The winding pavement in this photo is the extended queue of Stardust Racers, a dual-racing roller-coaster in Celestial Park. The ride was originally dubbed Starfall Racers, but was renamed due to trademark infringement.
The empty area on the left of this photo, beyond a line of trees, is space for future park expansion.
Crews continue to work on the theming of Stardust Racers. A large rocket-like element juts out from the front of the loading building, over rockwork. Some scaffolding was removed from the area ahead of the hurricane. More rockwork curves alongside the yellow and orange tracks.
The star-shaped pavement is in the bottom right of the above photo.
Closer to the park entrance is the Atlantic restaurant. Again, some scaffolding was removed in preparation for the hurricane. Some platforms were stacked in the nearby pond, which was filled with rainwater.
The restaurant will have floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Plywood covers the entrance wall, with white tubes leading inside. Guests will enter on the second floor and then descend into the dining room, which will have a view of water features.
The two water features next to the restaurant were quickly drained of water.
Three kiosks line the walkways between Dark Universe and Super Nintendo World. The circular one with a blue roof is the rumored CelesTiki bar.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
The entrance portal of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic features a tower topped with a golden sculpture of a hand holding a wand. There are tree-filled gardens to the sides of the entrance, which is located behind Meteor Astropub.
The entry portals all have entrances and exits, designed to keep the lands mostly hidden from view until guests are inside. Lamps were recently added to some of the walls around the Wizarding World portal.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic has a second portal-like structure: the Phoenix Arch inspired by the Porte Saint-Denis in Paris. This acts as the gateway from the muggle world to the wizarding one. A golden phoenix sculpture is now fully visible on the back of the archway.
The exterior streets of this land take inspiration from Place Clachée in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” This Parisian version of Diagon Alley is a series of five hidden streets, which convene at an intersection in the center of the land. The facades have gained more theming, including French language signs.
Other granular details include algae on the edges of roofs in this courtyard.
There are three entrances into the courtyard, one next to a pink candy shop facade.
Across from the candy shop, in the intersection, is a large red tent. This will be the entrance to Le Cirque Arcanus. The technically complex show is inspired by a circus in “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and follows Ringmaster Skender after he obtains magizoologist Newt Scamander’s famed suitcase filled with magical creatures.
A Butterbeer cart was recently installed on the street. It features a large red “BB”-branded barrel. A close look at the pavement around the cart also reveals its stone pattern. On the right is the framework for an awning and a golden sculpture on a facade.
Turrets were recently installed on the replica Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre domes. These are located on supports outside of the land, which will make it appear to be a distant landmark.
This series of photos highlights a themed doorway near the end of one street. A yellow arrow points at the doorway from the inside of the street in the first photo. The second photo shows the same spot sealed off from the back. The third photo is from October 2023 and shows the doorway was once open for construction access.
A facade at the end of this street features green paint with supports for a future awning and carved vine-like elements on the building. This will be the entrance to the Metrofloo, which leads guests to the British Ministry of Magic and the land’s main ride: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk is inspired by the films of the same name and will feature dragons throughout.
The tower atop the portal structure features a dragon-shaped medallion. Rock walls covered in moss create the exit pathway.
The entrance bay was filled with muddy water during the storm but has already been cleaned. In the bay are two statues resembling a Viking and a dragon, welcoming guests to the land.
Water circulation has begun in the bay, which also features Viking ships.
At the top of the above photo is part of Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, the land’s roller-coaster. It runs through a structure featuring dragon houses and dips into the bay under a bridge. In front of the dragon houses is the aerial spinner Dragon Racer’s Rally, currently surrounded by white supports for future canopies. A grassy structure on the right, next to the bay, is dotted with more dragon houses.
Next to Dragon Racer’s Rally is Viking Training Camp, a kids’ play area. Columns in the center of the Viking Training Camp were recently painted with dragon theming. Colorful canopies shade sections of the play area. On the left is a moss-covered rock element crossing the Hiccup’s Wing Glider’s coaster track.
An offshoot of the bay houses the Fyre Drill boat ride. More colorful canopies cover the ride’s queue.
The ride will be a water shooting game themed as practice for putting out accidental fires started by dragons. Some Viking ship-inspired ride vehicles and fake dragons are visible in the above photo.
The centerpiece of the land is a rocky spire atop Mead Hall, the main restaurant. The land will also feature Spit Fyre Grill and Hooligan’s Grog & Gruel.
Bioreconstruct saw a total of five train cars on Hiccup’s Wing Gliders. The trains are painted to resemble dragons with heads and wings. Wing-like mesh is also along parts of the track. Guests will pass Toothless on the ride.
Super Nintendo World
Outside of Super Nintendo World is a fountain topped with a bronze Mario sculpture and spinning gold coins. This is near a Super Nintendo World shop also outside the land.
The pavement outside the warp pipe entrance tunnel features a star-shaped cutout. Once inside the tunnel, guests will go up an escalator into the land, unique to this version of Super Nintendo World.
Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe will open with the Mushroom Kingdom, which already exists at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan, as well as Donkey Kong Country, an expansion under construction at Universal Studios Japan. Guests will enter through Peach’s Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom, while Donkey Kong Country is at the back of the land.
A turret of Peach’s Castle has been painted pink. The other stone-like roofs are still gray. Scaffolding is across the front of the facade. The land features cartoonish trees and other elements, as seen on the left in the above photo. Things like the Piranha Plants will move and interact with guests.
Bowser’s Castle is the entrance to the land’s main ride, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. Paneling on the front of the castle creates the beginnings of a giant Bowser sculpture. Watch our full ride POV of Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge at Universal Studios Hollywood below.
Epic Universe will also feature Yoshi’s Adventure, an omnimover ride that currently only exists at Universal Studios Japan. Some Yoshi figures and Captain Toad are along the ride track.
Many of the Yoshi-shaped vehicles were covered in black tarps during Bioreconstruct’s most recent trip, but he previously captured photos of them uncovered.
The above photo also shows the Yoshi’s Adventure entrance, with plastic covering the sign. An arrow on the left points at a hidden Shy Guy figure.
Watch our video of Yoshi’s Adventure at Universal Studios Japan:
In the top right of this photo is the portal that will lead from the Mushroom Kingdom to Donkey Kong Country. Next to the portal is Funky’s Fly ‘n By, a plane-shaped shop straight out of Donkey Kong video games. The plane has been partially painted with primer.
Mine-Cart Madness takes guests through Donkey Kong Country. The unique coaster is designed to make it look like the mine cart vehicles are jumping gaps in tracks. Guests will also appear to be launched out of a giant barrel, visible in the above photo atop a golden temple.
Dark Universe
The last Epic Universe land is Dark Universe, which features Universal Classic Monsters. Guests will enter below a rocky spire wired with Frankenstein-ian tech. The large building on the right in the above photo is the show building for Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
Guests will enter the ride through Frankenstein Manor. Some scaffolding was removed before the hurricane, allowing a closer look at some of the theming on the house. Roof peaks were recently added to the top of the manor’s central tower.
A forest around the manor helps hide the show building.
Guests will enter the manor via a stone bridge across a moat.
The land’s other ride is Curse of the Werewolf, a roller coaster. In the photos above is a purple layer of a tent that will eventually feature multiple layers. A pool of water and tree debris gathered on the tent during the storm. Frameworks are in place for more tents around the coaster.
These photos also show a tree that fell towards one of the coaster’s buildings, but doesn’t appear to have caused damage.
Nearby, a service walkway leads to the back of Oak & Star Tavern. Trees and a themed fence help to mask this area from guests.
Guests will walk through Darkmoor village, which features pavement stained to look like old stones. A well is in the center of a courtyard, surrounded by stone facades.
Landscaping was recently completed around the Burning Blade Tavern, a restaurant below a burning windmill. The structure is inspired by a scene in the 1931 “Frankenstein” film.
Other Construction
An Epic Universe staging area was unfortunately flooded during Hurricane Milton. This photo also shows the construction of bus shelters across the street.
In a dry staging area, Bioreconstruct spotted some red and yellow diamond-patterned panels for Super Nintendo World.
These green elements look similar to theming on the Chronos tower at the park’s entrance.
The yellow arrow in this photo points at a theming model used to plan the berm around Constellation Carousel.
The tent covers of artist studio staging areas were removed ahead of the hurricane. This tent is used for sculpting foam elements.
Around another barren tent framework are several polished metal spheres.
This photo shows a paved area and a long rectangular structure. This will be a new electric bus service area. In the background is the raised traffic circle under construction at Kirkman Road and Epic Blvd.
The raised traffic circle is designed to ease traffic leading to the park.
Epic Universe is scheduled to open in 2025, following the openings of the nearby Universal Stella Nova and Terra Luna Resorts.
What do you think of the latest Epic Universe construction updates? Which land are you most excited to experience? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
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For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.