A new article by The Hollywood Reporter has released several new pieces of information concerning the highly-anticipated Epic Universe, and we have compiled them all into a single post.
We now have more details regarding the queue for Monsters Unchained, reports of a Viking band in the Isle of Berk, details of the portal designs, a confirmed 40-hour music loop for Celestial Park, and much more!
The Largest Land in Epic Universe
The first new fact was confirmed in the THR article by Katy Pacitti, the executive producer for How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. According to Pacitti, Isle of Berk is the largest of the four IP (intellectual property) lands by square footage — “If you take away the big rides, you can fit two of the other worlds in this one.”
She hypothesizes part of this is due to Isle of Berk having two bodies of water, a feature not replicated in any of the other lands.
A Viking Band
Another hint of the entertainment coming to How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk was shared by Camille Coladonato, the senior media producer for both Isle of Berk and Celestial Park.
When discussing the iconic soundtrack of the “How to Train Your Dragon” films, she confirmed the land will combine known music and new compositions:
We use so much of (the film’s) amazing soundtrack music, but we have things that are new.
Coladonato also asked, “What would be more authentic and immersive than a Viking band?” While she does not go into more detail, this is the first reference to an actual live band performing in Isle of Berk. Previously, Universal announced wandering musicians would be performing in Dark Universe, which was also confirmed when aerial photographer bioreconstruct posted pictures of Team Members actually practicing in the land.
Decor Based on the Film Concept Art
Bioreconstruct has also shared photos of the Isle of Berk that revealed some of the land’s themed benches. The benches are made to appear as though they have been carved from a single block of wood and are shaped like some of the franchise’s iconic creatures.
We now know the design of these benches is based directly on original concept art from the third “How to Train Your Dragon” film. Pacitti explained that the original idea for the benches was taken directly from a single piece of unused concept art that showed Astrid sitting on a bench:
There was this tiny, tiny, low-res [image] of Astrid sitting on a bench that was carved to look like a Natter. We took that and said let’s just make them, so we have not only the Natter, we have a Gronkle, a sheep.
She also mentions the How to Treat Your Dragon sweet shop in the land is also based on an idea originally developed by DreamWorks but never seen in the films.
Interactive Dragons
Universal has long touted that How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk will be filled with dragons to bring the area to life. We have already seen the dragon-shaped drones that Universal confirmed will be flying in the skies over the land. Universal also released concept art of a Hiccup and Toothless meet and greet.
However, a line from the THR article implies it may be more than just Toothless wandering the land:
Since the world has started internal dry-runs, character appearances for Toothless and his babies, the Night Lights, have been popular.
The Night Lights is a collective name for Toothless’ three children, who appear at the end of the third “How to Train Your Dragon” film.
WESH 2 caught video of a robotic version of Dart, one of the Night Lights, practicing movements backstage earlier this year. Most assumed that the dragon would somehow be making an appearance during “The Untrainable Dragon” stage show, but this line from the article implies they may be seeing guests in a more meet-and-greet-style capacity.
This would also better align with the current version of “The Untrainable Dragon” performing in Universal Studios Beijing, which does feature a full-scale Toothless, but not any of his children. The line also specifically says “Night Lights” plural, which may mean there will be freely moving versions of all three children, not just Dart.
Dark Universe Monster Animatronics
Moving now to Dark Universe, the section themed to the Universal Classic Monsters, the THR article also revealed several new facts about Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
Universal already previewed short glimpses of several animatronic monsters that will appear on the ride, including the Brides of Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Wolf Man, the Mummy, the Phantom of the Opera, and Frankenstein’s Monster. Frances Franceschi, production designer on Monsters Unchained, did confirm that the sizes of the new animatronics might not be as overwhelmingly massive as one might imagine.
We did not need them all to be nine feet tall. So some are five, four, seven feet.
While Frankenstein’s Monster is expected to be one of the largest animatronics, this announcement confirms several of the other characters have been made smaller to match their “real-world” scale.
Maggie Baker, senior manager of costume and wardrobe design at Epic Universe, also teased that the consumes on each of the Monsters Unchained animatronics will not be exact replicas of their original black-and-white film consumes, but rather “more modern, a little bit more fashion-forward” looks.
Monsters Unchained Queue
As with many of Universal’s major attractions, the queue for Monsters Unchained is expected to be a crucial part of the overall experience. We already know the queue will take guests through the castle of Victor Frankenstein, which is now owned by his descendant Victoria.
The THR article has now revealed that the queue will also feature additional creatures using “a mix of moving, static, image, and media-based” technology. Universal has already confirmed the queue will feature jumpscares similar to their Halloween haunted house offerings, so some of these additional creatures may be related to the jumpscare features.
Universal recently shared a first look inside the attraction on social media.
Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
The main attraction in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic will be Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. In the story for the attraction, guests have traveled to the British Ministry of Magic to witness the trial of Dolores Umbridge following the events of the seventh film.
The queue will introduce guests to a new character named Higgledy, who has been Umbridge’s house elf for many years. Concept art of the attraction showed Higgledy sitting in Umbridge’s iconic pink office as part of the queue, but Universal has now confirmed this first appearance will be a physical animatronic figure:
Battle at the Ministry will debut Higgledy, first as a “beautiful” animated figure in an intimate moment in Umbridge’s office during the ride queue experience.
Higgledy will then appear throughout the actual ride as a crucial character alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione in “multiple forms.”
Metro-Floo
The beginning of the queue experience for Battle at the Ministry will utilize the Floo Network to transport guests from the streets of Paris to London. A system called the Metro-Floo has been specifically developed for the new land, and Anisha Vyas, assistant director of projects at Universal Creative, has shared more information about how the Metro-Floo will work.
There are fireplaces in a line, and you are sent through the Floo and experience a burst — we’ll just call it green smoke for now — then you step through a bit of a tunnel, have that experience again, and you are transported to the Ministry.
The Designers of Celestial Park
Moving now to the central land of Epic Universe, our final new facts are all related to Celestial Park. First, Universal has revealed that many of the design Team Members who worked on Celestial Park also worked on the Port of Entry in Universal Islands of Adventure. The land will combine nostalgia with a futuristic flair using “World Fair designs and a larger 1850s to 1930s aesthetic.”
The Music of Celestial Park
Like many areas of Epic Universe, Celestial Park will have a unique background soundtrack playing throughout the day. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to record a full music loop, Universal has confirmed the music of Celestial Park will be extremely lengthy, “supported by 40 hours of musical content (14 of which is original) and 16 background music zones, the world acts as a series of sensorily connected experiences.”
As one example, the section of the park closest to the Chronos and the park’s main entrance is called Luna’s Court of the Moon, and the music there will use more string and woodwind instruments. The opposite side of the park, dubbed Helios’ Court of the Sun and anchored by the Universal Helios Grand Hotel, will have more brass and percussion in its score.
The attractions in Celestial Park will also have multiple music tracks. The dueling Stardust Racers roller coaster will utilize the music of Celestial Park, which shifts sounds based on the time of day, “flipping its soundtrack from the daytime’s brassy sound that imbues adventure and going to the races with a celestial, synthy nighttime energy.”
The large Constellation Carousel, meanwhile, will have “seven different compositions,” encouraging guests to ride multiple times for different musical experiences.
Portal Design and Technology
Finally, the article shared several new details about the portals that connect each of the five lands together in Epic Universe. First, the landscape of each garden in Celestial Park will change to match the nearby portal in each section, including “shifts in color choices and type of plants based on the portal you’re walking toward.”
The portals themselves will continue this blending process using curved LED screens in the interior pathways. Energy representing Celestial Park will mesh with the colored energy of each respective land, creating “gorgeous nebulas” where the two energies mix. Coladonato specifically described the energy inside the portal for Dark Universe as an “inky mysterious darkness” with lightning effects.
If you want to read even more about Epic Universe, we have a comprehensive post of everything we know about the new park so far.
Do any of these new details make you even more excited for the grand opening of Epic Universe on May 22? Let us know in the comments.
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