The Ultimate Epic Universe Guide: Explore Epic Universe
We take you inside this incredible theme park and give you the ultimate insider's guide to each world.
“With sun and moon the stars and time, the chronos spins and worlds align. For if you seek with curious heart, your compass true and stars to chart. Beyond this gate find gardens green, and epic worlds to fill your dreams.”
Get the lay of Universal Epic Universe’s land with this map that shows the worlds in relation to each other. ©NBC Universal
Explore Epic Universe
Universal Epic Universe started out as a doodle on a piece of napkin. “Here’s a layout of how this could work,” said Mark Woodbury back in 2016. At the time, Universal’s current CEO was president of Universal Creative and had just tasked his team with setting up a brainstorming session with one topic on the agenda: “What would we create if we had the opportunity to build another domestic park?”
As it turns out, a whole new universe.
Cut to nearly a decade later and here we are, sharing with you the first exclusive deep dive into Universal Epic Universe.
What is Universal Epic Universe?
Let’s start with the basics. Epic Universe is Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park, built on 750 acres of land, just a few miles from Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay.
How do you get to Epic? Drive directly to where the new theme park is located (and yes, there is also complimentary transportation connecting the entire Universal Orlando Resort destination).
From ground-breaking technology to an innovative racing roller coaster, to five different worlds connected through mystical portals, Epic is transformational on so many levels.
“Epic is the future meeting the present,” says Gabriela Lander, director of facility design for Universal Creative, who’s been involved in the Epic project since the very first brainstorming session. “We have a park where we’re able to walk through nature and be guided by the stars, surrounded by iconic elements that materialize dreams into immersive worlds of epic stories and with a level of technology that will take the experience to a new level,” she adds.
Inspired by the exploration of unknown worlds, the theme park offers an entirely new level of experience.
“We’re telling stories that resonate with our guests, immersing them right from the front gate,” says Steve Tatham, the executive creative director for Universal Epic Universe, who moved back to Orlando from Osaka, Japan, to work on this project. “Universal redefined theme park entertainment forever. We’re setting a new standard, and that’s what it means to be a modern theme park,” he adds.
“We’re telling stories that resonate with our guests, immersing them right from the front gate,” says Steve Tatham, the executive creative director for Universal Epic Universe. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez
How does Epic work?
Epic Universe is made up of five different worlds, all connected through Celestial Park, the first world you’ll experience once you walk through the Emerald Gate and the Chronos device at the entrance to Epic. “In our story, Chronos is this giant machine used to harness the energy of the Universe that powers all of Celestial Park, allowing us to open the portals to other worlds,” explains Adam Rivest, executive producer for Celestial Park. He has worked at Universal for 24 years and set up that first-ever brainstorming session about Epic almost a decade ago—the same meeting Lander was in, where they got to see the plot of the land laid out on the table. Full circle.
Once you’re in Celestial Park, you’ll have access to four portals—tall, obelisk-like structures that take you into the other fully themed worlds.
Photos by Roberto Gonzalez
“Never before have guests been able to immerse themselves in these stories as deeply as they do when crossing the thresholds of the four portals,” Tatham says. “They’ll come face-to-face with scary monsters, they’ll tame dragons and encounter new magical eras.”
“There’s a little bit for everybody,” Rivest adds. “We’ve got worlds that are more geared toward children, some that are more geared toward the adventurous, others that are geared more toward adults. There’s a nice mix, and within each world there’s also levels of demographic and appeal.”
