Universal Epic Universe theme park: Everything to know about the wild new worlds

After years of speculation, it’s finally here. Or rather, details are finally out in the open about Universal’s fourth Florida-based theme park, Epic Universe.

The brand new park joins Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and water-park Volcano Bay, in exponentially expanding what fans can see and do, with five dedicated lands, a new hotel, and 50+ attractions, shops and more.

It’s… A lot to take in, even if you’ve been following the behind-the-scenes development of Epic Universe for the past few years. So with that in mind, let’s break down the essentials of what you need to know about the new park, when it will open, how to snag tickets, all five lands, and much, much more.

When will Universal Epic Universe open?

Right now there’s no confirmed exact opening date for Universal Epic Universe. However, we do know the park is expected to open sometime in the range of Summer 2025.

Where is Universal Epic Universe located? And how big is it?

First and foremost, Universal Epic Universe is located in Orlando, Florida. This is an entirely new initiative that doesn't exist at the Hollywood, Japan, Singapore or Beijing locations.

If you know anything about Universal’s Orlando theme parks, you know they’re in a pretty tight bunch. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios are right next to each other, connected via either walking outside and back in or by traveling the Hogwarts Express. Either way, you need a separate ticket for each. Right outside these two are several hotels, as well as CityWalk (Universal’s shopping area), and just past that is Volcano Bay, also a separate ticket.

Epic Universe, however, is in another area entirely – and there’s a good reason for that. Though Universal hasn’t confirmed the exact size of the footprint, the currently open area is about 735 acres. Epic Universe, all on its own, stretches across about 750 acres, according to Orlando Informer. You didn’t read that incorrectly: Epic Universe is as big as all the previous parks and hotels, all lumped together.

Time to buy some new walking shoes.

Will Universal Epic Universe have transportation to and from the rest of the parks?

To get more specific about it, Epic Universe is about two miles away from the “North Campus,” meaning it’s not an insurmountable walk, but it is relatively far away. So will there be some sort of tram or monorail?

…Probably? At the current time, Universal hasn’t addressed how they plan on transporting people back and forth, but they have a pretty robust tram system. There’s been fan speculation about a monorail going between both, but again, no news – or not-so-secret, secret construction going on.

How much do tickets to Universal Epic Universe cost?

There’s been no announced ticket pricing at this time, but it’s fair to speculate that – as mentioned above – Epic Universe will be a separate ticket. Pricing for Universal currently depends on a couple of factors: seasonality; whether you’re staying at a hotel; and whether you’re buying tickets as a package. The other factor? We’re talking about a year and a half from now, and who knows what inflation is going to look like then? Not economists, I’ll tell you what.

That said, generally speaking, tickets to Universal cost somewhere in the $100-$200 range, though can be cheaper if you’re staying at a hotel, for a singular park: and sometimes go above $200 for more than one park.

Assuming park prices stay steady (which is not a fair assumption, but we’ll allow it), it’s possible that Epic Universe ticket prices could be a little higher than Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios individually. All Ears estimates that $175 per adult ticket, $160 for a child’s ticket could be the going price. But expect more on this as we get closer to next year.

What five lands are in Universal Epic Universe?

Okay, finances and logistics out of the way, let’s get to the fun stuff. The new lands in Epic Universe are: Celestial Park; Super Nintendo Land; Dark Universe; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic; and How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk.

But that’s not enough, right? You want to know about each land individually, don’t you? You do. You definitely, definitely do.