On May 24th, 2025, I ended up at Epic Universe on accident.
It wasn’t a planned trip, just a spur-of-the-moment decision that happened in a frenzy while already on the way to Universal Orlando Resort. Somehow, there were tickets available, and somehow, I ended up buying them. Opening weekend at the newest theme park in Orlando? Sure! I didn’t think too hard about the logistics or that no one in my party was actually prepared to spend eight or more hours in a theme park we weren’t familiar with. Suddenly, we were on a bus and the Helios Grand Hotel was looming in the distance, and that was all that mattered.
By the time we had passed through the Chronos at the entryway, I already knew that what they had built here was going to be unlike anything we as guests had ever experienced. And while there is something to be said for tempering your expectations, I think it’s equally as important to let yourself be in awe of what was accomplished at Epic Universe.
Before I delve too far into this review, I want to take a moment and acknowledge the countless engineers, artists, creative directors, construction workers, and leadership teams that made this park possible. I am lucky enough to know a few people who worked tirelessly to bring Epic Universe to life – to hear about the passion and pride that they have seeing this park finally open after so many years of construction is moving in a way most guests won’t ever experience. This park did not simply materialize. Blood, sweat, and tears built this park – and it shows. Before we discuss any elements of this park, a heart felt thank you to the teams that made this place possible. At every level of the creative process, from the highest management position to the most grueling construction shifts, this park bears the fruits of your passion, your dedication, and your skill. Thank you.
Immersion Drives Design at Epic Universe
One of the biggest things I noticed at Epic Universe – whether it was while traversing Celestial Park or entering the themed lands – was that there was a level of immersion that Universal had achieved with Epic, unseen in its other parks. Which, of course, don’t get me wrong: Islands of Adventure is an excellent park and the reveal of Diagon Alley when you walk through the bricks is still incredible. But what has been achieved at Epic Universe makes those experiences pale in comparison.
Each land is accessible through a ‘portal’ that guests must step through in order to access the other worlds beyond – and the feeling of being transported to another realm is real and concrete. Universal has perfected their use of sight-lines and grand reveals to ensure that each land not only has a breathtaking entrance, but that they feel self-contained; very rarely are you able to see any of the outside world from within these themed lands, providing a feeling of detachment from the rest of the park. There is no music bleed between lands. You cannot see Velociraptors running wild from the Three Broomsticks, in Epic Universe. The lands are so brilliantly designed that the only possibility is that you have somehow been transported onto the streets of Paris, and maybe you should have brushed up on your French.
There is no greater reveal than the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. When you walk through the portal and are greeted on the other side by a plain tiled wall, it’s actually a bit jarring. It’s not anything like the Wizarding Paris you had imagined, but rather like you’re exiting a metro. You have to walk around that wall to access the rest of the land – and when I tell you that I genuinely, for real, stopped dead in my tracks when the arc de triomphe was revealed just past that plain, unassuming tile wall, I am not exaggerating. I was so stunned, that I stopped in awe.
I’ve been to Paris twice. Once, in 2018 when my family flew 19 hours to France; and once, this weekend, when I went to Epic Universe.
The reveal is mind-blowing, truly. The entrance – the arc de triomphe – is enormous, and the buildings beyond that line the streets of Wizarding Paris tower over you unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in a theme park. It’s beautiful and unexpected, and that’s what makes it such a powerful set piece – the fact that as you enter through the portal from Celestial Park to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, everything has been set up to ensure you have that perfect moment of awe as you enter.
And this phenomena is not limited to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, either. Super Nintendo World was another incredible reveal; after traveling through the portal (through the green pipe, which was a charming detail!) guests enter into Peach’s Castle, laden with portraits and your standard Mushroom Kingdom architecture. But once you exit that castle onto the upper floor balcony overlooking the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom – coupled with the charming first motion of the Super Mario Bros. theme playing at full blast throughout this colorful gameworld – it’s an experience unlike any other.
Don’t hate me for this, but I’ve never been the biggest Nintendo fan. I grew up on PlayStation! That being said, even I was overwhelmed by the colors, sounds, and sheer energy present within Super Nintendo World. The reveal of the Mushroom Kingdom and the music welcoming me into the world of Mario was an experience that produced instant joy.
Each land is set up like this, to allow guests an immersive experience that creates a breathtaking reveal as the world opens up before you. There is nothing mundane about entering through the portals, and from the moment you step into one of the great celestial portals, you are transported.
Universal has made themselves very clear by design: whatever you are expecting from these lands, you haven’t dreamed big enough.
Epic Universe Has Perfected Attractions
The actual design of the lands isn’t the only thing that has been perfected within Epic Universe. The attractions themselves are leaps and bounds more immersive and engaging than anything Orlando has seen to date.
I have my favorite, of course – and I’ll talk more about that later – but for now, I want to talk about some older rides.
Roller coasters have been a staple in theme parks for almost as long as theme parks have been around. The first coaster debuted in 1817, and since then, coaster enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and engineers have been iterating on that original design to keep coasters in the public eye as one of the world’s most beloved thrill rides. In 2021, Universal Orlando Resort opened Jurassic World: Velocicoaster, and I remember the first time I rode it. I was astonished by the level of fluidity that steel coaster had achieved, and to this day will say that Velocicoaster feels like you’re truly running with a pack of raptors.
But at Epic Universe, this concept has been taken to the next level. On Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – a relatively friendly coaster suitable for families, without any major drops and no inversions – guests are treated to what can only be described as an organic coaster. Cut perfectly to the triumphant music of the How to Train Your Dragon score – specifically, Test Drive – every dip and dive swerves to the score, creating an incredible few seconds where you forget entirely that you’re on a roller coaster. For that one beautiful moment, you really are on the back of a dragon. The whole ride is charming, with Hiccup narrating the test of his newest invention – the Wing Gliders – but the best moment of the ride comes right after you dive into the dragon roost, where the music picks up and you feel what Hiccup must have felt during Test Drive.
Fast, fun, and perfectly synced with the music and ambiance of Berk, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – like many of the attractions in Epic Universe – is a testament to the skill and design elements that have been masterfully put to work here in Universal Orlando Resort’s newest theme park.
One thing that I noticed across the myriad of rides at Epic Universe was the use of an on-board speaker system; these attractions, like Donkey Kong’s Mine-Cart Madness and Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, did not rely on area music or external speakers to provide the soundtracks to the experiences, instead installing on-board speaker systems that allowed the music (and narration) to come with us. A clever integration, this made it infinitely easier to understand what was being said during these coaster experiences, where external speakers tend to get drowned out by the natural sounds of the coaster jostling about.
The Culmination of 35 Years of Thrills
As much as Hiccup’s Wing Gliders holds the spot in my heart as one of the best attractions at Epic Universe, it’s nowhere near the crown jewel of the park. Even though every attraction I went on at Epic Universe was on completely different level of thrill and immersion from what park goers have known so far, there is one ride at Epic Universe that is on a completely different planet from its peers. It has plagued my mind since the moment I rode it. It is by far the most astounding, groundbreaking, and beautiful ride within the new park.
I do not feel it is an exaggeration to say that this ride is the culmination of 35 years of thrills at Universal Orlando Resort. It takes everything that Universal has done over the years and builds upon it, creating the perfect storm of an attraction. Not a single ride in Epic Universe – as incredible as they all are – holds a candle to this one, and to be able to experience this attraction as someone who has grown up in Universal was an honor and a deeply emotional experience for me.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is by far the most remarkable theme park experience I have ever had. It is the perfect blend of classic and modern design elements, and if you’re paying attention, you might notice some tricks Universal used in its attractions 25 years ago – the electricity effect when Frankenstein’s Monster activates the machine is the same effect used in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, when Electro puts a live wire to the S.C.O.O.P. -and the fact that Universal is able to incorporate such a wide breadth of practical effects to make this attraction the best it can be truly speaks to the company’s commitment to its history and the future of theme park rides.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment brings to life the very pillar of Universal’s legacy, and breathes a new life into characters over 100 years old (Happy Birthday, by the way, to Phantom of the Opera, who turns 100 this year!).
This ride features fourteen animatronics. Vastly different from the animatronics of the 90s, these full-bodied figured are fast, fluid, and lifelike. They are perfectly staged, and every scene throughout the ride is carefully constructed to be a cinematic masterpiece. From the first reveal of Frankenstein to the freeing of Dracula’s brides, this ride is designed like a major motion picture.
There is not a single element of this attraction I could say missed the mark, or felt lackluster. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment utilizes a combination of physical sets, animatronics, and screens that surpass any simulator screens Universal has ever used, creating a truly expansive depth that guests can feel in every scene. The image is crisp and easily visible, even during periods of quick motion.
Unlike screen elements in previous attractions like Transformers, The Forbidden Journey, or Escape from Gringotts, the screen elements in Monsters Unchained are unique in that no scene takes place entirely on a screen. They are used for flavor more than anything, with a combination of animated backgrounds, animated effects, and physical animatronics being some of the strongest scenes in the entire ride. Dracula’s presence is enhanced by the use of screens, but is rarely overshadowed by them.
The Wolfman sees the most screen usage, with his quick, animalistic movements reserved for digital animation and the more intimate, terrifying moments using animatronics that move much more slowly than a full sprint through the woods would require.
There is nothing wrong with using screens to enhance a scene, though many Universal fans experienced something colloquially called “screen fatigue” around the early-to-mid 2010s, when most of Universal’s new experiences were screen based. It’s understandable that the brief (but exhausting) foray into that new technology left some fans with a bitter taste in their mouths regarding the use of screens and motion-simulator rides over the classic blueprint of physical sets and tangible animatronics, but Monster Unchained: The Frankenstein experiment perfectly marries both schools of design into a one-of-a-kind experience that I urge guests to make sure they see when they finally do get to Epic Universe.
This will forever by my go-to ride at Epic Universe, the one thing I won’t ever want to miss.
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