Are you as excited about Universal Epic Universe’s opening day as I am? If you’re reading this story, I’m sure you are, as the long-awaited fourth gate at Universal’s Orlando Resort is primed to expand that destination into what the company hopes will be a week-long destination for guests.
While Epic Universe’s initial tickets are going fast, the May 2025 opening will only be the start of what’s to come in this stellar looking new park. Part of what awaits us seems to have drawn some lessons from recent attractions at Disney Parks’ U.S. locations, and I can’t wait to see what the results are, as they’re linked to one of the strongest franchises being presented.
The Worlds Of Universal Epic Universe’s Will Be Totally Immersive
New York Comic-Con 2024 revealed quite a bit about the world of upcoming 2025 movies and other forms of entertainment. However, it also hosted a pretty eye-opening panel thanks to the Fandom-sponsored sit down “Universal Epic Universe: The Creation Of Universal's Game-Changing New Theme Park,” hosted by Gamespot’s Chris Hayner.
As a member of the press, I was able to also attend the Fandom Party, which celebrated Universal’s upcoming theme park and the 20th anniversary of that very website. Through a scavenger hunt throughout The Venue on Music Row, housed in New York’s Hard Rock Hotel, my fellow journalists and I were primed to learn more about what Universal Epic Universe had to offer.
Thanks to a lineup that included folks like Patrick Braillard, the Senior Show Writer at Universal Creative, we learned that this new theme park is looking to achieve total immersion.
Using the new land of How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk as a prime example, Braillard set up that promise with some familiar sounding concepts. As CinemaBlend was on hand to hear in the panel, I can share that setup with you as follows:
…that's something that has become a difference in thought process in that it's no longer you just happen to be in that world. You are actually of that world. Any of the people that are inside that world would turn around and look at the portal you just walked through, and see a continuation into the forest, or see a rock wall of a mountain. They don't know anything else different than what is in that particular world. And that allows for us to have a difference in storytelling and engagement when we do something like a meet and greet, and we do talk to Astrid, or we do talk to Hiccup, or we do meet Toothless.
Patrick Braillard, New York Comic-Con 2024
Now here’s where lesson number one comes into play, as our own Dirk Libbey’s recent Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge experience taught him something that he felt he should have saw coming. In his opinion, people just don’t want to immerse themselves in this themed land, which upon its opening promised the same type of experience that would leave the world outside of its walls where it lay.
In theory, that’s a great idea, but in execution, both Galaxy’s Edge and the Galactic Starcruiser seemed to fall massively short of the mark. With that in mind, the lesson I’m hoping Universal Parks and Experiences has taken to heart is that while a singular immersive experience may not be ideal, several based on various IPs throughout the park will play better with restless guests.
Though considering there was an audible squee when Patrick Braillard mentioned how we’re going to meet Toothless, I think How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk might even buck that expectation. And speaking of the now-defunct Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, there’s a new revelation about Universal Epic Universe’s Grand Heilos Hotel that brought that particular experience back to mind in a huge way.
An Immersive How To Train Your Dragon Suite Is Going To Be Available At The Helios
What’s better than slipping onto the Isle of Berk in a story that’s been described as “How to Train Your Dragon 2.5?” Well, you’d have to ask the man who made that particular revelation at this panel, and that happens to be Steve Tatham, the Executive Creative Director at Universal Epic Universe.
And as luck would have it, he gave the audience that answer without much prompting. During another part of this extended conversation, Tatham shared this fact with the audience:
…you'll be able to stay in this hotel. And guess what? If you're [as much of a] fan of How to Train Your Dragon as I am, there are How to Train Your Dragon suites. … You can live 24/7 in that world. You can go to the world in the day, then you can stay in the suite at night. So there are views inside the room, from into the hotel, and there are How to Train Your Dragon suites in the hotel. And the theme of the park, celestial Park in particular, is extended into this. So Helios has astrological, celestial, and heavenly thematic elements.
Steve Tatham, New York Comic-Con 2024
Considering the audience at New York Comic-Con 2024 broke out into applause and cheers after dropping that knowledge, I’d say Mr. Tatham got the crowd hyped up. I may or may not have joined in that rabble myself, because of being a How to Train Your Dragon fan who would love to jump into Berk’s ecosystem, and pet me some dragons.
Which feels like Universal Epic Universe has addressed that second lesson I’m hoping has been learned: if you’re going to do immersive lodging, you’d better make sure there’s an option to step out of that world. With Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser’s pricey lifespan still fresh in everyone’s minds, I don’t think anyone is going to want to plunk down a vacation’s worth of expenses on a total enclosed experience ever again.
But as Steve Tatham told us, you could live in that How to Train Your Dragon experience 24/7. You don’t have to, but you could. And this isn’t meant to be a knock against that premium experience that ran inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While I’ve never experienced it myself, and would still gladly do so if given the chance, I can see where the problems may have presented themselves.
The Helios Hotel Looks Into Universal Epic Universe
If you thought an immersive suite was impressive, just wait until you read this final piece of information on the Grand Helios Hotel. Further fleshing out just how connected the Helios is to Universal Epic Universe’s theming and storytelling, Steve Tatham also had these promising notes to share:
If you wanna know what's happening at the theme park at three in the morning, get a room in this hotel, because you'll be able to see inside that park. So it is immediately adjacent to the hotel. There's an entrance from the hotel into the park, there's park entrance. We have never done this. There's no park that we have ever done in the United States particularly that has this experience.
Steve Tatham, New York Comic-Con 2024
I don’t know about the rest of you, but if there was a hotel that allowed me to enter and exit the Magic Kingdom through an experience themed to the Tron Lightcycle Run, I’d pretty much make a reservation now. While that very same park has the Cinderella Castle Suite available, it isn’t something you can readily book. Meanwhile, the Grand Helios Hotel is an entire lodging option built to connect you to the park without having to win a sweepstakes.
Whether you’re talking about Universal Epic Universe’s worlds or its hotel connected to said magic, immersion is the name of the game. As Patrick Braillard talked about the How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk experience in this New York Comic-Con panel, he said something that could be applied to this whole experience overall:
There are opportunities inside each of the worlds for guests to be able to have that wish fulfillment, and to be able to go to these places that they've only either seen on screen or in other media. And that is something that is truly wonderful for us as creators, we get to be able to provide those wishes.
Patrick Braillard, New York Comic-Con 2024
There’s a lot more to behold at Universal Epic Universe, as Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic await eager explorers, with Celestial Park tying it all together. And while there’s still time for you to prepare for the May 20, 2025 grand opening, you’re going to want to book your tickets and park passes as soon as possible. I’d imagine that How to Train Your Dragon suite is about to become very popular for the foreseeable future.
