It’s not every year that a new theme park gets built in the world, but 2025 will be one of those years when Universal Orlando Resort adds its highly anticipated third gate. The resort has spent the last several months telling us everything we know about Epic Universe, but although they’re not quite done yet, I’m pretty sure I’ve found my favorite, Dark Universe.
It was long rumored that a land dedicated to the classic Universal Monsters would be part of Epic Universe. Earlier this year it was confirmed the land would be called Dark Universe, the name once planned for the Universal cinematic universe of monsters. Today UOR revealed more about what we’ll find when we go inside the new land, and I love everything I’m hearing.
Dark Universe Promises Terror For The Whole Family
Dark Universe isn’t just a theme park land, it’s a place. The land is set in a village called Darkmoor. Universal describes the village as being “ravaged” by the monsters that terrorize the area. Sounds like fun.
Considering that Universal Parks are the home of Halloween Horror Nights, you might expect that Dark Universe would be a land not for the faint of heart, or young children. While we’ll certainly need to wait and actually experience it to be sure, it appears that Universal is going to make the land accessible to all, but without sacrificing the fear. This will be done through a pair of major attractions.
Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment is being called Universal’s “most terrifying attraction” yet. This will be a brand-new dark ride that will combine several of Universal’s classic monsters in an original story. It will see Victoria Frankenstein, the great, great, granddaughter of Dr. Frankenstein, invite guests to her lab to see her ability to control monsters. Unfortunately, her attempt to control Dracula goes terribly wrong, leading guests to attempt to escape from The Wolf Man, The Mummy, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, and more.
While Monsters Unchained sounds like it could be legitimately terrifying, Curse of the Werewolf appears to be a bit tamer. The spinning roller coaster is being described as a "family coaster", which means it won’t go too hard on the thrills and will have a minimal height requirement. Epic Universe has a thrilling coaster under construction for those looking for that, the recently renamed Stardust Racers.
There will also be plenty of monsters roaming the land for guests to meet and take pictures with. The Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience is also available to guests, which will transform them into monsters. It’s like the Bibbidi-Bobidi Boutique for creatures of the night.
Dark Universe’s Themed Restaurants Are Already Making Me Hungry
I am, if nothing else, a connoisseur of theme park food. I love the creative dishes and the creative restaurants that you find inside theme parks. Dark Universe has a couple of places that I’m already looking to make reservations.
Das Stakehaus, A+ name, is a dining hall run by vampire familiars who will be feeding patrons while deciding which patrons are to be fed to the vampires. The Burning Blade Tavern is located inside a windmill that is smoldering, and occasionally on fire. It sounds like this one may be a sort of character dining experience, as it promises guests will hear stories, and see the trophies, of a group of monster hunters known as the Hounds.
Themed dining and a state-of-the-art dark ride are exactly what you need to get me excited, so Dark Universe has my attention. Of course, all of Epic Universe has my attention.
Epic Universe will also include the biggest Super Nintendo World to date, a land dedicated to How to Train Your Dragon, and an entry area called Celestial Gardens. It will also include the Helios Grand Hotel, a hotel that borders the park and looks absolutely incredible.
Now that we know what we’ll find in Dark Universe, there are two pieces of the puzzle left to reveal. We can expect to learn about the final land, Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, next month based on the rate of these news drops. After that, the only question will be when in 2025 will Epic Universe open, and when can we enjoy all of this?
