31. Epic Universe at Six Months: What’s Changed, What’s Next & What You Need to Know | Universal Orlando

Epic Universe is officially six months old — and ohhh, do we have a LOT to talk about.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what I thought Epic Universe was going to be, what it actually turned out to be, the surprises that caught even me off guard, and how the park has already evolved since Opening Day.

PLUS — we’re diving into the permits.
Yep. The publicly filed permits that hint at exactly what Universal is building next.

And I’m not doing it alone.
 As always, huge love to Alicia Stella, queen of all theme-park permits, and to BioReconstruct on X for the aerial views that connect all the dots.

Here’s what we’re unlocking today:

✨ What lived up to expectations (hello, Super Nintendo World)
 ✨ Why Battle at the Ministry is one seamless storytelling experience
 ✨ Why Dark Universe has my heart (and apparently a room waiting for me)
 ✨ The surprise hits — like food I crave when I’m not there
 ✨ The Toothless meet-and-greet that has people crying
✨ Operational shifts and reliability improvements since Opening Day
✨ The stunning nighttime fountain show around Helios Grand
✨ The major 150,000 sq ft permit that points to a new Wizarding World attraction
✨ How fireworks infrastructure may be expanding
✨ And what I think the future of Epic Universe looks like

Plus… a tiny bit of Pizza Moon snark.
 (Spoiler: they are not holding your pizza hostage.)

Whether you’re planning your first trip or your fiftieth, this episode will give you a clearer picture of what Epic Universe looks like today — and what’s coming next.

🔑 Let’s keep unlocking Universal together.

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🌟 As a senior travel consultant and trainer with The Magic For Less Travel, a top U-Preferred agency, I specialize in Universal Orlando vacations—When you're ready to go from dreaming to doing, I'm here for you. My services are free, my excitement is contagious, and your countdown to Epic could start faster than a VelociCoaster launch.

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Transcript

Six months. That's all it's been since the portals opened, since Dragons first took flight over the new waters since monsters stirred beneath the castle stones and since a brand new universe slammed into Orlando like a cosmic event, we all felt was coming, but none of us could truly fathom six months.

And already the stories have shifted. The ops have adapted, the crowds have reshaped the landscape and the permits. Oh, the permits have begun whispering about what's next. A universe doesn't stay still. A universe expands and if you know where to look, you can see the next world forming long before it rises from the ground.

Welcome back to Unlocking Universal, your Key to all things Universal Orlando and beyond. Now here's your guide and unfair Advantage Holli.

 Today we're celebrating a milestone that somehow feels impossible and inevitable all at the same time. Epic Universe is officially six months [00:01:00] old, and because I was blessed to attend the previews and was invited to the grand opening Celebration as a guest of Universal Destinations and Experiences representing the inimitable The Magic for Less Travel, y'all know this park has been living rent free in my brain since way before I even stepped through the Chronos portal.

Today we're diving into what we thought Epic would be. What it actually turned out to be, how things have already evolved and what the permits suggest is coming next, let's unlock it.

Epic Universe launched with Sky High expectations and honestly, it met a lot of them, but the reality. Even better in some places and surprising in others after some serious thought and the desire to not keep you here for like three hours, I've boiled it down to three of my own expectations that were met and three things that surprised me.

first, what expectations were met? Number one on that list is Super Nintendo world being, well, a whole thing, not [00:02:00] totally chaos, but a buzzing electric nonstop land where everyone is either on a mission, in a power up battle or running to meet a character. It feels like stepping into a video game that's been left on high energy mode permanently and honestly, that's exactly what it should be, 

Second is Battle at The Ministry being breathtakingly cinematic. And what I didn't fully expect to come to fruition was how seamless the storytelling would feel. But they knocked it out of the dang park.

You don't have a cue and then a pre-show and then a ride. The moment you step into the ministry, you are in it. The transitions are so smooth that you barely feel them. Like the building is like breathing around you and ushering you from one moment to the next, all the way to the very end. And number three.

Is that Dark Universe was indeed my favorite world and this shocked absolutely no one who knows me. It's the place I happily spend most of my time chatting with the monsters, getting lost in the [00:03:00] atmosphere, and yes, trying to negotiate long-term castle rental arrangements with Igor.

I haven't hung my name on a door yet, but like Ellie Sattler, I can be quite tenacious.

Now, what surprised me? The first thing that surprised me really took my breath away, and I hadn't expected that. And those are the best kinds of surprises. Am I right? So number one would be Celestial Park being jaw dropping. The moment you enter the kinetic energy, the soundscape, the water, the lighting, the smells.

I mean flowers and coffee and just the way every architectural line draws your eye toward movement or toward the sky or toward water. It's one of the most cinematic entrances, Universal or anyone else has ever created. My very first time walking in was during a preview , and I had that rare moment where you just are stopped in your tracks and you go, oh, oh, they really did this.

I had planned to head straight to Dark Universe [00:04:00] because you know me, but it took me an hour and a half to get there because I just could not allow myself to disrespect Celestial Park. It. It is just so lovely. and Is so much more than just a walkthrough to the other four portals.

And number two on my list is the food. Oh my gosh. The food. This park came outta the gate swinging in the culinary department. I mean, there are dishes here that. I seriously crave them when I'm not there. You guys have heard me beg you that if you're there, I will meet you at the gate and please bring me a pizza, moon pizza.

I tip really well. And it's only half of a joke because oh my gosh, it's amazing. It's like Universal said, we're gonna open a new park, and the culinary team said, say less. We're going to open a restaurant district disguised as a theme park. I mean. Between Pizza Moon, which makes me question my relationship with pizza as I previously understood it.

Being a New Yorker, y'all. So this is serious. And, uh, steakhouse, which quickly has become my emotional [00:05:00] support dining location, they completely nailed it, and that's barely even scratching the surface of the surface. I've heard several very trusted resources say that when they were dining at the Atlantic, which I have yet to get to, it has been one of the best meals I've ever had. And they didn't mean just in a theme park in all of their lives, one of the best meals. So that's really saying something.

And number three on this list, and this was a really hard one because there was a lot of things, the overwhelming popularity of the Toothless Meet and Greet. I mean, we all knew it was going to be big, but this is big. Big lines fill immediately when they open the queue. People have true deep emotional reactions to meeting Toothless and toward the end of the day.

They actually have to cut the queue early enough so that the poor handlers don't end up pulling an all-nighter. And look, to be honest, I have not done it yet, mostly because I've been too busy hanging out in Dark Universe, talking to my friends, trying to convince [00:06:00] Igor to let me be his apprentice , you know, the normal stuff.

And I don't know if I'll cry or not. I kind of don't think so because that's really not my thing. But then again, after having the character interactions I've had over at Dark Universe, it sh. Your guess is as good as mine, but I'm not afraid to cry no matter what my daughter says.

 Six months may not sound like much, but for a brand new theme park, it's plenty of time for the dust to begin to settle and for the true personality of the place to emerge. One of the most important evolutions that we've seen is in attraction, reliability. Now we have to keep in mind that with complex technology of this magnitude, and it is a huge magnitude, it's never gonna be a hundred percent without issue.

There's always the possibility of something breaking down, right? That goes for all technology. Think of your iPhone, think of the internet. We've seen that go down, you know, cloud service, different things. It's not just theme park rides. But the ride reliability has come leaps and [00:07:00] bounds at Epic already.

First up, monsters Unchained My GOAT. This one smoothed out its early quirks very quickly and has been running consistently ever since. It's everything I hoped it would be and more. And if it were socially acceptable to just like set up a tent there, I, I already would have.

And if we're gonna talk about reliability, we have to talk about Battle of the Ministry because if you were paying attention way back in the beginning, there were some serious reliability issues.

The ride would be down sometimes the majority of a day, and that was really upsetting for a lot of people, and I totally get it . So Battle of the Ministry has had a bit more of a journey. Which isn't surprising once you understand the ride system.

But here's the good news, it is getting better and the reason for that is actually pretty fascinating. Here's the context.

A company called Oceaneering, which is now owned by Falcon's Attractions, is the company that's responsible for the maintenance of the ride Now. Some of the most advanced ride systems in the world are also managed by oceaneering. If you're [00:08:00] familiar with rides like, um, in Islands of Adventure, the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man or Next door in the studios, Transformers: the Ride 3D.

You've experienced their work. They're really good at what they do. These are extremely complex motion based plus dark ride hybrids, and they require constant, constant fine tuning. But Oceaneering has a long track record of taking rides like this from incredible, but temperamental to strong, stable, and dependable.

And they're already doing a good job, and we can see the difference they've made.

And now they've been contracted to do the same work for Battle at the Ministry. That's why we're already seeing more ride vehicles on track, better throughput, far fewer multi-hour down times, and a much more consistent daily experience. Is it perfect yet? No. And when it goes down, it can still take a while to recover on occasion.

But based on Oceaneering history, this is exactly the kind of project they excel at polishing over time. So the reliability we're seeing now, it's only [00:09:00] going to get better.

And by the way, this is still why I recommend riding it first thing in the morning. You get the shortest wait once the park is open 'cause you're not using a lot of your wait time during actual open hours. You get the freshest ops team and the best chance at boarding before anything gets temperamental.

Dining operations have also improved tremendously in these first six months. Universal launched Epic Universe with a shockingly deep dining lineup right out of the gate, and then immediately started expanding it.

Celestial Park especially has been a standout. Well, first of all, it's important to know that in Celestial Park, that's the only place you're going to find the true, full service sit-down dining experiences and at opening this area already had offered. Multiple dining options with a wide variety of cuisines and atmospheres.

Guests had everything from quick service, all my lovely pizza to the, you know, grab and go bites to the gorgeous sit down environments overlooking the fountains and just celestial park and all the beautiful things. But since then, two more [00:10:00] restaurants have already opened The Atlantic and the Blue Dragon both of these landed just a bit after opening day and they've already become beloved Staples in the lineup and we're still not done. I know. I'm looking forward to the arrival of Pavo's Italian and Brian is already in line for Luna Estrella Mexican, I think.

Both of these restaurants are only gonna improve the balance in variety of dining throughout Celestial Park, which I mean, obviously that's. For the entirety of Epic Universe. But meanwhile, across the rest of the park, the Quick Service locations are learning guest patterns. They're adjusting staffing and flow accordingly.

Menus have gone through their little, you know, real world tweaks and the consistency they're hitting at this stage for such a young park is honestly impressive.

So Epic universe, in my opinion, didn't just open with strong dining. It opened strong and then started leveling up almost immediately.

 Let's talk about nighttime offerings right now. Epic Universe offers a beautiful fountain and light [00:11:00] spectacular. Centered in front of the Helios Grand Hotel.

It's synchronized with the light packages across all of the worlds, and this results in a shimmering, immersive, nighttime vibe that makes the entire park feel alive. It is not to be missed. And yes, there have been some fireworks displays. But they've only happened a few times so far. We'll look at that closer as we get into the permit section. The groundwork for more may already be in motion.

Alright, my permit nerds gather round. Before I dive in, I wanna call out two of the biggest and most impressive sources for understanding what's happening behind the portals. First. The queen of all things, permits, filings, construction, breadcrumbs. Alicia, Stella, if you wanna understand what's being built, what's been submitted and what's quietly changing behind the construction walls, Alicia is the one we all follow.

And secondly, Bioreconstruct his aerial photography on X gives [00:12:00] us the literal overhead view. When Alicia's permit deep dives, meet bios, flyovers, that's when the picture starts to get really clear. Okay, so everything I'm about to share with you comes from the publicly filed permits, cross-referenced with bios, aerials, and layered in with my own notes and sprinkled with some educated speculation.

Sound good? Okay, let's unlock this.

 Let's start with the one Nobody's really talking about too much, but everybody should know about. That's Project nine 15. This permit is for a multi-story event and flex space. Next to the park entrance, tucked in between that front area and Super Nintendo world. It's a relatively small expansion plot compared to the others, but it's really interesting.

For one specific reason, the only permit currently approved is for a job site trailer. Just the trailer, not the building, not the foundation. No site prep, no vertical construction, and that job site trailer permit expires in April of 2026. [00:13:00] So what does that mean? Well, Universal isn't ready to go vertical yet.

They're setting the stage, planning the flag, if you will, and essentially saying, we'll do something here, just not today. Project nine 15 will almost definitely lean into a flex space usage, and that's a good thing because the more flex spaces a park has, the more variety of entertainment and experiences it can rotate through.

Think of it like the wicked experience inside Universal Studios, Florida, that kind of pop-up, medium term, immersive event space that isn't meant to be permanent, but is absolutely meant to be impactful. Project nine 15 could easily host seasonal offerings, limited run showcase events after hours, experiences, or interactive walkthroughs that change out every few months.

It's one of those quiet behind the scenes projects that won't make big headlines, but will absolutely make the park better.

And we're also hearing that the upstairs of this flex space is gonna have some team member [00:14:00] break areas. We love to see that too.

 Next up is building 1650. Now this is located in the right hand alley area as you enter the Ministry of Magic. It's that cluster of buildings that includes K. Rammelle and the currently unoccupied Madame Malkin's Robe Shop, it's just a facade right now

so there's been a lot of speculation about this one, but the most likely outcome is it's pretty grounded. Well, first this permit very likely points to Apostle Bill build out for the robe shop, right? That would just make sense because the facade is already there.

It makes the most thematic sense. The storefront looks ready for more life than it currently has. We have robe shops over in the other Wizarding World locations, so why not? But honestly, an expansion of bar moonshine makes even more sense. That pub is incredibly popular and expanding it with additional seating or an extended bar footprint would absolutely track.

It's the kind of place fans gravitate to, and [00:15:00] Universal knows that there could also be team member or operational workspace included in this project.

You know, kind of tucked behind the scenes as part of the expansion. That's pretty normal for a land finding. Its operational footing. So yes, it's notable, but it's not earth shaking because the big one, the one that makes us all sit up straight is what's next.

Okay, here we go. This is the permit that every permit nerd stopped in their tracks for. Filed just a couple weeks ago on November 7th, 2025. It's for the site. Utilities and foundation work on a footprint that measures almost exactly 150,000 square feet. And if those numbers sound familiar, there's a reason.

It is because this is the precise size of the Wizarding World expansion plot, as in 150,814 square feet as someone measured it out. Yeah, pretty much an exact match. But here's the real jaw [00:16:00] dropper. Remember back in 2019 when we had the original plans for Epic Universe, this 150,000 square feet is 50% larger than the canceled attraction.

Originally planned for that back spot. This is not a backstage warehouse, my friends. This is not a team member building. This is not temporary. This is major attraction footprint territory, and if you're wondering why this feels so significant, here's the context.

Falcon's Attractions is involved now formally Oceaneering Entertainment. These are the folks behind the development, engineering, and ongoing maintenance of complex ride systems all over the world, including Battle of the Ministry. When Falcon Attractions shows up on a permit, it means we're building something technologically ambitious. Second one on that permit is Adena Corp. Now, Adena Corp is a major construction firm with attraction and coaster builds under its belt. They specialize in the very big and very [00:17:00] specific theme park grade complex.

The third one is Baker Barrios Architects, and this is the one that made my eyebrows about fly off my face. Because I am an Orlando local, I immediately recognize their work. They are known for some huge Orlando projects like. The Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts. If you're not familiar is where like all the big, Broadway shows or any of the big performers come in, um, you know, not the stadium stuff that's different, but, you know, think like Broadway and those kind of, Christmas performances, things like that.

They are also responsible for the Westlake Sports and Entertainment Hub. The point is that anything they're attached to is significant in scale and visual ambition because these, um, two that I just mentioned are absolutely gorgeous. So when these three show up together on a 150,000 plus square foot site permit, this is not a coincidence.

This is Universal saying we're building something big, really big. [00:18:00] And the kicker. For the longest time, the speculation was that Super Nintendo World would be the first to get a major expansion. But based on this permit, the pace, the scale, the team involved, it looks like the Wizarding World might beat them to. And while we're on the subject, can somebody please let us inside Kowalski Quality Baked Goods for, for just one day? Because if I have to admire one more adorable bread loaf through the window, like a wistful, Parisian orphan, I might combust.

And finally, the prettiest little breadcrumb trail, two prefab structures have been permitted, one behind Le Cirque Arcanus and one near Monsters Unchained. If you look at a map of the park, you're gonna see that these are the exact same spots Epic Universe has used for the only full fireworks performances that we've seen so far.

Does this confirm a nightly firework show? No. Does it strongly suggest Universal is building the infrastructure to make fireworks more feasible going forward? Sure [00:19:00] does. And after seeing the grand opening fireworks in person, if they ever decide to make that even a sometimes thing, just tell me where to stand and what time to show up because I saw the grand opening fireworks in person.

Let me just say that it was the most impressive, stunning, jaw dropping fireworks display I have ever seen, and that's not to throw any shade on Disney, but this was really special. So Epic Universe, take my money.

So what does all of this tell us about the future of Epic Universe? It tells us that the Wizarding World is very likely getting a major new attraction, and it may arrive sooner than anything coming to any of the other worlds. It tells us the infrastructure for expanding nighttime entertainment is quietly being built.

It tells us that dining and operations will continue refining and stabilizing and just being more and more awesome. And most importantly, it reminds us that Epic Universe was designed from day one with expansion in mind. [00:20:00] Those expansion plots weren't afterthoughts, they were invitations, and now we're watching those invitations being accepted.

Epic Universe at six months is everything I hoped it would be, with the exception of being part of my annual pass. But Dark Universe, Dark Universe is my home. Frankenstein's bride literally told me that I'm welcome to live there and honestly, I believe her. That land is my heartbeat.

I knew I'd love it, but I didn't expect it to grab me by the soul the way it did. And while we may have to wait a little longer for our Creature from the Black Lagoon Dark Ride, or those stunning dragon drones to take flight over Isle of Berk, I promise you it's going to be worth the wait.

Everything in this park has been.

All right, friends. Epic Universe is growing, evolving, and already preparing for its next chapter. The future is so bright. The permits are spicy. Alicia, Stella remains the queen and Pizza Moon is not holding your pizza hostage. They just didn't have boxes that day. [00:21:00] Okay? Supply chain spells are fickle.

If this episode helps shine a little stardust on your Universal planning, tap FOLLOW like you're unlocking a hidden portal. It helps more theme park fans. Find the show. Until next time, let's keep Unlocking Universal together. 

Thanks for hanging out with us. Now, get out here and go do something nice for someone.