In episode 3 of The Universal Report, we dive into the lands of Epic Universe, set to open on May 22, 2025. Host Conor Brown breaks down each incredible land, from the larger-than-life Super Nintendo World and the enchanting Isle of Berk to the spine-chilling Dark Universe and its classic monsters. Discover key attractions like Mario Kart Bowser's Challenge, the interactive Fyre Drill ride, and the Ministry of Magic's immersive adventures. Plus, Conor shares his own experiences at Super Nintendo World Hollywood and offers trip-planning tips for the best vacation ever. Get the scoop on all the must-see attractions, dining, and experiences coming soon.

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What up? Welcome to episode three of the Universal

Report. Presented by vacationkingdoms.com

this show is your guide to making the most out of your next

Universal Orlando visit. I'm Connor Brown, an

Orlando local Universal annual pass holder and a

seasoned travel agent, and I help make complicated

trips uncomplicated. Whether it's your first time

stepping through the Universal Gates or you're back for more excitement,

this podcast is your go to resource for all things

Universal. Planning, park strategies, reviews,

park announcements we got you covered in the

second episode, our previous episode of the Universal Report,

I gave an overview of the entirety of the Universal

Orlando resorts, theme parks, CityWalk, hotels,

all that jazz. Well, by this time next

year, in 2025, the resort will look very

different and a bit larger. That's because

Universal is opening a brand new theme park in

2025 called Epic Universe.

This is the first theme park to open on this scale

in a quarter of a century in Central Florida.

No offense to Legoland or Peppa the Pig park, they are great in

their own right, but this will be a bit bigger than those

two. A few weeks ago, Universal announced when

Epic Universe would be opening. May 25, 2025.

That's the opening date. And this past week tickets went on sale to

purchase admission into that park for the opening

week and the days beyond it. I was lucky

enough to get a ticket to opening day, plus a few extra in the first

few weeks the park is opened. I'm so excited to experience this new park

and in light of all those announcements, I wanted to take a time

to share everything we about Epic

Universe so far. The lands, the

rides, the restaurants, all the entertainment offerings. We

are sure to get more info in the months to come, but I thought this

would be a great time and a great place to start on our Epic

Universe journey. So, first things

first, where exactly is Epic

Universe located? Throughout this podcast, I just assume I'm going

to constantly be comparing Disney to

Universal, and where Epic is located is no different.

You see, Universal doesn't own as much contiguous

land as Disney does in Central Florida. So what

they've had to do with Epic Universe is kind of buy pieces of land

a la carte, I guess you could say. Which is funny because that's how

Disney did it back in the day. But Epic Universe is actually going to

be kind of like its own little campus. So if you remember

episode two, we talked about what there

is there right now on the Universal Orlando Resort.

So the plot of land Universal has purchased

for Epic Universe is about five miles away.

From the current Universal Orlando Resort property, or

the property where guests frequent every single

day. If you remember from our last episode, from episode two of the

Universal Report, we talked about the current structure of the property. When

Epic opens, it's almost going to be like there's two

campuses now for the Universal Orlando Resort.

There's the north campus, which is kind of the existing campus. That's where

you've got Universal Studios Florida theme park, Islands of Adventure

theme park, Volcano Bay Water theme Park. You have

CityWalk, and then you have the first six hotels that

Universal built. Those six hotels are Portofino Bay,

the Hard Rock, Royal Pacific, Sapphire Falls.

I'm missing a couple. Cabana Bay Beach Resort and

Aventura Hotel. Then the south

campus is what's going to be home to Epic Universe, the

Helios Grand Hotel, which is actually going to be attached to the Epic

Universe theme park. And then also the Terra

Luna and the Stella Nova hotels, which are in the

prime value category for Universal.

In between those two campuses, the north and the south campus, like I

said, they're five miles apart. Thereabouts. In the middle, not

the true middle. A little bit closer to the north campus, there is another

plot of land. And on that plot of land, it's only the

Universal Endless Summer Resort with the Dockside and

Surfside Inn and Suites hotels in there. So that's kind of its

own little thing, kind of in the middle. Not really middle,

but not necessarily connected to either the north or the

south campus. If five miles seems like

a lot, it isn't that much in the grand scheme of

things, going back to Disney, Disney's Animal Kingdom

Lodge, the hotel is actually six miles away from

Disney Springs. And if we go over to the Magic Kingdom

area, the Grand Floridian Resort, that's actually about

six miles away from Disney, Animal Kingdom theme

park as well. So the only real

difference, Disney obviously has a whole lot of space,

so they own all this land and they're miles apart,

even though it's all the land that they own. The only real difference is

that from getting from the north campus of Universal to the

new south campus of Universal, it's five miles. But you might

not be passing through just Universal property. You're going

to pass through some public areas, some other areas. Right. Some

public roads, those sorts of things. But the cool part is that Universal has

actually started to invest and rebuild this road connecting

where the South Campus and Epic Universe is to the North Campus,

where all the existing infrastructure already

exists. The other cool thing, if you're staying at one of those

original six hotels. Or if you're staying at the

Endless Summer Resort, you will have dedicated

complimentary transportation provided by Universal to get you

from that area to Epic Universe and

back. Additionally, Terra Luna and Stellanova, the two prime

value, the two new prime value hotels will also have

complimentary transportation to get you to the existing

North Campus and to get you to Epic Universe, the

theme park proper as well. The cool thing is these

are electric buses and the roads that Universal

is rebuilding will actually have dedicated bus

lanes. So I believe that's going to really help with

infrastructure, with traffic, with ways and means. Is that the

right thing? Ways and means. Ways and means, all those things.

So while five miles might seem like it's far away,

I don't really think it's going to be that big of a deal.

Again, the only real difference is you're going to be on complimentary Universal

transportation if you're staying at one of those hotels and you're going to be

going through non universal areas. But I think it'll be

relatively easy to get to and fro. God knows, on Disney

property there can be log jams and huge traffic jams

regardless of where you're on property. So

Disney can't even fix that as well. So I don't think the distance

will be too bad. But how big will Universal be? Everyone

keeps talking about this grand scale, so how big

is it actually? So Universal has said

that this land that they've acquired is about

750 acres that they've set

aside for the Epic Universe area. Again, that's what

they've said. They might have more than that in other pockets,

but 750 is what they're rolling out with.

Compare that to the existing north campus. And remember that north campus

is the two existing theme parks, Volcano Bay, CityWalk,

six hotels. That is 735 acres.

So this new plot of land,

750 acres of contiguous land, is actually bigger than

the existing parks resorts that Universal already

has. Now, the theme park isn't going to be the entirety of

750 acres. No. Remember, they still have the

Helios Grand Hotel, which is attached to the theme park, and then

Stella Nova, Terra Luna. I'm going to get those two wrong. I

just know it. That's all in there. But there's still plenty

of room to grow in this new south

campus that Universal is building.

One other cool thing to keep in mind is that this is going to be

Universal's first attempt at the hub and spoke

theme park method. So the hub and spoke Theme park method, you

probably know from either Disneyland park or the Magic Kingdom

park, you enter through a central point. There's a circle kind of in

the middle, or a thoroughfare in the middle, and the lands

jut out from the sides of that thing. Compare that

to something like Animal Kingdom, which is pretty much a big

circle around a lagoon. Hollywood Studios, which is

down and out and back and back. Right. There's no connecting

point to those theme parks. The existing Universal theme parks in

Florida are like that as well.

Universal Studios Florida is a lot of out and backs and

those sorts of things. Islands Adventure is essentially a

large circle, but there's no central point. The central point

is the lagoon in the center of Islands

of Adventure. So this is gonna be the first hub and spoke. So again,

a central sort of backbone. And then jutting out from the

sides will be those lands

that will make up Epic Universe. Now, will the lands connect

from point to point like one land connects to the other? Kind of like in

World Showcase or in Islands of Adventure, you go from Toon

Lagoon to Marvel Superhero island, they connect right there. I don't

know. Remains to be seen. You might have to go back

to the central point, but again, we'll

see. So Universal is calling all of the

lands that make up Epic Universe portals. And

you're going to enter each portal into each

new land. The central backbone, the

hub of this hub and spoke infrastructure, is going to be called

Celestial Park. And then the other portals within Epic

Universe are going to be Super Nintendo World, Dark

Universe, how to Drain youn Dragon, Isle of Burke, and

the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of

Magic. So there are five distinct portals,

lands, call it what you will, that are going to make up Epic Universe when

it opens on May 22,

2025. So let's start with Celestial

Park. Celestial park, like I said, is kind of that backbone.

So there will be two entrances to Epic

Universe. A main entrance, where if you're coming from

transportation from other hotels, you'll go through there. If you're parking there, you'll

go through there. If you're taking an Uber, a taxi, what have you getting dropped

off, you'll go through what I'm calling the front of the park.

The back of the park ends at

Universal Grand Helios Grand Hotel. I keep wanting to say

Grand Helios. That sounds much more easy. But

the Helios Grand Hotel is at the back of the theme

park. And those guests staying at the Helios Grand

Hotel will have a dedicated entrance to

Epic Universe. They will still Enter into Celestial

park just at the end of Celestial park

versus the front of Celestial Park. So when you

enter Epic Universe, this is where you're going to start

to see and understand the idea behind it.

Celestial park is that spine again. But as you enter

into the park, you're going to enter underneath the

Kronos, which from Universal is a mysterious

mechanism with origins unknown to even

the Celestials. I hope I'm saying that right. The

Celestians are the residents of the park, so

they inhabit Epic Universe. This device, the

Kronos, when fully aligned, opens a gateway

to the universe, inviting guests to step

inside and explore. The

Celestrians use its power to open portals to other

worlds. So there you go. The Kronos is what

powers the portals and opens the portals to these other

worlds that we're going to visit during Epic Universe. So you can kind of

understand the importance of Celestial Park. It's really how the park

powers and operates all the portals that you're going to go into

a cool little backstory with that. The sun, the

stars, the constellations really fit into this

whole motif. And that's why they're calling it Epic Universe.

Universe. Sun, stars, constellations, those sorts of things.

That's really the tried and true center of the park. One

cool thing about Celestial park, per Universal, they're saying Celestial park

puts the park back in theme parks. From the artist renderings

from the artist flyover, the little 3D video that they've done, it

really looks very lush, right? There's gardens,

there's landscaping, there's water features galore

in Celestial Park. But there's also a few

attractions and dining places in Celestial Park. It's not

simply the backbone in and of itself. It's not a means to an end

or just a place you're going to walk to and from to get to the

portals. No, there's plenty to do in

Celestial park as well, starting with

Stardust racers, which is an attraction I'm very,

very, very much looking forward to. So this is

a dueling launch roller coaster. So what does that mean? There's going to be

two roller coasters launching at

the same time, so like an A track and a B track, and you're going

to kind of be racing each other. They're going to do an inversion over each

other twice. I believe. That's going to be unbelievable.

And it launches you at up to 62

miles per hour, going

133ft in the air. This is going to be a thrill ride, no

doubt about it. It looks like you're being launched

into the stars, which is very cool. One fun

detail which I think is going to be absolutely awesome at night.

Traditionally roller coasters like this, the

track will be lit up, right? This is not the case

with Stardust Racers. No, the track will not be lit up.

The only thing lit up will be the cars on the

track and they're going to glisten and glow like stars

so that the backdrop is going to be completely dark against this

structure of the roller coaster. So at night it's going to look

like the cars, the roller coaster cars themselves are

shooting stars. That's going to be unbelievable.

Shooting stars through the night sky. In reality,

it's a whole bunch of people screaming, getting launched at 62 miles an

hour, going up 133ft in the air. Stardust Racers

I think is going to be awesome. Not just a ride, but to also

experience and look at and set the tone in Celestial

Park. Also in Celestial Park, Constellation

Carousel. So this is not a traditional carousel. You're going to

hop aboard a celestial creature

and the vehicles are going to weave in and out of each other while also

going around in a carousel circle. So very

untraditional. Additionally, it's going to lift you gently

six feet in the air. So think about that as a carousel

to very different non traditional carousel

vibes. There that's going to be in the center of Celestial park

and it's going to be very pretty as well from the concept art.

Astronomica is going to be an interactive play area. So

interactive fountains, kids can play in there, adults can play in there, I guess, even

though it's a little creepy. But there you go. Those are the three attractions within

Celestial Park. Celestial park is also home to some restaurants

including Atlantic, which is going to be a sit down

restaurant inside of a Victorian era

style aquarium. It looks like it's going to have fully

glass windows out

looking into Celestial Park. So a great backdrop and a

great view for your dining experience. Additionally

in Atlantic there's also going to be Aquaria Bar

which is just going to be a, you know, traditional bar. Great

place to grab a drink quickly, those sorts of things. Also

in Celestial park, sit down restaurant, the Blue Dragon Pan

Asian Restaurant. We don't have the full menu for this or

any menu at all for any of the dining locations in Epic Universe

so far. But this is going to be set in an

almost always occurring night market. So the

ambiance is going to be like you're in a Asian night market and around

the clock it's going to feel as such. That's pretty cool.

The Oak and Star Tavern and Pizza

Moon, two other dining locations that we don't know too

much about. But they'll also be in Celestial Park.

One fun thing or interesting thing is in Celestial park you're

going to find the Nintendo Superstar store

seems kind of out of place since there is a Super Nintendo World.

But I think this is important because you'll be able to purchase power

up bands, which I'll talk about, or I have to assume you'll be able to

purchase power up bands, which we'll talk about in a little in

this store before you go into Super

Nintendo World, which is going to be important. They haven't

announced this, but I have to assume that there's going to be some sort of

just all encompassing store in Celestial

park as well. If you think about the other theme parks, you have

the, you know, Port of Entry,

Gifts Islands Adventure. You have the studio store

at Universal Studios Florida. Those are just kind of. They

have all of the, the goods or

traditional goods that you would want to buy just from a theme park

exclusive kind of thing. It's kind of like a hodgepodge of all the lands coming

together. I have to assume, since this is kind of acting as that central point,

there's going to be a store like that in Celestial

Park. All right, let's get into

our first portal, shall we? So again, Celestial park is going to be

that backbone and then you'll be able to see all the portals of the different

lands around Celestial Park.

You'll walk into the portal to get to each one of

these lands. And let's start with one I'm very, very,

very excited about. I think this is the one almost everyone

has at the top of their list for excitement levels.

That's Dark Universe. Dark Universe will be based

on the Universal classic Monsters, a franchise which is

over 100 years old. Franchise in quotes. They've been making

monster movies at universal for over 100 years, which is

unbelievable. As you approach the portal, it's going to be

crackling with energy, kind of like the energy Dr.

Frankenstein used to create his monster.

And as you're going through the land, the energy is going to pulse

with you throughout the land. Eventually it

does connect to the top of this foreboding

castle, which we'll talk about that castle in a little bit

in Dark Universe. Important to point, all of the

Universal monster movies have already taken place.

So Darkmore, which is this

village, if you will, is the consequence of all of these

films. It's the result of all of these films, it's where you'll be able

to see all of these Universal classic

monsters. We're talking Frankenstein, Frankenstein's monster,

Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf man, the

Invisible man, maybe Creature from the Black Lagoon. Right.

The Mummy, all sorts of people like that.

Monsters like that, I should say.

Universal has said, you know, this is going to toe the line

of being family friendly, but also PG13.

I'm a Halloween Horror Nights junkie. I love it. So I think

bringing that scary element is something Universal does incredibly

well. And I hope to see that in Dark Universe as

well. So let's get to the attractions making up Dark

Universe. First thing, Monsters Unchained, the

Frankenstein Experiment. So remember I said that energy is going to

be pulsing through, the electricity is going to be pulsing through

the entirety of the land of Darkmoor. And eventually it's going to

reach the top of a tower of a foreboding castle. That's

the Frankenstein Manor. And you're going to go inside.

So the whole notion here is inside Frankenstein Manor.

The great granddaughter of the OG Dr. Frankenstein now

lives there. Her name is Dr. Victoria

Frankenstein. And nightly she's trying to harness

the power of all of the Universal classic

monsters through various experiments. One

monster that doesn't take too kindly to that is Dracula.

During this ride,

chaos ensues because of him. He's trying to escape. All the other

monsters are going after him. Dr. Victoria Frankenstein is going after him.

You in all good theme park tropes are caught in

the middle of this cataclysmic event. Universal has

said it's possibly the most technologically advanced

ride they have ever built. Rumors

are saying it's going to be akin to Forbidden Journey

over in Hogsmeade in the Wizarding World

and Islands of Adventure. So kind of that style of

ride system taking you through. Hopefully it doesn't make you as dizzy

as that one does for me personally, but very, very, very

cool. The other ride coming to Dark Universe is

Curse of the Werewolf. Guess what? I've got some bad news for you.

You've got the mark of the werewolf. Nothing you can do

about it. Or maybe there is something you can do about it. You can try

to escape the wolf man that is hunting you. This is

a thrilling, family friendly roller coaster that spins

as well as you go through Darkmoor on this

ride. Very cool. Very cool indeed. You can also

get done up in your monster vest with the Darkmoor

monster makeup experience. Think of it like Bibbidi

Bobby Boutique or the Pirates League that they used to have at Disney.

They'll cover your face in whatever monster you want to be, I guess, and then

you get to walk around. Sounds great. I don't know if I'll do it, but

there's that option for you. Character experiences throughout the land.

You'll get to meet these Universal classic

monsters. There's also a couple dining locations that we know

about in Dark Universe. First is Das

Steakhouse, which is a sit down steak

style restaurant. And you're being served by the

vampire familiars. Familiars are the people

that are not vampires, but they are kind

of in a way like the vampire

servant, right? Like they're locked, embedded

into the vampire and they help them exist in the

world. So the vampire familiars will be serving you and

Universal has said at Dos Steakhouse. Yes, you'll get steak

on a steak. Place I'm very, very, very excited

about is the Burning Blade Tavern. This

is inspired by the 1931 Frankenstein film

where the windmill catches

on fire. That iconic movie scene. Well, this is going to

happen here. You're going to enter a windmill, but before you get there, every once

in a while the windmill will catch on fire.

Inside. It's like a tavern, but the monster

hunters hang out there. You get to hang out with them. You'll get

to see the prizes that they've won, the monsters that they've captured

or collected. But then also think of a traditional tavern

style. Beer drinks, burgers,

those sorts of sandwiches and vibes. Very, very, very cool.

You're gonna catch me there the first day of Epic Universe

being open. Absolutely. That's our first one.

That's. That's Dark Universe. That's Darkmoor. That's all of

that. Pretty scary. Very ambitious.

Right, let's go to a little bit more family friendly one for

our next portal that we're going to enter. And that is how to

train your dragon. Isle of Berk. I will say

when this one was announced, I think most people are like, oh, that's interesting.

Compared to the other properties, it might not be as popular. I think

for kids, it's very, very, very popular. I've seen the movies,

they're fun. I'll have to rewatch them again. But I will say, once we

started to learn more about this, I think this portal, this land,

serves a distinct purpose. One and two, I think it might be the

most underrated of the portals debuting at

Epic Universe. It looks

expansive as you enter. Looks like you're entering an

island right then and there. Water all throughout. Two tall

Viking statues in the middle of the Water. It's

like you're on an actual isle, the Isle of Burke. Of

course there's a lot of rides here. But that other thing

that I think is very important, I said one, this was going to be the

most underrated portal in Epic Universe. But two,

the purpose it serves. I think it's a very family friendly

portal compared to some of the other ones that might be a little bit more

PG13, preteen, those sorts of things.

So the first attraction you'll probably see going all throughout the land

is Hiccups. Wing Gliders. So this is a

family thrill roller coaster that's going to go up to

45 miles per hour. The notion here, Hiccup, the

protagonist of the how to Train youn Dragon films, is

creating this vehicle

that will mimic you actually flying on

a dragon, Toothless, which is his dragon.

Hiccups. Dragon doesn't like this. Pushes the guests off on

the ride before Hiccup has been able to attach

the wings to the ride. So it's a kind of chaotic ride

like every other thing. It's always a chaotic ride. Right. But it

looks great. Family friendly. Probably a very smooth roller

coaster. Another attraction coming to this area is

Fire Drill. If you're surrounded by

dragons, Dragons breathe fire. You're probably going to have to learn how to

put out a few fires from time to time. This is what you do

for this one. I'm actually very excited about this one. I think it'll be really,

really cool. It is going to be an interactive boat ride. So from the

artist renderings and concept, you're going to get on a boat. You're going to be

standing, the boat's going to move very slow. And then each side of

the boat will be competing against each other.

What will they be competing against? You're going to have a water gun. There's going

to be kind of targets all throughout. You're going to have to hit

the targets with your water gun and you'll rack

up points as you do that. Really cool.

We've had rides like this, right? Men in Black, Alien

Attack, Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger Spin, Toy Story, Midway

Mania, those sorts of things. But those are all tech based. You're shooting a

laser, you're shooting onto a screen. This is seems like the

first ever true. You're

firing something off the boat, in this case water. And that

is how you accumulate your score. That's going to be awesome.

Really cool. There's also the Dragon

Racers Rally. Dragon Racers

Rally. It's this concept. It's

hard to explain Basically, you're going to get strapped in. You'll go up

and down almost 65ft in the air and then you can control. If you want

to spin back and forth or even upside down, you can spin as

much or as little as you want.

Will I do that? Maybe once. Right? Just to

say check it off, check it off. Write the list

of things to do. But not a big

constantly going upside down kind of guy, right? I love my flips, I

love my barrel rolls on my roller coasters. I don't need to do it constantly.

I don't need to be inundated by that. There's also the

Viking training camp, which again, when I said this is going to be a great

family friendly land, this is one thing I was talking about. It's an

interactive play area for junior Vikings,

so some place for the little kids to run around, have fun.

It seems like there's all throughout the Isle of Burke, the entirety of the land.

There's gonna be a lot of interactive elements as well,

including the haddock paddock, which was where you'll get to meet

Hiccup and Toothless from the films.

There'll be other dragons, other meet and greets throughout the land. One very

cool thing at night, Monstrous Nightmare

or Gronkle, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Which are dragons

from the film. You might be able to see them soaring

in the sky during the nighttime.

That'll be pretty epic. There's also Mead hall, which is a

restaurant with a fist feast fit for a

Viking. But one thing that I'm very, very, very excited

about is the untrainable dragon stage

show. They have this out in Universal Beijing, I believe.

I hope that's the correct park that they have this at. But the stage show

looks incredible. Special effects, puppets,

well developed story. I'm very, very, very excited

for this to come to Epic Universe. There you

go. How to train your dragon. Isle of Burke again,

chalk this up as my most underrated

portal land, what have you. Coming to Epic

Universe, one land that we probably

know the most about is Super

Nintendo World. Why do we know the most about this portal? Well,

it already exists in two places around the

world. This one will be different from those two

to start, but it's bringing some new

things, though it still has some things that have already been

opened. So there's a Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios

Japan. That was the first one that opened. And

there's one in Universal Studios

Hollywood out in California. I actually got to

experience the Universal Hollywood Super Nintendo World

this Past February. It was awesome. It was so, so, so cool.

Hey, be sure you're following me on Instagram at Vacation

Kingdoms, because the week that this episode drops,

I will actually be posting kind of a recap from my time

there. Just a refresher to saying, hey, I've already seen some

Super Nintendo stuff. Here's what it looks like. So if you want to see photos

of that, follow me on Instagram at Vacation

Kingdoms. One difference between that land

out in California and this one is size. The Epic

Universe one is going to be much larger than the Hollywood

one, and it's going to probably be larger than

the one in Japan as well. Japan is

expanding its already existing Super Nintendo World, so

it'll be pretty comparable to the Epic Universe one. But

that being said, I'm very, very, very excited for

the one coming to Epic Universe because of how much fun I had at the

one out in Hollywood. Would two, three

attractions that are coming to Super Nintendo World. 1. Mario

Kart Bowser's Challenge. So this is the attractions they

have out in Hollywood. I got to ride it out in Hollywood. A

very cool, albeit sometimes confusing,

attraction. This is interactive. It's like you're actually in

Mario Kart. There's augmented reality, so you put kind

of like headgear on almost. It's a little Mario cap

that you put on, and then when you sit down, you clip on.

They're not goggles. It's more like. Like a plastic screen

that comes in front of you so you can still see through everything. It's not

actually touching any part of your face other than where the hat

comes on your head. Right there. It clicks right into place on your

hat. And that way you can see all of the

screens around you, all of the traditional,

I guess you could say, hardscape sort of stuff around you, like the

props, the animatronics, those. Those sorts of things. But then

through that plastic is where the augmented reality comes into place,

and that's where you can actually control your

cart. You look left, you'll glide left. You look right, you'll glide right.

You have a steering wheel that you'll also operate your car, press the

button to fire the shells, the banana peels, the power ups,

all those sorts of things that you know from the traditional Mario Kart

ride. So it's very cool. It's very slow moving. If

you traditionally get, you know, I was going to say seasick. If you

get motion sick on these styles of rides, I don't think you will

on this one because it is slower. Kind of eases you in. So it's still

very, very, very cool. Also coming to this land

is Yoshi's Adventure. They have this out in

Universal Studios Japan at their Super Nintendo World.

This is going to be a very slow moving ride, Great family

friendly ride. You're going to climb aboard a Yoshi

Yoshi and you're going to go around his land

there collecting eggs that he's laid.

Seems crazy, but I promise it's not that crazy.

Probably the attraction I'm most looking forward to, maybe in

all of Epic Universe is Minecart

Madness. So to enter Super Nintendo World, you'll

enter its portal through the lead pipe, the

green pipe, sewer pipe that you enter

into different lands, different worlds. In the actual

Mario video games, you'll enter through that and

you'll enter into Mario Land first.

In the back of Mario Land, there's going to be another portal which when

you walk through that, you'll go into Donkey Kong

Country. So it both of those things exist within Super

Nintendo Land. But Donkey Kong country is going to look very much like

the Donkey Kong video games. So think of a more

tropical kind of setting. And the big attraction here is

Mine Cart Madness. So like the Donkey Kong

video Games where you're in a mine cart, this roller coaster

will actually simulate. Not simulate, you'll actually do it. Like

you're jumping over

broken tracks. Like you're jumping the tracks. Right.

It's a very cool technology that they're using for

this. No screens in this. All actual

hard, you know, animatronics,

real elements. Nothing screen based on this.

The Minecarts are going to go all throughout the land. It looks very, very,

very cool. Heading back into

the Mario Land part of Super Nintendo World,

there's Toadstool Cafe. Cafe. I ate at Toadstool

Cafe out in Hollywood. It's fun, fun inside. Plenty of

toads. They're hilarious. Some cool interactive elements go on around

you as you eat. And then it's burgers, chicken

sandwiches, and kind of like Italian American fare. Because

it's a me Mario, right? Those sorts of things. Meet and greets

with Mario Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad.

I'm not proud, but when I was out in Universal Studios Hollywood,

I might have jumped over a couple ropes, might have cut some people.

Again, I apologize to meet Toad. It was an

incredible, incredible experience. One of the greatest experiences of my

life. Meeting Toad out in Super Nintendo World. A

day I'll never forget. And I look forward to meeting them again

at Epic Universe. Power up band. So I talked about

this a little bit Power band, kind of like, you know what, I'm gonna get

it. So this is a power up band. If you're watching on

YouTube, if you're listening, I will describe it. It's kind of like a slap

bracelet with a big circle in the middle that kind

of rises up out of the band. Mine is Mario themed, so you got

Mario's red and blue colors in the big M. You put

it on your wrist and then you go throughout the

land playing games. It's

connected to your Universal app. So you want to have the Universal Orlando

app downloaded when you go to Epic Universe. And it's going

to, via the app, track all of the points you're

getting. So there's a whole bunch of different games throughout Super

Nintendo World that you can play. There's a whole bunch of coins you can

collect. There's a whole bunch of secret items that you can do. Part of

the fun part of the thing, probably the reason I love Super Nintendo World so

much was how many interactive elements there are.

It's really, really cool. There's a leaderboard. So throughout the day you

can see how you rank against everyone else in the park

that day. And there are

several key challenges. So these are more

robust than the just collecting coins or finding things

throughout the land. The these you actually have to do something and you have

to win the challenge to get a key. Once you get a certain

amount of keys, then you'll be able to unlock and

play the Bowser Jr. Shadow

Showdown, which is in its own kind of area in Super

Nintendo World. That is really, really, really cool.

It's high energy. You're jumping up and down, you're moving your arms

rapidly. I got to do that out in Hollywood. It was

a lot of, lot of fun. So when I said, you know, there was going

to be the out in

Celestial park, there was going to be the Nintendo

Superstar store. I would assume that in that

area you'll be able to buy Power up bands there.

I would also assume out in City Walk on the North Campus,

you'll be able to purchase Power up band there. That way you

can connect it to your app. There's a little QR code right on the back

there to connect it to your app. You'll be able to start tracking stuff so

that when you go into the land, you'll be able to start playing games

immediately. There are. They will have a

store in Super Nintendo World. I actually bought this through a vending

machine in Super Nintendo World. That was really, really cool.

Really easy to use. From what I remember I think it's like 35

bucks, maybe 40 bucks, depending upon the one you get. And they have a

Yoshi one, a Luigi one, Princess Peach one. Sometimes they come out

with special ones throughout the year. There was a one year anniversary

for the Hollywood version when I was there. So yeah, you'll, you'll

want to purchase that and, and you have a lot of fun

with it. So that Super Nintendo World, very excited

about it. But the one that people

are really jonesing for like always is the Wizarding

World of Harry Potter. Ministry of Magic.

So in Orlando, we have two wizarding worlds. Currently. The

original one at Islands Adventure was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter,

Hogsmeade. So that's the little town outside Hogwarts Castle.

Hogwarts Castle is there. You get to experience those

things. Hagrid's Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure, a new

addition there. Then there's the Wizarding World of Harry Potter,

Diagon Alley over at Universal Studios Florida,

which is Diagon Alley from the movies. And now

this Wizarding World of Harry Potter is called Ministry of

Magic. It has a little bit from the Fantastic Beasts

and Where to Find Them franchise and a little bit from

the original series, the original Harry Potter series as

well. So when you enter this portal, you actually enter right

into Wizarding Paris in the 1920s that you

see in the Fantastic Beasts films.

You will also experience the British Ministry

of Magic from the OG Harry

Potter series. More on that in a bit. But when you walk into

this portal, you're going to pass through the Phoenix Arch.

You're going to enter into the Plasha

Cachet. I believe my French is no bueno.

This is like the French equivalent of Diagon Alley. The Phoenix

Arch is kind of like when you're in Diagon Alley and the bricks are

moving and you go into Diagon Alley. That's that concept.

But for Paris wizarding

area, this is where you're going to walk into the

land. Universal has said this is the biggest kind of land

they've ever created. Meaning in size and scale. They've

built Paris streets to scale. The

shortest building in Plaza Cache

will be taller than the tallest building

in Diagon Alley. If you've ever walked in Diagon Alley, you

already think, I'm in a real city. These buildings are massive.

They're so tall. Well, the tallest building

in Diagon Alley would be the shortest building in

Plasha Cache. Very cool, very

cool. The marquee attraction here is going to be Harry

Potter and the battle at the Ministry.

So using the flu Network and also going forward

in time, via the flu network, you're going to be transported

from that 1920s Paris to the British

Ministry of Magic. From the Harry Potter

films, you're transported to a very important moment in

time. It's right when Dolores Umbridge is being put on

trial for her crimes. As you're in an elevator

going to see her on trial. Of course, like

every theme park ride, something goes wrong and Dolores

escapes. All of a sudden you find yourself paired with Harry,

Ron and Hermione and you're fighting and

dodging Death Eaters throughout this. Universal

has said this is their most ambitious attraction they've ever

created. I love this because it brings a new wizarding world

in the Paris version, but it also gives us

that OG Harry Potter stuff that we know and love. I

think the Ministry of Magic is going to be on such a grand

scale. Then when we walk into it, if you've seen the movies or read the

books, you're going to be awestruck by it.

Back out in pal cache, there's Le

Cirque Arcanos, which is going to be a

circus style show. It's inspired by the Parisian

circus from Fantastic, the Crimes of

Grindelwald film. And this is the

first interior stage show

Universal has ever created for the wizarding

worlds. There's gonna be special effects, there's going to

be storytelling, acrobats, all sorts of

stuff. Very excited for this one. There's

also going to be interactive wands and spells. So in the two existing

wizarding worlds you can purchase a wand from Ollivanders.

They're going to have a Parisian Ollivanders, whatever

that maker is. I can't remember their name. But you'll be able to purchase a

new style of wand compared to the older ones.

I think the older ones will work in this new area. Don't quote me

on that. But the new ones will definitely be retroactive.

You'll be able to use them at the older wizarding worlds

and at the newer wizarding world they'll be able to do more

things. A couple of places to get some food and

bevy. Cafe L'Or de la

Serene. I am not good at French. Okay. But

that's like a Parisian cafe. Then there's Le

Goblet Noir, which I mean think means the Dark

Goblet. It's a hangout, like a bar, you

know, that sort of thing for dark wizards and witches. So

think of Nocturn Alley over in Diagon Alley. I think that this

is going to have the same sort of Vibes place. I'm

looking forward to Bar Moonshine. It's in Paris, but it's

themed to the US Quidditch team. Let's go America. Am I

right? It's going to have penance from the US Quidditch team and then

also other items from the Wizarding World of

America. Outside there will also be

Barabbure. Boy, I am so sorry to

everyone from France or who speaks French, but it's a

Butterbeer cart. Butterbeer will still exist

in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of

Magic. I think this land is going to be massive. I think there's going to

be plenty of little shops here and there just like we know from

Diagon Alley. I'm

really, really, really excited for this one.

Let me know what what are you most excited about? What portal, what land

are you most excited about coming to Epic

Universe? As we learn more from each land, we'll do a deep

dive into each land on the show. I'm thinking of doing

a dedicated episode to each land again as we

learn more information. I'll continue to update you

via the podcast here.

One other thing I wanted to let you know. I'm doing a weekly

newsletter now called Connor in the park where I'm visiting the

Orlando theme parks. As an Orlando local, I can do that. I can do it

weekly. I'm doing the Disney parks. I'm doing the Universal parks. Good to

know every time I go on a Cruise. Go to

vacationkingdoms.comemail to

sign up for that newsletter. Connor and the

Parks. It drops weekly on Wednesdays. I'll also be able to keep you

up to date on news via that. So please join

that as we learn more. I'll share more info with you.

Epic really truly is going to change the theme park

landscape here in Orlando. I

guarantee that. Right now you can buy tickets.

The way that it works is you can buy a three day, four day or

five day Universal Orlando Resort ticket. Of

those three four or five day tickets, only one

day will be good for Epic Universe.

The other days you will have to use at

Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida. You can also add on

a Volcano Bay option if you want. You can also add on park to park

option. But for your Epic Universe day you can only go

to Epic Universe. You pick the dates. One of those

days you get to go to Epic Universe

there will be single day tickets. We don't have that just yet, so if you

really want to go as it's opening up in those first few months you want

to guarantee a spot of such

3, 4, 5 day tickets with the Epic universe. One

day add on and again of those three days, one day

would be at Epic, the other two days would be at the two other parks.

Same applies to the four and five day tickets. If you want to book that

or you want to book a vacation package with that stay on property at

Universal Orlando Resort, reach out to me. I'd love to help you

book a trip.

[email protected]

There you go. Epic Universe. What an epic show.

Am I right? Five portals, gonna be unbelievable.

So much more to come. I'm so excited that I'll be there on

opening day. Opening day is gonna be chaotic, right? It's not gonna go according to

plan, but I'm excited to be there then and I'm excited to be there on

subsequent days in those first few weeks so that I can experience the land,

share my knowledge and experience with you. I look forward

to that. If you enjoyed today's episode and you are watching on YouTube,

be sure to hit the like button. Leave a comment, let me know you enjoyed

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there. I'll be sure to read future reviews on

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review and please click the Follow button on our show page

as that will help us out on Spotify as well. If you like the

show, please do me a huge favor and share it with someone who you

know who's planning their next Universal

Orlando vacation. And if you are ready to

book a vacation to Universal Orlando to Epic Universe, I would

love to help you with that. As the Director of Agent Development

and a travel advisor with Keys to the Castle Travel,

I'll help you find the best deals, answer any questions

you have and I'll be an advocate for you, someone

you can turn to for advice. And the best part is me helping you

with the booking of your trip is

absolutely free. It doesn't cost you a

dime. Reach out to me at Connor C O N o

[email protected] and I can help

you book a trip. And of course if there is ever anything

I could ever do to help you out, I am more than happy to

try and do so send me an email. I'd love to

hear from you. And that will do it. For this episode of the Universal

Report, I've been Connor Brown. And until next time, keep

limited living the dream, and I'll see you

real soon.