May 22, 2025, is a highly-anticipated date for the theme park community, especially Universal fans, as the new Epic Universe park will open to the public on this date. With each passing month, anticipation grows for the attractions and experiences this new destination will offer visitors.
While it is true that there are still a few months to go and that Universal will be releasing more information so that we can better understand how this new mega-park will work, there are still some things that remain unknown.
Here are some examples:
1. Mobile App
Universal Orlando and Universal Hollywood have a mobile application. This is very useful when visiting the parks. The app allows for ticket purchases, park hours, maps, attraction wait times, mobile food ordering, and entertainment schedules/locations, and much more.
At Universal Hollywood, the app is also being used to link Super Nintendo World Power-Up Bands, allowing interaction with rides and activities in that area of the park. It has already been indicated that the Power-Up Bands will be used in Super Nintendo World, so it is expected that they will also need to be linked to the app.
It remains to be seen if the park will have its own app or if a new version of the existing app will be released, including the new park with all its offerings of restaurants, attractions, entertainment, etc.
2. Park Hours and Early Entry
It has been announced that Early Entry will be offered to guests staying at a Universal Orlando Resort hotel. It is not yet known if this will be one hour, as it is usually for one of the two parks (Universal Orlando or Islands of Adventure), or half an hour, as it is for Volcano Bay.
We also do not yet know which parts of the park or attractions will be open during this time. We expect to learn this information when the official park schedule is published.
3. Attraction Queue/Line Management
It is not yet known if Epic Universe will have traditional queues to enter the attractions or if it will have a virtual queue system, especially for the most popular attractions. Universal Orlando Parks uses traditional queue management, i.e., physical queuing, to enter the attraction. Universal Hollywood regularly uses virtual queues for some attractions, such as Secret Life of Pets.
When Super Nintendo World opened, a virtual queue was introduced to moderate the number of guests entering the area, and similarly, Toadstool Café generally requires you to join a waiting list. These queues are available via the app or at kiosks at the entrance to the attractions.
4. Advance Dining Reservations
It has been announced that the park will offer several dining experiences, both quick service and table service.
The announced table service restaurants are
- The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant, Celestial Park
- Atlantic, Celestial Park
- Meade Hall, Isle of Berk
5. Nighttime Entertainment
Universal Orlando Parks introduced new nighttime entertainment shows with music, drones, projections, dancing fountains and fireworks in the summer of 2024, in addition to the existing projections at Hogwarts Castle, which have been upgraded.
It has not yet been announced if Epic Universe will have entertainment, although, in one of the concept art images of Hotel Helios, there were what appeared to be fireworks, but it was only seen in that release, not in other concept art, so we are waiting for the announcement of whether or not the park will have this entertainment.
As the days go by and more announcements are made, we hope Universal will be able to answer our questions. We invite you to stay tuned to the UOFan website and YouTube channel for updates.
If you would like to book your vacation package to Epic Universe, remember that you can do so using the services of Dreams Unlimited Travel at no additional cost to you.
See you next time!
