In this post, we discuss the future opening of Universal Epic Universe, a brand new theme park coming to Universal Orlando Resort. We start by introducing the park before moving onto questions about when it will open and the big question—how should you time your Universal Orlando trips while you await this news. Let’s get to it.
Basics of Universal Epic Universe
This post isn’t meant to be an overview of the yet-incomplete and not at all open theme park, but to get to the meat of the post (i.e. when it will open and whether you should wait to visit Universal Orlando), we need to have some background information.
What is Universal Epic Universe?
Universal Epic Universe is a brand new theme park coming to Universal Orlando Resort. That resort already has two traditional theme parks—Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. It also has a “water theme park” (i.e. a water park), Volcano Bay.
Universal Orlando’s major competitor down the road is Walt Disney World, which has four theme parks and two water parks, making it a somewhat better “vacation” destination in the minds of many. Adding a third park, however, will make Universal Orlando a solid destination for a four-to-five night trip.
What lands will Epic Universe have?
Back at the end of January, Universal finally confirmed some cool details about the new park. We now know it will have five lands:
Celestial Park (the hub area)
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic
Super Nintendo World
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk
Dark Universe
This is shaping up to be…indeed…epic!
Where will Epic Universe be located?
Epic Universe will be located about three miles south from the rest of the Universal Orlando campus. This is new for Universal Orlando, as its previous two theme parks are both connected to CityWalk and even connected themselves via a ride (the Hogwarts Express).
However, Walt Disney World’s theme parks are spread across its huge campus, so visitors to these destinations should generally be prepared to take buses to get to parks.
Planning to Visit Epic Universe
With the basic behind us, let’s talk about what sort of schedule we expect going forward…
When is Epic Universe expected to open?
Epic Universe was originally announced in 2019 and schedule to open in 2021. Some stuff happened in 2020—I won’t get into it—but things got delayed. Now, the park is expected to open in summer 2025. Comcast (Universal Orlando’s parent company) confirmed this target in an earnings call. By all indications, the park is on track for that opening.
When will Universal lock in an opening date?
This is really hard to predict. Between Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, the most recent theme park opening was 1999’s debut of Islands of Adventure. That park “soft” opened in March while a May opening was rumored. Sometime in there a late May opening was announced.
But we have a more recent and maybe more relevant example from Universal Orlando, too. In 2017, the resort opened the Volcano Bay “water theme park.” In June 2016, Universal announced an expected June 2017 opening. Then in January 2017 they confirmed an opening date of May 25, 2017.
I’d expect something along the lines of the Volcano Bay schedule, with an announcement of a rough date in summer 2024, followed by confirmation of a specific date in early 2025.
When will 2025 Universal bookings open?
Packages for 2024 visits to Universal Orlando opened for booking in March 2023. I’d expect 2025 bookings to open in March 2024. It’s possible Universal could give a rough estimate for an opening at that time. While the delays pushed the opening from 2021 all the way to 2025, it’s possible they’ll have enough confidence in the new schedule to announce something semi-definitive as early as March 2024.
If you’re some sort of superfan who has to be there the day the park opens…I dunno, probably you know more than me about this. As for me and anyone who asks me, I don’t think planning a visit around the specific opening date of the park is necessary. Give it at least a week, if not a month, to work out the immediate growing pains (seriously…can you imagine the buses? the parking lots? those first few days??).
Should I wait to visit Universal Orlando Resort?
We can start with the obvious. If you’re planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Universal Orlando Resort right now, then yes, you should wait until details about Epic Universe are announced and plan to visit after it opens.
And of course if you visit every year then there’s no reason to skip your 2024 visit (if anything, crowds and growing pains might push you to skip your 2025 visit).
Everyone in between those extremes has a trickier decision. The way I approach these questions is usually “I would visit in 2024 if I expected to return in WHAT YEAR” For example, if you can visit in 2024 and 2026, then you’re golden. You might get lower vacation crowds in 2024 if people are delaying their trips, and you’l miss the chaos of a new park opening in 2025.
There are two big factors that complicate this issue. The first is that we’re very high on Universal Orlando Resort at the moment, even recommending it over Disney World for some guests. I don’t want to tell anyone to wait until 2025 or later to visit the place.
Second, Epic Universe really changes the landscape of trips to the Central Florida area. Currently, you can pretty well see the two Universal parks in a single day visiting from Walt Disney World. You won’t do everything, but squeezing it into a Disney World trip is perfectly reasonable.
Once a third park opens, that won’t be possible. You’ll need at least two full days to experience Universal Orlando Resort beginning summer 2025.
But you’re probably on this post because you’re already considering a multi-day visit to Universal Orlando Resort. And so what I’d say to you is that you should still take a longer trip to Universal Orlando Resort in 2024 as long as you’ll be back in Central Florida by the end of 2026.
The key here is that you won’t need to plan another visit to all of Universal Orlando Resort. My advice for people with big Universal interest at the moment would be to visit Universal Orlando Resort in 2024 then plan a 2026 trip for Walt Disney World + a day trip to Epic Universe.
The idea here is you’re getting Universal in good form now, skipping any chaos of the new park opening, then visiting a different great destination (Walt Disney World) in 2026. Plan a day trip to Epic Universe as part of that visit. (I also assume, for example, that in terms of price you’d rather be paying for a Universal hotel now than in 2026.)
The downside to this approach is that Disney has been coy about their future plans. We know Animal Kingdom is getting some new stuff sometime. Magic Kingdom is getting some new stuff sometime…probably later than Animal Kingdom. Suffice to say I’m not sure what, if anything, will be done by 2026.
So if Disney is more your interest, you might flip this plan. Visit Walt Disney World now with a day trip to Universal’s two parks. Then in 2026, plan a longer Universal trip with a day set aside to see anything new at Walt Disney World. (We have a separate post on when to visit Disney World in the next two years.)
All Your Other Universal Orlando Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Universal Orlando planning! Take a second to check out our most important content!
Just starting out? Start with our Universal Orlando Resort planning guide! If you’re considering a Universal hotel, read our Review of Universal’s Aventura Hotel!
You’ll want to know what rides the parks offer, so we’ve got a Universal Studios Florida Rides Guide and a Universal’s Islands of Adventure Rides Guide. And to know how to get on them without the long waits, read all about Express Pass at Universal Orlando Resort.
If you’d like an idea of how to plan a day at these parks, we can help there, too. Our One Day Universal Studios Florida Itinerary covers a full day at the original park, and our Universal’s Islands of Adventure One Day Plan covers that park.
Early risers always have the best theme parks days (well, we think so). Read about Early Park Admission at Universal Orlando to learn how to get an extra hour in the parks. And read about rope drop at Islands of Adventure, including getting on the brand new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.