Work has to pick up if Epic Universe is to be ready to open by next summer, especially in areas that appear to be further behind, like Super Nintendo World. With Bowser’s face taking shape at Mario Kart, extensive ride testing happening at Donkey Kong, and more, they may be able to pull it off. Plus, Universal has released official details for the park’s connected hotel.

Let’s check in on progress around every part of Epic Universe, as well as new official details, in today’s news update. See the video version of this story below for additional visuals.

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The image below is an official piece of concept art, but with labels added for all of the main attractions for Universal Epic Universe.

Thanks to recent aerial photography from @bioreconstruct on social media, we’re able to compare the latest construction progress to permit details and official concept art for this new theme park.

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Celestial Park

Beginning at the entrance, at the front of Celestial Park, the central areas of Epic Universe, work is picking up around the park’s entry courtyard.

Color accents have been added to the rockwork in this area which flanks the portal entry into the park.

The icons and central elements of the Chronos, the name for the decorative part of the tower above the portal, have been confirmed to move by Universal.

We got some new official renderings in a recent video which show some of these elements in motion, seen in a recent video posted to the official Universal Orlando Resort YouTube channel.

The Luna statue has been installed at Luna Overlook, at the edge of the entry paths inside of the park.

We had seen this statue arrive and be assembled, as well as her Rabbit companion, in recent weeks, but now they are covered in scaffolding.

Here is how the statue appears in official renderings.

The statue is surrounded by rockwork, as well as two torches, and it overlooks “The Chaos,” as series of cascading waterfalls flowing deeper into Celestial Park.

Some of the rockwork around these cascading waters have received a coat of paint.

Official footage has been released for Stardust Racers, the park’s large steel launched dual-track racing roller coaster. As part of a Ride Guys video on the official Universal Orlando Resort YouTube channel and an episode of the Discover Universal Podcast new on ride video was shared, including views of the Celestial Spin.

New footage was also released of the trains for Stardust Racers. This footage showed off the animated LED lighting for the front of the train, as well as the many star points of light along the sides of the train, as seen in the following screenshots.

On board speakers embedded in seats could be see, along with a Celestial Park logo, as seen in the next two screenshots.

Looking to construction progress for the ride, the scaffolding remains around the large comet icon at the front, as rows of trees appear in the foreground.

Work continues on the attraction’s marquee, as now the two comets are taking shape as part of this sign.

At the ride’s entrance tunnel the two statues are still wrapped in plastic, but we could get a full view of these statues in official video from Universal.

Official story details for the ride say that the resident of Celestial Park, referred to as Celestians, have figured out how to catch comets and ride them across the night sky.

Stardust Racers has been testing continuously in the week’s since our previous update.

Adventuring with Annie was able to capture footage of the ride testing both tracks at the same time, as seen below. The trains can be seen here dueling, crossing over each other at the Celestial Spin, and racing side by side. Be sure to follow Adventuring with Annie on YouTube for more footage like this posted regularly.

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Moving on to the other ride in Celestial Park, the courtyard in front of the entrance to Constellation Carousel has appeared since our last update.

Looking closely it appears that small holes can be seen around some of the rings of the courtyard design.

Temporary walls are still up around the carousel ride itself, blocking our view of ride progress.

The foam berm being formed around the park’s central lagoon is starting to receive a layer that’s green in color.

The Astronomica splash pad is receiving colorful a star pattern.

Nearby, one of the park’s two Starbucks locations is receiving roof work.

The CelesTiki outdoor bar in this area appears to have one of its support columns wrapped in what may be bamboo theming.

What could be twinkling star lights have been added above the entrance to The Oak & Star Tavern.

Universal says there will be millions of pixels of lights throughout ALL of Celestial Park visible at night.

Moving clockwise around the large show fountain, Blue Dragon is seeing its first color elements added to its front.

Looking closer, we can see embossed wavy designs added along the front of this Pan-Asian Restaurant.

An interesting deep color can seen within water features around the Blue Dragon, leading from the Helios Grand hotel at the back of the park.

Meteor Astropub has received a coat of paint.

Sections of the exterior patio seating for this dining location are in various stages of being poured.

And finally, work continues to enclose the roof for Celestial Park’s phase two dining locations. These two connected restaurants located in front of the How to Train Your Dragon area are not expected to open until after the park opens, but continue to make good progress.

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Super Nintendo World

Heading now to Super Nintendo World, the Super Star shaped entry courtyard is finally taking shape in front of the portal into this world.

Landscaping has been beefing up in this area, with more trees added along the left side of the portal.

Inside of the land, Bowser’s face is beginning to be formed at the entrance to the Mario Kart ride.

Here is a look at official renderings for this entrance, with Bowser’s face acting at the main entrance.

So far only his snout and the framework for the rest of his face have been placed. A green accent color has been added to the stone brickwork for Bowser’s Fortress.

Shortly after these photos were taken, the tallest part of Bowser’s Fortress was installed, topping off this section of Super Nintendo World, as seen in the video below.

The top of Bowser’s Castle has been added at Epic Universe pic.twitter.com/zwi3G3dNTE

— Adventuring with Annie (@AnniesUniUpdate) August 27, 2024

We had previously seen this element staged in a lot nearby, along with pieces of Peach’s Castle that have yet to be installed.

A sign has been added for Turbo Boost Treats, which is a snack window located to the right of the Mario Kart ride entry and exit gift shop.

More exterior theming is being added along the exterior walls on the lower level, like this wall seen new the future entrance to Toadstool Cafe.

Work continues on the character stage in the center of the courtyard.

Lots of colorful jungle theming has appeared all around Captain Toad for the finale of Yoshi’s Adventure.

On the other side of the Yoshi ride, framing for a warp pipe tunnel leading into Donkey Kong Country, as well as the pathways into this area, are taking shape.

Heading into the Donkey Kong Country area, tropical landscaping elements are being added to this outdoor section of the Mine Cart Madness ride.

New palm trees can be seen added along the outskirts of the area, beside this screaming pillar.

The Mine Cart Madness roller coaster attraction continues to test, now in daytime hours in addition to overnight.

Bioreconstruct was able to capture video of some of this testing, which contains several mine carts making their way around the track at the same time.

Video: Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness continuous ride testing. Cars seen with a variety of water-filled test dummies. pic.twitter.com/E0j4otDNix

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 11, 2024

The attraction’s grand opening was postponed in Universal Studios Japan, but the version here at Epic Universe is still expected to open along with the rest of the park.

The framing structure for Donkey Kong’s treehouse has been installed atop its supports. This will act as a backdrop for a meet and greet area.

The drink stand located to the left of the treehouse has had framing installed on its walls. Theming attachments are being added to make it appear like a big barrel. We can see additional themed panels staged nearby.

LED lighting was installed behind the water feature in this section of the ride. This is where it will appear as though the carts are skating over the water.

These LED lights were spotted testing recently at night, rapidly changing colors.

Awnings have been added over the ride’s entry, near the previously installed canopies that are located over some of the exterior queue sections.

Green vines can be seen wrapping around the Mugly statue near the spikes on the ride. Behind this area, a backstage path has been added.

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Dark Universe

Moving to Dark Universe, the world inspired by all of the Universal Monsters…

…We can see coffin photo ops inside the entry area…

…As well as what could possibly be a directional sign wrapped in plastic and staged on the ground near the start of the village street.

Supports on the well in the center of the village have been installed. These are shown holding a smoking cauldron object in official renderings.

Exterior paint work on this section of the village appears to be completed.

At the end of the village street, the finished round courtyard for the land’s main attraction has been revealed.

Scaffolding is now reaching all the way up to the central tower on the manor facade for Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.

New trees have been added up against the large ride building, to the right of the manor facade.

A permanent safety fence can be seen separating guest areas from the manor wall in front of the ride.

Spooky trees have been added between the manor and DeLacey’s cottage food stand.

Twisted trees can be seen near The Burning Blade Tavern, the land’s windmill-themed dining location.

These twisted trees are planted near the restaurant’s covered patio seating area.

The land’s second attraction, a spinning roller coaster named Curse of the Werewolf, continues testing.

All of the trains appear to be completely uncovered now, so we can see the detail on each of the cars.

The ride features free spinning coaster cars, with seating facing both directions.

Bioreconstruct was able to get aerial footage of the ride testing, including the swing launch, where trains are launched and pass through the building in the middle of the right multiple times.

Video: Curse of the Werewolf roller coaster in testing at Dark Universe. pic.twitter.com/0H0qpjk802

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 11, 2024

It appears that murals have been added to the walls at the edge of the queue for the roller coaster. This may be an image of Maleva the Mystic, the main character for this Wolfman-themed attraction.

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How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk

Tremendous progress is being made all over How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.

Extensive work has been happening at Viking Training Camp, the land’s kids’ play area.

A brightly colored canopy has been installed since these photos were taken, just a couple days later, as seen below.

Over at the roller coaster attraction, named Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, work continues on exterior queue areas, with foundations poured, framing installed for canopies, mesh placed for scenic elements, and a new themed wall separating this area from the nearby spinning ride.

The first launch for this roller coaster features both Toothless and Hiccup.

Toothless is still mostly covered in this red cloth. Hiccup is now blocked by a permanent themed wall on the other side.

Looking at this show scene from the reverse angle, we can spot Toothless’ tail on the right.

Gears can be seen, part of Hiccup’s contraption that power’s the coaster launch in-story. And some glider wings can be spotted hanging from the ceiling. In the story for the attraction he has yet to attach these wings to the train before Toothless launches us early, causing us to skate along the water and sputter low to the ground instead of flying higher.

The coaster’s second and final launch features dragon eggs, and well as few hidden dragon figures.

Here behind the Dragon Racers Rally spinning ride is where the coaster track passed behind a series of dragon houses.

Colorful details can seen on the fronts of both the coaster entry and exit buildings.

Scaffolding is up around the large statues in front of Mead Hall, as both are receiving a weathered stone look.

Theming for the land’s main retail location continues. This structure is covered with colorful dragon houses and hillside theming on top.

New smaller dragon houses can be seen added above this open air structure.

Zooming out, green cliffs with dragon houses can be seen in the foreground with the forced perspective mountain seen atop Mead Hall, combining together to create a complete layered look as seen from the land’s entrance.

A Two-headed dragon has been added near the entrance to the boat ride, named Fyre Drill.

Work is happening on the station roof for the boat ride as many more colorful targets continue to be installed along the ride path, including more dragon shapes.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut themed water cannons can be seen installed on either side of ride path, both aimed at riders.

The boats for this ride are still staged behind the ride in a maintenance area.

Statues and a stone wall can be seen located around the future seating area for Spit Fyre Grill, located adjacent to the boat ride.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic

The final world for Epic Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, is still seeing exterior theming work on its Parisian-style entry arch.

Words are being added to the top of this side of the arch.

Here is how it appears in official concept art.

Inside of the land, scaffolding is down within the hidden side alley, revealing markings on this building which were seen in the official fly-through video.

This alley contains the entrance to one of the land’s two dining locations.

Here is Le Gobelet Noir as seen here in concept art.

Across from the alley is the land’s other dining location, Café L’Air De La Sirène.

This cafe features both inside and outside dining, and new awnings and separators are being placed for these outdoor dining areas.

At the end of the street on the left side of the land we can see the opening for restrooms, receiving theming work.

To the right of the restrooms hallway we can see a red sign for stroller parking. This stroller parking is located directly across the street from the land’s main ride entrance.

A statue can be seen uncovered at the end of this street.

Here is how this area appears in official concept art for comparison.

To the right of this statue are the entrance and exit for the land’s main ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

Moving right down the street across from the cafe, we can see a Quidditch related facade which has received new decor near ride’s exit. Eyeglass signs have been added to a facade near here as well.

And other new details can be spotted, like this sign with an owl and a book.

New trees have been added to paths in this area.

A weathered poster seen here behind the circus tent themed entry into the land’s stage show.

Weathering and much more color has been added to theater exit facade at the end of this small street at the back of the land. The Liquid Nitrogen tank for show can be seen in the background, located backstage, at the top-right of the next photo.

Also backstage, theming for this turret is taking place on the ground before it is lifted into place on the tower beside it.

Looking closely we can see some of the completed theming on the right side. The top parts of this structure can be seen on the ground in sections as well.

Once completed and installed atop the tower, this structure will be visible looming above the back of the land, seen above these facades.

These facades recently saw scaffolding removed, revealing words and aged building fronts.

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Epic Universe Hotels

New information and official concept art for Universal Helios Grand Hotel has been revealed, the 500-room hotel located at the back of Epic Universe.

Nearly 400 of the rooms are standard with either 2 queens or 1 king-size bed, but the hotel also features club level rooms, and larger suites, including ones named Celestial Suites and other that feature a How to Train Your Dragon themed kids’ room.

Universal confirms that the Helios Grand Hotel will feature a dedicated guest entrance into Epic Universe. But they have also confirmed that the new hotel will not feature free Express passes. (See full details for this hotel in our previous story.)

Official concept art for the hotel’s pool area, dining locations, and rooms were released, including Bar Helios, the rooftop bar location.

Renderings of this rooftop bar, as well as its view of the theme park at night have been released.

One element that is not shown in all of the concept art, but is seen in the rendering of the resort’s lobby below, is a statue of Helios himself, the Greek god of the sun.

This statue, if built, would be located on the overlook patio behind the lobby, is depicted within a ring, just like the Luna statue near the entrance to the park, also located on an overlook. Just like the Luna statue area at the front of the park, it does appear that this Helios statue area is also flanked by two torches.

The Helios and Luna statues represent the sun and moon, and Universal says there will be a short ceremony each evening featuring special lighting effects throughout all of Celestial Park where the baton is passed from the sun to the moon at night.

Heading across the street, to the other two hotels for the Epic Universe area, Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort have been testing their nighttime star lights.

This is the first time we’ve seen both hotels testing these star lights at the same time.

Universal says that there are 144,000 colorful reflective tiles on each on the exteriors of the Stella Nova and Terra Luna Resorts.

The tiles are stainless steel, with dichroic color introduced from acid baths.

The star light tiles are left untreated.

The bottom section of Terra Luna is being painted light blue.

And it appears that the pool for Stella Nova has been filled.

That’s all for this update, but be sure to check out the video version of this story for additional visuals. A huge thank you to Bioreconstruct for the amazing aerial and on the ground photographs. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, or Mastodon for more incredible theme park photos.

Subscribe to the news feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Official Art: Universal Destinations & Experiences | Aerial Photos: Bioreconstruct | Permit Documents: fasttrack.ocfl.net | Graphics and Overlays: Alicia Stella | Other Images as Captioned

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