Now that all of the worlds have been revealed, Universal is going to have to work fast to open all areas of Epic Universe next year. With fireworks and dragon drone testing happening, now we’re seeing more than just construction progress around the work park. Plus, decorative elements like the pegasus atop the carousel and statue near the entrance are being installed.

Let’s check in on work happening throughout all of Epic Universe, as well as some new rumors, in today’s news update. See the video version of this story below for additional visuals.

---

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.

---

Celestial Park

Starting our update off in Celestial Park, the central areas of Epic Universe, the Chronos machine above the portal that will act as the entrance into the park is receiving finishing touches.

We can spot electrical boxes on the back of the Chronos tower, as well as what looks to be motors for spinning elements to make elements of the Chronos rotate.

The medallion representing Super Nintendo World will rotate to reveal two versions of Mario, from the 8-bit variation to a more modern Mario on the other side.

Behind the Chronos, just inside of the park, the bottom section of the Luna statue has arrived.

This statue will be placed here overlooking the central areas of the park, in an area aptly named Luna overlook.

Here is how this statue appears in the scale model for Epic Universe.

And here is how it appears in official concept art.

The pegasus figure was recently installed atop the roof over Constellation Carousel.

This pegasus icon matches the one that can be seen in the Chronos.

The courtyard in front of Constellation Carousel is coming together now. And the tower entry sign can be seen installed.

Here is how this tower appears in official art.

It seems as though temporary walls have been set up around the carousel ride itself, so we’re unable to see all of the animal ride vehicles being installed.

Large foam blocks are being used to form a tiered border around the park’s central lagoon, where the Constellation Carousel and Astronomica splash pad are located.

This carved foam structure is being waterproofed and then will be locked in by concrete or other materials to form a solid barrier between the pool and the earth, and help prevent dirt from crumbling into the water.

Here is how these tiered steps around the lagoon appear in official renderings for this area.

Moving now to Stardust Racers, the park’s massive dual track launched racing coaster, which is also located within Celestial Park.

It appears that the attraction’s marquee is taking shape.

Here is how this attraction signage appears in official concept art.

The two shooting star icons have been installed at the front entrance to the ride, seen on either side of the entry tunnel portal that leads into the queue/station building.

Wrapped in plastic, and representing the two trains on the ride, we can see these comets are held by statues—as the shooting stars are being thrown by the gods.

A matching pair of these comets can also be found as part of the Chronos at the park’s entry, and another pair will be added as part of the ride’s marquee as well.

Work continues on the extended queue for Stardust Racers, with one round section of outside queue now paved.

Divider walls have been erected in the middle of this area, to help separate backstage path from the ride’s extended queue.

Epic Universe saw it’s very first fireworks test late last month, on the night of July 28th. (Click here to see a clip of some of the fireworks test.)

The fireworks for Epic Universe are set off from the middle of the large drainage pond located behind the Universal Helios Grand Hotel at the back of the park. That way they will appear above the hotel, much like fireworks above Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

We expect the large fountains set in front of the Helios Hotel to be a part of the park’s nighttime show as well. We should see these fountains begin testing as well in the coming months.

On the other end of Celestial Park, located between the park’s entrance and Super Nintendo World, a new milestone is taking place.

It appears that the modular offices in this expansion plot for the park are being removed.

These offices have been located here since 2022, but appear to be vacating this area.

According to site plans, this area is expected to be for future expansion of Celestial Park, and is rumored to be used for a multi-purpose sound stage, which could be utilized for special events and holidays at the park.

The preparation of this land may signal the start of this phase 2 project, to add an events space to Epic Universe.

---

How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk

Heading now into How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, we finally have confirmation of something that has long been rumored for this land. A flying dragon has been spotted over the Isle of Berk.

Video recorded by Adventuring with Annie, and shared on social media and YouTube, (see below,) seems to show a flying dragon drone, peacefully soaring overhead. And it does appear to be flapping its wings.

---

Universal says on their official website for Epic Universe that you “may even catch a glimpse of dragons flying high above the village” and this is likely what they’re talking about.

We’ve suspected that this square of concrete beside the land’s theater could be the launchpad for the dragon-shaped drones.

If they wish to keep these flying dragons from soaring over guests, they have a large L-shaped section of backstage they can utilize as a flightpath, which can create the appearance of dragons flying “around” the back half of the land.

So far at least three dragon drone tests have been spotted on three separate occasions, but this is the best footage we have seen so far.

Heading back to the entrance to the land, fake pine trees have been installed atop the land’s hillside themed portal.

What is likely the land’s dedicated exit path can now be seen on the right, built into the rockwork of the portal structure.

On the other side of the portal, we can see this exit path on the left. Within the center of the portal’s main entry path it appears that new rockwork is being constructed. As with all of the other portals into the worlds of Epic Universe, these rocks may help to block the view of the land when viewed through the portal in Celestial Park.

The Fyre Drill interactive boat ride has seen a tremendous amount of new targets installed.

Riders on boats will use water cannons to shoot these various targets in a simulated firefighting training game, as seen in the official concept art below.

Some of the new targets recently added are shaped like dragons. Many appear to have been built on moving platforms with gears and motors visible to add kinetic energy to the ride.

More targets and scenic elements for this boat ride that have not yet been installed can be seen staged on the latter half of the ride path.

Over at Dragon Racers Rally, the land’s two spinning flat rides, the entrance to this attraction, which is themed as a slingshot that fires sheep into the air, has seen its sheep installed, currently wrapped in plastic.

New framing for coverings over some the ride’s queue areas have been installed in front of the decorative grandstands.

The Toothless animatronic is still hiding under a cover on the first launch for the land’s roller coaster attraction, named Hiccup’s Wing Gliders.

The exit gift shop for the coaster has seen a sculpted dragon-shaped head added at the top of the structure, seen at top arrow in next photo.

The two small statues that flank the entrance to the coaster ride have taken shape.

A dense bundle of dragon houses is visible atop the land’s main retail location.

Little forced perspective pathways have been added between these small houses.

Log wall theming has been added along the exterior for the candy shop section of this retail structure, seen under the domed roof part of this building.

An unpainted wall section has arrived in front of the left side of Spit Fyre Grill, an outdoor quick service location.

This wall is likely to be built below the ice dragon we’ve seen in official concept art that will be placed on the left side of this structure.

The attachment point for the dragon can be seen on the ground in this area.

---

Super Nintendo World

Next up is Super Nintendo World, featuring the Super Mario Land area in the front and Donkey Kong Country area in the back.

Starting on the second level inside the land, while not much progress can be seen on the facade for Peach’s Castle, it appears that pieces of this structure have shown up in a nearby staging lot.

Here we can spot unpainted roofs and tower pieces that could be for Peach’s Castle, laying on the ground among other elements for Super Nintendo World, like these ? Blocks and ice trees for areas of the land, and clouds for inside the Mario Kart ride.

Scaffolding has come down around Bowser’s Fortress, revealing the current progress on this future entrance to the Mario Kart ride.

A spiked portcullis-style gate has been added above the entrance’s opening. Bowser’s face has yet to be added to this facade.

The ride’s exit gift shop, Mario Motors, is now behind scaffolding.

Here is how the Bowser’s Fortress and Mario Motors buildings appear in the model for Epic Universe.

And here is how these areas appear in official concept art, which is likely a more accurate representation of the final product.

To the right of this area, a Bullet Bill can be spotted on Mt. Beanpole, above the Yoshi ride.

Some ride vehicles have been temporarily removed from the Yoshi ride during work on this bridge section of the ride path.

Many trees have been added to the finale scene for the Yoshi ride.

Zooming in, we can see that the Captain Toad figure has been added to this area as well.

Behind this area, within the Donkey Kong Country section of Super Nintendo World, Funky’s plane has taken shape.

This airplane-shaped kiosk will be the mini-land’s main retail location, named Funky’s Fly ‘n’ Buy.

The base support for Donkey Kong’s treehouse has been added, as well as more sculpted forms around its base. This treehouse, (seen to the right of the snack stand in the photo below,) will be the backdrop for a meet and greet area within the land.

The framing for the treehouse itself can be seen staged on the ground nearby, (seen on right of next photo).

A new screaming pillar has been added along this section of broken track on the Mine Cart Madness roller coaster.

Themed stone wall theming can be seen behind the water feature at the ride’s exit bridge.

Awnings have been installed over a section of the ride’s exterior queue.

And a frog statue on a pedestal can be seen installed near the spikes that our mine cart will appear to jump over on the ride.

Sneaking a peak inside the middle of the ride, what appears to be Tiki Tong can be spotted here.

In official concept art for the version of this ride in Universal Studios Japan, Tiki Tong can be seen twisting the mine cart track ahead of us on the ride.

And before we move on, a pedestal near the start of this ride can be spotted with a wrapped figure sitting on top of it, seen on right of next photo.

According to the model for this attraction, this figure may be Dixie Kong.

---

Dark Universe

Scaffolding has been put up in front of the portal entry into Dark Universe, the world inspired by the Universal Classic Monsters.

The gate for the exit path out of Dark Universe can be spotted to the left of the portal.

Within the village of Darkmoor, the setting for this land, scenic work is happening around a section on the right side of the land’s main retail building.

In plans this small part of the structure jutting out is called the “fog room” and is not enterable by guests. The arched entry into the land’s main, and only, restrooms can be seen on the right of the next photo.

Much of the scaffolding has once again come down in front of the manor facade for the land’s main attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.

This has revealed that the vines have been painted on the sides of the building.

The removed scaffolding sections can be seen piled up in front of the manor.

The gatehouse in front of the manor which will act as the ride’s main entrance has seen painted vines added to its face as well.

Exterior scenic work is happening on the crypt sitting in the extended exterior queue for the ride, located behind the manor.

A canopy framing extending from the wagon over the main entrance to Curse of the Werewolf, the land’s spinning roller coaster attraction, is being added.

A completely uncovered coaster train can be spotted on the maintenance spur behind the station.

---

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic

The most recent, and final, world have its details revealed at Epic Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic is seeing more intricate details arrive.

Wrought iron balconies are being installed along the gift shop on this corner, named Les Gallerie Mirafique, which has now been officially announced.

Additional wrought iron details have been added above the back entrance to the cafe and more along this wall of facades as well.

The opening on the far right of the building facades in the image above leads to one of the two main restrooms for this land.

Across the street from these restrooms is the Metro-Floo entrance, which is now confirmed to be the way to get to land’s main ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

No big change to the first layer of circus tent materials.

This circus tent will act as the entrance to the land’s stage show, but the actual show is located within the building behind it.

The furthest false facades at the very back of the land is looking more complete now.

These facades are part of the forced perspective display, which can be seen in official concept art.

A decorative globe element has been installed along this roof line to the left.

Here is the globe element as seen in official concept art.

New bright purple shutters are being installed along this wall on the right side of the land.

The shape for this small rounded square in the dead end of the far right side of the land is being formed.

Here is how this small square appears in official concept art.

Behind this area we can spot some paint and material samples, including a couple walls and a couple sets of sample stairs.

---

Hotels & Roads

As for the three hotels of Epic Universe, the Universal Helios Grand Hotel is slowly receiving the finishing for its large dome at the center of the roof.

The rooftop ballroom on the right is now fully enclosed.

The pool area and cabanas for the Helios hotel are making good progress, located behind the Dark Universe area, to the side of the hotel.

On the side of the hotel facing the theme park, this porch is an overlook, located behind the hotel lobby.

While this porch will allow hotel guests views over the center of Epic Universe, and will sit over cascading waterfalls, this is not the hotel’s dedicated entrance into the park.

For that, we have to look to the left of the overlook patio, seen at the arrow in the next photo.

This winding path to the left of the raised porch is the dedicated park entrance for hotel guests only to be able to get into Epic Universe. Security check is located at the start of this path behind these arches.

Heading across the street to the other two hotels for this area, new pavement is being added to the pool deck area of the Stella Nova Resort.

The raised traffic circle ramp located between these two sister hotels and Epic Universe continues to make quick progress.

This ramp, which connects the extended Kirkman Rd. to Epic Blvd, the road to Epic Universe, is vital for the new park to be able to open.

Until this round ramp is completed, as well as the entire Kirkman extension, the park will likely be unable to grand open. Team Member previews can likely take place before this roadwork is completed, but by some estimates, it may not be completely finished until summer 2025, which may give us an idea on when the park can officially open.

Until then, there’s nothing stopping the park from having team member, annual pass, or other limited previews in the spring… if the park is ready by then.

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 & Model Photos: Bioreconstruct | Permit Documents: fasttrack.ocfl.net | Graphics and Overlays: Alicia Stella | Other Images as Captioned

---

Consider supporting us on Patreon for as little as $1/month. All patrons receive behind the scenes posts and exclusive podcasts. Learn More

---