Universal Epic Universe officially opens in just five months. Thanks to recent aerial footage and photos by Bioreconstruct we’re getting a good look at nighttime lighting, which appears to be active across the entire park. Plus, new footage reveals impressive fire effects for The Burning Blade Tavern’s windmill.

Let’s check out the full nighttime photo update in today’s news update, but check out the short video below for a quick breakdown and additional visual imagery!

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Looking at the park just after sunset, we can spot new guest lighting being tested in every one of the five worlds, including the center of the park, named Celestial Park.

At the entrance to Epic Universe, the Chronos tower is illuminated. This tower is set above the portal entry into Celestial Park.

The Epic Universe sign above this portal is mostly illuminated, as are the star points of light on the gates on either side.

In the center of the park, the lights on the domed roof supports for Constellation Carousel are turned on.

In the next photo we can see Constellation Carousel situated in front of Super Nintendo World.

The other main attraction for Celestial Park is Stardust Racers. This dual-track roller coaster was spotted testing at night when these images were taken. See the video below for this testing footage.

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At the back of the park, the Universal Helios Grand Hotel is illuminated.

Here is how this hotel’s pool area appears at night.

Two of the portals into the worlds are testing their lighting and effects. The beacon lights above these two portals can be seen in the next photo, with light beams reaching towards the sky.

Looking closer at the portal into Dark Universe, we can see lights around the portal’s entry ring as well as for the electrical tower on the top of the structure.

Inside of Dark Universe, the tower atop Frankenstein Manor is testing electrical effects lighting. This is at the entrance to Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a large indoor ride.

The other world testing its portal’s lighting is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.

The next series of images show how lights dance around the portal ring at the entrance into the world.

Inside of the world we can see the warm lighting of the buildings around Wizarding France in guest areas. This is contrasted against the more bright white lighting seen on the backside of these buildings, facing backstage areas for Team Members.

The circus tent entry into the live stage show can be spotted in the middle of the next photo.

Over at Super Nintendo World, lighting is illuminating this colorful world in ways we’ve not yet seen before.

Red lighting can be seen at Bowser’s Fortress, the entrance to the Mario Kart ride, while clean white lighting can be seen at Mt. Beanpole and around the Yoshi’s Adventure ride.

We can see the Golden Temple lit at Donkey Kong Country.

Mine Cart Madness can be seen testing in the image below.

At How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk we can see all the paths lined with guest lighting, as well as show lighting around some of the outdoor attractions.

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, the world’s roller coaster ride, can be seen testing, passing under the bridge in the photo below.

All of the roller coasters at Epic Universe could be spotted testing at the same time this evening, as they prepare for the park’s opening next year.

This roller coaster’s second launch is testing effects and lighting, as seen in the next two photos. This includes a fog effect and dramatic colorful lights.

Before we wrap up this nighttime update for Epic Universe, we have gotten our first glimpse of the fire effects for windmill at Dark Universe.

Thanks to video shot by Adventuring with Annie, and uploaded on social media as well as YouTube, we can now see how this special fire effect looks at night.

The windmill in Dark Universe bursting into flames 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Nb8kiLgnnN

— Adventuring with Annie (@AnniesUniUpdate) December 17, 2024

Like the dragon breathing fire in Diagon Alley, this windmill will catch fire throughout the day, inspired by the original Frankenstein film.

That’s going to wrap it up for this photo update, but be sure to check out the video short that accompanies this story for additional visuals. A huge thank you to Bioreconstruct for the amazing aerial photographs and video. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, or Mastodon for more incredible theme park imagery.

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

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