Universal Orlando's Epic Universe Opens May 22

In this post, we discuss the May 22 opening of Universal Epic Universe, a brand new theme park coming to Universal Orlando Resort. We start with what we know about the opening date and ticket sales, before moving onto some more general information about the park. Let’s get to it.

Epic Universe Opening Details

We’re going to start with the Epic Universe opening details because that’s what’s on most people’s minds right now. We talk more about what we know about the park below, but for the purpose of this section it’s enough just to know that Epic Universe is a new theme park coming to Universal Orlando Resort.

Epic Universe Opening Date

Epic Universe will have its grand opening on May 22, 2025. Details for any preview periods for media, passholders, or anyone else, have not been revealed.

Epic Universe Initial Ticket Sales

Tickets for Epic Universe will go on sale October 22, 2024. I’m going to quote the Universal FAQ page verbatim on some key points. For the initial sales period (length not yet specified) guests—other than annual passholders, who I’ll discuss next—will need to buy a 3-day ticket or longer, and that ticket will include only one day at Epic Universe:

During this initial phase of Universal Epic Universe-inclusive tickets, we are only offering multi-day tickets for 3-Days or longer that include one-day admission to Universal Epic Universe.

Note that this “initial phase” refers to the ticket sale timeframe, not the opening of the park. That is, it’s expected they will sell one- and two-day tickets for Epic Universe sometime before the park opens:

Additional product offerings -- including single-day and two-day tickets for Universal Epic Universe -- will be launched at a later date before the park opens. (Emphasis added)

Of course, we don’t know that these will be available for May 22, for example. In fact, I’d expect not. I’d expect that May 22 through May 26 (Memorial Day) will get fully bought out by guests with 3-day tickets or longer.

Epic Universe Annual Passholder Ticket Details

Universal Orlando Annual Passholders will have the opportunity to buy one-day Epic Universe tickets beginning October 24, 2024:

Starting October 24, Passholders can purchase a 1-Day Universal Epic Universe Ticket add-on to visit our newest park, Universal Epic Universe, before 1-Day Universal Epic Universe Tickets are available to the general public.

However, if you don’t live in Florida, don’t go thinking it’s going to be easy to just buy an annual pass and grab a 1-day ticket:

In order to purchase your 1-day, dated admission to Epic Universe online, your Pass will need to be activated. Passes are activated after the first time you use it at a Universal Orlando theme park entrance. If you haven't used your Pass yet, be sure to visit Universal Orlando prior to Passholder 1-day admission going on sale on October 24. (emphasis added)

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.

As part of the Epic Universe expansion, Universal will also be adding two new hotels—Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort—opening in early 2025.

 

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.

Should I wait to visit Universal Orlando Resort?

Note: This section was written before the opening date for Epic Universe was announced. I may revisit it, but in the meantime I’m leaving it as-is.

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.