An Epic Adventure

In mid-2025, Central Florida residents and tourists can experience new thrills with the opening of Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe. The expansive theme park contains five distinct worlds that immerse guests in familiar stories and fresh narratives.

Teams across Universal Creative, including several Knights, have meticulously crafted every detail of each world. All theme park lovers since childhood, these alums merge their personal, academic and professional backgrounds to create the awe-inspiring sites.

Here’s how.

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Celestial Park

As the nexus of Epic Universe, Celestial Park is an astronomy-inspired hub that provides portals to the other worlds. The attraction includes a roller coaster, carousel ride, entertainment, themed dining and shopping. At the edge of Celestial Park is the 500-room Universal Helios Grand Hotel.

“It’s so mind-blowing what we’re doing here for every single land, [but] I think the really unique one is going to be Celestial Park just because it’s our own story we’ve created,” says Frances Franceschi ’15, a production designer for Universal Creative and an architecture alum.

Master plans for Epic Universe began in 2017. The early stages of planning were driven by design, including considerations for space allocation and the types of attractions that would be included across the worlds, Franceschi says.

“You dedicate a lot of extra time to get these jobs done and all of that becomes worth it when you see [someone experience] something that you helped build. It’s just so rewarding,” she says.

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Dark Universe

Monsters from classic Universal Pictures films and new spooky creations are brought to life in Dark Universe. Through the ride Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, guests join a demonstration gone wrong as creatures, such as Dracula and the Wolf Man, turn against their creator, Victoria Frankenstein.

“Even though we’re using the most advanced animated figures, a lot of their movements were performance-captured from real people, which makes them feel more [genuine] and natural,” says Greg Hall ’09, a creative director for Universal Creative and a visual language (now digital media) alum.

Hall and his team collaborate with experts at Universal Pictures, including Steven Spielberg, and leverage new technologies to create authentic, fear-driven experiences.

“We designed the queue as part of the story [to] build up [anticipation and] why you should be afraid of these monsters,” Hall says. “It’s a bigger payoff when you’re in the ride and the events happen.”

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How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk

Guests discover an island where Vikings and fire-breathing dragons exist in harmony at Isle of Berk. Among its attractions is the Untrainable Dragon show, which reimagines the production from Universal Beijing Resort.

“You’re transitioning that presentation to a new audience. The level of technology, puppetry [and] music, use of media and how guests take in the show is something that’s completely different,” says theatre alum Patrick Braillard ’14MA, a senior show writer for Universal Creative and an adjunct instructor in UCF’s themed experience program.

Show writers use extensive research and great attention to detail to not only create scripts for shows, but also dialogue for characters in the park, and the language used in back- and front-of-house experiences for guests, Braillard says.

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SUPER NINTENDO WORLD

The sights and sounds of beloved video games and characters come to life through SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. Across Super Mario Land and Donkey Kong Country, gamers unite as they track their progress on interactive experiences with Power-Up Bands, which are radio frequency identification silicone slap bracelets that feed into a land-wide leaderboard.

“You have a physical set around you, [but] you’re in a [virtual reality] … playing real-time video games, and it’s never the same. You and the players next to you can change the outcome. There’s this different level of immersion,” says Chris Bromby ’00, director of immersive experiences for Universal Creative and an art alum.

With Universal Studios Japan and Hollywood already home to Super Nintendo attractions — which Bromby also helped create — Universal Orlando Resort will offer its own versions of existing rides, such as Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge and Mine-Cart Madness, along with a few unique experiences.

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic

Ministry of Magic is an extension of widely popular The Wizarding World of Harry Potter environments at Universal
Orlando Resort’s existing properties. Most of the world is based in 1920s Paris, the setting of the second Fantastic Beasts spinoff film.

It’s a new visual language and things are a bit more refined, rather than the unique architecture of Hogsmeade and
Diagon Alley. But it will still feel familiar because it’s from the same hands that created all these things that the guests know and love,” says Scott Verble ’14, an assistant director and executive producer for Universal Creative and a hospitality management alum.

Producers like Verble work across disciplines to define and execute the creative intent of themed experiences. This new world also extends to the 1990s British Ministry of Magic with the Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride.

“The scale of this project is awesome [and] the fact that it’s [part of ] a new theme park in Orlando, which happens so rarely, is a really special opportunity to be a part of,” Verble says.