98. Epic Universe: Exciting Insider Details on the New Immersive Theme Park in Orlando!

Epic Universe is almost here, and I know you want the juicy insider secrets! I sat in on a webinar with the Epic Universe sales team and OMG it is going to change the theme park wars in Orlando. From rides, to theming, to food, to hotels, I have all of the exciting details for you in this episode! 

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Transcript

Hello, jetsetters. Welcome back to another episode of jetsetting with me. Just how epic is Epic Universe going to be? Well, Reader's Digest spoiler alert. It is going to change the theme park wars in Orlando, and it's gonna be epic is no understatement. And I'm gonna tell you why. But before I do, this is episode number 98. I can't believe it. I really can't.

Like, my eyes are tearing up a little bit because I really when I first started, like, my goal was to get to seven. And here I am two years in, and a hundred episodes are within reach. In two more weeks, actually, March 27, right at the height of spring break, I'm dropping a very special episode. I'm putting myself on the hot seat, and I am going to be the one getting interviewed. I love to get interviewed. And so I'm gonna be in the hot seat. And as usual, when I'm putting myself in the hot seat or I'm celebrating something, there are giveaways and prizes that you get to take advantage of. And all you need to do is go to the link in the show notes, click on it, give me your email address, and you will be registered for the prizes happening.

And one of you could be the lucky recipient of up to $300 off a vacation on Virgin Voyages. Now, let's get back to just how epic epic universe is going to be. Let me tell you that I have been extremely lax in giving out any information on socials or here on the podcast about, really, Orlando in general. I completely missed my trip to Festival of the Arts at Disney due to some health issues. Two of my previous trips to Orlando have been canceled, but we are catching up today. It has been twenty seven years since a major theme park gate opened in Orlando. And when I say that this one is going to be epic, they really did name it right. It is going to be epic, and we are going to dive in right now to all the things about epic universe.

Now granted, a lot of this is things that if you had hours upon hours to watch YouTube videos or read every single blogger and social media person out there about Epic Universe, you might already know. But here's the deal. I actually sat in on a webinar with the Epic Universe sales team. They are the ones who are responsible for teaching me as your trusted travel adviser how to help you make the most of your trip to Epic. So I got a lot of inside info that I'm gonna share here. And the first word I'm gonna give you is immersive. And I cannot tell you how many times I heard that word on that webinar. I mean, these salespeople are talking immersive hotels, immersive eateries, immersive experiences, and very immersive attractions.

And they are not kidding. I got to see behind the scenes pictures of these audio animatronics. Now I need you to go back in your minds for a minute and talking about immersive audio animatronics. Way back in 1989, when the Disney MGM Studios theme park opened, I was on that opening crew. You may remember that if you've known me for more than a minute. That's one of my claims to fame. Anyway, it also ages me. I digress.

In the Wizard of Oz scene of the great movie ride, the great wicked witch of the West, who we will now call Elphaba, thanks to the incredible universal show, Wicked, the movie. The wicked witch of the West did a thing with her hand where her wrist and her finger did a twist and actually pointed to the tour guide in the great movie ride vehicle. That, at the time, was the most immersive audio animatronic ever created because the wrist and the finger turned separately from the hand. And at the time, that actual technology was then used to help people who had lost their arms or their hands or fingers in accidents to help them with the prosthetics. So it was that technology that was created such an immersive audio animatronic back then. Fast forward now, we are talking about the most immersive animatronics. We're not calling them audio animatronics anymore because they are so advanced now that the audio and the movements are animatronics. I mean, they're AI laugh like.

They could sometimes be our worst nightmares in dark universe come to life. And I saw behind the scenes pictures of those immersive animatronics that are going to be used in the monsters dark universe attraction, and let me tell you, immersive is just the right word. So you will hear me say immersive throughout this podcast, and just like no other word fits to describe Epic Universe other than epic. Okay. There are going to be five immersive worlds, as they are calling them. Celestial Park, which is actually the entrance to the park, but it will have two attractions as well as a resort, and the Epic Universe's fine dining will be located there. All the other worlds are gonna have quick service dining. Super Nintendo World, which I've actually visited on the coast in Hollywood, so I can tell you a little bit more about that.

Dark Universe, Ministry of Magic, which is going to be the Harry Potter component at Epic Universe, and Isle Of Berk, How to Train Your Dragon. So let me run through these immersive lands for you very quickly, and tell you what you can expect from each of them. Now, in the Celestial Park, there are two attractions. Obviously, the one that is getting people the most excited is the Stardust Racers, and that's because it is the thrill ride that's happening. I, of course, am very excited about the constellation carousel. The constellation carousel is going to be the first carousel of its kind, aka ring around the rosy carousel, you know, up and down, but it's actually gonna go 365 degrees. So you can go up, down, and turn around on your constellation carousel. It's really also going to be like artwork.

It's very, very pretty. And I will post some of those photos so that you can see some of the imagery and artwork. Now, let's talk about those Stardust Racers. It is a dual launch coaster. It's going to go up to 62 miles an hour, up as high as a 33 feet. It has 5,000 feet of track. One thing it will not have is me riding it. Sorry, folks.

I've often said that the attractions at Universal's, in general, Universal Orlando theme parks, is that they are a lot more intense. So stop my roller coaster at Hagrid's. That's like my high point. That's my high watermark. This one's obviously gonna be scarier than that, so I won't be on it. But the Celestians, who are citizens of Celestial Park, so we have come in, we are in their universe, so to speak, have figured out a way to capture comments by jumping on them, and then they ride them across the night. So the story producers tell us in the BTS of the Stardust Racers that they are marrying the feel of the classic wooden roller coaster with this celestial nighttime journey spin. It has the first ever in The United States, I should say, or maybe in Orlando.

I'll have to check on that. But it has an inverted crisscross, meaning top gun, OG top gun maneuver, you know, given the bird. One vehicle's going to be looking up, and one vehicle's going to be looking down. So if your eyes are open, you can see the other people. But at night, because it is supposed to be a comet, the track itself is not going to be illuminated, so the ride vehicles to other viewers throughout Celestial Park and perhaps even in the rest of Epic Universe, they are gonna literally look like shooting comets because the track itself will not have lighting. There's also some really, really good music that you can listen to while you're watching all those people who are brave enough to ride that ride. So that is a Celestial Park in a hot minute. Okay.

As I mentioned to you, Super Nintendo World. I visited Super Nintendo World in Hollywood. It's very cool. It's so immersive. There's that word again. You definitely feel like you are in the middle of a Super Nintendo universe. One thing that this Super Nintendo world has that they don't have over in Universal Hollywood, but they do have it over in the Far East slash Asia parks is Donkey Kong. So you have to kind of scan your band or, like, know where the secret little sideway path is over into Donkey Kong.

And there will be another attraction there where you will feel like, as you would if you weren't part of Donkey Kong the game, where you will be skipping the tracks on that roller coaster. Now I do plan to ride that one. I'm super excited to see how it works. The other one back in the Super Nintendo world that's not on the Donkey Kong side lift or side you know what I'm trying to say. In the main world is Bowser's, where you are trying to take down Bowser. I've never played Super Nintendo Mario Brothers, so excuse me if I'm getting all of the, like, people wrong. But you do go through a super killer queue, which I will share pictures of because I did that in Hollywood. And then you it's a weird mix of, like, think about Toy Story mania at Disney, and then at Disneyland, the Stardust the Spider Man attraction where you're kinda, like, throwing things.

You do have a gun, and you do have goggles, and you're basically playing a video game on an attraction while you're riding. Again, think Minions at Universal Orlando. But to be honest, I've only ridden it once. It goes by quick. It's like a three minute ride, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing because I've never really been a gamer before. But it was fun, and it's one of the things I would definitely want to do again. Now, of course, there is an upsell opportunity here, which is the power up band. And one question that I've been getting a lot is if you bought one in Hollywood, which I did not, but you can use the same power up band in Orlando.

But in Orlando, they will sell a Donkey Kong themed one, which they don't have in Hollywood. So, of course, most people who love Super Nintendo World and Donkey Kong and Super Nintendo in general and Mario Kart and all of those things will want to buy that power up band. Yes. It is a souvenir, but it does unlock just as some of the things in Disney's Star Wars edge. It unlocks some special kinda gaming components where you can earn things and have a more interactive AKA immersive experience in that world. And, of course, there are character meet and greets, Princess Peach, Mario, his brother, and, over in Donkey Kong, character meet and greets. I will tell you the lesson from Hollywood is that that world is gets extremely crowded, and there's not a lot of place, like, to kinda get out of the action. At lunchtime, people actually tend to leave that area to go eat in other parts.

That's in Hollywood. Now Super Nintendo World will have quick service where you actually do order in the app using the app. You sit down, you scan a QR code, and then they will bring your food to you. So there's no, like, line to quick order from, which is a really nice concept. It's really cool. But if what happens in Hollywood plays true, a lot of people will leave that world during lunchtime, making it maybe a really good time to go into Super Nintendo world. Okay. Dark universe.

It's called dark moor, like a moor, m o o r. It's a very shadowy world. It's eerie. It's more family friendly and not scary. Mind you, these are the words of people from Epic Universe are using, that it's kind of eerie, it's smoky, but it's not scary. Do not think Halloween horror nights. It is not like that. It does have every land here, they pointed out, has a family friendly attraction, a thrill ride attraction, or a dark attraction, a place to eat, and shows to cool off in.

So they really are making each one an immersive world worth something for everyone, and dare I forget the shopping in every world. But, anyway, so this one is monsters unchained. This is the thrill ride, and it has to do with Frankenstein's daughter and experiments. And it does have 14 animated creatures. And these are the ones that I mentioned at the very beginning of the podcast, which has super animatronics that are very lifelike. And I don't care what this ride is and how scary it is. I can't wait to go on it just to see these 14 animated creatures. They're gonna be amazing.

Oh, the family friendly attraction here is curse of the werewolf, and yes, there are werewolves in it, and yes, it is still considered family friendly. Now, here is where we're gonna get Universal's version of the Bippity Boppity Boutique. I told you Epic was gonna change the theme park wars, and it really is. Because here, you can do a monster makeup experience. They're gonna have different experiences. Pricing has not yet been released for these. One with just face makeup where you can get a monster, and one where you can do cosplay, where you can get a monster plus some costume type pieces. I'm guessing that one's gonna be more expensive.

And there will be appointments given, and you can get back into when Universal Orlando first opened. They actually had a monster makeup show. So this is their way of kinda going back to their old what they were famous for when they first opened with this monster universe and the old IP that they still have of Frankenstein and werewolf and vampire and the makeup experience. They have, again, a quick service restaurant called Das Steakhouse. So I, of course, when I heard steakhouse, thought that was gonna be fine dining. But as I mentioned, all the fine dining restaurants, there's two, are actually in the entry of the park, Celestial Park. This is actually a quick service, but, again, you will order and someone will bring your food to you, and all of these people will have stories of their how they got to be servers at the steakhouse. So the steakhouse is like an old inn, and so everyone's going to be part of the story.

Again, maybe impeding on that Disney, Everyone in Batuu has a story, even the servers. And you can ask them all about their stories, and they will be able to tell you. And the meet and greet here is gonna be with Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein with her fabulous hair, by the way. So I'm looking forward to that. Okay. Now the one the land that I have been most excited about and have been asking and trolling, I do have a friend who works at Universal Resorts and Vacations, and I have been trolling him for information for years is the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic. Now, it's not what I expected it to be at all. They are not playing on the London areas that are over in Universal and Islands Of Adventure.

Here, we are pulling in the fantastic beast theme, and we are going to nineteen twenties France. We're pulling in, as I said, the fantastic beast. The wand or the shopping experience here is going to be more upscale with an accent, with French wands. Your wands that you have previously purchased will work, but there are going to be some specific wands that will work in the other parks, but that you can only buy over here. So there is going to be wand magic. Now, I have to tell you what I'm most excited about here is the Le Cirque show, which is actually called Le Cirque en Francais, but it is a live performance show. It has puppetry, it has special effects. I do believe it really is like a Le Cirque show, but it is in the park.

It is included with your park admission. It is a large stadium, so a large indoor air conditioned place to go. So, again, each of the lands have a family friendly attraction, a more thrill ride attraction, places to shop, places to eat, but large scale places with shows where you can cool off in hot summer. They're really being cognizant of the guest experience here. When Disney opened Animal Kingdom 20 7 Years ago, I was like, where's all the shade? Like, it's not their first rodeo. Haven't they done this before? Well, Epic has clearly done this before, and they have learned lessons where Disney has failed, and they are changing the theme park destination in Orlando. Back to Harry Potter, in order to get to the thrill attraction here, which is in the Ministry of Magic, we are taking metro flu from nineteen twenties France over to nineteen nineties Britain, and we are going into the Ministry of Magic. I'm so excited for this.

And Dolores Umbridge is going to finally get hers. She is going on trial. But lo and behold, when everything is seems okay, that's when things go to shit, and that's where the ride commences. But in the meantime, in the queue, which everyone should do even if you don't wanna ride this ride, which PS looks like a free fall ride vehicle right out of Tower Of Terror. 2 rows, it goes up and down, spins three sixty. I've been told it's not a free fall, that it's more like a combination of the two thrill Harry Potter rides that are there, which is about escape from Gringotts, and then Hogwarts, the castle. So I've been told it's a combo, though, but it looks really like a a free fall ride vehicle. But the queue, as I said, I'm really excited, has a 80,000 different tiles in this queue.

So that's a lot to look at, and I really hope that they will do some cool specific queue thing like they do over at Gringotts, where you can get a bank tour. Don't know about that bank tour, Well, some people's travel agents. That's a throwback to my friend, Jessica, who posted that her travel agent is better than others because she knew about the bank tour. It's on her Instagram from, like, five years ago, but still, it was a moment for me. So I'm happy to share that with you. The next land is Isle Of Burke, How to Train Your Dragon. And I've never seen these movies, the How to Train Your Dragon movies. But after this webinar, I cannot wait to go watch them.

I think I'm even more excited about this land than before. Obviously, before I wasn't excited because I didn't know anything about it. But it's actually gonna be the largest immersive world in the theme park. The family roller coaster is Hiccup's Wing Gliders, and it does look a lot smoother than the flight of the hippogryph over in Islands Of Adventure, which I actually got sick on. I didn't like it. And then it's got dragon racer's rally. Now, this one is definitely intense. It's not something I will go on.

It's like one of those that goes up, spin, top, and over, but each seat will also spin. It's, like, scary. But it also has what I think is going to be the most fun ride in the entire theme park, which is the fire drill. That's f y r e. It's a combination of, like, a toy story mania and a pirates of The Caribbean, AKA, you get to squirt people, and dragons are squirting at you to cool off in the water. There's two different teams. You can keep score. It's gonna be on the app.

It's gonna be super cool, and I'm very excited. This is also a part that I might definitely will avoid, the Vikings training camp, a k a the playground. There is an untrainable dragon show, which, again, is going to have a flying dragon. It looks very much like another Le Cirque type show. Again, big air conditioned auditorium. The quick service restaurant is gonna be Mead Hill, and there is also gonna be the servers able to tell stories about this world and, of course, the character meet and greets. And there you have it, folks. Each of the lands.

Now, I did mention that Celestial Park is going to have fine dining. It one of the restaurants is gonna be a Pan Asian restaurant called the Blue Dragon, and the other is going to be a seafood specific restaurant. They both look lovely, but the one picture that caught my eye was the lamb lovers snickerdoodle boot. Yes. For some reason, they think only, quote, unquote, young explorers are going to like this beach style dessert, but I personally use that snickerdoodle cake in a beach pail with cookie butter ganache, and I'm all in. I don't even need the gummy sharks that are going to complete that, quote, unquote, fun ocean whimsy. I don't know why they think that's just a kid's dessert. Did I mention snickerdoodle cake and cookie butter ganache? Yum.

The Epic Universe is opening with three new hotels. The Stella Nova has actually already opened. The Stella Terra opens this month, and Helios will open when the theme park opens in late May. It does have a private entrance into the park. All of these are going to be run and managed by the Loews Hotel, universal partner, Loews Hotel brand, And the Helios is going to be the luxury or probably the most expensive property there since it is going to have a private entrance into the park. It's only going to have 500 rooms. It does have how to train your dragon kids signature suites, and it will have some club level. Now the Stella Nova and the Stella Terra, I immediately thought I would never be interested in them because I am not a fan of the universal prime value product.

I find it to be very noisy, way too many kids. The food hall is difficult to maneuver in their other properties. But these, again, it looks like they've learned the lessons of the past. For one thing, these are gorgeous from the outside. Again, the whole unique tile thing, these have a 40,000 unique tiles, and each building looks differently, and you get a view of the one versus the other. So Terra Luna is you get those sorta terra firma, you know, land oranges, browns, neutrals, and then you have Stella Nova, which is galaxy colors themes. I definitely loved the theming of those rooms. It was really beautiful.

These each have 750 rooms. They are going to be the resorts closest to epic. They are prime value, so they do have a food hall. Each room will say, have up to four people, two double beds, and that's it. They don't have suites. They're not messing with luxury. They wanna get people into those hotels who just wanna be close to epic. You can walk there, or there will be transportation.

But the walkway to epic is really nice because all of the other hotels will need a bus to get to Epic. It's on the other side of the highway. It won't be walkable. Now this brings us to ticket packages because with this park and the change to Universal as a whole resort, it is now really a multi day destination. It is no longer, let's go to Disney and add a day over to do Harry Potter at Universal. This requires, in order to even get into Epic right now, it requires a three or more day ticket package. So there are no single day tickets on sale at this time for Epic Universe. Let me say that again.

At this time, Universal is managing ticket sales by day. So you don't need a park reservation. You do have dated tickets, and you must have a three or more date ticket package, meaning you need to plan to spend at least four days in the universal resort area. So and only one of those, and the three or more can be at Epic. Now, if you do stay at one of the universal on-site hotels, such as Helios, Stellar Nova, or Terra Luna, you will get early entry into epic. Now, I did read, and someone suggested this idea to me, and I really think it's pretty cool. Because right now, Epic Universe for annual pass holders is sold out, and they do actually have to buy even if you're an existing annual pass holder, you have to basically buy a one day ticket, which isn't on sale of the general public. And many of their dates for those one day annual pass tickets are already sold out.

So you can buy a three or more day ticket package, meaning three plus one, basically, is a three day ticket package plus your one day into epic. Stay at one of those prime hotels. I priced it out in October, which I think is maybe when some of the momentum and enthusiasm will lessen, people will be in school, people will be excited about the other parks because that's where Halloween horror nights will be taking place. So I think October is when I'm aiming to get to go to Epic Universe for the first time, and I priced it at, as I said, a prime value hotel, the Terra Luna and the Stella Nova, with a three day plus one ticket. And I only did one night in the hotel because you can only do one day at Epic out of those all of your tickets. The rest can be used at Volcano Bay, Islands Of Adventure, or Universal Studios Orlando. I'm gonna use my one day at Epic, and I'm gonna use the other three to convert it towards an annual pass, which is basically kind of the same cost. Annual passes at Universal, not the same as annual passes at Disney, just for those of you who are listening who marvel at how often I go.

So here are some things to watch for in the upcoming onslaught of social media. These are the things that I am really looking for to be able to tell you more of what the behind the scenes things are. And by the way, team member previews have started, so I'm hoping to get some of this information sooner rather than later from my my friends in the know who work there. One is where the quiet zones within the themed lands. So one thing I'm gonna be looking at is the maps and the concept art. So lands based on these bustling environments, like the Ministry of Magic or Dark Universe, they're gonna have some smaller tucked away areas that are designed for those of us that need to be away from the crowd or in shade. So the courtyards, the gardens, the side streets, that's what I'm gonna be looking for as a potential way to have a quiet escape or kinda way to skip the crowds to get from the dining to the attraction. Shortcuts, so to speak.

I really am excited about the interactive elements beyond the main attractions. So all the queues, the hidden symbols, the puzzles that we talked about over in Super Nintendo World, the tiles and the queue of the Ministry of Magic, these are the things that I am most excited about, and I feel like they are gonna take me longer. I feel like how am I gonna get it all done in only one day at epic? And yet, that is all you are allowed right now is one day out of your three plus ticket. I'm really excited about all the indoor areas that they have created and ways to cool off. And I'm excited to figure out where those meet and greets are gonna be. And beyond those designated areas, where are they gonna show up spontaneously? I'm guessing some hotels, maybe. I'm really excited to see what the quick service dining is like that they don't actually have a place to order except, you know, on your phone with the QR code. I'm excited to talk to the team members who have their own stories, and I'm really, really excited for that atmospheric details, like no lighted track on the celestial racers, the background music, the ambient sound, the scent.

I love a good scented hotel. The lighting effects, all of that. These are the details that I'm gonna be paying attention to upcoming and social, but also, when I finally get to go and visit it myself, and the information that I pump all of my friends for who are going for these team member and annual pass previews. And I promise to update you on all that in an upcoming future episode. Now, I did mention at the beginning that I had been very lax. Many of my recent trips to Disney got canceled for one reason or another, But stay tuned. Yes. I do know that there have been updates to lightning lanes.

There are no more virtual queues at Disney I'm talking about. And there is the flower and garden festival. All of the changes to Disney and even more, maybe secrets to epic universe by then that I might have, that episode is coming up in about a month, mid April. Until then, jet setters, have some safe and happy travels.