Construction update: Toothless, Dixie Kong, and a magical phoenix onsite at Epic Universe
Toothless, Dixie Kong, and a magical phoenix are among the newest residents to move in at the construction site of Epic Universe, as seen in new photos by bioreconstruct.
From high in the sky, bioreconstruct captured another round of photos of Universal Epic Universe construction in mid-September 2024. The new theme park will open in 2025 in Orlando, Fla. (New to Epic Universe? Check out our beginner’s guide.)
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk construction photos
Let’s start in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, where Toothless is saying hi! Both Toothless and Hiccup appear as part of the Hiccup’s Wing Gliders roller coaster. While they’ve been onsite for a few months, the photos below mark the clearest look of Toothless at Epic Universe so far, as the dragon is usually covered by a sheet.
As bioreconstruct put it, “Aerial photos of Toothless in the launch building are as challenging as getting photos of lightning!”
Elsewhere along the ride path of Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, baby dragons have hatched from nearby eggs and wait to surprise riders.
The entrance (below left) and exit gift shop (below right) for Hiccup’s Wing Gliders are coming along.
The Viking Training Camp play area is sprouting up.
The construction site of the Fyre Drill boat ride is bursting with color as crews populate the ride path with targets that guests will blast with water.
Compare the above photos with the one below, captured just a few months ago in April 2024.
The ride area of Fyre Drill connects with the entrance lagoon for Isle of Berk, collectively forming quite the statement piece as guests enter and subsequently explore the world.
Construction crews have installed dragon-inspired ornamentation and an entrance archway for the Spit Fyre Grill dining area, which overlooks Fyre Drill and flanks a walk-up food window.
Super Nintendo World construction photos
Super Mario Land
As seen in the middle of the photo below, contractors are adding colors to the spires of Super Nintendo World’s entrance portal, which leads from the Epic Universe central hub into Super Mario Land.
Peach’s castle now sports its first pops of pink!
Bowser’s castle — which serves as the entrance for the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride — continues to rise taller.
Donkey Kong Country
Next door to Super Mario Land in Donkey Kong Country, Dixie Kong has arrived to Epic Universe along the ride path for Mine-Cart Madness.
Despite other attractions in the industry removing the word “Dixie” from their names over the years — Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside was originally called Disney’s Dixie Landings Resort, while Dolly Parton’s Stampede initially contained the word in its title — Universal and Nintendo have not indicated any change in monicker for Dixie Kong in Mine-Cart Madness.
The roller coaster’s ride vehicles will appear to “jump the track,” just like Donkey Kong does in his video games. In the plaza around which Mine-Cart Madness weaves, construction crews have begun vertical progress on the ride’s entrance archway, queue, and exit pathway.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic construction photos
Epic Universe will introduce Orlando’s third iteration of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, bringing to life Place Cachée from “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” and the British Ministry of Magic just after the events of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
bioreconstruct captured photos of a phoenix figure waiting to be installed on the exit archway of Epic Universe’s new Wizarding World, as indicated by the yellow arrows in the photo below.
One corner of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic will be a series of staircases leading to nowhere, but appearing to add more depth to the Parisian neighborhood through forced perspective (the concept of each successive level of a structure being smaller than the one below it, thus seeming to be taller, and in this case further away, than it really is).
Behind this alleyway are structures that will eventually be added to this “street to nowhere.”
The other areas of the Ministry of Magic — and there are quite a few! — are fully dimensional, allowing guests to explore and take in the craftsmanship of the artists currently hard at work.
Dark Universe construction photos
Over in Dark Universe, construction crews elevate Frankenstein Manor to new heights. The locale will be home to the indoor attraction Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.
Contractors continue adding details to the entrance and queue areas for the Curse of the Werewolf outdoor roller coaster. A newly installed sign reads “Carpathian Carriage Company.”
The village of Darkmoor waits for your arrival! The town takes place in present day, but is steeped in the lore of Universal Classic Monsters.
Epic Universe central hub construction photos
In Celestial Park, the central hub of Epic Universe, construction crews are building a statue of Helios, the god of the sun. Helios complements the statue of Luna, the goddess of the moon, who is found on the other side of the plaza.
Behold, Universal Epic Universe. The park entrance is at bottom center of the photo below. From there and continuing clockwise is Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, Helios Grand Hotel, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, and How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, all radiating around Celestial Park.
Epic Universe will open in 2025. It’ll be here before you know it!
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