Breaking down the concept art for Universal’s Epic Universe

To celebrate the announcement of Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, Universal’s Epic Universe, we’re going to break down what we think we see in the park’s new concept art.

epic universe

Disclaimer: Unless where otherwise noted, the following is rumor and speculation, and should not be regarded as fact unless confirmed by the companies mentioned.

epic universe
A wider look at the concept art for Universal’s Epic Universe

While we don’t know much officially about Epic Universe, rumors have circulated that there will be lands in the park dedicated to Nintendo, Fantastic Beasts, How to Train Your Dragon, and Universal Classic Monsters. For the sake of this article, we will be speculating according to those rumored lands.

epic universe

Starting off at the park’s entrance, you can see that Universal chose to stick with the classic arches here – but with a worldly twist. To the left of the entrance looks to be a covered marketplace, and possibly a big-box store for the park.

epic universe

Moving up, it looks as though there might be a flat ride of some kind over the water, possibly a carousel.

epic universe

We’re not sure what this beautiful glass-covered building could be, but our guess would be a highly-themed restaurant.

epic universe

Continuing up the center of the park, we come to a lagoon filled with fountains and lights. The lagoon area is surrounded by arena seating, so it’s not a stretch to say we could see a nighttime spectacular here.

epic universe

Finishing up the middle stretch of the park is what looks to be a grand hotel. We would guess that you can enter from both inside and outside the park, thanks to the main road located just behind.

Now let’s take a look at what you really came here for: the lands!

super nintendo world

Starting off with what we believe to be the Nintendo section of the park, there’s a lot to unpack here. You can see the tunnel on the far right looks a bit square in this concept art, but we believe it will be the round, green pipe that is so recognizably Nintendo.

super nintendo world

Heading inside the land, guests will be greeted with the colorful and blocky world of Mushroom Kingdom. To the left is what we believe to be the entrance to the Mario Kart attraction. The top of the land is a bit trickier, but we think this will be the home of a Yoshi-themed dark ride.

super nintendo world

The back of the Nintendo-themed land appears to take on a more island-esque feel, which leads us to believe this will be a Donkey Kong-themed area, complete with its own ride – you can see the show building for it on the left.

epic universe

On our way to the next themed land, we can’t help but point out this massive expansion pad. This could be developed in the future for restaurants, hotel space, or, hopefully, a brand-new themed land.

universal monsters

Next on our tour is what we believe to be the Universal Classic Monsters-themed land. We’ve heard no rumblings on exactly what kind of attraction or attractions we could see here, but you can’t help but imagine what could be.

universal monsters

Here’s a closer look at the village-esque section of the land, which feels very reminiscent of a European village. Could that be Dracula’s castle up at the top?

universal monsters

Over to the left of the Monsters-themed land is this arena. We’re not sure if this will be part of the Monsters land or something different entirely; could we see a Monsters-themed stage or stunt show here? (Or, if Universal is trying to make dreams come true, bring back Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue.)

fantastic beasts

Our next-to-last stop is over at what we believe to be a Fantastic Beasts-themed land. While we can’t see much thanks to the burst of fireworks in the top left corner, we can make out a few details worth mentioning.

fantastic beasts

We apologize for the pixelation, but here looks to be some kind of government building. Could this be the entrance to the U.S.-based Ministry of Magic, called “The Magical Congress of the United States of America” (MACUSA)?

fantastic beasts

If the above speculation is correct, then it is safe to say that this street area could be the magical version of New York City. However, from the building design, it also looks slightly Parisian.

The main viewpoint of this land, though, is the absolutely giant show building that is partially hidden by fireworks. Could this house a single ride, or are we in for more than one attraction?

how to train your dragon

Last but not least, we come to what we believe is the How to Train Your Dragon-themed land. We believe this will be the most “kid-friendly” section of the park, based on the types of attractions we can see in this image.

how to train your dragon

The main attraction of this new land is definitely the dueling coaster shown here. Could we see a rebirth of a reimagined and upgraded Dueling Dragons at Universal’s Epic Universe? Since this coaster is placed just outside of the themed area for the land, it is possible that it isn’t a part of the land at all. We’ll have to wait and see for sure.

how to train your dragon

There also looks to be a family coaster-type ride in this land. You can see the track comes close to the dueling coaster, and appears to go under and out of the lagoon in the middle.

how to train your dragon

At the center of the lagoon looks to be a type of village or marketplace-themed area. Here we could find shops, restaurants and possibly midway games themed to the land’s IP.


And there you have it! Our full breakdown of what we believe we see in the concept art for Universal’s Epic Universe. Do you see something we might have missed? What do you hope to see in the new park? Let us know in the comments below!

Analyzing Universal’s Epic Universe Concept Art
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11 Comments

  1. No way that they’re doing a Fantastic Beasts area. MACUSA is in the Woolworth Building and Universal isn’t gonna rehash a New York area. Honestly, the FB movies don’t have magical locations to adapt into a theme park. Plus those movies aren’t nearly as good and popular as HP.

    1. The bottom right section of the park is Jurassic World. The dueling dragons inspired coaster sits right next to Jurassic world, but on the other side of the facades. The dueling coaster is located in the HTTYD land, but we don’t see the rest of the land due to the concept art. Notice the path leading into the giant forest right above jurassic world. This is where the HTTYD land will most likely be.

  2. The dueling coaster is reached via a tunnel near the space-y looking building, NOT from the mountainous village-y area on the bottom right, so it won’t be the same theme as whatever the village is. The village has its own lightly themed kiddy coaster.

  3. Each of these mands deserves to be a separate park! I’ve always wanted Uni to build one devoted to Horror films, especially it’s own Monsters legacy. But, there are plenty of non-Uni horror IPs that could be licensed, as well. Such a park could be as big as the MK, with Dracula’s Castle as the central “wienie.” This “Monsterland” would only open at night, from dawn to dusk. You would never see it in daylight!

  4. The Fantasic beast area looks like a mini Central Park with the Plaza hotel next to it. I think this is NYC

    1. There’s no fantastic beasts location worth making that’s indoors like that, I’m sure it’s the ministry.

  5. The upper left land has a tower-esque structure to the far left that looks an awful lot like the Weasley’s “Burrow.” In fact, a lot of the structural elements of that land look Harry Potterish. Then that arena beside it could perhaps be some sort of quidditch experience. I would pay good money for this to be true.

  6. Great article. Some thoughts, and things that I thought I could see.

    Is the massive yellow building (to the left of the fountain and near the entrance to classic monster (with the yellow disk buildings and the little ‘creatue statues’ outside), a possible POKEMON attraction. Could it be a Pokemeon GYM? Maybe an immersive game experience, that begins here, but then progresses around parts of the park?

    And on the exact opposite side of the park, The ‘space’ looking building A STAR TREK attraction, with space to expand this theme behind it?

    I think the the MACUSA building is actually a replica of the ‘The Sacre Coeur’ in Paris (which was featured in the opening scenes of Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald ) If so, then yes this puts the setting of this land in Paris, just like the film. The buildings in the art do appear to be Parisian.

    I think the central area, from entrance up to the hotel, could be free entry, and be like a City Walk/Disney Springs space, with shops, bars, reataurants, paid for games/experiences – with park tickets only needed to actually enter the lands through the Epic Universe portals.