Epic Universe timeline: From dragons to butterbeer, here’s how theme park evolved

Disney4me · 2025-05-18T09:00:51Z

Universal’s Epic Universe is a theme park years in the making. Its timeline is filled with rumors, roller coasters, dragons, pandemic and a swig of butterbeer. Here’s how it unfolded.

• 1998: Universal purchases 2,000 acres of property along Sand Lake Road from Lockheed Martin for possible expansion, but in 2003 it sold the land to an Atlanta developer. After a foreclosure, Comcast, the parent company of Universal, bought the property again in 2015.

Universal Studios on Dec. 15, 1998, closed on the purchase of more than 2,000 acres of land in the tourist corridor from Lockheed Martin. (Orlando Sentinel file)

• August 2019: Construction begins.

• Aug. 1, 2019: Universal Orlando confirms it will build Epic Universe on a site that’s visible from the Orange County Convention Center, where the news is announced. It will lead to 14,000 new employees with starting wages of $15 an hour, the company says.

Tom Williams, chairman & CEO Universal Parks & Resorts, answers questions during the press conference in which Universal Studios announced their newest park, Universal's Epic Universe, during a press conference at the Orange county Convention Center in Orlando, on Aug. 1, 2019. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) — Universal Orlando announced Epic with the help of Tom Williams, then chairman & CEO Universal Parks & Resorts, during a news conference at the Orange County Convention Center, on Aug. 1, 2019. Williams retired in 2022. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

• Oct. 24, 2019: Comcast officials say during a quarterly earnings call that Epic could open as soon as 2023.

• January 2020: Comcast executives casually confirm Super Nintendo World as part of Epic Universe.

• April 2020: Construction pauses as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty ramp up. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings says senior Universal officials told him the project would be delayed for a year. In June, the company has about 2,000 layoffs, and in July it scales back Halloween activities for the year. Universal’s Sapphire Falls and Aventura hotels temporarily close Aug. 21.

• March 2021: Super Nintendo World opens at Universal Studios Japan.

• March 2021: Epic Universe construction resumes.

Construction of Universal’s Epic Universe theme park is under way on Jan. 13, 2022. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

• May 2023: Universal raises starting wages to $15 per hour.

• January 2022: NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell says Epic will open “certainly in time for the summer of ‘25.”

• January 2022: Visible structures arise from the construction site.

• August 2022: A roller coaster track is spotted at construction site.

• December 2023: Universal Creative executives, including president Mike Hightower, accept voluntary early retirement packages.

Universal Orlando's Universal Stella Nova Resort, pictured during a preview tour on Jan. 16, features a galaxy-inspired theme, with an exterior adorned with colorful tiles that give a vibrant shine and a cosmic appearance to the resort. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel) — Universal Orlando’s Universal Stella Nova Resort, pictured during a preview tour on Jan. 16, features a galaxy-inspired theme, with an exterior adorned with colorful tiles that give a vibrant shine and a cosmic appearance to the resort. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)

• December 2023: Names for two Epic-adjacent hotels are announced, Terra Luna and Stella Nova.

• February 2023: Super Nintendo World attractions open at Universal Studios Hollywood. Universal Parks & Resorts CEO Mark Woodbury calls the presence of Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe the “worst-kept secret in history.”

• March 8, 2023: Universal Parks & Resorts division, based in Orlando, gets a new name, becoming Universal Destinations & Experiences.

• March 2023: Park’s name (and logo) tweaked from Universal’s Epic Universe to Universal Epic Universe.

Concept art of the Universal Epic Universe front gate in Florida. (Courtesy Universal)

• Jan. 30, 2024: Company announces names of Epic’s lands, including Celestial Park, Dark Universe, Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and, to no one’s surprise, Super Nintendo World. The company identifies the 500-room Helios Grand Hotel as having its own entrance into the theme park.

• May 2, 2024: Universal confirms that Super Nintendo World will include Mario Kart: Bower’s Challenge, Yoshi’s Adventure and Mine-Cart Madness attractions along with Toadstool Cafe.

• May 2024: Universal shifts name of Starfall Racers coaster to Stardust Racers after the name is challenged by Starfall Education Foundation, a website that teaches reading and writing skills to children.

Epic Universe Preview Center opens at Universal CityWalk in June 2024. (Dewayne Bevil/Orlando Sentinel)

• June 2024: Epic Universe Preview Center opens at Universal CityWalk with a large model of park. It’s equipped with augmented-reality effects. Epic-specific merchandise is sold.

• June 20, 2024: Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a major ride within Dark Universe, is touted by the company as “Universal Orlando’s most chilling ride ever.” Curse of the Werewolf roller coaster also is announced.

Rendering of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Ministry of Magic, a land at Epic Universe. The is the exterior for 'Le Cirque Arcanus' show. (Courtesy Universal Orlando) — Rendering of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, a land at Epic Universe. The is the exterior for 'Le Cirque Arcanus' show. (Courtesy Universal Orlando)

• July 31, 2024: Details about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are shared, including a 1920s Parisian setting and a 1990s ride called Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. That thrill ride will have omnidirectional lifts for the “most ambitious, groundbreaking ride Universal has ever created,” a Universal news release says.

It’s revealed – on the birthday of author J.K. Rowling and brainchild Harry Potter – that butterbeer will be on the Epic menu via Bieraubeurre Cart.

• July 31, 2024: Entertainment Weekly reports actor Eddie Redmayne reprises his ‘Fantastical Beasts” role of Newt Scamander in Wizarding World. (Imelda Staunton recorded new scenes as Dolores Umbridge.)

Epic Universe preview: An early walk (and rides) in the park

• Aug. 22, 2024: Universal says select rooms at Helios Grand Hotel will be themed to “How to Train Your Dragon.”

• Oct. 17, 2024: Universal reveals an opening date of May 22, 2025. First tickets are sold, but only as part of a multiday purchase or a hotel package.

• March 2025: Team member previews begin.

• March 2025: In a Hollywood Reporter story, an executive producer confirms the use of drones as dragons in Isle of Berk. “With the drones, it’s more about if you live in a place with dragons, they just exist, so it’s not a show thing. It’s more of ‘I’m in Berk, so of course a dragon is flying overhead,’” says Katy Pacitti.

• April 2025: Annual passholder preview days are held.