I had completely forgot that while we were in town last year, we took a ride share over to one of the resorts and then explored the Skyliner routes. (Probably the “cheapest” day to spend in Orlando, if you don’t stop and buy food and drink while visiting them đ
I am still going through the VR360 footage and uploading it to my Park Hopping in VR YouTube Channel as time permits:
There are a few nighttime ones taken at Universal Epic Universe in the Dark Universe area of the park. They are pretty cool to watch, even if the low-light quality is pretty poor. It is a much more accurate way to “see” what it is like in that immersive area compared to photos.
I also have a similar on walking through the portal (green pipe) to Super Nintendo World all the way to the entrance to Donkey Kong Country. These, and more, will be showing up soon-ish.
Meanwhile, my submission to Google Street View of the walking path from Stella Nova Resort to the entrance of Universal Epic Universe has been processing for 11 days so far. While it is promising that it did not get rejected the first day, as often is the case (gaps in the GPS signal being the usual suspect), it is bothersome that it is taking this long. I am now bracing for some new error telling me to try again.
Before visiting a new theme park or such, I like to verify what they do or do not allow to be brought in. While Universal Orlando allows selfie sticks, Universal Horror Unleashed Las Vegas does not. This makes me wonder if Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights even allows them. Iâve had mine with me the times I have gone, but we were already in the park. The park may allow them in, but perhaps they stop allowing once they are letting in HHN guests. Does anyone here know?
I reached out to UHU Vegas to clarify something about camera equipment after seeing someone sharing their point and shoot was not allowed in. While no photography is allowed inside the haunted houses at Universal, I saw plenty of cameras and YouTubers there with their cameras.
NOTE: This page is a work-in-progress and will be updated in the next few weeks with videos and more details.
Much like the Garden Walk (see my maps for them here) that connects Universal resort hotels to CityWalk and the theme parks, there is also a walking path from the new Universal Stella Nova Resort to the entrance of the new Universal Epic Universe theme park.
Depending on how fast you walk and whether or not you have to wait for a traffic light, the walk can take about 5 minutes from where you board the bus at the hotel to where the bus drops you off at Epic. The total walk from hotel lobby entrance to park entrance is about 8-10 minutes (again, depending on if you have to wait for the light to change and how fast you walk).
I will have a VR video of the walk available on my Park Hopping in VR YouTube channel soon. (The screenshot above is from the Street View submission.)
I have also uploaded this VR video to Google Street View. If they approve it, it will be live on Google Maps soon, as well. (Currently, Google’s satellite imagery of the area is from during construction but this Street View will still work.)
Photos of the walk
If you want to see it in photo form, I have images in my Universal/SeaWorld photo gallery. They start at the bus pickup spot at the hotel. This may help you see how far the walk is from where you’d get on the bus to where the bus would drop you off:
The walking path follows the road the bus drives on. Both walking pedestrians and the bus have to stop at the same traffic light. The hotel informed us that the walk was quicker than taking the bus, but if you get to the bus stop right when the bus is about to leave, the bus ride could be faster. From what we saw, unless you walk slow, that is really the only case when the bus is faster.
Since the bus will wait for awhile before departing, walking could also let you get to the light and cross the street before the bus even leaves, making the walk considerably faster that the bus.
I just wanted to post this now to get it in the search engines. Check back for more details.
I have a few VR photos and videos taken at Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe. (Yeah, that full description is a mouthful full, innit?)
Many of the photos have already been shared in the Park Hopping in VR Facebook Group in albums:
These videos always take a long time to process, with some reports saying it can take about a week for an “8K” 360 video to be completed. We shall see how it goes this time. Right now, I am just seeing “Video processing is taking longer…” and “Checks still running” messages.
While we wait, here is a boring 30 second reel looking out the Helios Grand Hotel top floor where Bar Helios is located. At least during our visit, anyone was allowed to enter the hotel and go to the lobby level bar as well as the rooftop bar. This view is away from the theme park. Turning around is a short hallway where the elevators are, then it opens into the hosts are to sit you at a table (if you choose) or just let you go sit at the bar or patio.
That video is posted to my non-VR Park Hopping YouTube channel:
And if you think that one is boring, wait until you see my extended video looking around the top floor of Bar 17 Bistro at Aventura hotel đ Michael Bay has nothing to worry about!
Thousands of photos taken last week at Universal Epic Universe have been sorted, and are currently being generated into a gallery. It will take a day or so to get it all complete and uploaded, but they will be in the Universal-SeaWorld gallery:
I have also fixed some mistakes (misspelling of “Sapphire Falls”, having the wrong Water Taxi destination, moving some files to where they need to be), but nothing significant.
There are also new photos from Universal Studios Florida, CityWalk, Islands of Adventure, and resorts such as the new Stella Nova, and visits to Aventura, Hard Rock Hotel, and even Grand Helios Hotel (with its downstairs bar, and upstairs bar). Lots of new stuff in this one.
And Discovery Cove still needs to be sorted, including underwater photos from the SeaVenture uncharge experience.
TL:DNR – Gushing posts about how epic many things in Universal Epic Universe are will be coming. But there are already some maintenance issues that are a bummer to see.
After spending two days visiting Universal Epic Universe within four months of the public opening in May 2025, I find myself comparing it to when I visited Islands of Adventure in November 1999, just six months after that parked opened in May 1999.
I will have about 2500 photos from the new park to add to my Universal/SeaWorld photo gallery in the next week or so. I will also be adding photos from the new Stella Nova hotel, as well as new photos from Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove.
It is clear to me that this park sets new standards in theming and experience. Whereas Disney will occasionally throw in a single high end animatronic (the wicked witch from Great Movie Ride or the one in the Pandora Avatar ride, for example), Universal seems to have only put high end animatronics in their two dark rides – Monsters Unleashed and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. These two rides contain some of, if not the, best animatronics I have ever seen. It seems unlikely Modern Disney(tm) would ever spend that much money in one of their attractions — at least not here in the U.S.A.
Yet, for a park that only opened to the public four months ago, there are already things broken that really shouldn’t be. For example, stairs leading down to the fountain viewing area are roped off due to many cracks…
I fear that “today’s construction” is sub-bar compared to how things were built in the past.
The new “carousel” (calling the Constellation Carousel a “carousel” is doing a disservice to that ride — it is far, far beyond what any of us likely think of when we hear the term “carousel”) already has paint in very bad shape:
There are just two examples, but there were other spots in pavement that had been roped off with similar cracking issues, and areas where the “shiny and new” paint jobs looked like they needed to be redone.
“All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.”
When I visited Islands of Adventure for the first time in 1999, I waited six months after public opening to give the park some time to settle in and get things working. Even then, almost nothing in the park was working the first hour or so on the day of that visit. A few hours in, we managed to ride basically everything in the park that we wanted to. The crowds that November were low and lines were short. Islands of Adventure did not end up being the “Disney killer” many had hoped it would be, in spite of amazing theming in some areas. I still miss the Enchanted Oak Restaurant.
But, during that first visit, we noticed shortcuts. On a “castle” column, there were windows. The outside of the windows was nicely painted, but the edges remained unpainted wood.
At the fancy Enhanced Oak, they had nice menu boards, but no lighting installed yet. Instead, they used some clamp-on lights like you might buy at Home Depot. This clashed with the extremely nice theming of the rest of the establishment.
Pavement that should have been shiny and new had already begun cracking (and not in the intentional way they crack it in places like Lost Continent; it was cracking in places like Toon Lagoon).
There was already mildew (? or something ?) collecting along one of the water rides.
I *think* this may have still been during the years when Disney would brag about changing light bulbs before they were expected to burn out, and would sell you multi-day tickets where unused days would “never expire.”
It was a different time.
But still Epic…
But even with some “the construction company should be fired” issues, the park is indeed Epic. While eleven rides and two shows may not feel like a very big park, when you compare it to the “half-day” parks Disney has opened in the past, it is quite ambitious.
We can’t wait to return. But in the meantime, I’ll get some photos posted, as well as some VR360 video clips, and then break down some things we found most epic about the visit.
But give me a week or so to get caught up from this visit, and get all the photos sorted and videos converted.
As I often point out, my first theme park visits where in the 1970s, including a big family trip to both Disneyland in California and The Magic Kingdom in Florida. Suffice it to say … I’m old and I’ve seen lots of stuff.
I have also become very good at procrastinating. Doing things early often means wasting effort as plans change.
Pack weeks in advance, and if something comes up and cancels the trip? Wasted time.
Get some work task done a month early, then the project gets cancelled? Wasted effort.
Book your Universal Orlando Resort hotels a month or more in advance, then the prices drop? Wasted … money?
A bird in the hand…
I understand why folks want to reserve in advance. That guarantees your seat on the airplane, and the room at the hotel, and the ticket into the new Epic Universe theme park.
If you are anti-procrastination, here are some tips that could save you hundreds of dollars.
Suppose on June 22, 2025, you booked a two-night stay at the new Universal Stella Nova Resort. The cost at that time would have been $358.88.
If you also booked five nights at Universal Aventura Hotel it would have cost you $1167.75.
Your $1526.63 hotel stay is now secured and you can sit back and wait for your vacation… unless you would like hundreds of extra dollars (potentially) back which you could spend to enhance your vacation (or just make it cheaper).
A bit of work can save some bucks…
Don’t stop there. Keep checking your dates at the hotel(s) and if the price drops, call in and request the new rate. For example, as I write this, the same two nights at Stella Nova have dropped to $283.50 – that is $75.38 cheaper!
And Aventura is now $673.89 for the same stay – that is $493.86 cheaper!
This means by just checking the website every so often, and rebooking when rates drop, this trip would cost you $569.24 less than when you booked early.
Let me say that again… $569.24 less!
That savings is more than enough for a $475 one-year Power Pass or come up with a bit extra or so and get the better $630 Preferred Pass.
Or maybe you just use the savings to add some extra days to the trip, or buy more beer.
But … Please note that I do not suggest procrastinating. That is gambling on the price going down, which is not always the case. As we monitor hotel prices, sometimes they go up. I suggest book early if it is a price you are willing to pay, then keep checking and call in each time you see a drop — even if it is just reduced by $10. That may seem small, but that buys you a churro or a soda or two.
Timeline of price drops.
Here is a timeline of the times these two hotel prices changed (we did not check every day so there could have been more):
Aventura price drops
6/22/2025 – $1167.75
7/10/2025 – $1150.88
8/19/2025 – $1121.63
8/21/2025 – $1075.50
8/22/2025 – $1037.25
8/24/2025 – $931.50
8/25/2025 – $916.88
8/26/2025 – $892.13
9/2/2025 – $776.25
9/4/2025 – $700.88
9/5/2025 – $673.89
Stella Nova price drops
6/22/2025 – $358.88
7/10/2/2025 – $329.63
9/2/2025 – $318.38
9/4/2025 – $283.50
…and there may even be some more drops. If so, I will update this page.
And as you can see, those who don’t procrastinate and book early, but do not follow up and check for price drops, may be paying alot more than those of us that wait until the last minute đ
Unless things are really busy and selling out, in which case the prices are very unlikely to do anything but increase.
Yep, dozens of visitors still end up at this blog! Huzzah.
I am a bit late on this update, but if you compare the Top 10 articles of 2023 to this year, you will see something interesting. It appears this site is slowly attracting Silver Dollar City visitors. This makes me happy, since this is a park I knew basically nothing about. I had visited one time as a teenager in 1984, then finally got back in 2024. Since it is just a âshortâ 6-hour drive down the road, I am now kicking myself for not making the trip sooner. It is far more affordable than most of the other theme parks I have visited.
Anywho, here is the list of the Top 10 most-viewed from 2024.
If you would have told me, even ten years ago, that I would be an annual passholder that goes to Universal Orlando Resort instead of Walt Disney WOrld, I would never have believed you. Yet, here we areâŚ
The game is/was Disneyâs to lose. Many DisneyFans such as myself have been beaten down so much by vacation spreadsheeting, daily scheduling and price increases (as well as long lines, because whatever Disney does, we seem to roll with it and line up for it) that we have started looking for more relaxing âhigh energyâ theme park vacations.
And believe me, hanging out at Universal Studios Florida during Mardi Gras enjoying food booths, the parade and tons of street entertainment turns out to be a very relaxing way to spend vacation dollars. (Sadly, we are missing Mardi Gras this year due to lack of budget for such a trip.)
My point is: I am clearly on the pro-Universal Orlando Resort side these days.
Three Theme Parks!
Universal takes alot of flack from theme park fans for stating that it has three âtheme parks.â Sure, Volcano Bay may be organized like a theme park with themed areas and decorations, but to most of us, it is a water park â not a theme park. Water parks can be as themed as you want, but if I am wearing a swimsuit and going underwater, I do not consider that a theme park. Do you?
If you do, then Walt Disney World used to have seven theme parks, I guess, since it had Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disneyâs Hollywood Studios and Disneyâs Animal Kingdom, as well as three water parks.
Now, with the upcoming opening of Epic Universe, I suppose Universal will be saying it has four theme parks.
But I digressâŚ
Immersion!
There is a new extended promo video for Epic Universal. It is very well done:
About the only thing I would have changed is the scene with the kid on the Mario Kart ride. That makes it look like you go somewhere and put on a VR helmet, rather than being an actual physical ride where you get on a vehicle that moves through sets.
Then there is thisâŚ
The worlds of Epic Universe are:
Dark Universe – an immersive area of spooky structures and Frankensteinâs castle. All the preview footage looks amazing. This looks like it has the level of detail the Harry Potter areas have.
Isle of Berk – this land is based on a computer animated movie, so the âlookâ is more cartoonish. It looks like it will be far more immersive than Toon Lagoon (with all the flat comic book images) and Marvel Superhero Island (with all the flat graphic novel images). I do not think anyone will feel like they are âinâ a cartoon, but certainly will be immersed in the imagery of the cartoon.
Super Nintendo World – much like Isle of Berk, this one will have videogame-ish imagery. You wonât feel like you are in a ârealâ place, but you will be surrounded by live action versions of things you have only seen on your Nintendo on TV.
Ministry of Magic – if the previous two Harry Potter areas are any indication of the quality of this land, this will also be a fully immersive area where â if it were not for the trash cans and other clues â you might feel like are in a part of Paris of the time period the film is set.
âŚ.and I count four immersive worlds. Because the fifth area is apparently:
Celestrial Park – the entrance area of the park, with restaurants and shopping, and a water fountain show. There will also be a carousel and roller coaster.
But how immersive does this land look? Does it make you feel like you are in another world? If this had been built as an expansion to the existing Citywalk, would it fit in there? I suspect it would, though the entire area will have a consistent look of colors and decorations.
But I do not find anything about it, via promo videos or construction footage that makes me consider it anywhere near the same category of a Harry Potter land.
I get marketing. But sometimes it feels like marketing may just set people up to be disappointed. Imagine the Disney folks who hear that Universal has âthree theme parksâ so they give it a try only to find it has two, plus a fancy swimming park.
Does referring to Celestial Park in the same category of âimmersive worldsâ as Ministry of Magic work for you?
As I mentioned in my previous post, I feel that Universal could have blown people away by having the entrance area be on-par with something like the Harry Potter areas â or at least something as well detailed and unique as Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure.
Perhaps it is intentional. You walk through Citywalk and then go into Epic Citywalk and then ⌠get transported to a truly unique world through a portal.
Much like the generation before mine has a different perspective, those of us that have been experiencing the evolution of theme parks (in my case, since the early 1970s) have a different perspective than “the kids today” on what the future looks like.
We are now just months from the opening of Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando. Like you, I have some thoughts — possibly predictions — based on a lifetime of theme park experience and observation. This, of course, does not make them any more than guesses, but it is still fun to write about. đ I encourage you to do the same. If you can type (or dictate), you can have a blog. Consider starting one and sharing your thoughts, too!
Epic Universal “predictions”
The entrance area is not a theme park. The park’s “Main Street” is Constellation Park. This area has a style, but not really a theme (there is a different between theming and decorating). To me, it looks like it will be Epic CityWalk … just with a carousel and roller coaster added. It will be the least interesting first impression of the three Universal parks there. I would have expected them to try to outdo the immersive Port of Entry over at Islands of Adventure. Or, better yet, something as immersive as the existing Harry Potter lands. Imagine stepping into that versus “hey, there’s a pizza place, and there’s a bar, and we can get seafood there.”
Admission sold separately. There are four concierge booths — one outside each of the lands. Parks don’t build things unless they need to (restrooms) or if they make money (snack bars, gift shops, restaurants). The parks “need” First Aid, but you won’t find a first aid office in each land of the existing parks. If you trip and have a bleeding knee in Marvel Superhero Island, you have to waddle your way over to Lost Continent to get a bandage. This makes me think there are plans to use them for income, such as as ticket booths for each land. You could pay to get in to the main CityWalk area of the park, then pay to enter specific lands. (Now that Epic CityWalk makes even more sense, doesn’t it?) Indeed, years ago there was speculation this is why they were designing the parks like this — disconnected lands, one entrance and exit. However, opening like that might not make sense to anyone who has ever been to any other large theme park in America. Thus, we get a “normal” theme park experience — for now. I predict that could change, especially if the park does not meet expectations. They might end up having one “low” price to enter the park, and then you could pay to get in to the land(s) you really want. (Think of all the Harry Potter fans that are dying to see the new Potter area, but have zero interest in How To Train Your Dragon.) Disney has nothing like this.
2025 visits will be special. While Disney continues to spiral (even with huge lines and sold out $75 popcorn buckets), Universal is going “full steam ahead.” But are they? Entertainment has been cut at the existing parks. Street characters removed. Events scaled back. You can find broken effects and rides that have needed updating for years. “They are just using the money for Epic.” But, without committing to keeping things looking good and running good, the same will likely happen to Epic. Early visitors will see the park shiny and new, then paint will fade in the Florida sun and possibly not get repainted for a decade. Menu items that do not prove popular will be removed (I suspect the “blood” on the meals in Dark Universal may not last). Ride effects may prove troublesome and break and not be repaired, or just be shut off (Yeti, anyone? Indiana Jones “collapsing” ceiling and “three tunnels” effects, etc.). The same might happen with street characters, stage shows and other entertainment. It is therefore very important to see this park as soon as you can.
Later visits will be special. Things will break down. Things will not work. Going early will not give the “full” effect of the park. Visiting months later, or next year, will likely provide a more full experience. This is problematic for me. Initially I wanted to be there in the masses for the first public day, just to say “I was there”. I skipped the opening of Animal Kingdom, showing up later in the year, and missed out on the “boat ride” that was shut down quickly. I learned from this. When Disney’s California Adventure opened, I scheduled a trip 10 days after opening. I avoided the crowds (which never appeared) and hoped the park would be running a bit smoother a week in. This worked out well and I still managed to see the bee bodies that were only there my first day in the park then removed (to never return) later in that week. Had I waited much longer, I would be like most folks who never knew they existed.
And so on…
Islands of Adventure was supposed to be the park that would outdo Disney, but it did not really do much. As a lifelong Disney fan, I visited Universal the year before IoA opened and explored the preview center, and then returned on opening year to see it. That park opened at the end of May, and I visited six months after that. Our single day in the park, starting at “rope drop”, had us ride everything within a few hours (and that does not count the first hour where we walked around the entire park and most things were down, or had not started running yet). It was not an epic experience — so let’s hope Universal has learned alot about park operations in the past 26 years.
And pay no attention to the downtime Hagrids and many other new rides have had when they first opened. I would be shocked if we didn’t see extensive downtime on the Dark Universe and Harry Potter rides during initial weeks (or even months) of operation.
Set your expectations properly, get out there as soon as you can, and plan to return 6 months or a year later — and then we’ll know how epic Epic Universe is.
And, well, if I just happen to get a good deal on a flight, I may end up in the opening days/weeks crowds just to say “I was there.”
It should be an epic experience unlike anything we’ve seen before. Warts and all.
