Universal Epic Universe: How to Plan Your Trip for the Opening

The much-anticipated Universal Epic Universe is set to open its gates in Orlando, Florida, on May 22, 2025, making it the first new Orlando theme park in more than 25 years.

Here’s what you need to know about scoring Universal Orlando tickets, finding good deals on nearby hotels and making the most of your visit.

Why is Epic Universe so, well, epic?

The new theme park will span more than 50 attractions across five worlds, many themed to popular franchises. Those lands are:

As the grand entryway to Epic Universe, Celestial Park brings the “park” back to theme park with lush gardens, towering fountains and architecture inspired by astronomy and mythology. Rides will include a roller coaster called Stardust Racers and a carousel.

This land is themed to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, which is a spinoff prequel to the Harry Potter franchise.

This new land continues a trend of one Harry Potter-themed land in each of Universal’s Orlando parks. The first land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade, debuted in 2010 at Universal Islands of Adventure. The second land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, opened in 2014.

This new land will resemble 1920s Paris and will include the first full-scale theater show seen in a Harry Potter land. Like other Harry Potter lands, this one will have a wand shop and Butterbeer for sale.

It will also feature a highly anticipated ride called Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. The thrill ride will incorporate characters from the original franchise including Harry Potter and his friends Ron and Hermione.

Based on the film of the same name, this land will take on a Viking aesthetic — with the addition of dragons. Rides will include a water-based boat ride called Fyre Drill where you blast water cannons at targets. Hiccup’s Wing Gliders will be a family coaster (code for a tame roller coaster that doesn’t exceed speeds beyond 45 miles per hour).

Expect interactive experiences and shows, including a stage show called “The Untrainable Dragon” and a spot to meet Hiccup and Toothless, the film’s heroes.

Inspired by the video game, this land will feature meet and greets with popular characters like Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. Expect to see familiar sights from the games like Peach’s Castle, Piranha Plants and spinning coins.

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge will be the centerpiece attraction, blending projection mapping, augmented reality and physical props into a racing-style ride.

A mini-land within Super Nintendo World called Donkey Kong Country will feature its own roller coaster called Mine-Cart Madness.

Dark Universe won’t be tied to a singular franchise but rather all sorts of monsters and myths, such as Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Rides will include a family coaster called Curse of the Werewolf and a slow-moving but scary indoor ride called “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment,” which Universal is calling its “most terrifying attraction yet.”

For now, you can’t just buy a single-day ticket to Epic Universe, even though you can for any of the other three Universal Orlando parks.

The lack of a single-day ticket option is somewhat unconventional — but also not surprising given the enormous interest in the new park. For Universal, it could be a way to increase ticket sales while there’s excitement about the new attractions.

For now, the cheapest way to see Universal Epic Universe is through the three-day, one-park-per-day package which allows you to spend one day at Universal Epic Universe, plus two days at either Universal Studios Florida and/or Universal Islands of Adventure (though once you commit to one park for the day, you can’t hop to another one).

Adult tickets for that package start at $117 per day before tax (just over $350 in total for three days), though kids’ tickets are slightly less. But like many theme parks, Universal employs variable ticket pricing, where high-demand days are more expensive. For example, visiting on opening weekend will cost about $164 per day (so nearly $500 in total).

Universal Studios authorized ticket sellers sometimes sell discount tickets. These include Undercover Tourist, which sells all sorts of theme park tickets including discount Disney tickets.

Discounts aren’t huge, though. While the cheapest three-day ticket package costs $491 (before tax) directly on the Universal Orlando website, Undercover Tourist has the same package for $487.

Other ticket packages are slightly more expensive but offer more flexibility.

Freedom to hop between parks: A pricier version of the three-day ticket allows you to move freely between Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure across two days, with a separate day for Universal Epic Universe. That one starts at about $137 per day.

Water park add-on: This three-day ticket package is largely similar to the aforementioned package, but also includes Volcano Bay water park access. Prices start at about $150 per day.

Hotel packages: Universal’s hotels lineup is robust — and growing (more on those hotels later). Save money by booking a vacation package between now and Dec. 10, 2025. For short stays, the savings are slim — just a $5 discount for two-night stays booked alongside a three-day ticket package. The longer you stay, the more you save. Seven-night stays at a Universal hotel bundled with tickets get you a $200 discount.

Those savings apply to stays between May 22, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2025.

However, the real reason to book a hotel package is less about the savings and more about the benefits of staying at a Universal hotel, such as Early Park Admission, which allows you to access the parks an hour before everyone else.

Guests of Signature Collection hotels receive a complimentary Universal Express Unlimited pass, which allows you to bypass the regular lines at certain rides in Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure.

Annual passes: Annual passes offer access to Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure (a pricier option gets you into the water park, too). Prices start at $425.

The annual pass on its own won’t get you into Universal Epic Universe. But, passholders can purchase up to six one-day tickets to Universal Epic Universe. Tickets are non-transferable, so you can’t buy a ticket and pass it off to a non-passholder.

Again, prices for those one-day tickets vary by day, but start at about $122. Of course, that’s on top of the annual pass.

Hotels near Universal Epic Universe

Universal has 11 hotels that are either currently open or opening soon, including the highly-anticipated Universal Helios Grand Hotel which borders Epic Universe and will open on May 22, the same day as the park.

Universal breaks its hotels into three tiers, which are:

Generally speaking, Signature Collection hotels are the priciest, with rooms frequently going for about $600 per night (and sometimes topping $1,000 per night during busy seasons). They offer themed decor, convenient locations and fancy amenities. Popular Signature Collection hotels include the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, which resembles the seaside village of Portofino, Italy, and the Hard Rock Hotel.

Value Inns and Suites tend to be the cheapest of Universal’s hotels, offering fewer amenities and simpler finishes. Examples of these include Surfside Inn and Suites and Dockside Inn and Suites. During the off-season, room rates go for about $150 per night. Even during busy times, nightly rates typically don’t exceed $300.

Though located on Universal Orlando property and closely affiliated with the theme park, all of the hotels are actually co-owned and operated by Loews Hotels & Co, which is a relatively small, American luxury hotel chain.

Staying at a Universal hotel is almost always better than staying at one off-property. That’s because Universal offers guests a key benefit: early park admission. The ability to enter an hour before official park opening time is a key way to get on popular attractions before the crowds.

Universal is building three new hotels on property, each with an outer space theme.

Two of them, Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort, are sibling properties in the Prime Value Hotels tier. Universal Stella Nova Resort opened in January 2025, with Universal Terra Luna Resort opening on March 25, 2025. Room rates hover in the low $200s during the slow season, and typically don’t exceed $300 per night.

The third hotel, Universal Helios Grand Hotel, is the most-hyped of the three, largely because it’s the only Universal hotel to have its own dedicated entrance to the theme park. In fact, it’s already sold out during its opening weekend on May 22, 2025. Expect theme park views in some rooms and via its rooftop bar. Room rates are typically in the mid-$600s, but sometimes go for less than $500 during the slow season.

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando is part of an American Express hotel booking program called Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR), which is only accessible to card members with The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, The Corporate Platinum Card®, or The Centurion Card®. But, if you hold an eligible card and book Loews Portofino Bay Hotel through FHR, you’ll receive elite status-like benefits including a room upgrade (when available), free daily breakfast for two, a $100 food and beverage credit, plus early check-in (when available) and guaranteed late check-out. Terms apply.

All information about The Corporate Platinum Card® and The Centurion Card® has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The Corporate Platinum Card® and The Centurion Card® are not available through NerdWallet.

Loews Sapphire Falls at Universal Orlando is part of a similar (albeit lesser) American Express program called The Hotel Collection. That program is open to the aforementioned card members, plus American Express® Gold Card Members and American Express® Business Gold Card Members. Booking a minimum two-night stay at Loews Sapphire Falls at Universal Orlando through The Hotel Collection gets you a room upgrade (when available), a $100 property credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa or other resort activities, plus early check-in and late check-out (when available). Terms apply.

Interstate 4 runs through Universal Orlando Resort, making some non-Universal hotels closer to the parks by car or walking path than many of Universal’s own hotels.

Many of these hotels also participate in major hotel loyalty programs, allowing you to exchange points earned through frequent stays or credit card spending for free rooms.

Even if you’ve never stayed in a Hilton before, you can get automatic Hilton elite status as a benefit simply for holding certain Hilton credit cards.

World of Hyatt: For families and travelers who prioritize free breakfast, NerdWallet recommends Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort and Hyatt Place across from Universal Orlando Resort — both of which are adjacent to the Doubletree. These two midtier Hyatt brands offer a sofa bed in addition to the standard beds, plus a free breakfast buffet.

Score free nights through spending on the World of Hyatt Credit Card which is offering the following sign-up bonus: Earn up to 65,000 Bonus Points. Earn 35,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.

All three of those hotels connect to Universal’s property via a pedestrian bridge, allowing guests to avoid crossing an otherwise busy roadway.

An artist rendering offers a preliminary idea of what the Epic Universe map will look like:

Celestial Park will run through the theme park’s core, with the other four lands branching off of it.

Epic Universe is relatively far from the rest of the Universal parks and Universal CityWalk, which is the theme park’s free outdoor entertainment district.

While it’s easy to walk between Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk, it’ll take about 15 minutes to drive from there to Universal’s Epic Universe, which is about three miles south. Universal will run complimentary shuttles connecting the parks and hotels.

Don’t overlook Orlando’s other new attractions in 2025

Epic Universe is certainly the biggest, most hyped addition to Orlando, but it’s not the only new thing coming to the world’s theme park capital this year. Especially because tickets are so limited (a three-day Universal ticket only grants you one day of Epic Universe access), you may want to spend time at other new attractions headed to Orlando in 2025. Highlights include:

Where: Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

The film-inspired theme park is set to get two brand-new stage shows this summer, one themed to “The Little Mermaid” and another themed to Disney’s most infamous villains including Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent called “Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After.”

Where: Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World.

The parade, called Disney Starlight, will mark the park’s first nighttime parade since 2016.

Where: Downtown Orlando’s SODO district.

If you’ve had your sights set on a pickleball vacation, Orlando is your spot. Hamlin House Paddle and Social Club will open as a swanky destination for fans of the sport. Expect indoor and outdoor pickleball courts plus a restaurant.

The city is getting all sorts of experiences and eateries for foodies. Some of the highlights that recently opened:

• Alien Treats: This alien-themed dessert shop in Orlando has space-themed candies like Astro rocks, plus freeze-dried ice cream.

• The Cake Bake Shop Bakery by Gwendolyn Rogers: Located at Disney’s BoardWalk, it’s famous for its fancy (and expensive) cakes, plus afternoon tea service.

• Epilogue: This adult-only speakeasy opened at Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort last October.

• Glass Knife: Already one of Winter Parks’ most popular brunch spots, there’s now a second location in Winter Park, which is a charming Orlando neighborhood.

• Downtown Orlando Food & Art Tour: This tour hosted by Wandering Palm Adventures takes you into art galleries and past outdoor sculptures, with stops at local eateries like Papi Smash’d Burger.

Artist renderings courtesy of Universal Orlando.