ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida’s first major theme park in 26 years has a lot to offer.
Inspired by the cosmos and powered by intellectual property, the multibillion-dollar Universal Epic Universe is home to over 50 attractions, some of which will easily post hours-long waits when the park opens to the public on May 22.
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With 1-Day preview tickets now on sale to the general public, the queues are becoming all the more crowded.
For many park-goers, not every Epic experience requires waiting to board a popular thrill ride.
Below is a rundown of attractions that don’t all require a long queue or one at all.
Celestial Park
Epic Universe’s original-themed central hub is home to a couple of attractions, but it’s also a place to take in a lush landscape, statues and majestic water fountains.
Celestial Park is the place to end the night, as those fountains will put on a show with music from the themed worlds.
[Watch below of fountains dancing to themes from How To Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk and Dark Universe]
At the center of Celestial Park, kids and guests can cool off at Astronomica.
The interactive water-play area also comes alive at night with light, color and music.
How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk
As Hiccup would say, this village in a word is sturdy (and visually stunning!).
Much of How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk is made up of immense architecture featuring hand-carved details.
There are interactive elements on wooden structures meant to enhance the experience for guests.
Kids can also burn off that Viking-like energy at the Viking Training Camp, a sprawling interactive adventure play area.
Berk is also home to what easily can be considered the best theme park stage show in Central Florida.
Through music, dance and incredible stunts, The Untrainable Dragon will take guests on an unforgettable journey with beloved characters Hiccup, Toothless, Gobber and Astrid as they work together to solve the mystery of The Untrainable Dragon.
For an unforgettable Berk experience, guests can visit the Haddock Paddock to meet-and-greet Hiccup and Toothless and mingle with Astrid and twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic
A new wizarding world at Universal Orlando Resort means wands at the ready.
Not only is there a plethora of places to cast spells at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, but guests can interact with fantastic beasts, engage with enchanted objects in many of the storefront windows and areas throughout the shopping district, Place Cachée.
Guests can also witness spells put on during a show inside a theatre.
Le Cirque Arcanus features live performers and aerialists, puppetry and special effects.
Dark Universe
Classic Universal Monsters have a permanent home in Dark Universe, and residents such as Ygor and The Invisible Man will be seen roaming the crumbling streets of Darkmoor.
A violinist will also occasionally tell the history and folklore of the village through song.
Guests can release their inner monster at the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience.
After leaving the monstrous makeup chair, it’s essential to pose with the legends who inspire the artist’s work, as Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s Monster and the Bride of Frankenstein meet with guests of all ages.
Super Nintendo World
Between the coin sound effects and a vista boasting colors, the larger-than-life video game setting delivers a sensory overload.
A great deal of the Super Nintendo World fun is the interactive gaming element.
Through Power-up Bands, gamers earn coins, keys and stamps at interactive challenges.
Collect three keys (there are five in total), and you’ll be able to enter Bowser Jr.’s hideout for a showdown to win back the Golden Mushroom.
It’s a similar quest in Donkey Kong Country to collect letters that spell out K-O-N-G. All of your progress and rankings can be tracked in the Universal Play feature on the Universal Orlando app.
Inspired by the video game “Donkey Konga,” guests can drum on bongos at Rambi’s Bongo Breakout Challenge. In order to summon Rambi the Rhinoceros out of a wooden crate, guests must create a conga rhythm on the drums.
As for iconic characters, Mario, Luigi, Toad and others are available for photo ops.
Not only does Epic Universe have all kinds of entertainment and attractions, Universal Team Members can be seen having a good time.
[Watch Universal Team Member dance to Donkey Kong theme in video below]