Epic Universe tickets on sale: When you can see “Harry Potter” stars reprise their roles in Universal's new theme park

Universal Orlando Resort opens Epic Universe on May 22. Find out where to get tickets and all the details on five new lands, from "Harry Potter" to Super Nintendo.

After nearly six years of construction, months of teasing new lands based on the Harry Potter movies, Nintendo icons, legendary monsters, dragons, and more, Universal Epic Universe tickets are on sale ahead of the new theme park's opening date at the Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal has thus far promised that the new destination will "put the 'park' back in 'theme park,'" with the heavily landscaped resort expansion drawing inspiration from astrological and mythological aesthetics as it welcomes guests to visit five distinct lands incorporating characters, environments, and other recognizable features lifted from movies, video games, and more.

Related: Universal Orlando hides Kenan Thompson in concept art for new theme park land

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Before Epic Universe opens at the top of 2025, read on for Entertainment Weekly's guide to everything you need to know about the park before booking a visit, from ticket information to an outline of all the new rides, lands, and hotel offerings headed to Orlando's newest theme park.

When does Epic Universe open?

After first announcing the park in early 2019, Universal has confirmed that Epic Universe will open on May 22, 2025, following slight delays in construction due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Upon opening, Epic Universe will become the Universal Orlando Resort's third theme park and fourth park overall, joining both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure as well as the resort's waterpark, Volcano Bay.

When do Epic Universe tickets go on sale?

Select tickets for Universal Epic Universe went on sale beginning Oct. 22. Currently, the Universal Orlando Resort offers only multi-day tickets to its other properties bundled with a one-day entry pass to Epic Universe (there is also an option for each level to add access to the Volcano Bay waterpark).

According to a press release, the first slate of options for multi-day tickets are as follows:

• 3-Day Ticket: enjoy two days of access to Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure, plus one separate day admission to Universal Epic Universe.

• 4-Day Ticket: enjoy three days of access to Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure, plus one separate day admission to Universal Epic Universe.

• 5-Day Ticket: enjoy four days of access to Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure, plus one separate day admission to Universal Epic Universe.

Second, according to the release, guests can receive a $200 savings if they book a seven-night vacation package that includes:

• A five-day ticket that includes four days of access to Universal Studios, Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Volcano Bay, plus a separate day admission to Universal Epic Universe.

• Seven-night hotel accommodations at one of Universal Orlando’s 11 resorts.

• Early park admission for Universal Epic Universe, Universal Volcano Bay, and either Universal Studios Florida or Universal Islands of Adventure up to one hour before the park opens.

Another option is available to Universal Annual Passholders beginning Thursday, Oct. 24. Passholders will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase single-day tickets to Epic Universe before they go on sale to the general public.

General on-sale dates for single-day Epic Universe tickets have yet to be announced.

What themed areas are planned for Epic Universe?

Epic Universe is divided into five distinct themed lands, four of which are tied to films and video games. Guests enter each land through "portals" of entry — themed tunnels that transport visitors from the park's hub and into distinct environments.

Upon entering the park through Epic Universe's signature Chronos entryway, guests find themselves inside Celestial Park, a lush, heavily landscaped gateway from which the other four lands branch off from. Featuring several rides (including Stardust Racers, a massive dueling steel coaster) and immersive restaurants, Celestial Park is tied together by greenery, architecture, and water features boasting an astrological and mythological aesthetic.

On the left, the iconic green pipe takes guests into Super Nintendo World, which recreates fan-favorite locales from the Mario video game franchise, including Super Mario Land, where they can live out their speed-demon fantasy on the Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge interactive ride. Among other experiences featuring Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and more, Super Nintendo World also offers the additional Donkey Kong Country, where you can ride the technologically advanced, boundary-pushing Mine-Cart Madness roller coaster that simulates Donkey Kong's mine carts jumping off of the track along the thrill ride's course.

Beyond that is Dark Universe, a year-round spooky section drawing inspiration from classic Universal Monsters like the Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Invisible Man, The Gill-man, the Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula's wives, and more. Set amid the gloomy, foreboding village of Darkmoor, Dark Universe also brings movie moments from Universal's past to life for the first time — particularly at the jaw-dropping Burning Blade Tavern restaurant, nestled underneath a giant flaming windmill (much like the one seen in the 1931 film Frankenstein). Between riding the Curse of the Werewolf spinning coaster and meeting monsters throughout the land, the marquee attraction here is Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Billed as an intense indoor adventure, Monsters Unchained stars the gender-flipped Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, marking a departure from the character's original iteration as a man in both Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein novel and Universal's 1931 movie, as she guides visitors through her manor after many threatening monsters break free from their containment.

Toward the right of Celestial Park is the family-oriented How To Train Your Dragon – Isle Of Berk, based on the How to Train Your Dragon film series. With the most rides of any Epic Universe land, Isle of Berk takes guests on journeys both thrilling (the launched roller coaster, Hiccup's Wing Gliders) and mild (Fyre Drill, an interactive aqua attraction equipped with water guns). The show's central show will be The Untrainable Dragon, which features a huge dragon figure flying over the audience's heads. Also captured on camera over the summer were large, independently flying dragon figures soaring through the sky over Epic Universe, though that's yet to be confirmed as a daily offering at the park.

Finally, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic expands Universal's footprint in the themed Harry Potter space, with Islands of Adventure previously opening its Hogsmeade area in 2010, followed by Universal Studios Florida's Diagon Alley in 2014. This land, however, is set to feature characters from two different Harry Potter film series: both the main films and the Fantastic Beasts movies starring Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne. EW previously exclusively confirmed that Redymane would reprise his role as Newt Scamander for scenes throughout the upcoming Epic Universe land, while Universal later announced that Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton also returned to film new scenes as her character, Dolores Umbridge, for the area's premier ride, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

Unique to this Harry Potter land, the story fuses the timelines from the eight main Harry Potter films with the three Fantastic Beasts movies, with the respective stories unifying on a huge plot of land spanning 1920s Paris and 1990s London. Universal visitors will be able to move between both worlds using the Métro Floo transportation network, giving fans a chance to experience the Floo Network for themselves.

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry utilizes never-before-implemented ride technology taking travelers on an omnidirectional adventure through sprawling environments in vessels that move up, down, forward, backward, and sideways along one of the company's "most impressive attractions to date," according to a press release. The attraction's narrative places us on a trip from Paris (where the entire land is set) to the British Ministry of Magic for Umbridge's trial, which visitors enter through the organization's grand atrium (as seen in the Potter films), though Umbridge ultimately escapes. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), and a house elf named Higgledy eventually accompany riders along the pursuit of Umbridge — though it has yet to be revealed whether or not the main trio of stars filmed new scenes for the attraction as well.

What hotels are near Epic Universe?

Not only are hotel accommodations located near Epic Universe, there's even a hotel that's worked into the very layout of the park itself.

The park's centerpiece backdrop is the Grand Helios hotel, built with around 500 guests rooms — many of which offer idyllic views of the park below. The hotel also has its own dedicated entrance for guests, and is situated just north of one of Epic Universe's main water features, where a show is set to dazzle guests.

Other, more affordable hotels currently under construction in the Epic Universe area include the Stella Nova Resort and the Terra Luna Resort, more budget-friendly (but still themed), celestially tinged stays featuring 750 rooms (and a pool) each.

Where is Universal Epic Universe located?

Epic Universe is located approximately four miles south of the main Universal Orlando Resort hub, which is about a 15-minute drive from where Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay, hotels, and the CityWalk retail area are located. The park even has its own road, Epic Boulevard, outside its gates, which is accessible by traveling south via Universal Boulevard or Kirkman Road.

With the influx of traffic, a new circular road directly connecting the main Universal Orlando Resort area with Epic Universe is also currently under construction.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.