The first reviews are in for Universal's new theme park in Orlando, "the GREATEST in the world"

Epic Universe, the third theme park at the Universal Orlando Resort, opens to the public on May 22, 2025, but the media got the opportunity to visit it for the first time last weekend. There's a huge excitement towards this park, the first major theme park to open in Orlando since Islands of Adventure, also from Universal, in 1999. In comparison, the fourth Disney park in Disney World, Animal Kingdom, opened in 1998. So yes, it is a very big deal in the entertainment industry.

A new Universal theme park is always a huge landmark in the theme park industry, and Epic Universe could be the company's best theme park. According to analyst Dennis Speigel, cited on CNN, the park spans 750 acres, which would make it the largest in the world, and has cost around $7.7 billion to build. Inside, four major themed areas await. For families, the highlights may be Super Nintendo World (mimicking the Super Mario and Donkey Kong lands from Japan) and How to Train your Dragon, a huge recreation of Isle of Berk just in time for the live-action movie opening at the same time.

More intriguing for cinephiles is Dark Universe, based on the film's company classic horror movies from the 1920s and 30s, with rides, restaurants, and costumes based on the Werewolf, Frankenstein's Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, Ygor, the Invisible Man...

But the highlight for most guests will probably be the new Harry Potter land, based on the streets of Paris from the Fantastic Beasts movies, and the Ministry of Magic, recreating a huge building, with the ride Harry Potter: Battle at the Ministry rivalling Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for the most technologically advanced dark ride ever.

If you are curious, social media and YouTube is now filled with videos recorded on site, including POV for the largest attractions, like the Harry Potter one, or a similarly ground-breaking The Frankenstein's Experiment, or the largest coaster of the park, StarDust Racers, or... we could write about Epic Universe for hours, but maybe it's better if you see it yourself.