Epic Universe, the newest theme park at Universal Orlando Resort, opened in May 2025. I'm Stacey Haines of Stacey Vacations, a Florida-based travel agent who visits the Orlando parks weekly or bi-weekly, and I plan Universal and Disney trips at no fee — suppliers pay my commission, not you.
A brand-new theme park does not come along very often, and this one has been the talk of Central Florida for months. Living in Winter Haven means Orlando is my backyard, so I have been watching this opening closely — and the planning questions started arriving in my inbox long before the gates did.
What is Epic Universe, exactly?
Epic Universe is Universal Orlando's newest theme park, built around five themed worlds: Celestial Park at the center, Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe. Each world has its own rides, dining, and atmosphere, and the park sits on its own campus a short drive from the original Universal parks.
That last detail matters for planning. Epic Universe is not a walk across a plaza from Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure — you will want to think about transportation and how you split your days.
Should you add Epic Universe to a Disney trip?
For a lot of my families, yes — but not as an afterthought. A new park this size deserves a full day, and squeezing it into an already-packed Disney itinerary usually means everyone comes home exhausted. When I build an Orlando trip now, the first conversation is about pacing: how many park days you actually want, where the rest days go, and which resort puts you closest to the parks you care about most.
If Harry Potter or Nintendo is the reason your kids want to go to Orlando in the first place, it may even make sense to anchor the trip around Universal and visit Disney second. There is no single right answer — it depends on your family, which is exactly why I start with questions instead of a package.
How do you plan it without the guesswork?
Demand for a brand-new park is real, so plan earlier than you normally would. Ticket options, park admission rules, and hotel availability around a major opening can shift, and that is the part I watch for you. Because I am in the parks regularly, my recommendations come from walking the place — not from a brochure.
Where you stay matters more on a multi-park trip, too. An Orlando vacation that mixes Epic Universe with the original Universal parks and Disney World involves three different campuses, and the wrong hotel choice means your vacation happens on a highway. I match the resort to the itinerary, not the other way around.
Tell me your dates, your crew, and your budget, and I will build the Orlando trip around what is actually true on the ground right now. My planning is free when you book through me, for Universal, Disney, and everything in between. Orlando just got bigger — let me make sure your trip gets better, not just busier.