EPIC Universe Overview | Episode 90

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hey everybody. Welcome back to another awesome episode of the Mouse Ears Podcast. Thank you for joining us this week we are your go to source for all things travel, but mostly Disney. Sponsored by the wonderful company of Fairy Tale Journeys Travel, where whether you're a first time visitor or you're a pro at the parks, we're here to bring you the latest news, insider secrets and fun stories from the happiest and most magical places on earth. Make sure you give us a like and follow on whichever platform you may be watching or listening to us. And don't forget to check out themoustersblog.com where we dive even deeper into Disney tips, trip planning and all of the park magic in one location. Now let's take this epic jump into today's episode. Why? Because the magic starts right now. Let's go. Hello everybody. Welcome back to the PAL Series podcast. We're excited to be here. Thank you for joining us for yet again another awesome episode. Today's topic or this week's topic? [00:01:29] Speaker B: This month? [00:01:30] Speaker A: Not really a week. It's more of a month, y'all. It is Epic month here on the Mouse Ears blog and podcast. Why we have Epic Universe opening up. Today is Thursday, May 1st, y'all. 21 days until the official, official grand opening of Universal Orlando's Epic Universe. I know I can't talk apparently. What am I doing here? [00:01:57] Speaker B: We should make this into a sticker. Official year's official stamp of approval. [00:02:07] Speaker A: So before we get into saying other than both, we gotta have that before we get into all of that epic stuff. We are. I think it's Brooks we're going to head over to for today's trivia question. Brooks, take it away. [00:02:22] Speaker C: Why, thank you, Kelton. Today's trivia question is brought to you by Fairytale Journeys Travel. Next time you want to book a Disney cruise, let the agents at Fairy Tale Journeys Travel take care of all the details for a stress free experience at no extra cost to you. When you book with them, not only do you get expert advice, but you can also receive up to $1,000 of onboard credit. This offer is exclusive only to bookings made with Fairy Tale Journeys Travel. So contact them today and let them know that the podcast sent you and enjoy a magical Disney cruise getaway. Today's trivia question in honor of Epic is an epic trivia question. [00:03:08] Speaker B: I see what you did there. [00:03:09] Speaker C: Yes, we're going to go to the Wizarding world of Harry Potter and maybe even Fantastic Beasts and where to find them? Which mischievous magical creature known for his love of shiny Objects and its adorableness made a cinematic debut in Fantastic Beasts. And where to find them is rumored to be found throughout the Ministry of Magic Land at Universal's Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida. Stay tuned to the end the episode to find out or dig out your books and read and find out. Now back to you, Kelton. [00:03:52] Speaker A: Thank you, Brooks. I've always wondered, where do we find them in the title? And nobody will tell us. Apparently you gotta read the book. Did you guys, did y'all like, wow, talking about getting old back in the day, did y'all wait in line at the Walmart when the Harry Potter books came out, like the midnight releasing? [00:04:18] Speaker C: Yes, I did. [00:04:18] Speaker A: Anybody if anybody else did you know I watched movies. You waited in line at the Walmart for the movies? [00:04:24] Speaker B: Not at Walmart, but the movie theater. I was there premiere night Thursday, decked out in a robe. Yes, I wore my Harry Potter robe. Robe, My makeshift wand. We were there. We were there. [00:04:40] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:04:41] Speaker C: In honor of Elise, I did both. [00:04:45] Speaker A: Both. [00:04:46] Speaker C: Both. [00:04:47] Speaker A: Absolutely. Well, we have a lot to get through here. We're going to try to now try being the keyboard here. We're going to try to do a brief over overview. [00:05:00] Speaker B: Wow, who believes in us? [00:05:02] Speaker A: Brief? I mean, so here's my thing, okay. I mean, we've tried to do brief overviews in the past and they always turn out to be two parters. I'm going to stop talking about it. We're going to dive in right now. So, of course, Epic Universe in Orlando, Universal's actual technically fourth theme park, open it up the 22nd of May of this year. So we got to talk about, of course, why is this such, like, why are we thinking It's a big game changer for the theme parks within Orlando. We're also going over, you know, the lands, attractions and shows, food, characters, hotels, my favorite transportation. And of course, we're going to kind of tell you what's going to be coming along because we're going to take an even deeper dive into all of that. But first, and really, second, kind of a quick tidbit here. This would have been a great, like bonus, bonus, bonus trivia question. But actually, Epic Universe is Universal's largest US theme park, spanning a whopping 750 acres. But did you all know the cost from groundbreaking to I would assume now being Thursday, May 1, $7 billion. Can you imagine all of that money put into that? [00:06:44] Speaker B: I mean, I can't imagine the size. Like, to me, it's like no, Animal kingdom will always be the largest. Right. But I Am very intrigued by this because I feel like that has to include the land where the hotel. Because it's not just the theme park. Right. Like, are we talking about Helios and that area, too? Is it like the South Campus as a whole? Because that's. That's now how Universal is divided. For those of you that don't know, you've got North Campus, where you've got Universal as you knew it, and everything that's new that we will be discussing, that's now considered the South Campus. So I'm curious, is the 750 just the park or that whole area? I don't know. [00:07:34] Speaker A: I'm wondering. I'm wondering if it's the park. Helios and then Stella Luna. Right. Stella Nova Terra Luna. [00:07:43] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:44] Speaker A: You know, I think that's. I'm. That's kind of what I'm wondering. [00:07:48] Speaker B: Still interesting tidbit. [00:07:50] Speaker A: It absolutely is. So at this point, Steph, why don't you go ahead and take us into just kind of start the overview glance of what Epic Universe is? [00:08:03] Speaker B: Sure, I'd be more than happy to. So what is Epic Universe? If you don't know, where are you living? [00:08:14] Speaker A: Have you been living under a rock? [00:08:18] Speaker B: So basically, like Kelton said, it is Universal's fourth theme park. Yes, Universal does count Volcano Bather Water park as their third. So it is their fourth theme park. And, and I mentioned it is located in the South Campus campus, which is about 12 to 15 minutes from the existing resort. Theme park does have an exclusive entrance from the Helios Grand Hotel, but it also has another entrance for every other guest traveling to Epic Universe. And it's very unique in that way to have two different access points. Universal does not have that with a resort giving you that special access per se, But Epic Universe does have freight. Five Lands, which we will be discussing today briefly. And then we will do a deeper dive into each of these five Lands. But the five lands you can expect do include Celestial Park. Oh, wait, yes, that is part of my section. Sorry. We've got five Lands, Celestial park, which is the central hub with a cosmic theme featuring gardens, fountains, and a dueling roller coaster. Also a carousel, and we'll discuss rides later on. But I really like this. I think this is a completely different concept. I don't think anyone was expecting a Celestial park, so that was kind of inspiring. I guess it's like, really takes you into this mindset of you're going somewhere else otherworldly. And that's exactly what happens at Epic Universe with all these different Lands. So to be able to have that, you know, trigger with the central hub as soon as you walk in I think is phenomenal. Then you have Super Nintendo World, a vibrant video game like Land with Mario and Donkey Kong attractions. You got meet and greets, you've got quick service, you've got interactive entertainment. Really, really cool. Jen's not on today, but she would have absolutely loved to have talked about Super Nintendo World, which is why we're doing an overview and doing a deep dive when she is available because she's got a lot to say since she already did one of the previews. Third Land is the Dark Universe. I think the name speaks for itself. It is a monster themed area inspired by Universal classic monsters such as Frankenstein, Werewolf. Who else am I missing? I don't know. But anyways, Dracula. Thank you. Then you've got the very, very popular the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Ministry of Magic is a magical journey. It takes guests through a magical journey between 1920s Paris and 1990s London, tying in the well known Harry Potter characters and introducing Newt Scamander and his fantastic beast piece from those movies. Lastly, we have how to train your dragon. Isle of Burke. My personal. I don't know the one I'm looking forward to the most. I think you are too, Brooks. Right? Perhaps. And that is a Viking true. That is a Viking village filled with dragons. More to come on what that actually means. So you know, Epic Universe, it really is bringing in a new element of technology, a innovative theme park experience, not like what we've had before. It is really a step up from what we've been hearing. It has something for absolutely everyone. And Universal might have been lacking in the past with having enough to do for littles. This park brings everything, all of it, onto the table. So that's why we're so excited to talk about it because there really is so many details, so many things to do. Try taste. See that really we couldn't do this park justice to talk about all of it in great detail with just one podcast episode to kind of tie up, you know, Epic Universe at a glance. I got a bonus trivia question for you guys and it's really not so much a bonus, it's more like a hello. A little bit of information. In total, Epic Universe will feature five distinct themed lands, as I've mentioned, four of which branch off from the central hub of Celestial Park. But unlike Universal's Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios, what unique design feature will Epic Universe use to allow guests to enter each land without needing to Re enter through a central lagoon or hub every time. I know the wording is a little bit weird, but the answer is portal gates. Each land is entered through massive themed portals that act as an immersive transition zone. Once inside a land, guests are fully enclosed in that environment with no, no visual sight lines back to the rest of the park, making each world feel self contained and cinematic. So you've probably seen from pictures if you have seen anything about Epic, basically it almost looks like a half a circle with like a tower on top. And it's become like this iconic, you know, statue of sorts that you'll see for each of these lands as soon as you walk in to Epic Universe. Nintendo Dark Universe, Ministry of Magic, Alan Burke. It has become the signature. I mean, your social medias will be flooded come May 22 with images of these icons. But I really do like this because it really gives you like almost like that video game feel, like you're going through the web and then boom, you're dropped into this brand new land and you're being transported. Whoever came up with that? I mean, applause. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Genius. [00:14:27] Speaker B: A round of applause. Because that is really cool. Because if you do think about it, I, when I read that, I kind of tried to put myself into islands of adventure and you're just kind of like walking and things just eventually transition, like just, oh, okay, all of a sudden I'm into the, you know, the, the toon area. No, this. You are going to be completely like transfixed mind, body and soul into a transition to drop you to wherever it is that the incredible geniuses behind Epic Universe want you to be. [00:15:06] Speaker A: So I think they took what Disney has done with some of their parks and especially the Magic Kingdom, creating a real hub and spoke system there and then on top of that, like going through the portals. Now, Disney is very well known for making sure you're immersed in the land. But Universal said, hold my butterbeer. We're gonna completely take it to where you don't see anything except that land. And it from the photos and videos I've seen, they have done a wonderful. So really a big, big props to Universal and all of their team members for that one. [00:15:57] Speaker B: Yeah, completely agree. So on that note, Brooks, why don't you talk to us, to us onto the audience about some of the rides. Traction is things that the guests going to Epic can experience or hope to experience. [00:16:12] Speaker C: Well, I would be happy to. So there is a lot to do at Epic Universe. It offers over 50 experiences amongst the five lands with 10 plus rides and attractions in Each land, which is insane. So it's not just one or two things to do. They've set it up to where you can. I think they're, they're trying to set this up to where you're gonna need more than one day to do everything at Epic. But you know, like with each of the parks at Disney, there's, there are standout rides in each of the lands. One that in the celestial park that everyone I feel like is talking about is Stardust Racers, which if you don't know about that ride, is a dual tracked racing coaster reaching 62 miles an hour. And it's Universal's longest roller coaster. And just seeing the rides like, like the ride alongs, both of them going at the same time and like weaving through and everything, it looks absolutely incredible. And I've heard people say that it's like it is one of, if not the best ride at all of Universal. If you go over to Super Nintendo World, there's two that I'm super excited about. The Donkey Kong country roller coaster. I've talked about that multiple times on this podcast. But another one I want to highlight is the Mario Kart Bowser's Challenge. They also have this one at Universal Hollywood. But is an augmented reality dark ride for interactive racing fun? I mean, raise your hand if you grew up playing Mario Kart. I from Super Nintendo on playing Mario Kart and now you actually get to live it. That's incredible. And I would say this, this is one of the rides that, you know, when they announced all the part when they announced all the lands, I kind of wondered about Dark Universe. I was like, okay. All the others, like seem incredible, that one. But the more I read about it, like it's almost between that and Isle of Burke are the two ones I'm most excited to see. Just to see all the immersion. But the ride that everyone's talking about at Dark Universe is the monsters unchanged. The Frankenstein Experiment. It's a chilling dark ride featuring Dracula, Wolfman and more. Again, I've heard nothing but phenomenal things about that ride. I would say any of them. I haven't really heard bad things about the rides. Yeah, yeah, I know. I think we've talked about a little bit. You know, people have said that there seems to be kind of delays with the previews. Well, it's a preview. They're working out the kinks for the opening. And at the Ministry of Magic, you have Harry Potter and the Battle. At the Ministry, it's a motion based ride with omnidirectional Elevators chasing Dolores Umbridge. We need to catch her. [00:20:01] Speaker A: She needs to go on trial. [00:20:02] Speaker C: I mean, if I had a choice between her and he who Must Not Be Named. I mean, no's list can go free. I'd rather have her locked up. [00:20:14] Speaker A: Wow, that's saying something. [00:20:20] Speaker C: I was not a fan of her. I don't know if anyone. Anyway, going on, we're going to take a magical ride into the Isle of Burke with hiccups, Wing gliders is a family friendly roller coaster simulating dragon flight. And you know, it's not just rides, there's meet and greets. Attractions like you get to meet by all the drag, unlike most of the dragons, you get to meet Toothless. I mean, again, there's just so many things. And what's nice about it is it's not just thrill rides. Because I feel like for years people would talk about with Universal. Well, there's a. There's a lot of thrill rides, but there's, you know, it doesn't cater to the younger kids. And that's something that you've seen in the last several years that Universal has started to do. It's not just a teenager up park, it's a park for the whole family. But they have thrill rides, they have family coasters, they have interactive experiences, like not just meet and greets, the makeup experience that over in Dark Universe, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo for adults, that's definitely the first of its kind offering that. But literally they have again, just put so much thought into it to make sure there is literally something for everyone. If you want the ip, they have stuff for that. If you want something totally original, they created a totally original land not associated with any of their ips, to bring something new. It seems like they thought of everything. They've put a lot of thought. And being able to do being landlocked too is incredible. [00:22:28] Speaker A: And I see, I think that's where I give Universal Orlando the biggest props. [00:22:35] Speaker C: Is they get all the flowers. [00:22:37] Speaker A: They get all of them. Because with being so landlocked with the first two parks and then figuring out how to build Volcano Bay and then they did it again to build the south campus. Yeah, they're doing it. They are doing it. [00:22:59] Speaker C: And I mean, I've heard that. And again, this could be rumors. Like they left some open too for like potential expansions too. Like a lot of people have talked about already them thinking about doing Wicked. Like, I've heard that's a huge room. I've heard a lot of rumors about Wicked, but you're right. [00:23:21] Speaker A: They did leave a lot. They did leave some space to add more lands into this park, which I think is great. [00:23:30] Speaker C: Yeah, good fun, universal. But there's not just rides and attractions. We're going Kelton, I think take it away. One of our most favorite things to talk about food and dining. [00:23:44] Speaker A: We do love talking about food and dining on this podcast. So we've got everything for food. From the French inspired dishes over in the Wizarding World Ministry of Magic to your hearty Viking type of food fair in Isle of Bourke. There are restaurants all over this park. And if you leave that evening hungry. [00:24:20] Speaker C: I'm sorry, but that's on you. [00:24:22] Speaker A: That's all you really think. So. So to highlight just some different things. Breaking it down. Celestial park they've got. Which I think is where most of your food is going to be. But they've got diverse options from pizza and burgers over at the Atlantic Restaurant up to really nice table service dining for some Asian fare or even like Atlantic Restaurant is supposed to be a wonder table service restaurant as well. And going over into one of my favorites, the Super Nintendo World, we got Toadstool Cafe with some Mario themed dishes. And I love the. The Fire Flower spaghetti. Now I haven't seen really seen any pictures of it, but the name itself, I can't even say Fire flower. I have to think about it. But with Dark Universe, you've got the Burning Blade Tavern with some monster inspired meals. And if you don't know where that is, just look for the windmill that's on fire. Yeah, pretty self explanatory. Ministry of Magic. Oh my French is horrible. So bear with me on this one. The goblet noir and cafe. That's a lot of words. Hold on. The Cafe La Air de La for French cuisine and Butterbeer. I butchered that one. Steph, how bad was that? I know, it was pretty bad. That's. It is. [00:26:08] Speaker B: Honestly, I don't know anyone who's been able to say it without being tongue tied. It's weird. [00:26:14] Speaker A: It's not like if you speak French. Tell us how to say it, please. [00:26:19] Speaker C: I mean, it's better than me saying taqueria the first time you're talking about. [00:26:26] Speaker A: Yeah, we were talking about Disneyland on that one. Yeah, Downtown Disney and Disneyland. [00:26:30] Speaker C: I probably mispronounced it there too, so. Sorry, Steph, but. [00:26:34] Speaker A: And then finishing up over at Isle of Burke with the Mead hall for all of your hearty Viking dishes, of course, like sausage and dill fries. So they're gonna have pickle flavored French fries. [00:26:50] Speaker C: I mean, hey, sounds good to me. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Y'all are nuts. But hey, I love pickles. Pickle milkshake over it. I've kind of guess this is right up your alley. [00:26:59] Speaker C: Okay, I'll just say this real quick. I know we're doing an overview. Pickle and dill are. I mean, they're similar, but there are a little different. [00:27:08] Speaker A: They're similar, but not. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. [00:27:11] Speaker C: They're not pickled fries. [00:27:12] Speaker A: They're not? No, they're dill fries. Yeah, but like I said, that just cover, you know, brief overview of the food. But on top of that, just different experiences you're going to get to have, you know, because with the French fair over in the wizarding world, getting to actually sit outside just like out of, you know, a French cafe, watching people watching on the street, you know, sipping those tiny little cups of coffee that you can only like hold with like thumb and your pointer finger and just like, you know, you know, real fancy, like pinky in the area. So I think it's going to be. It's going to be something different for sure. Something we haven't really seen before. And I think a lot of people are going to like it. But like I said earlier, there's food there for everyone. [00:28:09] Speaker B: I gotta be honest, the two things that I'm most looking forward to trying is the ube crust pizza in Celestial Park. Have you guys seen that? It's purple pizza. Yeah. And the Mac and cheese cones from Isle of Bird. That looks unreal. Oh, there's a lot of good food that I'm seeing. [00:28:35] Speaker A: There is. And as always, you will be able to find me over at the Plastered Owl Tavern in Celestial Park. It's kind of over there by the. [00:28:48] Speaker B: Not the moonshine bar. [00:28:50] Speaker A: Well, I'm going to start at the Plastered Owl, right. And then I'm going to go over to the Moonshine. And then at 5:00, because it's 5:00 somewhere, you'll find me at Celeste Tiki. The Celestial Tiki. It's the, you know, it'll be the tiki themed bar. I'm in there. That's where you'll find me. [00:29:09] Speaker C: So you have a version daiquiri there you go. [00:29:12] Speaker A: Yes, you can, Absolutely. [00:29:13] Speaker B: You're going to join in on the fun. But you know what? I'm not seeing anywhere on social media for these previews is the Pan Asian. The. I think it's like the Blue Dragon. No one. [00:29:25] Speaker A: Yes. [00:29:26] Speaker B: No one has posted anything about it. So I'm like. I was really looking forward to trying it. I don't think I'll be able to. Atlantic Restaurant people are raving about it saying it's absolutely stunning. Price point is a little bit on the steep side for a theme park, but people are saying the food is phenomenal. [00:29:42] Speaker A: Well now let's you bring up a valid point. Universal's food at all their other theme. Three theme parks are more expensive than what most people are used to. But don't forget that they have a restaurant in Islands of Adventure that won the Diamond Award as well over. And I cannot remember what it's called. It starts with an M. It'll come back to me. Probably three sections down. No. Yes. [00:30:21] Speaker B: Mikos. [00:30:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Not Mika. Is it. It's something like that. [00:30:25] Speaker B: Something. [00:30:25] Speaker A: But yeah. So yes, the food cost is definitely higher, but at the same time you're getting quality. And I cannot wait for the. The Blue Dragon Pan Asian restaurant. [00:30:47] Speaker B: It is Mythos restaurant, by the way. [00:30:48] Speaker A: It is Miko's. I knew with the th. Yes. I'm excited. I'm excited. That is something. It's something different to put into a. You know, maybe I, I could see that being at like your Disney Springs or your City Walk put to throw it right into a theme park. [00:31:11] Speaker B: Right. Because they do. Hibachi does exist at Epcot, but it's definitely not talked about much. And you've got the. Was it three dragons at Epcot? Two. But again, not very like standout. Ish. Especially where there's so many restaurants at Epcot. But truly, I mean I. There are only two sit down restaurants in all of Epic Universe 2. And for them to go with like a seafood Mediterranean theme for one and then Pan Asian for the other. Those are not your typical cuisines. And I'm. I'm very like, I'm very happy about it. I'm pleased. I. I feel like it's definitely not something that is going to be. It's not. It's going to be quality is what I'm trying to say. It's going to be quality. It's going to different. Mm. Snow hot dogs and pizzas. [00:32:09] Speaker A: It's. That is. [00:32:11] Speaker C: Look. [00:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah. You'll need to look at some of these restaurants and some of the food that they're gonna be offering. But you know, after you eat, you have your three meals at the parks. You're gonna need to have a place to rest to close out the day. So the south campus does have some accommodations to provide, you know, that they can provide for you. You know, Steph, why don't you you know, tell us real quick about what some of those are. [00:32:41] Speaker B: And I just want to say too, if Universal ever decides to come out with like a dining plan where Epic is involved, I will run. I think it'd be great. That would be fantastic. But as far as hotels accommodations go, I mean really, if you get the opportunity to be able to experience Epic multiple times, which is what Universal is really hoping to do, but also have the added bonus of being able to stay at the Grand Helios or Universal's Helios Grand Hotel. This is a 500 room luxury hotel with a dedicated park entrance and how to train your dragon themed suites for kids. This it all. Well, I will mention all three of the new hotels are Lowe's hotels. However, the grand, the Helios does not have express passes like other premier resorts at Universal Signature. [00:33:46] Speaker A: It's mixed in with, yeah, with your three, your Hard Rock, your Royal Pacific and your Portofino. But like you had said, we're hoping the, the express passes are coming down at a future date. [00:34:02] Speaker B: Yes. But if I were to be able to go to Epic Universe, and right now you can only buy single day tickets. It's not included in an annual pass. It is not something that they're selling two or more days. You either get a package where it includes an Epic day or you're buying single day epic tickets. But if I had the opportunity to stay at Helios and go to epic, I would 100% take that opportunity to like take my afternoon nap. When it's peak heat or after like a nice big meal, just, just walk on back to the hotel. Won't take more than a couple minutes to get, I say a couple, but five, ten minutes to get there, take your nap, come back fresh and be able to experience the park during its nighttime spectacular. So that is really like the biggest highlight about the grand. The Helios Grand Hotel is the, the, the, the views, the theme park views. You're literally inside the theme park and it's the private entrance. Now you're probably thinking, well, maybe I can park there, maybe I can go visit. No, it's not that easy. Not with this one. Let's just say Universal's learned and I learned from Jen that she tried to go and visit the Helios Hotel and they told her that a day parking pass was think like $160, some ridiculous number. They're trying to make sure people don't come and try and park there and go to the park and take advantage. Right. So they're taking extra precautions with this hotel to really give it that step up, luxurious, VIP feel. So this entire hotel is actually very Mediterranean themed and that includes the restaurants. You've got Flora, you've got Bar. Oh, you've got Flora, you've got one other and Bar Helios. Hold on, let me go back to my notes. I have it here. Please hold. So, okay, so a little tidbit. Okay. So yes, an elegant, Mediterranean inspired feel. That's what they were trying to go for. The Helios Grand Hotel. I really want to call it the Grand Helios Hotel. [00:36:27] Speaker A: It does feel grand. [00:36:29] Speaker B: Doesn't just kind of rolls off the tongue a little bit better. But anyways, here it is. You've got your Flora Taverna, which is an open kitchen, al fresco dining. You've got the Bar Helios 36 degree views and you get to see the park from there. I'm hearing some unbelievable feedback from the bar there. And then you also have the Aurora Market which is your grab and go area basically. But everything is Mediterranean theme. Even like the drinks, they're kind of crazy. [00:37:06] Speaker A: They. [00:37:07] Speaker B: I saw something with like cucumber and I. Well, that's not the crazy one. I saw something with. I can't remember what the ingredient was. Yeah, people are really, really happy with the different food selections, the views, the atmosphere, the ambiance, you know, how you're being taken care of. And honestly it's. You're really there for the experience of, of catching a glimpse into Epic. I mean truly imagine being at Bar Helios at night when all the lights are on and you're just seeing all the gorgeous. Forget it. And we haven't seen, I mean we've talked about it, how people have seen dragons and fireworks and all these other displays in the area for Epic Universe, but we're not seeing that just quite yet for the preview. So I feel like what's to come is, you know, we're not. Right. [00:38:08] Speaker A: There's definitely more. [00:38:09] Speaker B: Yes. So anyways, that is the Helios Hotel in a nutshell. Then we've got your Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Lunar Resort. They are both similar. They both have 750 rooms and they're. So the Stella Nova is inspired with the galactic theme, whereas the Terra Luna is more geared towards a planetary exploration. They're both prime value. Pretty, pretty, pretty, the same. The real difference is Stella Nova is closer to the theme park versus Terra Luna is kind of like across the street, but they do have walkways from both of those resorts to the entrance of Epic Universe. It doesn't have their own entrance like Helios, but you don't need a bus per se to get to the front. You can walk should you choose to do so. If you stay at a Universal resort, it doesn't matter if it's these three or any of the other ones, you can receive early park admission into Epic and all the other parks as well. As of right now, Super Nintendo World is the only one that really has the early admission area open. And Celestial park, of course they're not letting anyone else walk into any of the other lands from what I'm hearing. And I'm going to assume that that's going to still be the case once it opens up May 22. But the cool thing is, is that people are able to walk in a whole hour, literally a whole hour before. That's fantastic. I really think that that's awesome. But there is complimentary shuttles and you do have all the same resort wide charging privileges that you get for no matter what resort you stay at. But I have seen pictures of like the bus wraps for some of these new resort resort buses taking guys to Epic. Like the dragons, how to train your dragons. Fantastic. So yeah, it's, it's, it's really exciting. And to feel like you are in your own little bubble where Epic is concerned is really cool. Although not a huge fan of thinking that there's going to be, you know, a 20 minute drive from South Campus to North Campus. But hey, Universal's trying to make it work and honestly I can't wait for them to open up more park tickets for Universal's Epic Resort or Epic Universe beyond the One. Anyways, I think that about does it for hotels and accommodations. Stay tuned. Later on in this month we will do a deeper dive in each of these. [00:41:02] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's a great wrap up. That's a good overview of really the hotels for the South Campus. [00:41:10] Speaker B: I mean I'm sure there's more I can talk about and the different food items for the other ones, but really wanted to emphasize Grand Helios because that one just, I mean it's, it's the Big Kahuna, but it is. [00:41:23] Speaker A: And also like you said, this is only a brief overview. Trying to be brief. Yes, it's, it's hard talking about this. [00:41:34] Speaker B: But on that note, do we want to. Since we talked about, you know, having a how to turn your dragon themed room, you want to talk about characters and entertainment? [00:41:45] Speaker C: Brooks, again, I would be happy to. [00:41:50] Speaker A: I bet you would. [00:41:53] Speaker C: So not only we talked about rides and attractions. But you have characters, you have entertainment. We talked about the meet and greets. Of course. We talked about. You can meet Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless and Isle of Burke, but you can also meet Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach there in Super Nintendo World. You can. You know, we talked about Mystery of Magic. You can meet Newt Scalamander and all of his magical. Probably mispronounced that as I see your commander. I'm sorry I said I combined Totally looks like Salamander. I. I was gonna say I combined Scalamander. [00:42:43] Speaker B: You know, it is totally fine because it looks like it. And I feel like that's a very common. [00:42:48] Speaker C: You can meet Newt S and his magical creatures. Newts. [00:42:54] Speaker B: Newts. [00:42:55] Speaker C: Newts. They are the Ministry of Magic. All of his magical creatures. Maybe you can ask them where to find them. And then you head over to Dark Universe and you can meet Frankenstein and all the other classic monsters. But there's also shows as well. You know, the Untrainable Dragon there in Isle of Burke is an indoor stage show with dragons. [00:43:29] Speaker A: I mean, I'm sorry, Kumikin. [00:43:31] Speaker C: With dragons. [00:43:32] Speaker A: Oh dear. [00:43:34] Speaker C: Yes. Hopefully they're trained. [00:43:36] Speaker A: I hope so. Let's not be learning how to train them in a show with dragons. [00:43:42] Speaker C: I mean, it is called the Untrainable. Oh dear. They're the Ministry of Magic. They have a live show with blending magic and storytelling. We're blending. We're blending there in Celestial Park. It features dancing fountains and street performers. [00:44:06] Speaker B: Yeah. Have you guys seen like the moving statues? [00:44:09] Speaker C: There's actual street performers. [00:44:12] Speaker B: Yeah, it's amazing. [00:44:13] Speaker A: It's the street Streetmosphere. Is that how one would pronounce it? [00:44:19] Speaker B: Streetmospir. [00:44:21] Speaker A: Killing it. [00:44:22] Speaker C: Yes. [00:44:23] Speaker B: Can we get a round of applause? A round of applause for the streetmosphere. We have been wanting this. Thank you. [00:44:31] Speaker C: But then if you head back over to Ministry of Magic, you know, air at Universal Studios and then Islands of Adventure with Dagon Alley and all that, you have the interactive wands. Well, there's more wand experiences in the Ministry of Magic because now they have the magic band plus of magic of the wands. With the second generation interactive. Yeah, with the interactive wands is second generation. So maybe wands plus. [00:45:07] Speaker B: I think that's a better one because they do have the power up bands. [00:45:10] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:45:10] Speaker B: And I feel like that's the equivalent of magic band. But I like. [00:45:14] Speaker C: Oh, that's. Oh, yeah. The. The. Yeah, the power up bands in Super Nintendo World. Yeah. Collect all the coins. Just be careful when you start hearing the one up noise. But again, this is just a brief overview. [00:45:34] Speaker B: There's so much, so many more characters. I mean, now. [00:45:39] Speaker A: But I want to make note, we are not reminding you, the listeners, that this is a brief overview. This is us telling us that it's only a brief overview. [00:45:48] Speaker B: Yeah. So. So how about this? How cool is it that Universal didn't just decide to bring Toothless to life, which is just surreal in and of itself, but they decided to take it one step further and also bring in Toothless's son? [00:46:08] Speaker A: They have thought, give me, give me. [00:46:10] Speaker C: Give me, give me, give me of everything. [00:46:13] Speaker B: Yeah. And I cannot wait to dive even deeper on that episode. I'm so excited for. I love. [00:46:21] Speaker A: Yeah, but it's gonna be fun. [00:46:22] Speaker C: It is, but we're gonna. We're gonna take a. We're gonna veer left and take a ride over to Transportation with Kelton and logistics. [00:46:31] Speaker A: I do love me some transportation and logistics, because I know you guys are thinking, oh, by golly, I'm not staying at the Helios Grand Hotel because I couldn't get a reservation or any of the other prime value Stella Nova or Terra Luna. I've got to stay over at, like, Aventura. Not a bad place to stay, but it's really far from. [00:46:56] Speaker C: Are you talking about the hotel or the bachata band? [00:47:00] Speaker A: Talking about the hot. The hotel. [00:47:02] Speaker B: Okay, hold on. You made me proud just now, Brooks. I gotta be honest. You made me proud that you know. [00:47:08] Speaker A: Who they are or, you know, maybe Cabana Bay, or I'm staying, like, club level over at Portofino because, you know, popping the collar. Anyway, you're figuring out why I got to get there, right? Well, there's no monorails. There's no Skyliner. There's not even a boat. This is not like going over to Universal. Orlando can't take a boat. There is only one mode of transportation, and y'all, it is my favorite. Come on to the buses, baby. So that's kind of what we're talking about on how to get to the South Campus. If you're staying up at North Campus for Universal. So they've got the complimentary shuttles, of course, going from all the hotels directly to Epic. And then, of course, if you're staying at South Campus, the shuttles right up to CityWalk for Iowa and Universal. On top of that, you also do have, you know, your. Your Uber and Lyft. You can do that, too. You know, as well, we got the walking path to. To Epic from Stella Nova and Helios, just like Steph had Mentioned there on that one. If you're also looking at getting to your hotel at Universal from. From take mco, Orlando International, you've got the Superstar shuttle, which averages about $39 per adult. You can do one way round trip. So you do have a really. A way to get from the airport to Superstar. And it does look like my admin put something in my notes here when it comes to transportation. Thank you, Steph, for that. So Universal did take a note from Disney and they have dedicated bus lanes for the electric buses from Epic, kind of leading up to like the Sand Lake Boulevard. And then shoot right on up Sand Lake into the north campus. About a 10, I would. I'd estimate about a 10 to 15 minute bus. Right. I'm telling you, when I get down there, it's the first thing I'm doing is I'm hitting the buses. I gotta time this bad boy stop. Old school. Chained stopwatch and all. And a notepad. We're gonna. [00:49:41] Speaker C: I'm expecting a whistle. And like the big aviator glasses. [00:49:45] Speaker A: That's right. Ooh, yeah. Middle school PE coat. [00:49:49] Speaker B: Sweatband on too. [00:49:51] Speaker C: Mustache, chewing gum. [00:49:56] Speaker A: And on top of that, there's been. We've heard reports that there are potential tram lanes out there because, you know, Universal decided to just. We're gonna keep it flat with the, with our parking lot. We are not doing parking garages. Not really sure how I feel about that. I think the parking garages ain't, you know, they're not horrible, but we do have, you know, potential tram lanes. So I'm gonna say it because we said it in season one. Hashtag justice for the trams. Let's go. We're gonna get some trams. [00:50:33] Speaker C: Of what are they gonna look like? [00:50:35] Speaker A: I mean, that's the best. My big thing. How are they gonna design these trams to be as epic as the park that they are bringing the guests? The other side of things, parking. Like we talked about, it's a surface level parking. But they do have some facial recognition that they're trying out for some seamless entry. So that's pretty cool. We're really getting up into the technology, you know, of 20, 25 on that point. And then the big one. The big one. And I am talking about the Bright line, if you know what the Bright line is, or the, you know, the Sun Rail, whatever name it goes by and however you want to call it. It's that train that goes from Miami up and, you know, up the east coast, hangs a solid left at Cape Canaveral and just shoots right along 528. [00:51:25] Speaker B: There, right to the MCO. [00:51:27] Speaker A: Right to MCO Terminal C. Now we, we've known for a while that Brightline has wanted to expand down through Lakeland along I4 over to Tampa International. They even talked about putting a station at where the old Crossroads by Disney Springs used to be. However, I love Disney. They really shot themselves in the foot on that one. And then Universal and the Orange County Convention center said we got you, we will pay for a station. And that's what they are doing hopefully gonna do. The potential is that there's going to be a station kind of between. Because Epic is real close to the convention center there off of I Drive and destination Parkway, which I think is now Universal Boulevard to be honest with you. Well, no destination Universal somewhere along there. So there's supposed to be. The rumor has that there's going to be a potential station there. So you might be able to just hop on the train right from Terminal C at MCO a few minute walk right on over to Epic Universe. We will have to watch to see what comes out out of the state of Florida for the bright line. [00:52:51] Speaker B: But that is not now, that is in the future. But it is a very exciting potential future. [00:52:57] Speaker A: It's just like the possibility of more lands coming to Epic. We just won't know until it's announced. [00:53:07] Speaker B: So which honestly the respect the, the perspective. No, not the prospect. That's the word I'm looking for. The prospect of expansion when the park was just built is thrilling. Thrilling. I really hope that Universal keeps that one in their back pocket. That Disney does do very well is that they're constantly changing and they're constantly adding. [00:53:35] Speaker A: Agreed. [00:53:36] Speaker B: Because they haven't done any of that in a long time now. I love the idea of an expansion. I'm not telling you to telling you, you know, saying a change. Go ahead and change Epic Universe, which is brand new. But I would love for them to, you know, look at improving and innovating and refurbishing and doing things of that nature to keep the interest alive in the way that, you know, they do with Disney and that healthy competition between the two. [00:54:03] Speaker A: Most definitely. So we've, we've kind of, we've done an overview of the parks, the attractions, the food, the accommodations and hotels and a little bit of the transportation. Why should anybody go to visit Epic? Anybody? [00:54:23] Speaker B: So I'll say that Epic Universe, like we've mentioned before and I'm, I'll mention it again. It really does focus on targeting every age group and every type of, you know, theme park. Desire. You've got Dark, you've got Kitty, you've got, you know, Harry Potter, which is huge. You've got brand new concept with isle of Burke 2. I mean Dark Universe 2, of course, for your Howling Horror Night, you know, lovers. And then you've got your video game fanatics with Super Nintendo World. And then you've got something literally out of this world, the celestial Park. I'm hearing that it is just gorgeous layout. Yes. The plants and the trees are still baby. So the shading is a little bit lacking currently. But in time it'll all grow, it'll be groomed, it'll be manicured, it'll be spectacular. Ten times more, I should say. But I just love that there's something for everyone. You've got character interactions, you've got food galore, you've got thrill rides. Then you've got more, you know, on the, on the less intense rides. You've got scary rides, you've got virtual reality rides. What? So my biggest thing is that there is something for everyone to do at Epic Universe and we're only just getting started. [00:55:51] Speaker A: I couldn't. Yeah, you're right. [00:55:53] Speaker C: No, no, I was just, I mean like, you know, like we said before, the fact that literally it. There's something for the whole family and the fact too that they're going to bring in drone shows plus the value of it. A single day ticket starts at $139 and then you have the multi day pass packages as well. And they have brought in. People were wondering about it because they didn't announce it when they first started talking about the tickets. They have brought in the express passes for shorter waits and VIP tours. [00:56:40] Speaker A: Yeah, right, and vip. [00:56:43] Speaker C: But it, like I said, it's just their thinking is, is been very well thought out and knocked. We have said before, and I'll keep it saying Universal has knocked it out of the park and I haven't even been yet and I was in prediction. They have knocked it out of the park. It's not hypothesis, it's a fact. [00:57:10] Speaker A: It's a fact. Well, and we all know that they have because we've seen from, well, fellow agents that have had the opportunity to go within fairytale journeys, travel along with what we have seen on social media. And we're looking at the, the immersion of stepping into, you know, the wizard and World of Harry Potter, you know, seeing all the buildings or stepping into the video game of either Super Mario or Donkey Kong. That immersion that we're getting and going through. So I saw a video and I Think it was Jenny's, to be honest. May have been Jenny's. But the detail that goes into the portals, there's the one from Dark Universe that has, like, the flow of lightning through it. And with Super Nintendo, it's like you are Mario and you are going into, you know, the tube to transport down, you know, into what are the. The. Under this. Under the underworld one or however it goes in the game. So Universal Epic Universe has, like, done it all just like we had all said. But to kind of start with, with wrapping things up on this episode, we. We've got. With I. We said in the beginning, this is an epic month. But what does that. Yes, May, of course, is an epic month, because Justin Timberlake said it himself. It's gonna be May and then sync exactly that. It's gonna be May, and May is. [00:59:06] Speaker C: It's gonna be epic. All that I do is talk about epic with you. You're gonna hear it, okay? You're gonna like it. And finally, we're gonna talk about the teasers for Epic Month. [00:59:29] Speaker B: Please keep going. Please keep going. Just finish. [00:59:32] Speaker C: It's gonna be counting. [00:59:33] Speaker A: Come back next week to see what. What song Brooks is going to cover then. Because week two of Epic Month, this is where the deep dive begins. A full hour, maybe hour and a half. You never know when we get talking, we're diving into Super Nintendo World and Isle of Burke, which are definitely two favorite lands here. Week three, exploring the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the Ministry of Magic, and of course, Dark Universe, two more lands that are really big on this podcast. Week four, we're talking about Celestial park and all of its food offerings that it's going to have. And covering a bit of a deeper dive in the three new hotels and accommodations on the south campus. And then week five, week five, we are going to rate all things Epic. Not sure how we're going to work that one yet, but stay tuned for that. And with our closing of this overview of Epic, you know, Universe, really from y'all. And I'll do mine, too. I mean, what's the one thing? And it doesn't. It could be a land, a food item, a character meet and greet, an attraction. What's the one thing you're looking forward to? Just Isla Burke for Steph. [01:00:56] Speaker B: I'm such a dragon girly. [01:00:59] Speaker A: So you're going to be right up there in the Untamed Dragon or Untrained Dragon show with all the Untamed Dragons. [01:01:07] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, absolutely. [01:01:10] Speaker A: That's awesome. Brooks, how about you, my friend? [01:01:13] Speaker C: Just because I was not expecting it to look as fantastic as it is. I. I'm really excited about eventually exploring the Dark Universe. [01:01:26] Speaker A: I've heard great things about the Dark Universe. [01:01:28] Speaker C: I mean, it's. I knew Super Mario World was going to be amazing. I knew they were going to knock Al Burke out of the park. I knew they're going to knock Ministry of Magic out of the out of the park. I was not expecting Dark Universe. [01:01:44] Speaker A: That is awesome. [01:01:46] Speaker B: You, Kelton. [01:01:47] Speaker A: I would have to say mine's going to be Super Nintendo and getting to see really more of the Donkey Kong attraction if I had to narrow it down. So I got a feeling you're going to be able to pass a kidney stone just like Thunder Mountain on that bad boy. [01:02:03] Speaker B: Well, that's funny. [01:02:04] Speaker A: A lot of great things coming forward to look forward to within not just this epic month that we have, but the opening of the theme park on May 22nd. That's a Thursday. And everything else that we're going to get to cover here on the Mouse Ears blog and podcast. But before, before we end this episode, I'm going to take it back over to Brooks here because we did have a trivia question in the beginning. Go ahead, Brooks. [01:02:32] Speaker C: Yes, if you don't remember the trivia question, it was what mischievous magical creature known for its love of shiny objects made his cinematic debut in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and is rumored to be found throughout the Ministry of Magic Land at Universal's Epic Universe? Tell me it is the absolutely adorable Niffler. [01:02:58] Speaker A: The Niffler. [01:02:59] Speaker B: I love that word. [01:03:00] Speaker C: It is a small furry creature with a pouch and a knack for stealing anything that glitters. [01:03:09] Speaker B: So you might want to second guess what you wear into Epic Universe. [01:03:13] Speaker A: It might steal you. [01:03:15] Speaker C: Yeah, well, it's already stolen my heart. [01:03:18] Speaker B: This is true. This is true. But I do want to let everyone out there listening that if you are interested in going to Epic Universe and experiencing any or all of these fantastic new lands, or maybe not interested, but maybe the grant, the Helios Grand Hotel piqued your interest. Make sure you reach out to Fairy Tale Journeys. Their agents there, or one of us would be more than happy to help you and give you all the details that you cannot get anywhere else because, well, we're the best and we've got the personal experience to boot. [01:03:53] Speaker A: Yeah, we were there, they were there. [01:03:56] Speaker B: So definitely reach out to Fairy Tale Journeys. Reach for any and all things Epic and Universal Orlando Resort. [01:04:06] Speaker A: Absolutely. But that does bring us to the end of this week's episode for the Mouse Ears Podcast don't forget to join the Mouse Ears Podcast, Facebook Discussion Group and our Facebook page. You can also follow us on all of your favorite social media media's Tick Tock X and Instagram to stay up to date with all things travel, but mostly Disney and or Universal for this one. Like Steph said, if you are interested in having a Fairy Tale Journeys agent book your next trip, please make sure to visit fairytale journeys.com and let them know that the podcast has sent you. Lastly, if you enjoy our weekly episode episodes here on the podcast, we'd love to make sure that you leave us a review. Make sure to like it as well. 5 stars and anywhere else that you listen to us on any platform. Thank you very much everybody. And until the next epic episode, we bid you a good day. Have a great week everyone. [01:05:11] Speaker B: See ya. [01:05:13] Speaker A: Bye.