Elizabeth A., Deckside Navigator (Travel Columnist)
Aug 28, 2026
Elizabeth takes us inside Universal's brand-new Epic Universe — five themed portals, thrill rides, spooky monsters, and a windmill that catches fire every 15 minutes. Her full travel report is not to be missed!
An epic day at Universal Orlando’s EPIC Universe!
Hello and welcome back to my travel segment. When people ask you what did you do this summer it is highly common for you to say either Disney or Universal or maybe even Legoland. But there is a fairly new park that is part of Universal and I am going to tell you all about it!
We stayed in the Helios Grand Hotel that is located in Celestial Park which is the center of there Epic Universe theme park. There are five portals that you can explore and they all have a theme. There is Celestial Park in the center with the main attraction Stardust Riders! I personally was too afraid to go on the ride but people love its thrill! Then there is Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter. Make sure to head to the Ministry of Magic first if you don’t want to wait over an hour! It is a thrilling adventure and a park favorite. We can move on over to the Isle of Berk for all the How to Train your Dragon lovers. Hiccups Wing-Gliders is a fun and exciting adventure perfect for smaller kids.
Going over to the video game land of Mario and it has my favorite ride of all: Donkey Kong's Mine Cart Madness! It is an exciting and thrilling adventure for riders of more than 48 inches. And over to the last portal, for a more thrilling adventure is my favorite portal, Dark Universe. Coming alive with universal’s monsters, Dark Universe is sure to send a shiver down your spine. Yet not only does the temperature seem to drop when you enter, you will find spooky monsters greeting guests and maybe even a violinist playing spooky music! I went on the ride Monsters Unchained: the Frankenstein Experiment. It was a spooky recounting of Dr. Frankenstein’s making of the famous monster. Also in dark universe was a short rollercoaster ride called Curse of the Werewolf. With its short ride they made it most thrilling by having the vehicle spin while going on the track.
The last thing I want to share with you from Dark Universe is the Burning Blade Tavern. It is a dining location that is famously under a windmill that catches on fire about every 15 minutes.
Thank you for reading my piece about Epic Universe I hope you will someday be able to enjoy it just as much as I did!
