CNN
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Universal Orlando Resort announced Thursday morning that its highly anticipated new theme park, Epic Universe, will open on May 22, 2025, just before Memorial Day weekend.

The new park will be the largest of three theme parks at the resort, part of a 750-acre project that will more than double the size of Universal’s Orlando footprint. The property currently consists of two theme parks and one water park.

This new park, Epic Universe, will consist of five ‘worlds’: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic; Super Nintendo World; How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk; Dark universe and heavenly park.

“This is such a pivotal moment for our destination, and we are excited to welcome guests to Epic Universe next year,” said Karen Irwin, president and COO of Universal Orlando Resort.

“With the addition of this spectacular new theme park, our guests will embark on an unforgettable vacation experience with a week of excitement that will be nothing short of epic!”

Dennis Speigel, founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services, is a consultant to theme parks around the world. Speigel was not involved in the construction of Epic Universe, but has been following Universal’s spending of over $6 billion and the development of this project since its inception.

According to him, the themes in this park appeal to a new generation of visitors who love fairy tales, but are also looking for characters and friends they grew up with.

“I expect this new Epic Universe theme park to easily attract more than six million visitors during its first twelve months of operation,” Speigel told CNN in an email. “Universal Studios theme parks have been booming since Harry Potter was introduced in 2010.”

Speigel said this park will boost the theme park market in Orlando, where Universal and Disney are the biggest players.

Disney hasn’t opened a new theme park in Central Florida since 1998. Speigel wonders – like many theme park fans – how Disney will respond to its competitor’s moves and whether it will also open a new theme park in the coming years.

Tickets and prizes

Tickets for Epic Universe will be sold in phases.

Initially, only vacation packages and three-day tickets (or longer) for Universal Orlando Resort, including one day at Epic Universe, will be sold beginning October 22. In a price example, three-day tickets would range from $374.88 to $554.87. (after taxes) per person, depending on dates.

Current Universal Orlando annual pass holders will then have priority on October 24 when purchasing day tickets for Epic Universe for the general public.

Additional ticket options, including day tickets for the general public, will be sold in the months leading up to the park’s opening.

A 500-room Loews hotel called Universal Helios Grand Hotel will also open on May 22 (reservations will be taken starting October 22). It will be located in the new theme park, with Universal’s first dedicated theme park entrance for hotel guests. Before then, two new hotels will open near the park.

Guests will first enter Epic Universe through Celestial Park, which will feature a carousel, roller coaster, shops, restaurants and portals to each of the four other worlds.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic will be an expansion of the Harry Potter universe, recreating the atmosphere of both 1920s Paris – where much of the Fantastic Beasts franchise is set – and the British Ministry of the 1990s, which pitted famous Hogwarts students against Voldemort.

A new attraction called ‘Battle at the Ministry’ allows guests to enter the Ministry’s atrium via the Floo Network and join Harry, Ron and Hermione in an omnidirectional lift, dodging Death Eater attacks.

Two other Harry Potter areas already exist at Universal’s other theme parks: Hogsmeade at Universal Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.

Super Nintendo World will be similar to what recently opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles and Universal Studios Japan. Guests can visit attractions called “Bowser’s Challenge” and “Mine-Cart Madness with Donkey Kong.”

The How to Train Your Dragon themed world includes a Viking village, a family roller coaster called ‘Hiccup’s Wing Gliders’, a water ride and a live show.

Dark Universe is a shadowy world, where “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment” places guests at the center of a monstrous uprising.