With the first media event over and employee previews having been underway for over a month, Universal Orlando is now moving forward with previews of Epic Universe and the early debut of Helios Grand Hotel, over one month before the official opening of the new theme park over Memorial Day weekend. This covers dates & details for scoring tickets along with our commentary about attending soft openings.
Let’s start with the previews. Universal has opened the online virtual queue for Universal Orlando Annual Passholders to purchase tickets for Universal Epic Universe previews before the new theme park’s grand opening date of May 22, 2025.
The virtual queue for tickets is at this link. Go go go!!!
Unfortunately, as of 11:30 a.m., the line is “paused.” We’d nevertheless recommend jumping in line ASAP. Here’s the message currently being display: “Due to the popularity of this offering, we are currently experiencing a high volume of requests. Hold tight! This page will update when we are able to start your order. Please note that capacity is limited and not guaranteed.”
Here are April 2025 ticket prices for the UOAP previews of Universal Epic Universe:
- April 17, 2025: $144
- April 18, 2025: $144
- April 19, 2025: $144
- April 20, 2025: $144
- April 21, 2025: $140
- April 22, 2025: $140
- April 23, 2025: $140
- April 24, 2025: $140
- April 25, 2025: $136
- April 26, 2025: $136
- April 27, 2025: $131
- April 28, 2025: $123
- April 29, 2025: $123
- April 30, 2025: $123
May 2025 Epic Universe preview ticket prices:
- May 1, 2025: $123
- May 2, 2025: $127
- May 3, 2025: $131
- May 4, 2025: $127
- May 5, 2025: $123
- May 6, 2025: $123
- May 7, 2025: $123
- May 8, 2025: $123
Also according to Universal Orlando: “Preview Dates Now Available Preview Ticket dates are available starting April 17. During this Preview period, we’re putting the final touches in place and rehearsing, so some attractions and experiences may not be available.”
UOAP preview dates for Universal Epic Universe are from April 17 to May 8, 2025. It’s possible more preview dates will be added after that, but unlikely. Media previews are expected in the lead-up to the official opening date, and Universal Orlando might need time to prepare for those, among other things.
Additionally, Universal Helios Grand Hotel is now open for reservations starting April 16, 2025. It’s our understanding, although unpublished in writing anywhere, that Helios Grand Hotel guests will have the opportunity to purchase Universal Epic Universe tickets on a limited, first-come, first-served basis during these previews.
Here’s a look at preview availability and pricing for Helios Grand Hotel:
Turning to commentary, this approach to previews makes sense. It allows Universal Orlando to stress-test each of the lands and Epic Universe as a whole before the grand opening, while continuing test & adjust during the overnight hours. Park operations can determine what tweaks need to be made, and get things operating smoothly–or at least as smoothly as possible for a brand-new theme park with complex attractions–before greeting hardcore tourists and theme park fans who have booked starting on May 22, 2025.
As noted above, Universal Orlando has been doing trial operations with Team Members for over a month at this point, and those previews have been extended on multiple occasions. The official party line for the extensions was to give employees more chances to experience the new park. The unofficial reason, I assume, was that Epic Universe wasn’t ready to greet guests in a paying capacity, even with the normal caveats about soft openings and previews.
The whole point of previews is to start small so it’s not a trial by fire situation for employees and gives them a chance to find their footing and learn on the job. As we’ve pointed out previously, Universal Orlando would need to scale up at some point to simulate a more normal guest load, as Team Members plus their friends and family wouldn’t be enough to sustain these previews indefinitely. Originally, we expected this to occur around early April. Instead, it’s happening mid-month.
One word of warning is that select attractions or entire lands could be unavailable during Epic Universe previews. The entire lands part of that is highly unlikely, as it hasn’t been the case during employee previews to date. But we nevertheless want to raise the possibility, however remote, to underscore the nature of these previews.
More likely is that certain rides will go down. In fact, we’d expect extensive downtime to be the norm as some of these attractions are incredibly complex and envelope-pushing. If you’re only going to pay to attend one preview and want to experience as much as possible, your best bet is going later in May.
Epic Universe as a whole is clearly not a race against the clock, but a few of its complex attractions have already been proving troublesome. That’s par for the course with new rides at both Walt Disney World and Universal.
One specific red flag thus far during previews of Epic Universe has been Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. It’s our understanding that this has yet to open during employee previews, and only tours of the queue have been available. Some media did have a chance to experience the attraction, but there were reportedly also issues then.
From what we’ve heard through the grapevine, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is operational…but not at full capacity. Rather than trying to operate it during employee previews, Universal has opted to continue making adjustments to get the ride closer to running at full tilt.
Honestly, what was described to me makes Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry sound very much like the opening months of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in terms of its downtime and reliability. I similarly would not be the least bit surprised if this isn’t resolved until much later in the year.
I also would not be surprised if Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is not open during public previews. Or if it is open, but uses a virtual queue to manage capacity and pulse guests through the queue, rather than having paying guests endure lengthy downtime. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this approach extends to the official opening and beyond.
Although not nearly as problematic, we’ve also heard of issues with Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Either that it breaks down or has non-working effects, which then results in downtime. Friends who have attended Team Member previews have also reported a variety of other attractions breaking down on a less consistent and predictable basis.
To be abundantly clear, none of this is criticism of Universal. Heck, we’re much more critical of Walt Disney World opening Tiana’s Bayou Adventure–a reimagined ride–in non-working condition. This is a brand-new theme park with envelope pushing attractions. Reliability woes and downtime are simply the nature of the beast.
We’re bringing this to your attention so you can plan accordingly. It’s probably a wise idea to budget multiple days to Epic Universe if you want to experience everything (minus maybe Battle at the Ministry) during previews. If you don’t want to endure breakdowns, perhaps previews are not for you. Going in August or September might be the better option!
On the other hand, it’s always possible that problematic or pesky effects that are triggering downtime simply get disabled by then. So if you want to experience high-tech rides in their “purest” form…going as soon as possible might be the better approach. (Again, look at Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, or even Indiana Jones Adventure, for that matter.)
Ultimately, there are no guarantees when it comes to previews and soft openings. We just want you to be aware of that, so you don’t jump to book something that you might regret later. While we’ve focused at length on the potential downsides, there are also upsides! One is that you’re first experiencing Epic Universe with other highly-motivated guests and hardcore fans, meaning the energy is likely to be better than some random day in August or September.
Trust me, as someone who has done several previews and opening days of rides, lands, and theme parks–this is something worth doing once! And you’ll probably never get another opportunity to preview another major new theme park in the United States. So even if you’re a hardcore Disney fan, you might want to consider visiting Epic Universe during the preview.
Another upside is that previews are still likely to be viewed as trial operations, meaning that Universal Orlando will continue capping attendance well below actual park capacity through the remainder of April and into May 2025. Our expectation is that the cap will progressively increase as park operations finds its footing, so expect crowds to gradually increase over the course of previews. However, that should go hand-in-hand with efficiency and reliability. The bottom line is that this should be a great opportunity to experience Epic Universe before the general public!
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be attending Epic Universe previews? Excited for Super Nintendo World, Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic, Dark Universe/Classic Monsters, or the How to Train Your Dragon lands and/or attractions? Think Epic Universe will be a third gate that’s a worthy addition to Universal Orlando Resort…and potentially on par with Disney’s best lands? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!