Epic Universe construction update: Fog used for excitement in Berk, mystery in Darkmoor
Come along for an Epic Universe construction aerial photography update with fog in Dark Universe and Isle of Berk, as well as shade in the queues of two roller coasters.
As Epic Universe gets closer and closer to Opening Day — May 22, 2025 — construction workers add finishing touches such as special effects and guest conveniences to the new Orlando, Fla. theme park. Aerial photographer bioreconstruct captured photos in both of these categories during a Nov. 15, 2024 flight above the Epic Universe construction site.
(New to Epic Universe? Check out our beginner’s guide.)
See you in the fog
The same tool can be leveraged for different moods in a theme park, and Universal will utilize vapor / fog for various, completely different thematic purposes in Epic Universe.
Anyone who’s been to Halloween Horror Nights knows fog can add a layer of mystery to a themed environment. This will be the case in Epic Universe’s Dark Universe, where fog not only emanates from a well in the village square, but also puffs from chimney stacks, adding to the believability of Darkmoor as a living community.
Across the park in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Universal utilizes fog not for foreboding purposes, but to add an accent of exhilaration, drama, and majesty to the sweeping Hiccup’s Wing Gliders roller coaster as the trains pass underneath a bridge and during a show scene later in the ride.
Throwing shade
News flash: Epic Universe is in the sunshine state. As such, its queue spaces needed to be designed with a mindfulness toward thousands of people standing in them for long stretches of time. Epic Universe construction teams recently began installing shade structures along the outdoor queue space of Stardust Racers, the dual racing coaster in Celestial Park.
Construction teams also added themed shading elements throughout How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk (as seen in the queue of Hiccup’s Wing Gliders and the entrance of “The Untrainable Dragon” in the photos below). Note the faux patchwork aesthetic of the coverings, reflecting the home-grown, handcrafted style of Berk’s community and the warm, familial connotations that come with that design choice.
Elsewhere in Berk, contractors began the framing for a shade structure at an outdoor seating area for the Spit Fyre Grill quick-service restaurant.
Fly over Epic Universe
See even more Epic Universe construction in this video version of bioreconstruct’s flight:
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