Ride review | Dragon Racer’s Rally at Epic Universe, a welcome surprise
Put on your Viking helmets and strap in — you’re about to learn how to fly a dragon onboard the Dragon Racer’s Rally ride in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk at Universal Epic Universe.
The story behind Dragon Racer’s Rally
In an effort to train the new Vikings traveling to the Isle of Berk for the first time, young Vikings Snotlout and Astrid invite riders to practice aerobatic maneuvers in a Dragon-Rider trainer.
What appears to be an off-the-shelf flat ride seen in amusement parks across the globe (most notably Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock at Nickelodeon Universe in Mall of America) turns out to be a thrilling experience with an attention to detail we didn’t expect.
Artwork courtesy of Universal
Photos by bioreconstruct
Queue
Underestimating Universal Creative is something you should never do. For what appeared to be a filler attraction from the concept art of How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Dragon Racer’s Rally is invested in the story it attempts to immerse you in.
At the ride’s entrance, you’re greeted by animatronic sheep on the marquee, as well as off to the side. Berk is an extremely kinetic land, which we credit to the lack of static figures.
Once in line, future Vikings are prepped for dragon rider training. Details of trophies won from past dragon races decorate a centerpiece of the queue. Along the way, you’ll encounter hand-drawn art of Snotlout and Astrid showing off the dos and don’ts for your upcoming flight. The attraction’s safety video portrays the aforementioned Vikings in a 2D hand-drawn style, which is very charming.
Instead of lockers, Dragon Racer’s Rally has a cubby system. Guests place their belongings in a double-sided cubby before boarding the ride. After riding, guests pick up their items on the other side.
The queue is covered in shade, with some portions cooler than others.
You control your own thrill level
While most outdoor theme park attractions elicit screams echoing into the surrounding area, Dragon Racer’s Rally fills the air with laughter.
Once sat in your individual ride vehicle, you’ll be in between two movable wings, with joysticks allowing you to control their movement. The attraction is thrilling on its own, but a possible goal is to see if you can get your seat to spin upside down. While fun in theory, this proves to be difficult. The ride vehicle is heavy, and if you can’t push to one side with all of your weight, you’ll likely just rock side to side. So if you don’t want to spin upside-down, you don’t have to.
There were a few times where we almost achieved a full 360, only for the ride to end before we could get the hang of what to do. We spent about 90 seconds figuring out how to spin, only for the ride end, leaving us a little disappointed for our first ride.
Artwork courtesy of Universal
With only two operating ride structures, this attraction is sure to experience a low per-hour capacity while boasting a long wait time (and doesn’t offer Universal Express). There are only 12 seats on each Dragon-Riding trainer, so if you want to ride again, you’ll likely be greeted with a lot of Vikings trying to do the same.
Final thoughts
Despite our difficulty getting it to spin upside-down, Dragon Racer’s Rally is thrilling and fun, and will leave your party laughing and talking about trying to spin. Each attraction in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk is a home run, with something for each person’s varying thrill levels. While not a must-ride, if you have time to kill between showings of “The Untrainable Dragon” or if you’re visiting Epic Universe multiple days, Dragon Racer’s Rally is worth your time in that regard. Just make sure you save those mac and cheese cones from Hooligan’s Grog & Gruel for after your ride!
Dragon Racer’s Rally opens with How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, as well as the rest of Epic Universe, on May 22, 2025 in Orlando, Fla.
Are you looking forward to riding Dragon Racer’s Rally at Epic Universe? Would you try to make it as thrilling as possible, or more relaxing? Let us know in the comments.
Disclaimer: Our Epic Universe reviews are based on a preview of the park, so some of what we have talked about may change by the time the park officially opens.
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