Credit: UniversalSome Epic Universe attractions are struggling to function ahead of the third Universal Orlando Resort theme park’s surprise early opening. Days ago, Universal surprised fans by opening single-day preview park tickets to the general public, effectively opening Epic Universe to everyone weeks before its official grand opening on May 22, 2025.
Epic Universe has received rave reviews during its weeks-long Team Member, press, and Annual Passholder preview period. It’s been widely described as the most immersive of Universal Orlando Resort’s parks, surpassing Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure by a long shot.
The park features five jaw-dropping lands: Celestial Park, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe. Celestial Park is Epic Universe’s central entrance hub, featuring four towering portals to the other four themed lands.
As with many preview periods, not everything has run smoothly at Epic Universe in the last few weeks. This week, for example, one guest shared their experience with a 50-minute evacuation from Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, one of the park’s star attractions. This ride’s Virtual Queue has also been scrutinized, as visitors struggling to get slots during the lower-traffic preview periods question whether the system will hold when the real crowds arrive.
Now, Celestial Park’s central attraction is showing signs of wear and tear. Days ago, X (formerly Twitter) user @bioreconstruct shared a photo of an out-of-order animal on the Constellation Carousel. “Temporarily out of Stardust!” the banner reads. “Please choose another animal.”
A covering when a Constellation Carousel animal is out of Stardust.
A covering when a Constellation Carousel animal is out of Stardust. pic.twitter.com/YCiymvSHRY
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) April 22, 2025
Universal Parks fans were disappointed to see that something as simple as a carousel animal–miles away from advanced animatronic and attraction technology used in other parts of Epic Universe—had been broken just weeks into park operations.
“How is this already broken? 😞” @BeeBricks asked.
How is this already broken? 😞
— BeeBricks (@BeeBricks) April 22, 2025
It’s unclear whether the Constellation Carousel animal was broken due to guest misbehavior or a technical issue. Epic Universe didn’t publicly acknowledge this attraction issue.
Did anything break down during your Epic Universe preview? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments!