What To Expect During Universal Epic Universe's Grand Opening
To celebrate this historic occasion, guests can virtually join the festivities and get a glimpse into some of the exciting activities happening this week via two live streams on UniversalOrlando.com:
Wednesday, May 21 from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Epic Universe Grand Opening Nighttime Celebration Event
Guests can tune in and get a glimpse of this exclusive VIP nighttime event happening on the eve of the park's public grand opening. Viewers will see celebrity and special guest arrivals on the Celestial Carpet, first-ever footage of Epic Universe, interviews with some of the team who've helped bring the park to life, and more. And it all culminates with a spectacular moment to commemorate the park's debut.
Thursday, May 22, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Epic Universe Grand Opening Day Live Stream
Guests can tune in and watch live coverage of the excitement of opening day, including a brief celebratory moment to officially open Universal Epic Universe to the world.
For more information about the live streams and Universal Epic Universe, guests can visit www.universalorlando.com.
Clint Gamache is the owner of ThrillGeek. He started ThrillGeek to share his love of theme/amusement parks and pop culture with the world. You can find him at Halloween Horror Nights. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter/X, Instagram @iamcg83
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Travel + Leisure
18 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
Epic Universe Has a Restaurant Honoring Pan-Asian Cuisine With Food, Decor, and Hidden Motifs
There's one lone dragon making a huge roar at Universal Orlando Resort's new theme park Epic Universe, the first American theme park to open in 24 years on May 22. While there's an entire world dedicated to the mythical creature at How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk, across the in Celestial Park section is a mega-sized statue of another dragon, greeting visitors into the pan-Asian restaurant The Blue Dragon. 'We definitely wanted to pay respect to the cultures,' Robert Martinez, Jr., Universal Orlando Resort's director of culinary and executive chef told Travel + Leisure about the full-service restaurant located near the park's Universal Helio Grand Hotel, A Loews Hotel. 'We didn't want to recreate our own twist, but have pan-Asian influence, touching on different areas of Asia.' To do so, the menu includes chicken khao soi and peanut shrimp noodles inspired by Thailand, tonkotsu ramen by Japan, double fried chicken wings by Korea. There are even more nuanced Chinese dishes, like dan dan noodles and wonton in chili oil highlighting southwestern flavors of Sichuan, beef noodles from the western province of Xi'an, and dim sum from the Guangdong region. Also on tap are snowflake potstickers, fused together with a lace crust just like I'd seen in Taiwan. Adding even more inclusion, the traditional mapu tofu recipe with pork was instead switched out for tofu to provide a vegan option, the chef explained. 'What's great about Universal and our culinary team is that we're so diverse,' he said, noting that many of the team's chefs are of Asian heritage. 'A lot of us working out the recipes was asking them, 'Does this bring you home? Is this how your mother or grandmother would make it?'" To double down on the authenticity, the food was tested in team member dining locations with an even broader audience. 'More team members that are more diverse and absolutely have their own twist and would say, 'You know, and my family does it this way,' as they made adjustments to get the flavors just right. 'The only dish that we did put our own little twist on it was the moon cakes,' he said, referring to the Chinese sweet treat traditionally filled with red bean paste. "In our case, we have delicious passionfruit cheesecake, with a little mango jelly in the middle.' The change, he said, comes from a place of love and kept guest preferences in mind. On top of the food itself, the serving style is also thoughtfully executed. 'We have a special place in our heart when it comes to Asian cuisine—it's how we like to eat,' he said, explaining that it's not just about the dishes, but about the communal style of dining too. 'Things come out as they get made, allowing for the cultural environment of sharing and eating with your family at the table, which is very much associated with Asian culture. So it's not just the flavors, it's the experience.' Indeed, from the moment I stepped into the restaurant, I squealed with delights seeing the neon street signs, so reminiscent of my Asian travels, with one of too-cute cartoons of soup dumplings getting snatched up by chopsticks and another featuring shapes of foods I recognized from Taiwanese night markets. My favorite piece of decor—perhaps in all of Epic Universe—was the happy noodle cat over in the restaurant's Tiger Bar. It's a combination of two Asian traditions: a beckoning cat, believed to usher in good luck and fortune, and the slurping of noodles, which is considered a polite way to show you're enjoying your food. The main dining room stunned with a traditional red pagoda under a faux night sky that Rodriguez described as a 'golden garden with lanterns moving up and down, so that you're literally dining under the stars with music that has an upbeat kick.' To the left was a separate room, with place settings and tableware that gave me an instant nostalgic feel of the Asian restaurants I grew up going to both in California and Taiwan. The room had traditional screen doors and it wasn't until Rodriguez clued me in that I noticed art was of Celestial Park's skyline but in the style of traditional Asian illustrations—a little Easter egg hidden for those in the know. Another unique aspect Adam Rivest, Universal Creative vice president of creative management and branding, told T+L is The Blue Dragon's full tea service. 'It's nothing normally offered in a theme park,' he said. 'But it's so awesome in the middle of the day to go sit and have a relaxing Asian-inspired tea.' After all, Epic Universe's dedication to offering a diverse range of true dining experience can be proven in pure numbers: it has just 11 rides but 30 dining establishments, which show a 'crossroads for all cultures,' Rivest said. Whether that's French-inspired fare at Café L'air De La Sirène, Nordic eats at Mead Hall, or barbecue at The Oak & Star Tavern, it's all about getting the dishes just right. 'We didn't want to make it anything that was going to disrespect the cultures,' Rodriguez said. 'We want to hit you in the heart with authenticity in a way that show we're really trying to pay respect.'
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Food at Epic Universe Is Wild, Weird, and Shockingly Good
Courtesy of Epic Universe When Universal Studios opened the first major US theme park in over 20 years on May 22, they promised immersive restaurants with wild theme dining. I've eaten theme park snacks from around the globe for over 20 years, so I knew I would go. Did I travel several hours to eat a black-bunned burger with a bubbling green mocktail? Reader, I did. I learned very quickly that the food at Epic Universe is different from other parks. For fans, 'theming' is a big deal. You visit these parks to escape reality for a little bit, and the more all-encompassing the theme, the more likely you are to lose yourself in the world of the park. For us theme park adults, we love when a park and its experiences feel part of that specific world. The rides and Epic themes are getting a lot of attention, but the food almost feels like a secret. A far cry from standard hot dogs and cotton candy, ingredients like saffron labneh, coconut nectar, and mango bread create exciting and immersive dining experiences here. Burnt nuggets are actually tasty pimento cheese bites. Mustachioed Luigi grilled chicken sandwiches are packed with basil pesto. Yeah, theme park food is weird. Generally, it's a lot of handheld stuff you're eating while walking, like pretzels or turkey legs. It's sensory overload, with bright, artificial food coloring or strange textures. It's served by people in costume and out of adult sippy cups. But done right, theme park food is freeing, a chance suspend reality and eat something drawn from imagination. At Epic the food is fantastical and it tastes good. The park is made up of five lands: Dark Universe, Isle of Berk from 'How To Train Your Dragon', The Wizarding World of Harry Potter's Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World and Celestial Park. Even better: You feel like you're actually visiting that world, whether you're eating in a cafe from Harry Potter or a restaurant Dracula might own. Right now, there are 25 food and drink options, enough bars, snack stands and restaurants to actually eat three full meals at the parks. Only Atlantic, The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant, and Toadstool Cafe require booking ahead—they're popular, and in the case of Toadstool, it's the only place to really get a sit-down meal in Super Nintendo World. My verdict: Throughout the park, the menus are completely unserious, with unnatural shapes or colors based on the stories of their respective lands, served in cone-shaped bread or topped with glitter—but really delicious too. Dark Universe is the spooky park celebrating classic monster movies, with a Frankenstein ride, an oddly sexy Invisible Man, and Dracula's spot, Das Stakehaus (get it?) serving vampire-themed dishes. Compared to other theme parks that only provide plastic—quelle horreur!—Das Stakehaus serves salmon, chicken and cuts of steak on real plates with real black silverware, which makes me feel like an adult who can be trusted with cutlery. The meat is flanked by gorgeous sides of nutty maitake mushrooms, roasted carrots and buttery acorn squash. The vegetables were incredibly fresh, unexpected for theme park fare. By far, the very best item at Das Stakehaus is the Greek yogurt panna cotta called Labotocotta. One silky bite of bright pink raspberry sauce and I forgot that I was spooning into a brain-shaped dessert while a vampire familiar played the violin nearby. I've found hearty theme park breakfasts are a unicorn, but there's a full petit déjeuner menu at Café L'air De La Sirène, the main restaurant of The Ministry of Magic. While superfans line up for Bièraubeurre Crêpes (French for Butterbeer, if you didn't pick that up), the Oeufs en Cocotte— poached eggs with mornay sauce and gruyère cheese—is super filling and feels authentic to lounging at a Parisian cafe. Later on, I came back for the bright yellow and green cocktail called a Lobe Blaster cocktail at Ministry of Magic's Bar Moonshine just around the corner. Made with punchy moonshine, limoncello, and absinthe, it's a fan favorite for the immediate punch of lemon-lime, gummy candy-like sweetness, and smooth minty finish. It goes down easy, but the real draw is the fantastical advice from bartenders in striped, tailored vests to avoid using Portkeys after imbibing. If there's a more gorgeous pizzeria than Pizza Moon, I haven't found it. In Epic's main hub of Celestial Park, the vintage theatre setting is like stepping into the 1902 Georges Méliès film 'Le Voyage Dans la Lune,' complete with a pizza oven shaped like a steampunk rocket. Whimsical theatrical cutouts make the perfect backdrop for Pizza Lunare, an actual work of art consisting of a thick purple ube crust, which evoked a muted, earthy sweetness and topped with mountain peaks of custardy ricotta dotted with crispy pancetta and garlic confit. I never expected to gobble down garlic béchamel at a theme park or even crave a heavy pizza between zippy coaster rides, but I have been converted. People visit theme parks for the rides and shows, but at Epic Universe, Universal Studios presents transportive meals as another reason to book your ticket. These dishes open park goers up to new ingredients and fresh presentation. Gone are the days of simply stuffing a pretzel into your face while waiting in line. (Though we love that, too and the Frankenstein's monster pretzel is pretty cool!) With unconventional ingredients and creative menus, Epic Universe is showing park goers that good theming and quality can make a great meal. Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
Gizmodo
3 days ago
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Lego's July Releases Are Swooping In
After a blockbuster June, Lego's having more of a quiet month in July, perhaps in an attempt to get us outside in the sweltering heat rather than indoors with a fan blasting in our faces as we build lots of Lego. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything to tempt your wallet with this month. As Lego gears up for its typically huge month of releases for August, July is looking a bit quiet. But notable highlights include a massive Battle Droid and STAP for Star Wars fans to get stuck into and a cute new Toothless to celebrate the How to Train Your Dragon remake. Keep reading to see all the must-have sets releasing this month! Although inspired by the recent release of the live-action remake, this Toothless set is anything but hyper-realistic. The cute, chibi design comes with an opening mouth and even a little fish Toothless can be posed grabbing. ($70, available at Lego) The latest roadster to enter the Icons line is this slick '60s sports car. Featuring an opening hood and doors, the Cobra 427 S/C comes decked out in Shelby's classic blue-and-white racing livery, and includes a small trophy as a nod to the Cobra's esteemed racing history. ($160, available at Lego now for Insiders, July 4 general release) The latest Marvel buildable mask gives Miles' black-and-red Spidey suit a moment in the spotlight, a color refresh of the brick-builder's past buildable Peter Parker mask. ($70, available at Lego) Nike and Lego's collaboration might have started away from the world of toys with its sneaker mashup, but now it's coming back to the bricks with this display piece depicting the iconic Dunk sneaker, its logo, and its legacy on the court with a rotating basketball. Also included is the much smaller and also much more horrifying B'Ball Head minifigure, who has standard minifig proportions save for his massive, spherical basketball head. So round. So terrifying. ($100, available at Lego) Lego's buildable Star Wars droid line gets a very intriguing sideways step with the Battle Droid's addition to the ranks. Not only does the build include a fully poseable, brick-built Battle Droid, it also includes a STAP speeder bike to display the droid on when it's not running around on behalf of the Trade Federation. Even the minifigure-scaled Battle Droid has its own little STAP to sit on as part of the build's display base! ($140, available at Lego) Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
