Universal’s Epic Universe Starts Park Previews & Soft Openings

Universal Orlando is starting Epic Universe soft openings soon, with Team Member previews followed by Annual Passholders and others in a phased approach. Here’s what we know so far, plus our speculation about trial operations at the third theme park that’ll join the lineup alongside Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. (Updated March 4, 2025.)

Let’s cut to the chase with the latest update, which is that Universal Orlando has shifted into a new phase with Epic Universe, conducting previews of Epic Universe with select Team Members. This has been confirmed via Epic Universe construction photo updates courtesy of theme park eye in the sky bioreconstruct (a highly recommended follow who graciously provided the aerial photos here and has hundreds more on Twitter).

With these previews occurring during the daytime hours, construction has largely shifted to the overnight hours, or to the lands where previews are not occurring. The bottom line is that construction on Epic Universe is nearing the finish line. Scaffolding is coming down to reveal gorgeously finished facades, walkways are opening up thanks to the removal of equipment, hardscape and landscape is totally done in areas, nighttime lighting and other effects are testing. Not all areas are equally far along, but Epic Universe is nevertheless in the home stretch and starting to look like a theme park that’s ready to greet guests.

Universal Orlando has officially announced that the first phase of wide Team Member previews will occur March 1-7, 2025 now through March 14, 2025.

This are open to eligible Universal Orlando Team Members, Orlando-based Universal Creative Team Members, Orlando-based Universal Destinations and Experiences (UDX) Team Members, and NBCU Team Members whose scope is Universal Destinations and Experiences (UDX) in Orlando. This may sound like everyone, but it still leaves out a lot of Team Members, including those working the Universal Orlando hotels, CityWalk, and more.

As suggested by the above strikethrough, an update to Universal’s Team Member page has revealed that the Phase One preview of Epic Universe has been extended through March 14, 2025. Previews were announced last week and began over the weekend, and now have been extended by another full week. Team Members can now visit Epic Universe 3 times, rather than just once.

Note that this is still the first phase of a multi-phase Epic Universe preview. The second phase is rumored to include Team Member Friends & Family, and has not had its dates officially finalized or announced. As we reported previously, the next phase is contingent upon how the first week started off. And apparently, Universal wants more time for testing with a limited audience.

Same sentiment applies here. Expect another update on this in about a week or so. If this phase of Team Member testing goes well, expect Friends & Family previews to start around March 15, 2025. If it doesn’t, they could be pushed back again. Our expectation is that phase two will not be delayed.

That’s because it’s also credibly rumored that media previews will occur in late March. Universal Orlando will probably want a couple weeks of more rigorous Friends & Family previews before greeting members of the media in late March.

Member previews are likely happening after Team Member previews but before Annual Passholders, Florida residents, etc. The goal being favorable media coverage in a more controlled environment than will occur once UOAP previews start and ordinary guests start posting their impressions on social media.

Tickets for Team Member Previews have been available on a first-come, first-served basis. Universal Orlando is enforcing a strict no-photography policy during the first phase of previews, with penalties including immediate removal and discipline (presumably termination). This will be more difficult to enforce in subsequent phases, which is likely another reason why Universal wants a media preview before wider previews.

This approach makes sense. It allows Universal Orlando to stress-test each of the lands, while continuing construction as well as 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 paying guests.

The portal system also helps tremendously with this, as an entire land can easily be taken offline during Team Member previews if it’s having major issues or needs extensive test & adjust.

Even so, the ‘supply’ of Universal Orlando Team Members plus their guests is insufficient to sustain these for very long. If the park is going to stress test actual operations, and not just simulated ones with far lower attendance than Epic Universe will see starting May 22, it’ll need to expand these previews beyond Team Members.

I’d be surprised if Epic Universe did more than a few weeks of resort-wide Team Member previews even allowing for guests. The whole point of trial operations is right there in the name. Starting small is desirable 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. But they’ll need to scale up at some point to simulate a more normal guest load.

Accordingly, we’d expect the first previews of Epic Universe for guests to start around early April 2025. The park already moving to the first phase of wide TM previews in early March is very encouraging for a full month-plus of UOAP previews.

It stands to reason that these will begin with existing Universal Orlando Annual Passholders and be ticketed. Based on everything we can see and the rumors we’ve heard, it sure sounds like these will be whole-park previews from the jump.

Still, the possibility remains that select attractions or entire lands will be unavailable for the reasons noted above. 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 April or May.

Epic Universe as a whole is clearly not a race against the clock, but a couple of its complex attractions might end up being troublesome. That’s par for the course with new rides at both Walt Disney World and Universal.

Note that at this point, the only previews that are official are those for Universal Orlando Annual Passholders. Way back in late October when regular AP tickets for Epic Universe went on sale (for visits starting with the official opening on May 22, 2025), there was a tease to “look for information regarding Passholder soft opening opportunities in the coming months!​”

Separately, there was another note on the vacation package page that “Tickets may be available to select audiences prior to May 22, 2025 opening date.” While these messages sound similar, the intended audiences for each were different, as is the verbiage.

As we pointed out previously, the “select audiences” limiting language suggests that preview tickets will be available to more than just Annual Passholders, but not necessarily offered to the general public–the simple fact that this ‘heads up’ was being offered before regular guests bought ticket and resort packages suggested to me that soft openings won’t be limited exclusively to Annual Passholders.

This probably isn’t news to regular readers, as we’ve been strongly suggesting for a while now that Epic Universe will have lengthy previews. Epic Universe is not just going to do a cold open on May 22, 2025. That would be a recipe for disaster.

In all likelihood, the park will have lengthy previews for Team Members plus their friends & family, followed by Annual Passholders, Florida residents, media, influencers, foreign dignitaries, Real Housewives, and so forth. That’s a lot of people. And many of these guests will happily pay for the opportunity to step into Epic Universe before it opens to the general public.

This allowed Universal Orlando to set a conservative official opening date for Epic Universe far in advance, announcing the May 22, 2025 opening date. There was absolutely no way that Universal could have known back in October when that date was set exactly when Epic Universe would be ready to open to the general public.

Rather than turning it into a race against the clock with an official opening date during Spring Break, they opted for a Memorial Day weekend kickoff right at the start of the normal summer tourist season.

Universal Orlando picked this date so far in advance because they were highly confident that–even though the exact date it would be done was unknowable–it was a near certainty Epic Universe would be finished long before then. And by all appearances, it is.

As we wrote back in October, it was likely that Universal set the Memorial Day weekend opening date even with the expectation that all or most of Epic Universe would be ready by March or April. Having a longer runway to sell vacation packages and tickets was better than rushing the opening and risking catastrophe in the event of delays. This approach is to get Epic Universe ready to greet guests as quickly as possible, and simply backfill all earlier dates with paid soft openings.

It turns out that we were off on the timing: Epic Universe was ready (at least in part) by mid-February 2025. That moved the timeline forward, while also likely expanding the potential pool of guests who are eligible for soft openings.

We also mentioned back in October that a longer window would mean that previews are extended to Florida residents and possibly even selling soft opening tickets to on-site guests at some point in May 2025. Precise dates are impossible to predict with all of this, as it depends on how Team Member previews, test & adjust, and ongoing construction progresses.

Wider soft openings become more likely than not if Epic Universe is firing on all cylinders during previews and Universal wants to extend the offering to more guests. It’s an everyone wins scenario–they get more revenue, and guests who booked vacations that just missed Epic Universe get to be surprised by not actually missing it.

Ultimately, there are no guarantees about when public previews and soft openings will start. We’re getting ahead of ourselves a little in that regard, as all we know for sure is that they’ll happen at some point.

With that said, Epic Universe already starting limited Team Member previews in mid to late February and moving to wider previews in March 2025 is a very positive sign. This exceeds our most optimistic predictions, and means that Annual Passholder previews cannot be too far away. It simply is not possible to stress test and simulate regular operations for very long without moving to UOAPs.

Whether AP previews start in late March or early April 2025 is unknown at this point, but we’d be shocked if they don’t begin before April 5, 2025. That’s roughly a full month after wide Team Member previews start, and is a very conservative timeframe for Annual Passholder previews. It’s entirely possible AP previews begin a couple of weeks before that.

That’s a really long runway that gives Universal plenty of time for soft openings and public previews of Epic Universe. We will be closely monitoring what’s announced and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when Epic Universe soft opening dates are released or rumored!

In the end, the only thing Universal Orlando has announced thus far is that soft openings will happen for Annual Passholders and that select audiences may be able to attend Epic Universe prior to its official opening date. Both of those things were pretty much givens in light of past precedent and operational realities for new theme parks.

The big questions are still when these will begin, how long they’ll last, how much they’ll cost, and which ‘select audiences’ will end up being eligible. Like everyone else, we’re waiting with baited breath, as we (selfishly) want plenty of chances to visit Epic Universe before opening day, with much more manageable crowds.

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

When do you think Epic Universe will start soft openings? Think they’ll be offered over a month in advance for Annual Passholders? What about Floridians or even on-site guests at Universal Orlando resort hotels? 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!