Universal Reveals Full Epic Universe Super Bowl Commercial
Universal Orlando has shared a sneak peek at its Super Bowl LIX commercial for Epic Universe at the end of the Big Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on February 9, 2025. Here’s the announcement, full 30-second ad, and thoughts about UOR’s two-minute drill for Epic Universe before the new park opens.
According to Universal, the Epic Universe portals will open on Super Bowl LIX viewers’ television screens this Sunday night. As part of the highly anticipated commercials that will air, Universal Orlando Resort is debuting a new ad featuring the worlds of Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. (Poor Celestial Park!)
These new lands are located inside Epic Universe, Universal Orlando’s fourth theme park (third if you don’t count the water park; please stop trying to make fetch happen now that you have a real third gate, Universal). Universal Epic Universe opens on May 22, 2025.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will face off in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, February 9, 2025. Kickoff is at 6:30pm Eastern, and viewers will be able to see the Epic Universe spot right after the big game ends and just before the official trophy ceremony, which is expected to be shortly after 10pm.
According to Universal, the Epic Universe ad will leaving viewers saying, “You’ve got to see this!” Here’s a look at the full Super Bowl 59 commercial for Universal’s Epic Universe theme park:
You gotta see this 💫 Check out our spot airing on Sunday during the Big Game! May 22, 2025 is the official Grand Opening of Universal Epic Universe theme park. Learn more: https://t.co/H86xl85yoy pic.twitter.com/JM4KUaYPqn
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) February 7, 2025
The Epic Universe ads begins with a mom stating “let’s just get a closer look” to her family in their backyard before walking through a portal to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. The ad then continues by following members of another family through Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and Super Nintendo World as they experience five immersive worlds in one amazing theme park, with the ad declaring that “our universe…will never be the same.” It concludes with a teen daughter saying “whoa, you’ve gotta see this!” (a variation of the above catchphrase) as she exits the portal into another backyard.
As far as Super Bowl commercials go, this isn’t going to be on any ‘best of’ lists on Monday morning. But that isn’t really the point here. Companies like Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other staples of Super Bowl spots are airing clever ads to raise brand awareness and affinity. It’s not like anyone saw the “wassup” or Clydesdale ads and asked themselves, “what’s this beer company during these oddball ads?” All of the above are well-established–American institutions, even.
It’s a similar story with Disney’s iconic “What’s Next” commercial. That spot has been running for decades at the end of the Big Game, and doesn’t show any footage of the parks–just a hero from the winning team proclaiming “I’m going to Disney!” It’s not marketing anything, specifically, at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, yet it’s invaluable for the brand and its place as an American institution.
The goal of this Epic Universe ad is different. It’s introducing the third theme park at Universal Orlando to general audiences for the first time. From that perspective, it’s a success. It highlights the lands about which guests will care most, and showcases some iconic moments from those.
My only critique, if I were to offer one, is that Donkey Kong didn’t make an appearance. The Nintendo portion could’ve been just a second longer to show that side of the land, as Super Nintendo World is presumably the biggest draw of Epic Universe. Otherwise, it gets the job done.
Personally, I wonder if this is the kickoff of Universal Orlando’s final drive for Epic Universe to get people to book trips before the park opens. That obviously isn’t until May 22, which is still a few months away. So it might seem like there’s plenty of time. But there really isn’t, at least not for the opening summer.
The prime window for summer vacation bookings is right now, and it’s quickly closing.
Many families start talking about the upcoming year’s trips during the winter holidays, meaning from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve. Late December through January are typically the biggest months of the year for travel planning. People aren’t seeing ads in April and making plans for May as a result–that’s insufficient lead time for most families between booking and traveling.
This is precisely why we expected to see a primetime special about Epic Universe on NBC and Peacock sometime last holiday season, and predicted as much last year. That obviously turned out to be wrong. But honestly, it’s crazy to second-guess Universal’s approach to marketing Epic Universe.
Last year’s land-by-land reveal of Epic Universe was masterful, and those videos have racked up over 1 million views across platforms. Epic Universe got even more free marketing from fan sites, influencers, and traditional media, so it’s likely that the actual reach is far beyond that.
It’s entirely possible that Universal determined that Epic Universe didn’t need a more aggressive launch marketing blitz based on early vacation package sales. Or it’s possible that this Super Bowl ad is the start of it, as Universal is more focused with attracting guests after Summer 2025; anyone who books for June or July as a result of this ad is a bonus.
Speaking of vacation packages, I’m honestly a little surprised that Universal Orlando hasn’t released regular single and multi-day tickets for Epic Universe. At this point, it’s still all multi-day bundles–single day Epic Universe tickets are only available to Annual Passholders.
I’m surprised that Universal Orlando has stuck to this approach for so long, which suggests that it’s working and they don’t need to open sales further, with admission to only Epic Universe for the general public. That, or they’re being stubborn and want to capture as many sales as possible this way, “locking in” visits to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. Vacation planners balking at this and instead opting to visit Walt Disney World may be the biggest way that a “rising tide lifts all ships” in Summer 2025.
Regardless, questions about when Universal Orlando will release regular tickets for Epic Universe is the second-most common inquiry we’ve been getting about the new park. The answer is, quite simply, “I don’t know.” I would’ve previously guessed that it would’ve happened by late December or early January. (Wrong again!) At this point, maybe they’ll give it another week or two after the Super Bowl ad? But the real answer, again, is that I have no idea.
Thankfully, we have a bit better insight into the #1 question, which is when will Epic Universe begin soft openings and pre-opening previews? The answer to that is probably very soon. As shared in that recent post, new aerial construction photos show a nearly-finished park with employees being trained. Along with that, there are rumors about Universal getting ready to start previews in the coming weeks, so you might be able to visit Epic Universe months before it officially opens.
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
What do you think of the Super Bowl commercial for Universal’s Epic Universe? Expect this to kickoff the home stretch marketing push for the third theme park at Universal Orlando? 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? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
Trying to understand what I’m seeing here… this ad looks like a weirdly tweaked version of the 60-second Epic Universe spot that’s been running non-stop for the past two months across various media formats. The beginning now focuses a bit more on the “Mom” character but seems like everything else is pretty similar, and it ends the same way.
This ending is now super weird (lazy?) because, wait, did the mom transform into a pre-teen girl of different ethnicity on her journey? The original spot starts with the little girl running off into the portal (“Mia, wait!”), so the end ties it all up when Mia returns and says “you gotta see this!”
I’m familiar with the ad production process so it’s obvious they filmed a bunch of different sub- scenes to edit into various 30-second cuts (one for each land) and a master 60-second cut. Mia’s 30-second spot is all about How to Train Your Dragon and I’d imagine we’ll see the mom in a future 30-second spot devoted to Harry Potter. But then they decided based on budget and the demographics of late evening Super Bowl viewers to do a partial re-cut of their 60-second spot into a convoluted 30-second jumble. Not impressed.
Maybe they’re counting on people not noticing since the opening and closing are so quick?
I’ll be honest: I watched the commercial 4 times and it wasn’t until someone pointing out that the families at the beginning and end are different that I noticed it.
Kinda surprising that they would simply cut two commercials together given the spend on a Super Bowl ad (and the attention Universal is drawing to it), but I’m guessing 95%+ of viewers won’t notice. Or maybe I’m underestimating how much more observant others are than me?
They are definitely counting on 95% of viewers not noticing and they are probably right. But within that 5% are people who are plugged into the ad world (this is the one time of year people care about those “reviewing” SB commercials), and people who are plugged into the theme park world (influencers, bloggers, redditors, etc.). Kind of an unforced error to make your SB commercial less coherent/interesting than your previous ads and invite criticism. They’ll still get what they wanted (more consumer awareness) but a lost opportunity for leveling up the excitement/enthusiasm.
“Kickoff” HA! You are irrepressible.
$8 million dollars for 30 seconds. People are overwhelmed by that but that’s not the important number.
120 million viewers. That’s the number.
That’s why you have to get it right. Not the money.
Bottom line.
It’s actually a “super” good commercial.
I like how well it’s constructed.
It starts with one family but ends with another.
The girl coming back is the same one we see holding up the dragon egg.
If you see this ad and aren’t a little piqued you are either too drunk to drive home or dead.
As a NY fan and a believer in Santa Claus, I can not in good conscience, root for the Eagles.
Please Patrick Mahomes, make your former Met pitching father proud and put those Eagles fans in their place so they don’t go climbing light poles or anything else.
PS: Yes Mayor Parker there is an A in Eagles, the L comes after the G and there are not two S’.
You gotta be from Philly to root for Philly.
“$8 million dollars for 30 seconds. People are overwhelmed by that but that’s not the important number.
120 million viewers. That’s the number.”
I’m guessing those numbers (both of them) aren’t as high for a commercial after the game but before the trophy ceremony.
The Superbowl ad should reach the vast swath of the country that doesn’t keep up with theme parks. Anecdotally, of the three siblings in my family, I’m the only one who keeps up on what’s happening in Orlando parks and regularly schedules visits. One other sibling will go every ten years or so, and the other never goes, preferring Vegas or cruise ships.
As it happens, my sibling’s family is headed to Universal next week. They’ve never heard of EPIC Universe and wouldn’t be too excited if they did. Their kids were very young the last time they went to Universal, so the now-teenagers don’t remember the two existing parks, and those will already feel new to them. Having a new park wouldn’t budge the needle on them visiting Orlando more often.
So I’m excited about visiting EPIC Universe, hopefully in 2026, but none of my friends or family have heard of it or would care if I told them about it. I would think that everyone in the country who would be excited to go to EPIC Universe has already heard about it, so the Superbowl Ad will just plant a seed for the casual park-goer to consider it for their once every five years or once a decade sojourn to Orlando.
“I would think that everyone in the country who would be excited to go to EPIC Universe has already heard about it…”
I get what you’re saying in general, but I disagree with this.
I think you are probably correct that awareness outside the theme park community is not widespread. Or at least not as widespread as some fans probably believe. So you’re very much right about that.
Where you’re wrong, I think, is in assuming everyone is like your sibling’s family. Nintendo, Harry Potter, and How to Train Your Dragon are all huge franchises/brands with considerable mainstream drawing power. A Mario or Dragons-obsessed kid (or their parents) learning about Epic Universe for the first time could absolutely move the needle in the more immediate future.
Even if it doesn’t get those families to visit more often, it could change the equation/allocation of days on an upcoming trip. (Well, but for Universal’s current policy with packages and multi-day tickets.)