NEWS: Epic Universe Could Be Getting a Whole Lot BIGGER!

Universal Orlando knew what it was doing when it decided to call its third and newest theme park Epic Universe.

©Universal

The whole idea behind Epic Universe is, well, epic. The new park will have five themed lands, tons of new rides, and even new restaurants. Although it’s not set to open until 2025, though, Epic Universe has already started to grow — this time by about 1,300 acres.

The Orlando Business Journal reports that Universal City Development Partners Ltd., a subsidiary of Universal Orlando Resort, has filed documents with Orange County Florida that expand the original plan of 700 acres for Epic Universe to over 2,000 acres. The Orange County Development Review Committee also recently approved the plan, so Epic Universe just got a LOT bigger.

Universal also called for a change of use for those plans for whatever they intend to use the extra land for. The property is part of a county-sanctioned project called Shingle Creek Transit & Utility Community Development District. For an example of how the plans have changed, here is the initial plan for the 700-acre Epic Universe.

The updated plan includes the extra 1,300 or so acres. It’s more than doubled in size. Universal has big plans for Epic Universe.

Now that Epic Universe has all this land in its development plans, we have to ask what Universal has in store for the new theme park. Although Epic Universe will see three new hotels built in the area (Universal Stella Nova Resort, Universal Terra Luna Resort, and Universal Helios Grand Hotel) some experts believe that won’t be enough to satisfy demand once the new theme park opens. So many believe that some of this land may be used to build new hotels, although we also can’t rule out the park itself expanding in the future.

The new plans basically give Universal more control over the development process for Epic Universe and gives the company more leeway in creating new additions, as well as moving things around, in the theme park without having to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hoops. This is similar to the power given to Disney World’s Reedy Creek District when it was active.

Universal has already released a lot of details about the new lands coming to the theme park, although we’re still waiting on more details about Dark Universe, a land themed to Universal’s classic monsters. We’ve also been following construction on the park, and will keep you updated while it’s still under construction.

Epic Universe is set to open in 2025.