Epic Universe Files NEW Permit For Mystery Addition

It’s long been wondered if and when Epic Universe will get an expansion, despite the fact that the park just opened about a year ago.

There’s space for an expansion, multiple, actually, and we’ve seen hints towards one since February of this year. Recently, a permit was filed at the end of May that indicated an expansion could be coming to Dark Universe, and now? Yet ANOTHER permit has been filed, and whatever it’s for, it’s going to be BIG.

The Orlando Business Journal has confirmed that Universal has filed a permit for a new 71,500-square-foot structure to go inside Epic Universe. Stantec Architecture filed the permit on June 11th with Universal Orlando and Universal Creative listed as the coordinating companies, and while it’s not clear where it’s going inside the park, the permit does show the building’s category covers recreational, social or sauna facilities.

In an emailed statement to the Orlando Business Journal, a spokesperson for Universal Destinations and Experiences said, “We continuously enhance our parks, and permit filings are a routine part of that process. We have no further details to share.” That sounds like an expansion to us, and based on the mapping from the South Florida Water Management District, the new permit shows that the building’s size is similar to other non-marquee attractions and theaters at Epic Universe. For comparison, The Untrainable Dragon show spans about 70,000 square feet and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is about 71,000 square feet.

The same mapping tool also confirmed that there’s about 230,000 square feet of available space to expand The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, and there’s about 196,000 square feet of available space to add onto Dark Universe. Many outlets are currently speculating that this new expansion is for Dark Universe, especially since in the original concept art for the park, there was a large amphitheater type attraction located inside Dark Universe that currently doesn’t exist.