Universal Orlando is opening its new Epic Universe to its employees starting on March 1.
In a message to workers – called “team members” in the Universal vernacular – the resort said previews would be held from March 1 to 7 exclusively for team members, before expanding to include employees’ families and friends in a second phase soon after.
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Team members will not be allowed to take photos or videos inside the park without risking ejection and potentially losing their job.
Epic Universe, the third theme park at Universal Orlando Resort, is currently scheduled to open to the general public on May 22. However, passholder previews are expected to follow team member previews, possibly as soon as the last week of March.
On the other side of the country, Universal Studios Hollywood may not be adding another gate this year, but it is getting some new characters.
Universal announced that for its new-for-2025 nighttime event, Fan Fest Nights, guests can meet Elphaba and Glinda from the hit musical “Wicked” at a photo spot near the park’s front entrance.
The characters met guests on a sporadic basis at Universal Studios Florida inside the Wicked: The Experience retail shop, but had not previously been available to guests at Universal Hollywood.
It could be just the beginning of the film’s presence in Universal theme parks. Universal Destinations & Experiences CEO Mark Woodbury recently said of “Wicked” to The New York Times, “When I saw it, my first reaction was, ‘This is a theme park waiting to happen.’”
The “Wicked” characters will join experiences themed around “Back to the Future,” “Star Trek,” Dungeons & Dragons, “One Piece” and more at Universal Fan Fest Nights. The separately-ticketed nighttime event runs on select nights from April 25 to May 18 – and Universal added an additional night to the event’s final week on Thursday, May 15, the only Thursday night that the event is scheduled to operate.