Epic Universe isn’t even officially open yet, but reports are already coming in about damage at the theme park.
After years of waiting, we’re finally on the cusp of a brand-new theme park at Universal Orlando Resort. Epic Universe is slated to open in less than two weeks, introducing five themed lands, each connected by a stunning central area called Celestial Park.
The project marks the largest expansion in Universal’s history—and one of the most ambitious in Orlando’s competitive theme park scene. Guests can explore a Viking village in How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk or venture into Dark Universe, a moody reimagining of the classic Universal Monsters. Meanwhile, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic blends elements from both the Fantastic Beasts films and the original series, setting its main ride (which has experienced a fair amount of downtime) inside the British Ministry of Magic.
At the park’s center, Celestial Park offers gardens, dining, and a dual-track roller coaster called Stardust Racers. However, among the new lands, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD will likely draw the biggest crowds. The area includes a Mario Kart-themed augmented reality ride, a Yoshi attraction, an immersive Donkey Kong coaster, and interactive elements that turn the land into a life-sized video game.
Guests Cause Damage in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD
Previews have been running at the park for a couple of months now, and first reactions have proven extremely popular. If you didn’t manage to catch an early glimpse of the park, there’s a chance you may not get to see it in its most aesthetically pleasing state.
Guests have reportedly already started causing damage to the land’s attractions. As per accounts from Epic Universe, visitors have been pulling the stems off the apples in the Yoshi’s Adventure queue.
Guests already broke many of the stems off the apples in the Yoshi’s Adventure queue pic.twitter.com/RQeLNNKm9m
— Universal Parks News Today (@UniNewsToday) May 8, 2025
Yoshi’s Adventure is an omnimover ride that sees guests search for Captain Toad on a treasure hunt. While it’s currently also located at Universal Studios Japan, it wasn’t replicated at Universal Studios Hollywood due to space constraints.
This isn’t the first time we’ve noted this kind of behavior at the parks. A similar trend of guests purposely breaking things occurred in the line for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, where in 2023 – less than a year after it opened – there were reports that visitors were going out of their way to mess with some of the props in the queue area at Disneyland.
Other bad behavior reported at Epic Universe in recent weeks has included guests behaving inappropriately and making suggestive comments during meet-and-greets with Hiccup (yes, the teenage character from How to Train Your Dragon) and shouting at Universal team members after trying to bypass the line for the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. Guests have also noted their fellow parkgoers causing similar damage while waiting in line for other attractions.
While the park doesn’t officially open until May 22, Universal did recently expand access to all parkgoers who’ve purchased a preview ticket. With this increase seemingly came a jump in capacity, with fans observing significantly longer wait times than during team member and passholder previews.
Do you think guests have become more unruly at theme parks?
