“Five Immersive Worlds. One Amazing Theme Park.” This is the motto for the Orlando-based Epic Universe, which opened in May 2025. As the first major theme park to open in the U.S. in 25 years, Epic Universe had to debut with a bang, and indeed, it’s immersive worlds, entered through dedicated portals — Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic — offer rides, live shows and experiences using cutting-edge technology and detail-oriented design.
The theme park has generated roughly $2 billion for the state of Florida alone in its first year.
Designing each world to be immersive is key to the park’s success.
Jeff Polk, executive vice president and general manager of the park, has been with the company for over 36 years. Reflecting on Universal Studios Florida in the 1990s, Polk says the company was then just starting to dip its toes into immersive experiences to engage visitors. Over time, with the opening of Islands of Adventure and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Polk and his team learned from their guests: “They told us time and time again that they wanted more of those highly immersive details; they love that stuff.”
