In a recent interview on the Discover Universal podcast, Universal Creative revealed new details about the story and nighttime light show of Celestial Park, the central land of Epic Universe.
Celestial Park Details
JC Cloward, assistant director, and Catherynne Jean, director of creative, appeared on the podcast to talk about Celestial Park. Jean described Celestial Park as a “world between worlds” powered by the Chronos machine, which has “mysterious origins.”
The Chronos draws power from the universe to sustain the enchantment of vitality of Celestial Park and open the portals to Epic Universe’s other worlds. Guests will enter Epic Universe below the Chronos, as seen in the concept art above.
Cloward adds that Celestial Park is the “connective tissue” of the worlds and the Chronos is a “whirling, moving machine.” A vendor in Italy is creating the device and Cloward said they recently saw a test video of it spinning. They also refer to the machine as a “Celestial Cypher.”
Though we don’t know who built the Chronos, we do know it’s very old. People have come to live in Celestial Park and maintain the device, as well as the land. These residents are known as “Celestians.” They figured out how to build the park’s other portals.
Cloward described the process of stepping from Celestial Park into one of the IP-based lands as an “experience.” The portals will start with Celestial Park theming but guests will then pass plasma screens that make them feel like they are walking through swirling nebula gas.
“I feel, and many of us feel, it will revolutionize theme parks moving forward,” Cloward said of Epic Universe and Celestial Park. He added, “Putting the park aspect back into theme parks was more than just a statement; it was a driving force that shaped the development of Celestial Park.”
Celestial Park will have 26 gardens, each with individual theming and different plants. Some of the gardens are connected story-wise to restaurants or attractions.
“They are more for the aesthetic beauty of relaxation and appreciating nature,” Jean said.
Regarding the transition from day to night, Jean said they have a “big transformation planned.” The story behind the show is that Apollo, the god of the sun, takes care of the radiance of the day. At dusk, he passes the baton to Luna, the goddess of the moon, who is in charge of the luminescence of the night. A ceremony with “beautiful” music will slowly bring the lights up, growing with the swells of the music until a burst of light, followed by a “dance of light throughout everything — the plants, the trees, the buildings.”
“It’s like a fireworks of light,” Jean said.
After the ceremony is complete, the land is fully lit for the evening.
Celestial Park will have a completely custom soundtrack — the most custom music Universal has ever commissioned.
Cloward added how Stardust Racers (formerly Starfall Racers) will also change at night. The dueling coaster is one of Universal’s largest ever. And they’ve chosen to not light the coaster track at night. This means the intricate pulsing lights on the coaster trains will have a chance to shine, making them look more like comets shooting through the night sky.
Another Celestial Park attraction is Constellation Carousel, but Cloward said he doesn’t like to call the ride a carousel. He says it’s “so much more” than a carousel. The ride system consists of four ride tables. There’s one large surface with three smaller tables inside. All of them can function and rotate independently.
Each ride vehicle also has its own independent pitch and yaw so they can turn, rotate, and go up or down. They can go up to six feet in the air. Different constellations, like Ursa Major / Big Dipper, inspired the ride vehicles. The animal vehicles include lions, dragons, and peacocks. Cloward and Jean predict guests will pick their favorites and want to come back to ride different ones.
Constellation Carousel will have eight different music tracks so guests waiting in the queue probably won’t hear the same program more than twice. Jean said it’s “like a bejeweled music box.”
The last Celestial Park attraction is Astronomica, a splash pad with a compass rose design. It can act as its own set of fountains but can also be programmed to link with “maybe one of the major fountain shows” (Jean was careful not to say it definitely would link to other shows). It also has its own soundtrack, which the fountain jets interact with.
The main show lagoon is called the Cosmos. The water jets can shoot higher than the Universal Helios Grand Hotel if they want but “we’re gonna probably try not to because we know how the winds get in Florida and if we did that, we would drench everyone in the park.”
Atlantic is the land’s fine dining restaurant, meant to resemble a giant Victorian aquarium. The outside is all glass. Inside, mechanical fish (or “biomechanical lanterns,” Jean says) swim across the ceiling. So even people outside can look in and see fish moving through the aquarium. Real cast bronze sculptures also decorate Atlantic.
Another restaurant is Oak and Star, a traveler’s/crossroads BBQ restaurant. It’s decorated with murals of “little critters” and stained glass panels.
The last restaurant is The Blue Dragon, a pan-Asian restaurant. It’s always nighttime inside Blue Dragon, which resembles a market with a patio and bar. Lanterns move up and down in the space.
Watch/listen to the whole Discovery Universal podcast episode about Celestial Park below.
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