Universal Orlando's new Universal Epic Universe theme park promises to be a visual delight. The multi-billion-dollar park will include some of the most detailed attractions created by Universal. And the decorations in the park even will extend up into the sky.
Universal Orlando is teasing flying dragons to appear in the sky above Epic Universe's How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk land.
"The dragons that rule the skies are a sight to behold... and you can watch in awe as they soar above while you make your way around the theme park to each of the thrilling attractions in Isle of Berk," Universal announced in a blog post today.
"In Berk, you’re constantly surrounded by the endless number of dragons that take flight in the skies. A Monstrous Nightmare or a Gronckle might be soaring above, so be on the lookout," Universal said.
The obvious question is how can Universal send flying dragons above its new theme park? The likely answer is decorated drones, but we may have to wait until the park opens on May 22 to know for sure if Universal will be using drones, or balloons, or (look away, Disney's Animal Kingdom fans) kites to portray its dragons.
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Aren't drones not permitted to fly above human occupied spaces? If there are a lot of dragons up there, how can they avoid that?
@Sarah Warner Like fireworks that looks like being above the parks these drones are not flown over occupied area's. Wind and weather conditions are also a consideration and they will probably fly 1 drone at a time as they can stay only about 10 minutes in the air.
I think the biggest development of this confirmation is that the flying dragons can reportedly breathe fire. It really feels like the next natural progression of what Universal wanted to do with the Gringott's dragon, which does the fire-breathing bit, but they were never able to figure out how to get it to move or fly. If Universal can pull this off (along with the other rumors of walk-around dragons and meet-and-greet animatronics that are incredibly lifelike), it would instantly change my opinion of Isle of Berk in the overall Epic Universe IP pecking order.
I don't know how many of y'all have seen the footage of the baby dragon testing, theoretically as a walk-around character, using Boston dynamics robotic parts. The dragon looks friendly and cartoonist and lifelike at the same time. Whether or not flying dragons are a success, a walk-around baby dragon is going to be a big hit with the kids.
@Velociicoaster - Yeah, I've seen it. It looks really cool, and the fact that the movie opens this summer will inevitably lead to even more popularity with crowds.
wait... I was not aware it could breathe fire. that's what I wanted ever since i heard this rumor
Hopefully this will be an ongoing thing and not a one off like Disney has done. Fingers crossed for it happening at least once a day depending on weather.
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There are a number of videos showing them testing the dragons, but you just got to wonder how much they will actually fly due to the winds and storms of a typical Orlando summer.
The dragons do look impressive though, so let's hope they get ample opportunity to fly around the Isle of Berk.