Step Into the Shadows: Exploring Dark Universe at Universal
An Unofficial Walkthrough of the Dark Universe Portal at Epic Universe
Epic Universe is the newest theme park at Universal Studios Orlando. This park, opened in May 2025, features four portals that lead into immersive worlds surrounding a central hub called Celestial Park.
Celestial Park is home to the Celestians, cosmic adventurers who got tired of traveling by comet. They invented the technology, harnessed through the chronos that powers the portals, allowing all of us to easily explore the various worlds beyond.
In this series, I will take you through each portal and the main activities you can enjoy. So, let’s load up on courage and delve into the land of the monsters at Dark Universe.
Recommendation: Plan to visit this portal during the daytime and at night. You will find that the village vibes will change.
Dark Universe Backstory
You could say that the success of Universal Studios can be credited to the monsters and to Carl Laemmle Jr. In 1928, “Junior” stepped into production control from his father, Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal. Laemmle Jr. believed that horror films would be popular with audiences during a time when studios were struggling. During the Great Depression, Universal produced films, such as “Dracula” (1931), “Frankenstein” (1931) and “The Mummy” (1932). The success of these films spawned a string of movies that are now referred to as the classic Universal monsters.
Darkmoor, the village that lies beyond the Dark Universe portal, is set in current times. Gothic-style structures line the circular path throughout the land, culminating in the Frankenstein Manor. In this village, all of the classic monsters live along with the villagers and visitors (that’s you!).
Who’s the real monster?
As you explore Darkmoor, you learn about the village’s history from the perspectives of its inhabitants. The story weaved throughout this land asks you to consider who is the real monster here: the creators or the creations?
The manor, occupied by Victoria Frankenstein, the great, great, granddaughter of Victor Frankenstein, the original creator of the monster. Victoria has her own experiments, trying to improve upon her ancestor’s work. But in doing so, she has attracted and caged many of the classic monsters in the catacombs under the village. Her aim is to cage Dracula.
Speak to many of the inhabitants of Darkmoor and you will get different perspectives on Victoria’s work. Should humans push the boundaries of science to stave off death? If only we could ask Victoria herself.
Accessibility note: This land is at ground level, unlike Super Nintendo Land. There are elevators in the manor to access the second floor.
It’s Electrifying
Walking up to the portal for Dark Universe, the first thing we notice is an electrical coil that is drawing power from the portal and transporting it across the village into Frankenstein Manor. Walking through the portal puts us at the edge of the village of Darkmoor and into the cemetery on the edge of town.
Open coffins are a selfie photospot. There is a tomb where whispers and voices rise up from the catacombs below. Turning to the right along the path, the cemetery sits with some cages that appear to have failed to keep inhabitants in their graves.
This is also one spot where you might encounter a village resident — Ygor, Victoria’s assistant. He is likely stopping by to collect body parts for the experiments and will eagerly encourage you to visit the manor.
In the cemetery, you will also find a statue of a little girl holding flowers in her dress. This is a nod to the original “Frankenstein” movie and a fun easter egg for monster fans.
Darkmoor VIllage
Stepping past the sign to Darkmoor, the houses sit on either side of a main path. A well sits in the middle of the square.
On the left, you will find a shop, Pretorius’ Scientific Oddities, and a boutique for monster-themed makeovers – the Monster Makeup Experience. Next to the shop, you may also encounter the local musician who will warn you against the strange happenings in the manor. They also play familiar tunes on the violin, an instrument that seems to calm Frankenstein’s monster.
On the right side of the well, you will find Das Stakehaus, one of three quick-service locations in the park.
The Vampire Hangout
Das Stakehaus is worth a visit. The food is delicious, service is quick and the portraits and paintings on the wall help tell the story of how the village of Darkmoor came to be, from the vampire perspective.
The servers at the restaurant are vampire familiars. They serve Dracula and hope to win eternal life if they remain in good service. If not, well, they might find themselves stuck in the restaurant forever, or they might be food.
Exploring the village
Exiting Das Stakhaus, you are rewarded with a big reveal of Frankenstein Manor. Even in the daylight, it’s an impressive structure. Be sure to resist the draw of the manor and instead linger by the small house on the right. You might spot the Invisible Man watching the visitors go by and if you peer into some of the windows, you will eavesdrop on a conversation between Jekyl and Hyde and pick up a useful passphrase for later.
If you head directly across the path from this area, on the side of the violinist’s house, you will find the meet and greet location for both the monster and his bride. And more importantly, there is a restroom stop.
Into the Forest – Curse of the Werewolf
Following along the path to the left side, you enter a forested area and the entrance to the Curse of the Werewolf ride and learn about the Guild of the Mystics, led by Maleva.
This coaster reaches a speed of 37 miles per hour and features front and back-facing seats in each cart. The carts will spin as you try to outrun the werewolf pack.
The Hunter Hangout
Surviving a chase from the wolfpack and continuing along the path in the forest at the back of the village is the Burning Blade Tavern. This is the hangout of the moster hunters looking to rid the world of evil creatures. There is a quick service window for small bites, including the Burning Chedder Bites. Inside the tavern is a collection of trophies and plenty of garlic to keep the vampires away. Here you can enjoy plenty of spirits and some specialty drinks if you have the right passphrase (the one you picked up earlier).
The lore of the Burning Blade is it’s the windmill where the monster hid and the villagers set it aflame. Every 20 minutes, the windmill blades should blaze up in a fiery reminder that the villagers know how to fight back if they need to.
In the evening, the bell will toll in the tower above Das Stakehaus. In the trees of the forest, an orange glow will appear and make its way to the windmill and set it on fire.
From the Burning Blade, there is a small cottage called De Lacey’s Cottage. It serves up Frankenstein monster pretzels and cinnamon bites and houses the Coke Freestyle machines.
The De Lacey family served as a contrast to the rest of the villagers and Dr. Frankenstein. The blind father shows kindness to the monster and offers him a positive human interaction. That is, until the father’s children see the monster and react with horror and violence.
Monsters Unchained – The Frankenstein Experiment
From the cottage, the path leads to Victoria’s grand manor, pulsing with electricity. As you make your way through the structure, you learn of all the modifications Victoria has made to her ancestor’s original work. The ride queue is like walking through a science museum with all kinds of exhibits, curiosities, and easter eggs hidden in the details. And the reason this attraction has a low wait time is because you can put a lot of people in that manor. I rarely see waits above 20 minutes.
That being said, this attraction also tends to go down frequently. There are so many points in the ride that if one has a glitch, the entire ride stops. If this one is high on your importance list, get on it in the morning.
The preshow is stunning and gives you a sense of nervousness as Ygor demonstrates the maneuverability of the ride vehicle. Don’t worry, though, it’s an exaggeration. The attraction uses a KUKA robotic arm system, similar to the one used at Islands of Adventure for Forbidden Journey. However, this ride is much smoother and less nausea-inducing. In fact, I had no trouble with this one, even though Forbidding Journey did – even with a prescription.
The ride itself is a thrill for movie monster fans as you get a glimpse of many of them. It is a nice balance between screens and animatronics — amazingly done ones at that.
While this ride is my favorite in all of Epic Universe, I did have one tiny immersion issue where I could see the rafters and ceiling of the building at a time when the ride lays you on your back. However, that is tiny compared to the amazing experience this ride provides.
Wrap up
Once you exit the manor, you can head back down the main path, through the cemetery and out a side exit or back through the portal.
This land feels like the smallest of the portals in terms of attractions, activities, and walkable time. There is a rumor that there is slated expansion set behind the Burning Blade and De Lacey’s Cottage area. It could be a Creature from the Black Lagoon indoor ride, or maybe a Dracula ride to hook off the story on Monsters Unchained. I will be watching to see what they ultimately do with that expansion area.
That wraps up the walkthrough of Dark Universe. Check out the walkthrough guide for Super Nintendo World and my motion sickness ratings for rides at Epic Universe. Join the email list to catch the next post in this series.
