{"id":188412,"date":"2026-03-12T09:11:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/188412\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:11:22","slug":"universal-orlando-confirms-closure-of-one-of-four-epic-universe-portals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/188412\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Orlando Confirms Closure of One of Four Epic Universe Portals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t<img width=\"800\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/epic-universe-6-800x400.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-image size-post-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wizarding World of Harry Potter Portal at Epic Universe\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-image-caption\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"icon fa fa-camera\" src=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/wp-content\/themes\/itm\/includes\/svgs\/camera.svg\"\/>Credit: Andrew Boardwine, Inside the Magic<\/p>\n<p>On March 9, guests arrived at Universal Epic Universe to find that one of the four portals into the immersive theme park lands was closed and barricaded. Here\u2019s what we know about the sudden shutdown.<\/p>\n<p>Universal Epic Universe Portals<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-816297\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/universal-epic-universe-guest-super-nintendo-world-portal.jpg\" alt=\"Universal guests approaching SUPER NINTENDO WORLD portal in Epic Universe\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\"  \/>Credit: Universal<\/p>\n<p>Universal Orlando Resort\u2019s newest <a href=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/2026\/03\/disney-world-vacation-bookings-are-being-cut-by-50-in-2026-ab1\/\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_self\">theme park<\/a>, Universal Epic Universe, opened on May 22, 2025. Guests\u2019 adventures begin in Celestial Park, the central land. From there, they can choose to travel through one of four portals into How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, Dark Universe, or The Wizarding World of <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/2021\/03\/hogwarts-houses-cb1mmb\/\" title=\"Harry Potter\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"20409\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_self\">Harry Potter<\/a> \u2013 Ministry of Magic.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, this week, <a href=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/2026\/03\/signage-confirms-orlando-theme-park-no-longer-accepting-cash-ad1\/\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_self\">Universal Orlando Resort<\/a> guests found one of those portals unexpectedly closed.<\/p>\n<p>How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk Portal Closed<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-786246 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk statues in Universal's Epic Universe theme park\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/epic-universe-isle-of-berk-how-to-train-your-dragon.png\"  data-\/>Credit: Universal<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, X (formerly known as Twitter) user @thatdisneyboi shared several <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thatdisneyboi\/status\/2030993222269329807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">photos<\/a> of the barricaded portal to How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk. The portal was closed on both the Celestial Park side and the How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk side. Signage directed guests to alternate, less-immersive routes for entering and exiting the land.<\/p>\n<p>Portals closed \ud83d\udc80<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Portals closed \ud83d\udc80 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Yo5axrjR1m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">pic.twitter.com\/Yo5axrjR1m<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ethan \ud83d\udcab (@ThatDisneyBoi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThatDisneyBoi\/status\/2030993222269329807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">March 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Universal Orlando Resort did not publicly respond to the photos of the closure of one of four Universal Epic Universe portals. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/2026\/03\/universal-studios-japan-confirms-permanent-closure-sesame-street-fun-world-jc1\/\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_self\">Universal Parks<\/a> fans indicated that the area was closed for planned maintenance, with crews repairing the LED lights and other fixtures inside the structure that guide guests into and out of How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk. From <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DerekWMCook\/status\/2031042965351604478?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">@DerekWMCook<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>I imagine they are repairing the portal\u2019s LEDs before Spring break season. I recall the lower LEDs of Burk were particularly damaged badly by guests and not working.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I imagine they are repairing the portal\u2019s LEDs before Spring break season. I recall the lower LEDs of Burk were particularly damaged badly by guests and not working.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Derek Cook (@DerekWMCook) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DerekWMCook\/status\/2031042965351604478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">March 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe walls are themed. It\u2019s planned maintenance inside the portals,\u201d @Bentleys_Enigma <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Bentleys_Enigma\/status\/2031023651517022254?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">added<\/a>. \u201cYou can still enter the portal through the exit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The walls are themed. It\u2019s planned maintenance inside the portals. You can still enter the portal through the exit.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 YoBentley (@Bentleys_Enigma) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bentleys_Enigma\/status\/2031023651517022254?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow external noopener noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">March 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear when the How To Train Your Dragon \u2013 Isle of Berk portal will reopen. Guests can still enter and exit the land through an alternate walkway nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Has an unexpected closure ever impacted your visit to Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, or Universal Epic Universe? Share your story with <a href=\"https:\/\/insidethemagic.net\/2026\/03\/lucasfilm-confirms-that-star-wars-skywalker-saga-is-over-dr1mmb\/\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_self\">Inside the Magic<\/a> in the comments!\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Andrew Boardwine, Inside the Magic On March 9, guests arrived at Universal Epic Universe to find that&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[6113,139,141,140],"class_list":["post-188412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-epic-universe","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}