![\"Sanika](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/351f443e-c062-4c78-bd11-b200719d37cd_1522361225.jpg\")
<\/a>ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\nConstruction is already underway on what could become the next major attraction at Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe. <\/p>\n
Chopper 2 captured crews clearing and preparing a previously undeveloped plot of land behind Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment in the park’s Dark Universe area. <\/p>\n
Permits filed for the project provide some clues, including plans for a roughly 93,000-square-foot, three-story building. <\/p>\n
Theme park reporter Alicia Stella, of Orlando ParkStop, said the work appears to include crews removing dirt and preparing the site for electrical, plumbing and water services. <\/p>\n
“It’s a little surreal to see construction start on a new ride just a year after this new theme park opened,” Stella said. <\/p>\n
Stella said the project appears to be a significant addition to Epic Universe since the ride was not part of the original plans for the park. <\/p>\n
“The Dark Universe area and this ride was never in the original plans for the park,” Stella said. “So this is a true addition on top of what they hoped to have opened with.” <\/p>\n
Universal has not revealed the attraction’s theme, leaving plenty of room for speculation. <\/p>\n
Two possibilities are emerging as the leading rumors: Creature from the Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein. <\/p>\n
Stella said both have been circulating among theme park fans and industry watchers. <\/p>\n
Ride installation expert Daniel Leavelle of Midway Mayhem said the permits indicate this will be a large-scale project. <\/p>\n
“The permit is a three-story building, so this is going to be a large-scale building,” Leavelle said. “The maintenance barn itself, or the maintenance area, is on the first floor.” <\/p>\n
One possibility has attracted particular attention because of the potential for water-based elements. <\/p>\n
Leavelle said Universal has obtained patents in recent years involving a water-propulsion system for a boat ride. <\/p>\n
“Water attraction would be very fitting for this,” Leavelle said. <\/p>\n
That has fueled speculation that a Creature from the Black Lagoon attraction could eventually take shape on the site \u2014 although Universal has not confirmed that. <\/p>\n
Construction is just getting started. Despite the activity visible from the air, the project remains in its early stages. <\/p>\n
Equipment is beginning to be stored in a neighboring lot as crews prepare the site for what could be a years-long construction project. <\/p>\n
For now, Universal has not said what the new attraction will be, when it will open or even officially confirmed that the project is a new ride. <\/p>\n
But with crews now clearing land and major permits in place, the next chapter for Epic Universe appears to be taking shape. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Work underway in Epic Universe as permits hint at Dark Universe expansion ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 Construction is already…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[155686,1127,3582,151557,6113,155685,155684,139,141,140,3032,908,5218,5204,4829,13982,93474,3435],"class_list":["post-388949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-black-lagoon","tag-construction","tag-crew","tag-dark-universe-expansion","tag-epic-universe","tag-frankenstein-experiment","tag-leavelle","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-park","tag-permit","tag-plan","tag-project","tag-ride","tag-site","tag-stella","tag-universal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388949","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=388949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}