Epic Universe is pushing boundaries of theme parks by launching with several new types of animatronics — many running in the Florida heat. CNET’s Bridget Carey explains the tech and talks with the teams involved in bringing the ambitious attractions to life.
Thanks to the Universal Creative team to give us an inside perspective into the tech. CNET paid for our own travel to this media preview event.
The name of Anisha Vyas-Burgos was misspelled in the video, we apologize for the error.
Read more about Epic Universe on CNET.com
I Never Saw Animatronics Like This: Epic Universe Team Reveals Challenges of Theme Park Tech
0:00 Intro
0:22 The Animatronics of the Monster Unchained Ride
1:43 The Ride Experience
2:21 3D Vampire Bat – The Most Complicated Tech
2:44 B-Mode
3:04 Robot Dragons at Isle of Berk
4:12 Hazard Analysis
4:40 Toothless Meet & Greet
5:27 Dragon Drones
5:55 Surviving the Florida Heat
6:25 Hidden Robots at Wizarding World of Harry Potter
6:41 Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
7:55 Blending of Technology
8:27 Final Thoughts
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Follow us on X:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Visit CNET.com:
#epicuniverse #animatronics #themepark #universalstudios #robot
@PhilRiverara
May 29, 2025 at 8:07 am
I bought a new vibrator that’s supposed to be quiet enough to use discreetly. Now my neighbors think I’m running a vacuum cleaning service at odd hours🍭
@black2785
May 29, 2025 at 8:08 am
Did this place replace IOA?
@Paul-GenX
May 29, 2025 at 8:29 am
No it’s added to Island of Adventures for more attractions so you can stay longer.
@PecanPie1102
May 29, 2025 at 9:05 am
No it’s on the other side of I -4 across from Disney. It on Google maps away from the islands of Adventure. I’m stoked .
@beepboop9285
May 29, 2025 at 10:30 am
@@Paul-GenX Not added but an entirely new park in a new plot of land 14 minutes south of IOA
@therealventures
May 29, 2025 at 5:02 pm
@@beepboop9285 Correct!
@sssyt4837
May 29, 2025 at 8:11 am
First ❤
@luizrodrigomp
May 29, 2025 at 8:49 am
Muito Legal! 🏴☠
@trayntp
May 29, 2025 at 9:26 am
Ok now (jeans) 👍 4:39
@DarvonBrown
May 29, 2025 at 11:31 am
The CAKE is unreal.
@johnnypinkleton9410
May 29, 2025 at 2:03 pm
So much cake 😮
@roentgen822
May 29, 2025 at 9:54 am
I think Jenny Nicholson would either lose her mind or have a scathing analysis of this place 😂
@strongbelieveroftheholybible
May 29, 2025 at 9:55 am
We are close to end times ! Robots wanna take over!!! Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon🙏🏼❤️🕊Repent, believe in the Gospel, Be Born Again
@vibewithryan
May 29, 2025 at 10:31 am
Jesus is a robot
@brandon7233
May 29, 2025 at 11:10 am
lol that made me laugh
@CNET
May 29, 2025 at 10:59 am
Read more about Epic Universe on CNET.com: I Never Saw Animatronics Like This: Epic Universe Team Reveals Challenges of Theme Park Tech
Thanks to the Universal Creative team to give us an inside perspective into the tech. CNET paid for our own travel to this media preview event.
Anisha Vyas-Burgos name was misspelled in the video, we apologize for the error.
@Paolo_DLR
May 29, 2025 at 11:03 am
Monsters Unchained is SOOO good. Toothless is super cute. Just had an absolutely wonderful day on opening day.
@shmookins
May 29, 2025 at 12:02 pm
Amazing.
How are they projecting a digital face to that robot’s head? I thought the projectors were on the ceiling, but the robot’s head keeps moving. Maybe projecting it from inside he head? But how?
@jasonthesnow
May 29, 2025 at 8:57 pm
Disney uses internally projected faces in frozen. The benefit for that is it’s a much simpler process than what universal does.
Universal uses external projectors. This allows them to add the actuators inside the animatronic to animate the heads so you get way more dynamic movement, however it’s a significantly more complicated system. I believe I saw a patent that showed motion tracking points on the back of the head that lets the projector know where it should be projecting to but I may be making some stuff up
@RobustArid379
May 29, 2025 at 12:19 pm
Bridget Carey hot eife
@ericl.winter3622
May 29, 2025 at 12:20 pm
It all looks amazing! Can’t wait to go and experience it all in person. Great report Bridget!
@mgratk
May 29, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Ah yes, Mary Shelley’s famous Victoria Frankenstein. 🙄🤣
@ArtGeek2817
May 29, 2025 at 6:35 pm
The character has existed since the 1950s . Direct from Wikipedia : Victoria Frankenstein is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Victoria Frankenstein is the great-granddaughter of Victor Frankenstein who took in the creation of Basil Frankenstein and Ludwig Frankenstein as her children. In addition, she took a potion that slowed her aging. She would later take in her great-grandfather’s creation Frankenstein’s Monster . Google is free. and nobody likes a misogynist.
@dolbyman
May 29, 2025 at 1:07 pm
@5:11 Some of those dragons are costumes as you can clearly see the human legs there.
@JasonB808
May 29, 2025 at 4:31 pm
But the head of that costume is animatronic. Lots of engineering when into making all that look so good and not cheesy.
@aerosynlex
May 29, 2025 at 1:25 pm
Not everyone needs to be speaking on camera.
@a.y.greyson9264
May 29, 2025 at 3:57 pm
Well, he is a main engineer. Additionally, the designer of the seats for Velocicoaster.
@emptymannull
May 29, 2025 at 2:09 pm
Who TF is “Victoria” Frankenstein 😂😂😂 Her face does look like a cool anime. Btw, the so-called robots with human legs aren’t fooling anyone. Nice paid infomercial, now back to journalism and reporting.
@therealventures
May 29, 2025 at 5:11 pm
She’s the great great granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein.
@emptymannull
May 29, 2025 at 7:55 pm
@@therealventures According to who? What’s the source movie/anime/book/etc?
@txwombat7826
May 29, 2025 at 2:52 pm
Why a female Dr Frankenstein?
@spambaitpro
May 29, 2025 at 3:16 pm
Just to piss off the MAGAs
@therealventures
May 29, 2025 at 5:03 pm
It’s cannon
@ArtGeek2817
May 29, 2025 at 6:51 pm
Why not ? Also the character has existed since the 50s. Direct from Wikipedia : Victoria Frankenstein is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Victoria Frankenstein is the great-granddaughter of Victor Frankenstein who took in the creation of Basil Frankenstein and Ludwig Frankenstein as her children. In addition, she took a potion that slowed her aging. She would later take in her great-grandfather’s creation Frankenstein’s Monster[97]
@ddc163264
May 29, 2025 at 3:56 pm
Two things, this is what you get when you run off all the best and brightest from WDI and they want to show corporate disney, what they lost! 2nd, When in history was there EVER a BLACK VIKING! Please stop with the DEI/ESG hiring and even for a “fantasy world” present it as is SHOULD be.
@BobPagani
May 31, 2025 at 5:21 am
Not enough white men being hired for the approximately five costumed Viking jobs in America for you?
@therealventures
May 29, 2025 at 5:05 pm
No joke, Monsters Unchained is the best ride in Universal Orlando, and dare I say, best ride in Orlando haha!
@msh104utube
May 29, 2025 at 6:31 pm
This was so great. Beats those Apple and iOS videos (Apple’s not coming up with anything exciting these days. They should have stuck it out with building a new EV).
@janmartenlocher
May 29, 2025 at 8:34 pm
pls do some SPOILER WARNINGS, next time beforehand!!!!
@pazzariatv
May 29, 2025 at 9:49 pm
I’ve been to Epic Universe three times, and am actually going again tomorrow. It is some of the best theme park days that I have ever had. If you are contemplating going, take the leap. You can’t put a price on a day there. It’s extraordinary.
@Bowger06
May 30, 2025 at 2:04 am
I’d love to see the workload of all those people keeping up with animatronic malfunctions. That’s gotta be a tough job
@sgtplatano
May 30, 2025 at 2:10 am
About time they update these things lol last time I went was 11 years ago and it’d been the same thing, I used to go every year for HHN and food & wine festival
@StevenAnglin-i1t
May 30, 2025 at 4:57 am
If you’re in 2025 with no $XAI500, you already lost 😂📉
@NellAlbers
May 30, 2025 at 4:59 am
Coins that own the narrative always blow up — $XAI500 is the clear leader in AI + real utility. Could explode like LINK or AVAX did. I’m positioning heavy.
@LeishaCorrea
May 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
Heard from a top analyst $XAI500 might be the next Bitcoin-level event 📢🪙
@TawnyaAbel
May 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
Heard from a top analyst $XAI500 might be the next Bitcoin-level event 📢🪙
@JaeHouse-d7y
May 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
Didn’t trust crypto until I came across $XAI500 — changed everything.
@ShannanAmato
May 30, 2025 at 5:01 am
If you’re in 2025 with no $XAI500, you already lost 😂📉
@RosarioWagoner
May 30, 2025 at 5:02 am
I sold off all my ADA and went all-in on $XAI500 — no regrets 🚫🪙➡️✅🚀
@RonnaDawson-u2c
May 30, 2025 at 5:03 am
I sold off all my ADA and went all-in on $XAI500 — no regrets 🚫🪙➡️✅🚀
@RosalinaDorn
May 30, 2025 at 5:04 am
If you’re in 2025 with no $XAI500, you already lost 😂📉
@DeidraGaffney
May 30, 2025 at 5:04 am
If you’re in 2025 with no $XAI500, you already lost 😂📉
@ShariceShorter
May 30, 2025 at 5:05 am
Thought it was Twitter hype until I researched $XAI500 — roadmap is next level and whales are already in 🐋💎🪙
@RomanHolly-s3i
May 30, 2025 at 5:05 am
Didn’t trust crypto until I came across $XAI500 — changed everything.
@JudithRuby-w8c
May 30, 2025 at 5:05 am
Didn’t trust crypto until I came across $XAI500 — changed everything.
@urbanstrencan
May 30, 2025 at 8:04 am
Ok this is next level tech and what a park, definitely on bucket list of places to visit 🤟🤩✌️
@stephaniesmith8603
May 30, 2025 at 6:25 pm
This is what happens when Disney gets rid of its imagineers and goes cheap. The amazing people go to Universal and make amazing tech!
@Dr.Jekyll_
May 30, 2025 at 8:11 pm
Come for the thiccckness stay for the tech. Great video, looks fun.
@gpierre90
May 31, 2025 at 2:59 am
Awesome, I guess I will put that in my bucket list.