Review: How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk at Epic Universe

As the largest land at Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk had a lot of space to fill, but did it fill it with quality attractions? (Spoiler alert: yes.)

Isle of Berk: The Land

The How to Train Your Dragon franchise isn’t one that has had much of an effect on me, I’ve seen the movies and enjoyed them but didn’t give much thought to the IP itself. That is, until I walked through the glowing orange portal and into the sweeping viking vista guarded by two flaming statues.

This land is visually stunning, and has maybe the grandest entrance of any of the worlds at Epic Universe. The land looks positively enormous, and everywhere you look there is something going on. Riders racing on the backs of a pack of dueling dragons, Vikings wandering the streets, and Hiccup’s high-speed roller coaster creating skimming over the water and around the village.

It really feels as though the village is alive thanks to the colorful buildings and structures inhabited by dozens of moving dragon figures. Some are full-scale animatronics and some are simpler figures that have a repetitive movement, but they all come together to make Berk come to life.

There is a lot to see in this land, and you really feel a sense of exploration and discovery as you make your way around. The land is basically a big circle, but it’s filled with bridges, pathways and offshoots that lead to the attractions, shops and dining locations. And there are a lot of each, so let’s take a look at them in detail.

The Food

Spit Fyre Grill

This quick service dining location mainly features rice bowls, and seems to be one of the more filling options at Epic Universe. But it is also one of the two places you can get the famous mac and cheese cones. I had the chicken bowl here, and it was a great amount of food for the price. Here’s the official description, “Ancient grains (I believe this is quinoa), harissa spice chicken, oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with walnuts, bell pepper harissa, smoked cheddar, paprika dressing.” Don’t be alarmed by the description if you’re averse to spice, I’m not a fan either but I found this very mild. The piece of chicken is really big, and the sauce on top was incredible. I almost asked for no Brussels sprouts, but I’m glad they got them because they were amazing. I would absolutely get this again, I would guess any of these bowls can serve as a full meal to get you through your Epic day.

Mead Hall

Mead Hall is the main dining in Berk, it’s still quick service but has tables inside you’re able to sit at to eat. I’ve only eaten the dessert here (more on that shortly) but as for entrees they have salads, wings, salmon, sausage, sandwiches, burgers and more. If you are a meat eater, this place will have something for you. Mead Hall does sell real mead, just like Dark Universe and a few other venues at Epic Universe. For dessert, there’s a chocolate drink but as for food, your dessert option is Stormfly’s Catch of the Day, which is a chocolate mousse shaped like a fish with cereal crumble (Lucky Charms or an off-brand version) sprinkled around. I’m normally not a fan of mousse, but this was great and I would get it again.

Visually, the outside of Mead Hall is amazing and is visible clearly from outside the park and anywhere in Berk. The moss and plant like hanging from the rock structure is great, and the forced perspective really works to make this mountain look even taller than it is.

Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel

The main food item here is the famous mac and cheese cones, and I’m happy to join the hype train. This snack is essentially an open-ended cone of buttery crust, and filled with mac and cheese. The one I had, called the PB&J (pork, bacon and jam), featured creamy mac & cheese with BBQ harissa pulled pork, peanut bacon jam and parsley served in a crunchy cone topped with everything bagel seasoning.

I will say the serving of pork on top was pretty minimal, but it was still enjoyable. The peanut bacon jam was delicious, and was just enough of the flavor without actually tasting just like a PB&J sandwich. Maybe my favorite part about the whole thing was the cone itself. It’s basically crispy garlic bread with everything seasoning on it, what could be better? I have to say it’s not really a cone, more of a small calzone that ends well before the bottom of the cone-shaped cardboard holder it comes in, which was a slight surprise as I was eating it. Because of this, I can’t say the price of around $18 with tax is worth it if you’re expecting something substantial. It is much more of a snack than a meal, but I am very glad I got it.

The Rides

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders

With 3 family coasters, Epic Universe is a great place for kids to ride their first “big” roller coaster. I can’t think of a better candidate for this honor than Hiccup’s Wing Gliders. This coaster is pure fun, and with some story scenes included as well, it is a little more substantial than something like Slinky Dog Dash or Penguin Trek.

The first launch on this coaster is much more forceful than I thought, and there’s some great animatronics surrounding the area that help tell the story. The launch will allow you to get a bird’s eye (dragon’s eye?) view of the whole Isle of Berk. You’ll fly over the rooftops and right next to guest paths as the coaster skims over the water.

The second launch isn’t a swing launch, but instead the coaster rolls back and comes to a stop to watch the story scene, then launches again under the dragon racing bleachers. The second half of this coaster has a lot of fun, unique elements that are nice to see on a family coaster, and are slimmed-down versions of larger Intamin elements.

The on-board audio takes this ride to the next level; the music and dialogue will immerse guests and delight fans of the franchise. The station is also very cool, the double loading makes the operations efficient. The layout is really long, and will make a longer-than-average queue time worth it. However, this queue is probably the worst in the park because it has almost no theming and consists of endless rope switchbacks set up in direct sunlight. There is some shading closer to the station, so I would say if the line stretches beyond this area just wait and come back later. This is a great dusk/night ride and the line will most likely be shorter toward the end of the night.

Fyre Drill

Much like Yoshi’s Adventure in Super Nintendo World, I had almost no expectations for this ride which gave me much more room to be impressed by it. I figured this would be a one-and-done ride for me, but I left enjoying it so much more than I thought and wanted to get another ride. The theming on Fyre drill is so much fun, the props and scenery are made to look like they were crafted by vikings. The paint job and movement really feel authentic to the land.

The ride itself is a Mack Rides Splash Battle where riders are positioned on either side of the boat, firing at targets to put out the “fires” caused by dragons. There are fun moving props and different types of targets, some of which will drench your side of the boat if you shoot the wrong ones. Definitely be prepared to get wet on this ride, the boats get so close to each other that you may find yourself getting sprayed by a rider in another boat by accident (or not by accident.)

Dragon Racer’s Rally

I had never ridden one of these flipping-airplane style rides before, and I know they are hard to come by in the United States, so I was excited to try this out. I love that there are two of these right next to each other, so the vehicles can appear to be racing together. The vehicles themselves are very cool, each dragon “plane” is brightly colored and has great detailing on the body and wings.

Once you’re seated on your dragon, the vehicle tilts up before the individual seats unlock and allow for free rotation. If you don’t touch your wing controls, your seat won’t invert at all and you will be level with the horizon at all times. But if you want to flip, you’ll have to use the flaps to catch the wind in just the right way. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t figure this out. I’ve heard that Universal intentionally manufactured this version of the ride to prevent nonstop spinning and I can say firsthand that I believe it.

Granted, it was my first time on one of these flat rides, but the cycle was too short to allow me to figure it out beyond just tilting to the side. However, next time I ride it I think I have the strategy to at least get one full inversion. I have heard that sitting in the front will help too, so I’ll have to give that a try.

The Entertainment

The Untrainable Dragon

This show is currently running at Universal Beijing Resort, and now we have our own version here in the Isle of Berk area. This is a musical, and features live music and singing, with an original story. This show is definitely aimed more towards a family audience. The effects and props are very impressive, but the story is very simple and geared at kids. The singers and musicians do an amazing job, but I didn’t find the songs themselves very memorable. The script is okay, but there are definitely some moments that are directly translated from the Beijing show, and sound clunky in dialogue.

Spoiler alert: there is a flying Toothless in this show, and a live Hiccup actor riding on his back. This is by far the best part of The Untrainable Dragon, and one of the coolest things I’ve seen in any theme park show. Toothless will fly directly over the audience, and he is out there for a long time. There is also a huge puppet of the untrainable dragon itself, and it’s super dynamic and impressive.

There is a section of this show that looks back on “past battles” fighting dragons and it’s more of a stunt show segment, it really stood out to me and was my favorite part of the show. This segment highlights one of the best parts of the show, how the incredibly crisp scenes work with the actors and physical props. Another highlight is the musical score for the show, it’s very well used and takes the best parts of the movie score and expands on them.

I don’t know if I would recommend making this show a priority on a first time visit, but if you’re at the park for more than one day or you have express pass, this would be a great option to get some indoor seating and air conditioning. However, if you are a big fan of How to Train Your Dragon, or have young kids, this show would appeal more to you.

Walk-around Characters

The characters in the Isle of Berk are some of the highlights of the whole land. Even though I am not as invested in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, these characters are so much fun to talk to. The siblings Ruffnut and Tuffnut will heckle each other (and you) throughout their interaction. Astrid will walk around with her dragon companion Stormfly, who is a huge puppet that can actually walk around. There is also Gobber in his workshop, with actual interchangeable prosthetic arm pieces that he will swap out as he works around the shop.

The real star of the Berk meet-and-greets is of course the dragon Toothless. The dragon animatronic is sometimes accompanied by Hiccup, who looks and sounds exactly like he does in the movies. Hiccup will talk to you about living in Berk, and walk you through how to interact with Toothless. Toothless is the only animatronic I can think of that guests are encouraged to touch. This is a massive animatronic, but the smaller motions in the face really make it feel real. Little nose twitches and actual blinking eyes totally sell Toothless as a real dragon. Wait times for this can get longer than you would think, so if this is a priority for you, budget about an hour of your day for it.

Baby Dragons

One of the coolest uses of robotics in a theme park has to be these dragon babies that do a little demonstration in the streets of Berk. One of three little dragons will come out at random times with a handler, who will guide the dragon through a short display of its abilities. These free-roaming animatronics can jump, pounce, spin around and pop up on two legs.

Final Thoughts

Overall, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk is a standout portal at Epic Universe, and feels the most complete, both in size and scope. It’s the only land that has enough rides, shows, dining, retail and scenery to make me think it won’t need any additions in the near future. I can’t even think of anything that could be added to this land at the moment. There is so much greenery and water features, this land is naturally beautiful and feels like it effortlessly fits into the landscape. For fans and non-fans alike, this land is sure to leave an impression, and feels the most grandiose in presentation. You’ll end up falling in love with the land and characters by the end of your visit to Berk, and you’ll be drawn back to see the dragons on your next visit.

Have you experienced this land at Epic Universe? If so, what are your thoughts? let us know in the comments below, and click here to see our other Epic land and ride reviews.

Tags: epic universe hiccups wing gliders how to train your dragon isle of berk review universal orlando