Epic Universe’s Isle of Berk Has Dragons You Can Actually Interact With — Here’s How
How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk in Epic Universe is the only place you can actually meet and befriend a dragon.
***WARNING! The following contains spoilers for Epic Universe's Isle of Berk land at Universal Orlando!***
It's a good year to be a How to Train Your Dragon fan, wouldn't you agree?
In addition to the live-action reimagining swooping into theaters this summer from original co-director Dean DeBlois, fans can also live out their own scaly, winged, and fire-breathing dreams at the Isle of Berk land opening at Universal Orlando next month as part of the hotly-anticipated new Epic Universe park. How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk joins Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD and Dark Universe as five new, worlds that will fully immerse visitors who go to Epic Universe.
RELATED: Everything to Know About Epic Universe's How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk
NBC Insider recently attended a press preview event that shed more light on the DreamWorks-inspired experience, which brings the world of dragons and Vikings into the realm of flesh and blood. As the portal leading into the Isle of Berk reads, the world has dragons and you and your friends and family get to not only see them but interact with them.
Head below to learn what we discovered before you plan your trip to Universal Epic Universe.
How to Interact with the Dragons at Isle of Berk in Epic Universe
The Epic Universe recreation of Berk features a plethora of animatronic dragons and stationary dragon statues. After all, this is a place where Viking warriors live in harmony with the once-feared beasts of the sky. Thanks to Hiccup proving each of these beasts can be trained, travelers to the Isle of Berk will be able to interact with tons of dragons that are excited to meet you.
The main draw is a meet-and-greet experience with the most famous beast of them all, Toothless the Night Fury, whose animatronic self reacts in real-time to visitors and even smiles for photographs. Don't be afraid, Toothless' rider, Hiccup, will be on hand to walk you through proper dragon protocol. It's truly a wonder to approach a full-sized Toothless and have him not only look right at you but respond to your touch and decide he likes you.
And once you've tamed the Night Fury, be sure to check out the The Untrainable Dragon live show, whose characters (like Astrid and Stormfly) will wander amongst the crowd outside once the performance is over, allowing you to interact with even more dragons than Toothless. Just be sure to avoid scratching under a dragons' chins at all costs. Hiccup himself informed us that it can make dragons fall asleep, leaving it up to the Viking rider to carry the incredibly heavy creatures back home. That's just one of the many things you'll learn about dragons when visiting the Isle of Berk and getting an up close look.
"The challenge for us is not just to bring those stories and the story of Hiccup and Astrid and that whole cast of characters to life, but also convey that emotion and do it through the artistry,” Steve Tatum, executive creative director of Universal’s Epic Universe, said in late 2024. “So, we really looked at the art direction of it. Without getting too deep into our design process, what’s important for you to keep in mind is that we decided to enter that story at a certain point and it was really important for us and we call it How to Train Your Dragon 2.5 because over the course of that saga, dragons and Vikings come to coexist peacefully and so at that peak moment of harmony is when we enter the story.”
In addition to interacting with Dragons, you'll be able to go on rides and attractions designed to help you and your party immerse yourself in the world of the films and literally take flight alongside some of your favorite characters with the Hiccups Wing Gliders ride and the Dragon Racer's Rally. Meanwhile, you can learn to live in harmony with the dragons even further by learning to put out their fires on Fyre Drill, a water ride where Vikings can compete to out soak each other all in the name of dragon safety.
If you've ever wanted to live in the world of How to Train Your Dragon, it simply doesn't get any better than Epic Universe.
