First Epic Universe Expansion Confirmed: Could We Finally See the Flying Broomsticks Attraction?

Reading Time: 9 minutes

Hey Universal Vacationers! Every big project at Universal starts small on paper. A line item. A permit. A square footage number that, if you pay attention, tells you almost everything you need to know long before Universal is ready to talk about it.

On November 7, 2025, one of those permits popped up.

At a glance, it looked dry: “site utilities and foundation work” for a project tied to Epic Universe. That’s the kind of wording is meant to be vague and an attempt not to cause fanfare. But buried in the details was the number that changed the conversation:

150,000 square feet.

That is not a simple support building. That is not a backstage hallway. That is the footprint of a major new structure. And when you line that number up against Epic Universe’s layout, one area jumps out:

The expansion pad behind Wizarding Paris.

Let’s walk through why this permit has so many people circling that exact patch of land—and why the long-rumored broomstick ride might finally be getting its moment.

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Quick Summary

Item	Details
Permit Filed	November 7, 2025
Project Size	~150,000 sq ft (site utilities + foundation work)
Location Match	Lines up with the Wizarding Paris expansion pad at Epic Universe
Why It Matters	Wizarding Paris is the only land with one attraction; originally planned for two
Universal Statement	Confirmed “exciting additions” are coming to Epic Universe (Nov. 16, 2025)
Most Likely Project	Revival of the originally planned broomstick attraction
Ride Concept (Rumored)	Motion-based broomstick vehicles, VR or dome visuals, multi-room layout, rider-controlled motion
Supporting Evidence	Patents filed in 2020 for dynamic motion ride vehicles with VR/track hybrid system
Wait Time Impact	Could reduce 4–6 hour waits for Battle at the Ministry
Estimated Opening (Speculation)	2028–2029 (if construction begins soon)

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The Permit That Lit the Fuse

The story really begins with that single permit. Universal filed it with the county for early work: utilities and foundations. No ride name. No land name. Just that huge square footage figure and an address that resolves to the Epic Universe property.

From a fan point of view, this is the “prologue” moment. Nothing is vertical yet. There’s nothing to photograph. But behind the scenes, crews are getting ready to pour the literal base of something big.

And 150,000 square feet is a very big something.

For comparison, Disney’s Avatar Flight of Passage sits in a show building of about 48,000 square feet. So, whatever Universal is prepping for here? It’s more than triple that size. You don’t casually pour a foundation that big. You do that because you already have a very specific plan in mind.

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Matching the Scope to the Only Pad That Fits

Epic Universe opened with expansion spaces literally baked into the park’s layout. Each land has room to grow if (and when) Universal is ready. But not every pad is created equal.

When you look at the map and overlay the project size from the permit, one pad is almost a perfect match: the expansion area sitting behind Wizarding Paris.

That pad wasn’t an accident. As I mentioned in my March 5, 2025, Universal Phase 2 article, when Wizarding Paris was on the drawing board, the land was meant to include two attractions and one show. The second attraction was cut during the pandemic delays, but the land layout—and the pad for that building—stayed.

So now you’ve got:

• A land that opened with only one ride.
• A pad behind it built for a very large show building.
• A permit for a 150,000 sq ft project that matches that pad almost exactly.

You don’t have to stretch very far to see how those pieces line up.

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Universal Finally Acknowledges “Exciting Additions”

A permit alone would be enough to make fans pay attention. But then Universal added another layer.

On November 16, 2025, Alyson Sologaistoa, Vice President of Public Relations for Universal Orlando Resort, shared this statement with the Orlando Business Journal:

“[Universal Orlando] is preparing for some exciting additions to Universal Epic Universe in the future. … Details about specific developments will be shared in due time.”

That’s as close to a “yes, you’re onto something” as you’re going to get at this stage.

They confirmed:

• Something is coming.
• It’s tied to Epic Universe.
• Details are being held back—for now.

They did not confirm:

• That it’s Wizarding Paris.
• That it’s an attraction.
• That it’s the missing second ride.

But if you put the statement next to the permit and the pad, the outline of the story is hard to ignore.

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What Was the Original Second Attraction Supposed to Be?

To understand why this is such a big deal, you have to rewind to what was originally planned for Wizarding Paris.

Universal never went on stage and officially pitched this attraction to fans. There was no name, no key art, no teaser in a big announcement video. But permits, patent filings, and behind-the-scenes reporting painted a pretty clear picture of what the second attraction was going to be:

A broomstick experience that finally let guests feel like they were piloting their own magical ride through the sky.

This was not a quick overlay or small motion simulator. This thing was ambitious.

The attraction was laid out with six preshow rooms, each one built to hold a group of 24 guests. In those rooms, you wouldn’t just stand around. You’d be measured, fitted, and prepped for a headset-based experience—with most of that setup happening outside of the main ride chamber to keep things moving at a steady pace.

Once your group finished in the preshow, it would split. Those 24 guests would be divided into smaller squads of six and guided into bundled ride rooms. Inside those rooms, you’d finally come face-to-face with your broom.

You weren’t just sitting in a row of seats. You’d mount your broom-like ride vehicle and buckle in. Overhead, the key part of the experience was waiting. Instead of fumbling with a bulky VR headset from scratch, you would already be wearing a custom-fitted base, sized in the preshow. Then, the main VR component would lower from the ceiling and snap into place using quick magnetic connectors.

If you’ve ridden Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge in Super Nintendo World, the idea will feel familiar. In that ride, you put on a headband and then snap the AR visor onto it when it’s time to go. The rumored Wizarding Paris attraction would use the same idea, but in a more intense, more immersive setting—so the “fiddly” part of sizing the headset happens before you ever see the main room.

All of that setup work—the six preshow rooms, the grouping, the headset flow—exists for one goal: high capacity and fast loading inside a ride that is still very personal and very reactive.

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The Patent That Hints at How This Ride Would Move

The ride wasn’t just about strapping on a headset and watching a movie. In November 2020, Universal had a patent published for ride vehicles with dynamic movement. The timing and the described systems line up neatly with this broomstick concept.

The patent describes a ride system where:

• Vehicles move along a path with a programmed motion profile.
• Rider would experience choreographed experience.
• The system can coordinate what you see and what you feel, not just at the head, but across your entire body.

The ride doesn’t have to be VR-only, either. The patent shows alternate setups that use small domed screens instead of headsets, creating a more Flight of Passage–style environment. The key idea is that the vehicles are capable of very precise, very responsive motion that can sync tightly with what you see.

There’s even a figure in the patent, FIG. 16 (shown above), that shows motion-based ride vehicles mounted on a track. That opens the door for something even wilder: a ride experience that blends track movement, show scenes, domed screens, and VR tech into one long broomstick journey. Think less “stationary platform that jiggles” and more “hybrid between coaster and simulator with an extra layer of interaction.”

All of that also ties into another goal: reducing motion sickness. Traditional VR can make some guests feel off because what their eyes see doesn’t line up with what their body feels. The system described in the patent is built to reduce that gap. Instead of only tracking your head, it factors in the motion of the entire ride vehicle. The result should be a smoother experience where your brain feels like what it sees and what it feels are in sync.

That’s a big deal in a theme park setting. Universal wants an attraction like this to move a lot of people through the building without a high “I felt sick, never again” rate.

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Why a Broomstick Ride Needs a Huge Building

This is where the size of the permit and the size of the pad really come into play.

Disney’s Flight of Passage show building is about 48,000 square feet. It is already a large, complex structure with a layered queue, preshows, and huge ride spaces. The rumored Wizarding Paris broom attraction? The expansion pad for it clocks in at around 150,000 square feet.

That’s about three times the footprint.

You don’t build a structure that big for a single small ride chamber. You build that when you want:

• Multiple preshow rooms.
• Multiple ride rooms running in parallel.
• Large internal infrastructure for props, screens, or domes.
• A ride system that might move between different zones or show styles.

Combine that with the patent’s track-based example, and you can start to imagine a layout where you board a broom, launch into a domed-screen environment, and then move through different chapters of the experience—some leaning more into a “story coaster-style” motion, others leaning into VR or dome-based visuals.

It also lines up with how Universal has built their previous Wizarding World headliners. They have a pattern:

• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey mixed a track-based robot arm with screens and practical sets.
• Escape from Gringotts mixed coaster track with media and physical environments.
• Battle at the Ministry took that idea and pushed it even further with next-level effects, robot arm, and storytelling.

This broomstick concept feels like the natural “next step” in that evolution.

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Why It Makes Sense to Revisit This Idea Now

So why bring this lost attraction back now?

Two big reasons.

First, Battle at the Ministry cannot breathe. Wait times in the four to six hour range are common. As long as Wizarding Paris has only one ride, that attraction will stay the main pressure point.

Second, the land feels unfinished. The streets, the facades, the show—all of it looks fantastic. But once you’ve taken it in, you realize that the land is anchored on a single ride, even though it was originally planned to have a second. Guests feel that, even if they don’t know the history.

From a business point of view, reviving a shelved concept with existing design work and tech behind it is far easier than starting from a blank page. Universal doesn’t have to green-light an entirely new ride system. They can refine, modernize, and possibly re-theme, especially if they decide to step away from heavy Fantastic Beasts branding and lean into more timeless parts of the Wizarding World.

The patent supports it.
The pad supports it.
The crowd patterns desperately need it.

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Where Things Stand Right Now

Here’s what we can say with confidence today:

• Universal has filed a permit for a 150,000 square foot project tied to Epic Universe.
• That size lines up almost perfectly with the Wizarding Paris expansion pad.
• Universal has publicly acknowledged that “exciting additions” are in the works for Epic Universe.
• We know there was a fully thought-out broomstick attraction concept that never made it into Phase 1.

We do not have:

• An official announcement that this is Wizarding Paris.
• A ride name.
• An opening date.
• Confirmation that the attraction will keep its original VR-heavy concept, or that it will be reworked around a different story.

For now, we’re still in the “read between the lines” stage. But those lines are getting bolder.

If this permit really is the signal that Universal is finally finishing what Wizarding Paris started, then Epic Universe’s first expansion is shaping up to be a big one. It won’t just help with capacity. It will make Wizarding Paris feel complete in the way fans assumed it would be from day one.

And if the broomstick ride finally gets its day? That empty expansion pad behind the land might become one of the hottest pieces of theme park real estate on the planet.

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