This week’s SATURDAY SIX heads into Epic Universe to check out DARK UNIVERSE, an entire theme park land dedicated to Universal’s Classic Monsters. It wasn’t that long ago where I would have bet good money something like this would never happen. The iconic characters (such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Wolfman) have slowly been removed from the theme parks outside of Halloween Horror Nights and every attempt by Universal to popularize them in mainstream movies has – at best – underperformed and at times been an outright disaster (we’re looking in your direction Tom Cruise…)

I personally love the Universal Classic Monsters. These were the characters that I grew up with watching on TV. When Universal announced that Dark Universe was going to be one of the lands in their newest theme park it was a true “pinch  me, I’m dreaming” moment. Would the land live up to the hype I created in my own mind? Spoiler Alert: Yes. Yes, it does. We’re here to explain why Dark Universe is so great, starting with…

# 6 – The Portal

In what I would consider a creatively genius move, each “world” in Epic Universe is accessible through a portal. These portals allow every world in Epic Universe to have that “wow factor” type of moment that guests receive when walking under the train station and seeing the Main Street USA reveal itself at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Each of the portals have design elements unique to that particular world.

Each portal also has an inscription on the front. For Dark Universe, this inscription reads It’s Alive! It’s Alive! This is referencing the joyous screams of Dr. Frankenstein as his creation sprang to life.

The front of the Dark Universe portal is macabre looking, as it is lined with skulls. However, this is only one part of the horror, because a closer look at these skulls reveal an even darker secret…

…as the skulls themselves are a mix of humans and monsters!

A close look will reveal that several of the skulls are also from vampires.

The portal itself is becoming one with nature, as the twisted tree roots have begun to grab hold.

The overarching theme of Dark Universe is the character of Victoria Frankenstein – the great-great-granddaughter of the disgraced Dr. Henry Frankenstein – channeling dark energy to fuel her creations. This energy collection can be seen in and around the portal, with several references to electricity, including a coil crackling with energy at the very top.

As guests walk through the portal, they will see that the machinery behind this technology appears to come from another era.

The purple energy that guests go through inside the portal seems to be a combination of the blue energy that Victoria Frankenstein uses to control monsters combined with the red chaotic energy used by her nemesis Dracula.

The Dark Universe portal has guests exiting through a barn structure into a world of creepiness.

# 5 – Darkmoor Village

Once through the portal, Dark Universe guests immediately encounter a graveyard sitting right outside Darkmoor Village. Among the tombstones is the large structure for the entrance to the Frankenstein Catacombs. These catacombs are beneath Darkmoor and the main attraction of Dark Universe has guests traveling through them.

The entrance to the catacombs has been chained up…

…with a warning sign of the depths below.

The cemetery outside Darkmoor includes a pretty creepy skeleton statue holding a large sword.

While several other areas of Epic Universe transform at night through the use of colorful lights, Dark Universe goes the other way and takes on a whole new feeling of menace and dread once the sun goes down.

One of the more interesting photo-ops in Dark Universe is an open coffin that guests can pose in.

Here we will also see a statue of a small girl. This is representing the character of Maria from the iconic Universal Classic Monster film Frankenstein from 1931. In the film, Maria encountered Frankenstein’s monster and showed him how flowers could float. Trying to recreate that, the monster ended up accidentally drowning Maria in a cinematic moment that we wouldn’t think twice about in a world of Final Destination 5 and the latest Blumhouse horror franchise, but back in the 1930s this was as shocking as it gets. Often times you will see a small flower put next to the statue of Maria by a Dark Universe Team Member.

Time to enter Darkmoor!

The town of Darkmoor sets a new standard of foreboding inside a theme park. It is like a Halloween Horror Nights scare zone writ large and is just incredible. Like walking into an actual Universal Classic Monster movie from the early 20th century. The fog coming from the well is rising from the catacombs below the village.

As dark and mysterious as the village is during the day, the ick factor increases ten fold at night.

Growing up, one of my favorite Christmas films was the Rankin-Bass classic, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town. In that movie, the character of Santa Claus was thwarted by another character named the Burgermeister Meisterberger. What I thought was a silly name was actually a title, as I learned many years later that “Burgermeister” refers to a mayor in Germany. In Darkmoor Village you will see the Burgermeister’s house with a sign hanging above the double doors.

However, if you take a closer look in this area you’ll see there is a cornerstone in the foundation with the number 428. In storyline, this is letting us know that the village of Darkmoor was founded in the year 428. However there is a much more significant meaning behind the number…

…because 428 also refers to 4/28, or April 28th, the birthday of Carl Laemmle Jr.

Carl’s father founded Universal Studios Hollywood in 1915. At the time, it was the largest movie production facility in the world. Carl Jr. was head of production at Universal from 1928-1936. During this period is when the world saw the release of Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935.) Carl Jr. is the spiritual father of Universal Classic Monsters that we know and love today. Without him, there is no Dark Universe.

Everywhere you look in Darkmoor is setting an unsettling tone.

There are several incredible areas in theme parks that need to be experienced at night because they feel so different when compared to the daytime. These include the neon lights of Carsland in Disney California Adventure, the ambiance of Pandora: The World of Avatar in Animal Kingdom, and Darkmoor Village are at the top of my list.

# 4 – The Lighting

When theme parks are at their best, they are telling you a story without you even realizing it. This level of storytelling can be seen throughout Darkmoor in a variety of ways, including the lighting design around the lane. These lights actually show the progression of time through the village. The lighting structure below is representing the type of lights that would be used in ancient Darkmoor, as if candles are being lit inside.

Later we will see a style of light that would have come from Dr. Henry Frankenstein’s era, as if created in his laboratory.

While a third, more modern form of lighting, represents the era of Victoria Frankenstein.

Victoria’s era is more defined by the way we get electricity today, via wires and cables.

The use of this form of electricity can be seen throughout Darkmoor, especially in signage.

Speaking of telling a story in an unconventional way, let’s check out the use of trees in Dark Universe.

Epic Universe has a lot of trees, but the only world which contains these types of gnarled trees is in Dark Universe. These have been handpicked by Universal Creative to represent the twisted nature of Darkmoore Village itself.

Some of these trees even have design elements to look like skeletal bones.

I would imagine the vast majority of guests walking through Darkmoor Village don’t even consciously notice the difference between the trees in this world compared to the rest of the park, but they feel it and it adds to the overall story.

# 3 –  The Bathrooms

We generally don’t pay much attention to the bathrooms in a theme park land, despite the fact they are one of the most necessary components of any area. Dark Universe goes above and beyond here, including using Frankenstein’s Monster and The Bride representing the “Men” and “Women” bathroom areas.

I mean, c’mon, how great is this?!

However, that’s not the best part about restrooms inside Dark Universe. Once you walk into a restroom, you’ll notice right away that something is different…

…as all the toilets and urinals are black!

The sinks and soap dispensers are also black, but be sure to notice the lack of mirrors when you are washing your hands. Why? Because vampires don’t reflect themselves in mirrors. This is a level of detail so insanely great that I think it’s going to be replaced pretty quickly when the average guest complains to guest relations about Universal “forgetting to put the mirrors in the bathrooms.” Like when Pandora – The World of Avatar opened with almost no traditional theme park signage to stay on theme, and then days later we had signs popping up in the land showing people where to go.

We don’t deserve the greatness that are the Dark Universe restrooms, but we can savor every minute of them while we have ’em.

# 2 –  The Merchandise

As a theme park merch guy, this is a big one for me. Darkmoor has several gift shops, including The Manor Storehouse. Each of the shops has some pretty cool theming and details.

For example, in The Manor Storehouse you’ll see this map of the world…

….which has lines tracing through the various continents. These lines are recounting the paths that Victoria Frankenstein took during her hunts across the globe to collect monsters.

On shelves you’ll see items related to various hunts, including several below for Dracula.

Boris Karloff is the actor who portrayed Frankenstein’s Monster in the original Frankenstein film back in 1931. He also starred in The Mummy (1932), which appears to be represented in this sculpture.

I love this version of an evil fly creature about to terrorize some treats.

I am a huge fan of the faux old timey advertisements that feature elements related to Dark Universe. This includes an ad for Monocane, which was the key ingredient of the invisibility formula used by The Invisible Man (1933).

“Endowed by Christine Daaé” is a reference to The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

Lycanthropy is the transformation of a person into a wolf (The Wolf Man, 1941.)

Okay, now let’s check out some of the merchandise you’ll find in these shops, including the Dark Universe vinyl record featuring music composed by Danny Elfman.

How great is it that we live in a world with Universal Classic Monsters branded chocolate bars and gummy candy?!

I absolutely love this Dark Universe magnet set because it features two pieces of artwork designed to look like comic book covers. If an actual Dark Universe comic book is released I will be the first in line to buy it!

There are various versions of Classic Monster plush, but I’m a fan of this line in which each character has their own smaller plush animal.

If you’d like to cosplay as a Universal Classic Monster, there are outfits for various characters made for both adults and kids.

What I really like from an attention-to-detail level is the fact that the Dark Universe t-shirts actually have the Dark Universe logo inside the shirts. This is usually reserved for prestige brands such as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but is something that I think should be used for pretty much anything that is exclusive to theme parks.

# 1 – The Devil is in the Details

The overall theming throughout Darkmoor Village takes everything up a notch, including stroller parking signage that has a creature’s hand emerging from the stroller!

Directional signage featuring neighboring villages of Darkmoor.

Keep your head on a swivel to see some stories being told in Darkmoor via props. Here we have a crossbow hanging at bell tower..

…along with arrows that have been fired.

This weathervane is a nod to the Demeter from Bram Stroker’s Dracula. The Demeter was a fictional ship, but it was inspired by the real life shipwreck of a Russian schooner.

How great is this detail for a Darkmoor sign?! Just incredible.

We started our journey today by walking through a portal into Darkmoor, now lets check out the exit. From the Celestial Park side of the exit, everything looks clean and pristine with colorful landscaping.

Here is a closer look at the exit area of Dark Universe as seen from the Celestial Park side. Everything looking spiffy.

However, on the Dark Universe side of this very same exit gate, everything is dark and grimy.

The flowers are decaying. This is a level of detail that most guests will not spend one second noticing. They will be too busy talking about their favorite attraction or reminiscing about their interaction with a character in Darkmoor, but this level of immersion adds another layer to the Dark Universe story they experienced.

COMING UP IN PART 2: The Burning Blade Tavern, Curse of the Werewolf, Ygor and MORE!

So there you have it: 6 Reasons We Love DARK UNIVERSE Part 1! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

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Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by SeaWorld Influencer @SuperWeenieHtJr. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.