By: Meg Smith, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
This is Berk… As you enter into the portal at Universal’s Epic Universe for the Isle of Berk you are met with a giant Stone detailing the gorgeous isle you are about to witness. On this isle you will find fascinating woodwork, charismatic Vikings, delicious food, exhilarating rides, and dragons… lots and lots of dragons!
Beyond the stone, the isle BURSTS to life with vibrant colors of beautiful mountains, crisp and inviting waters, artfully crafted ships, benches carved to resemble the beloved dragons, and so much more!
As you enter, if you have little Vikings with you, you will want to venture to the left side of the isle to the Viking Training Camp. Here you will have time to rest as your kiddos complete their training with things like Dragon-Vision: hand-carved masks designed to help you experience Berk through the strange and wonderful eyes of a dragon! You can identify dragon eggs, climb through different rope-style courses, slide down whimsical slides and then ring the bells originally designed to warn of dragon attacks, but now they are the signal of fun and games!
Once they have completed their training... or if your group doesn’t have any little Vikings, head on over to Dragon Racer’s Rally and take to the air! Think you have what it takes to race the other Vikings? Show off your skills on this Viking-carved dragon-riding trainer designed to let you try out your barrel rolls and other aerobatic maneuvers!
Got that down? Now you’re ready for Hiccups Wing Gliders! This coaster is made to let you Vikings get a dragon’s view of the Isle of Berk as you go soaring through on this winged contraption!
After all that excitement, it may be time to slow the pace and cool off! You should head down to Fyre Drill where you can ride in a real Viking boat and test your aim with water cannons! Ruff-n-Tuff have transformed Berk’s Fyre Skool into an interactive boat battle, and it is a soak or be soaked world out there!
So now, you’ve completed the rides provided to test your skills, and you are STARVING!! Don’t you worry, with places like Mead Hall, Spit Fyre Grill, and Hooligan’s Grog and Gruel you are sure to find the fuel you need to keep up with these Vikings and their dragons! Mead Hall is Berk’s main gathering place where you can find delicious meats, fish, sandwiches, meads, ciders and so much more! They have little Viking meals like Barf and Belch’s Duo Plate which has Mac & cheese bites, Grilled Sausage, Cooked carrots, Fries, and grapes on the vine!
Not wanting to sit down? That’s fine too! You can grab a quick bite at the Spit Fyre Grill for a Steak, Salmon, or Chicken bowl which comes with rice or grains, your meat of choice, and other yummy toppings like jicama slaw, sweet potato hash, or brussels. Or, for arguably the best handheld meal in all the isle, head over to Grog and Gruel for a DELICIOUS mac & cheese bowl! There are three options, Classic – which has mac & cheese with fish-shaped crackers in a crunchy bread cone. Dragon Fire Chicken Spire - mac & cheese with Nashville style pulled chicken, hot honey, peppers, chimichurri and crispy onions. Or the crowd-favorite – PB&J (Pork, bacon, and jam) – mac & cheese with BBQ pulled pork, Peanut bacon jam, and parsley in a crunchy bread cone! YUM! Our mouths are watering just thinking about it!
Now, we’ve ridden the rides, we’ve filled our bellies…. What else is there?? OH YEAH!! DRAGONS! Would you like to meet one?? Guess what? YOU CAN! Berk has a meet and greet with Hiccup and his best friend, Toothless! You can ask Hiccup about his experience meeting Toothless and even give that adorable dragon a little pet! By far one of the coolest experiences in all the land! But did you know you can also meet some of our favorite Vikings out and about, like Astrid (and sometimes she even brings out Stormfly), Ruff and Tuff, Gobber the Belch, and many others! AND occasionally, Pouncer (a baby nightlight dragon) likes to make an appearance! Other than these run-ins with the crew, keep your eyes peeled, because there are dragons all around the isle!!
There is one dragon in particular you may want to leave to the pros... we’re talking about The Untrainable Dragon! This may sound scary, a dragon that can’t be trained? Yikes! Well, don’t worry, Hiccup and the other Vikings are on site and as Hiccup says, all dragons are trainable! Is he right about that? You’ll have to watch this jaw dropping live show to find out! Showtimes are throughout the day, and we promise you; this is one show you don’t want to miss!
So, there you have it, the Isle of Berk, Hiccup’s village. In a word, sturdy. It’s been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. It has rides, food, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problem are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. They have… dragons! Think this Isle is somewhere you and your family need to experience? We totally agree! Reach out to one of our amazing travel agents at Marvelous Mouse Travels so that they can help you find the perfect Universal Vacation package for you!!
