UPDATE March 21 - This week there has been exciting news from Universal Epic Universe as we have seen three major roller coasters begin testing.

Here is a new video posted to YouTube using aerial footage taken by WESH of the headlining roller coaster in Celestial Park, Starfall Racers. Recently, we got to see the new trains and now we can see that testing has begin on the track.

February 2, 2024 - With Universal releasing new concept art and details this week regarding its upcoming third gate, Epic Universe, a new unofficial POV of the headlining attraction of Celestial Park has been released.

Amusement Insider has created an unofficial off-ride POV using NoLimits 2 of the dual-track Starfall Racers roller coaster manufactured by MACK rides which will headline The Celestial Park land at Epic Universe. It will include two duelling 5,000 ft long tracks, reach a height of 133ft and speeds of up to 62mph. As can be seen in the video embedded below the two trains will race against each other similar to the now demolished Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios Florida.

Universal has now confirmed on their official website that the height restriction for Starfall Racers will be 48" (122cm) making it an ideal first roller coaster for many young Universal fans.

March 23, 2023 - When Universal Epic Universe opens by Summer 2025, the first fans through the turnstiles will sure have a lot of bucket list items to check off. Without a doubt, many will race to Super Nintendo World – the next “Living Land” in Disney and Universal’s back-and-forth theme park battles. Fans of the classics might make a beeline to the Dark Universe – a village populated by Universal’s monsters of the ’30s and ’40s. Families will no doubt race to the Isle of Berk to learn how to train a dragon. Potterheads will instead head for Ministry of Magic – a 1920s Paris drawn from the Wizarding World.

But like Islands of Adventure before it, the immersive worlds of Epic Universe will also be accentuated by something a little louder: a cutting edge, iconic set of roller coasters. While Universal has barely acknowledged that Epic Universe is happening at all, they haven’t been able to hide their newest thrill ride – a pair of intertwined racing coasters that will dominate the new park’s celestial hub.

What’s the story behind this new coaster that’s sure to be a landmark of Orlando? Who’s manufacturing it, and what tricks have they packed within? For that matter, what will a ride on these twisted tracks be like? Here’s what we know (and think we know) about the roller coaster that’s set to define Epic Universe…

1. It’s a "spiritual successor" to a fan favorite

When Universal’s Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, it, too, had a cutting edge double coaster as one of its main draws… Part of the Lost Legend: The Lost Continent, Dueling Dragons was a technological marvel made of two separate but intertwined B&M inverted coasters – a blazing red “Fire” track and a gleaming blue “Ice” track meant to represent the aerial clash between two elemental dragons ravaging a town.

Though each had a different layout, elements, inversions, speed, and statistics, trains from each would be dispatched together along mirrored lift hills. Then brakes throughout the rides’ courses would adjust to accommodate for differing weights between them, ensuring that at three key moments along their courses, the two trains would “duel,” racing at each other or spiraling around each other in visual “near miss” encounters. That continued even when the ride was absorbed into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade in 2010, officially being renamed Dragon Challenge.

Unfortunately, in 2011, two significant events saw riders on the recently-renamed Dragon Challenge injured by being struck by loose items as the trains barreled toward one another at high speeds. As a result, the ride’s “dueling” was officially ended leaving the two tracks to operate independently and asynchronously until the ride closed in 2017. (The space today is home to Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.)

It’s interesting that Epic Universe will follow in Islands of Adventure’s footsteps by including its own intertwined double coaster which (as we’ll see on the next page) is even rumored to have dueling elements of its own. No doubt that’ll mean that safety protocols will be in place for this ride to ensure loose items are stored in lockers… but of course, Universal guests have gotten used to mandatory lockers and metal detectors on Universal’s high-thrill coasters post-2011 anyway.

2. It’s a cosmic journey

Remember, fans knew a lot about Epic Universe even before Universal's official detail drop inJanuary 2024 thanks, in large part, to the incredible Orlando ParkStop. you might forget that technically, almost nothing has officially been confirmed about Universal’s third gate in Orlando. However, one area of the park that concept art did not obscure was its fabled hub. Just as Islands of Adventure begins with Port of Entry (a literary, nautical, seaside village) it seems that Epic Universe will have an opening act that’s fittingly cosmic – a celestial, bronze garden of art deco and steampunk influence.

Finally confirmed in 2024 as Celestial Park, this sprawling, multi-level garden space will be reigned over by the park's entry icon: the Chronos, a great otherworldly energy beacon that powers the portals of Epic Universe. Guests will enter through the Chronos and enter a lush landscape overseen by the goddess Luna who orchestrates the movement of the worlds.

Defined by bronze arches, astrolabes, Zodiac signs, and cosmic symbols, this elemental space is rumored to be sub-divided into courtyards representing the elements – in this case: water, fire, earth, air, and aether (or, in common language, space). It’s believed that the park’s racing, intertwined coaster will be found in the latter, being themed to space or space exploration – but through the fantasy lens of this retro-futuristic land. That seemed to be confirmed by a 2023 trademark filing…

3. Its name will be Starfall Racers

A March 2023 trademark filing by Universal included a number of proposed attraction and area names for the park (including the name “Constellation Carousel” for the hub’s family flat ride). Among the filings was “Starfall Racers,” a name that seemed unlikely to apply to anything in the park but for the new space-themed racing coasters found in the park’s hub.

Indeed, that name was confirmed in January 2024, when Universal released a batch of confirmations around Epic Universe, including the concept art above. There's still something Universal did not confirm, though. If rumors are to be believed, you might be able to ride both the Constellation Carousel and Starfall Racers without buying admission to Epic Universe… How? Read on…