Toothless Meets Toothless: Exploring Berk at Epic Universe
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the Entrance to Epic Universe
On June 13th, the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon released to theaters. To coincide with the film release, LEGO revealed 10375 How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless a few days later. The set was released on July 1st and is available now.
Coincidentally (or not coincidentally) less than a month before the movie’s release, Universal’s new theme park Epic Universe opened to the public in Orlando, FL… with an entire section of the new theme park dedicated to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. Fortunately for me, Epic Universe is located basically in my backyard, so it was kind of a no-brainer that I had to take the LEGO Toothless around Epic Universe to explore the land of Berk (thanks to BrickNerd for the ticket and LEGO for the set!).
Exploring the Universe
Our day started like any other at a theme park, with a selfie in front of the entrance gate for Instagram! As soon as we were through, we headed right to Berk. It didn’t take long at all for fans to notice the brick-built Toothless we were carrying. Shortly after we entered the land, two security guards noticed the set… we were worried it might not be allowed but they immediately fell in love with it! Let the photoshoot commence!
Our primary goal was to meet the real Toothless in a meet and greet they have available at the park so we headed there first since lines can get long. As soon as we walked up, though, Hiccup and Astrid were leaving, so we decided to come back and try to meet all of them later.
As we continued to explore we ran into a familiar adversity, a Snow Wraith. On a hot day, though, running into a cold dragon isn’t the worst thing in the world as long as they aren’t trying to eat you.
After walking around for a while, we decided to show Toothless a little bit more of the park as we waited for the live show to open. We went to Dark Universe and visited Frankenstein’s castle, Super Nintendo World, and Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic.
The ride queue for Harry Potter was exceptionally long, so my friend Owen and I got bored and began modifying the set in line. We designed a long tongue and an extra-long tongue by using the hinge pieces from the accompanying fish. I definitely caught a few people around us laughing as they glanced our way. I can only hope we were able to make them laugh with our silly ideas!
After a short break and some food that Toothless (definitely not me) devoured. It was back to Berk for the most important part of the day, trying to meet the real Toothless!
Koda the viking holding Toofless
As we were headed back, a park employee working at the gate saw Toothless and wanted a picture with him. He then asked me a question I hadn’t thought about at all, “What was my LEGO dragon’s name?” On the spot, I decided Toofless! It’s like saying Toothless, but if you’re missing your two front teeth. We laughed, so the name stuck for the rest of the day.
A Chance Encounter
Heading to the Toothless meetup area, we saw a massive line and were a little discouraged. We decided to get a few other photos with the roaming characters before spending the rest of our day in the line. We saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut passing by, but they were too busy butting heads for a picture.
In a perfect turn of events, though, Astrid was walking by too, so we trailed behind waiting for a photo-op. Of course all the kids around us were thrilled to see her too, so we waited patiently for quite a few minutes as many families gathered around and kept jumping in front of us. She then said she had to leave, but before she did, she came up to us and said she saw us waiting and that we could walk and talk with her about LEGO Toothless.
Astrid and I
Totally in character, we chatted with her about building the set, how old “Toofless” was, what other dragons we’d seen that day, and a few other nerdy dragon things. We got a quick photo with Astrid at the end of our walk which just happened to be near the line to meet the real Toothless. And then an epic moment happened…
Before heading off, Astrid asked us if we had met Toothless yet. We said not yet because of the long lines, and that is where we were heading for the rest of the day. Right then, her face lit up and she said playfully, “Follow me!” Giddy with excitement and amazement, she led us in a parade of dragon trainers right to the front of the line to meet the real Toothless! We could not have been more grateful for the kind gesture and thanked her immensely. As we said goodbye, we quickly got ready for our turn to meet Toothless.
As we stepped up into the area, we were greeted by a wonderful Viking caretaker looking after Toothless as guests got pictures. She was so sweet, and we chatted about our day exploring so far, and of course, the LEGO Toothless set I was holding. Wouldn’t you know it, she asked me the same question as the other characters we had encountered that day. “What’s his name?” As I replied, “Toofless,” I was shocked and so happy when she responded, “Oh, it’s like you’re saying Toothless, but you’re missing your front teeth.” It made me so happy that she got my silly joke!
Then we met the real Toothless! (Well, as real as he’s ever going to get… It felt like we were meeting the real thing because the character is so lifelike.) Toothless reacted to Toofless like they were brothers and even smiled for a family photo. After our wonderful exchange, we took our pictures, thanked them again, celebrated getting the photo we set out for, and then headed the direction of the live dragon show.
Watching Dragons Fly
The show is an amazing indoor performance of live music from the score, dancing, dragon training, and even flying! Watching Hiccup train a so-called “untrainable” dragon was so fun. Watching Toothless fly all around the entire crowd over your head is something spectacular. Doing all kinds of turns and then landing on stage, Toofless was watching intently.
After the show as we were wrapping up our day at Epic Universe, we stumbled upon a couple of other Toothless look-alike items around Berk. The first was a cool rock painted like Toothless that I guess someone painted and left it for others to find. Then in a gift shop, we found a drink cup that is literally the spitting image of the set! And for some reason on the way to dinner, Toofless had to stop for a fish snack with some friends.
Our last stop of the day for dinner was the Toadstool Cafe because my brother works there. I had to see him in action and have him be our server! The food was yummy and Toofless agreed. As the sun began to set after finishing our meal, we squeezed in one or two more rides and then made our way out of Berk and ultimately the whole park.
An Epic Adventure
Looking back at a full day of rides, shows, and amazing interactions, I could not have imagined a better day. Seeing such kindness from all the employees and guests at Epic Universe was so heartwarming. And even though the idea of bringing a cute LEGO set into a theme park may seem a bit childish (and scary for risking breaking it), it made the day ten times better and allowed us to go home with so many amazing stories.
Saying goodbye
By the time we left the park, Toofless had visited his homeland of Berk, met his movie-star counterpart, toured the realms of other worlds, eaten wondrous new foods, and been adopted into the hearts of strangers. What started as a silly idea to bring a cute LEGO set into a theme park became a day overflowing with kindness, creativity, and unforgettable memories, and ultimately showed that little Toofless build can go on epic adventures.
Would you ever bring a LEGO set to a theme park? Let us know in the comments below.
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