with the closure of the Epic Universe Preview Center in Universal’s Citywalk, i think it would be fun to reflect on how accurate the scale model was, and to see what changed between the construction of the model and the actual construction of Isle of Berk!
first off, we can see that at the time the model was built, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders was actually called Dragon Flight, as seen in this picture by Bioreconstruct.
additionally, the track layout and show elements seemed to be a bit different. instead of a toothless animatronic at the start, the model shows a toothless figure flying over the track, with additional rock work resembling the setting of the Test Drive scene:
as for mostly everything else, little changed from this concept to the final result. aside from a few signage changes and small details, the model turned out to be incredibly accurate.
notice the different catchphrase engraved on the portal, as opposed to the “we, my friends, have dragons!” that we ended up getting.
one last thing i’d like to point out. the model included an interactive VR feature that guests could use to see animated elements in the model in real time. for Berk, a monstrous nightmare and several gronckles are shown flying above the land, further reinforcing that the original plan was to have a gronckle drone in addition to the MN.
footage credit to AdamPancake on YT.
