Behind-the-Garland: Season’s Greetings from Celestial Park at Universal Epic Universe

From left to right: Stephanie Trilli, Curtis Hopkins, Lindsey Ellis

We’re quickly approaching the jolliest time of year at Universal Orlando Resort, and our teams are working around the clock (literally!) to bring the Holidays to our theme parks. Ever since Universal Epic Universe opened earlier this year, I’d been hoping one day I would be able to step into a winter wonderland in my favorite world, Celestial Park. I’m happy to announce that day is finally here, and thanks to the efforts of countless Team Members, it’s full of more magic and whimsy than I thought was possible.

In 2019 — before Universal Epic Universe was announced to the public — holly-jollies and fa-la-las were already up for discussion. Supporting Epic Universe’s Holiday program since its inception is Curtis Hopkins, senior scenic manager with Entertainment Art and Design. He says the level of detail that’s displayed in his team’s handmade decoration creations is “mind-boggling.”

“Our decor team at the warehouse is building and producing so many custom ornaments, and when you look at them, you’d swear they came from a factory,” Curtis says. “It’s elevating the standard that that we always try to have for any project that we work on.”

As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy to begin planning a full lineup of holiday decor for a theme park that was, at the time, just a pile of dirt.

Lindsey Ellis, scenic designer, says a partnership with Universal Creative was key to ensuring the final products fit seamlessly within the environment.

“So many people are touching this project, and we wouldn’t have been able to get across the finish line without them, especially because the park wasn’t open or done when we started,” Lindsey says. “We really relied on our Creative partners to provide us with their design intent. It was truly a labor of love for many, many people.”

The Design Phase

Lindsey hand-drew many of the concepts for decorations you’ll see displayed throughout Celestial Park. She took inspiration from the lore of the world and the façades of the different storefronts, tying in the unique artifacts the Celestians — the people who live in Celestial Park — gathered during their travels.

Foliage was another consideration, from golden palm fronds at CelesTiki to red plum blossoms outside The Blue Dragon Pan-Asian Restaurant.

“I picked apart what makes each part of Celestial Park special and tied that in with the holiday,” Lindsey says. “We have a lot of interesting new textures and colors and styles that I think people are going to be really excited about.”

The importance of being true to the design intent was not lost on Stephanie Trilli, show producer, who served as the liaison between the designers and the teams who turned their ideas into existence.

“For this project I tried to make both Lindsey and Curtis happy,” Stephanie says. “It’s their vision and their dream. I tried to get the things that we’re making to be as true to their concept as possible.”

Lindsey adds, “One of the highlights of this job is going into the decor warehouse and seeing something I made on the computer as a real product, and it’s so gorgeous. [The set dressers] put their love, effort, skills and thought into it, and it’s better than anything I could imagine.”

One of the things the team takes the most pride in is how truly one-of-a-kind their creations are.

“This is not something you can buy off the shelf,” Stephanie says. “These are custom items made just for Epic Universe. If you take a moment to look at each building, it is so impressive what these teams have done.”

The team isn’t stopping here — Curtis says you can expect them to up the ante on all things Holidays for years to come.

“The level of detail that all of these teams have been producing for Epic Universe is going to trickle into Holiday product that is going to be at our other parks moving forward,” Curtis says. “The team is now so robust at creating all of this this custom detail work, it’s only going to enhance the decor parkwide.”

The Installation Phase

Leading the very important task of holiday décor installation are Mary Camacho and Jacquie Perry, art managers, who take their merry roles very seriously. Not only do they lead this phase of the operation, they spend their entire year making sure every garland, ornament and light strand are perfectly executed.

“Every year we have an opportunity to make [the décor] better,” Jacquie says. “When we take our decorations down in January, we start working right away on fixing them up. It’s a year-round business and it takes a couple of months to build each of these areas with our full-time crew of elves.”

This year, Mary and Jacquie were tasked with taking Lindsey’s designs off the page and into the world of Celestial Park. Although many of us Floridians often hope for winter weather, the unpredictability of our climate leads to challenges with keeping the items in tip-top shape all season. Fortunately for us, Jacquie and Mary are self-proclaimed “experts in the field of Holidays,” and problem-solving professionals.

“My favorite part is brainstorming with other people and coming up with solutions,” Mary says. “It’s very collaborative, and they tend to be fun conversations.”

If there’s one thing all of the teams involved in bringing the Holidays to Epic Universe want you to know, it’s that every piece of décor has history — down to the very last tiny woodland creature outside of The Oak and Star Tavern.

“All of the crew has very special feelings about seeing their work on a building,” Mary says. “I went to the park with a friend who said, ‘Oh, I really love those berries,’ and I remembered exactly how they came to be that way and who did it. Every piece of garland has a backstory, and it’s fun knowing it.”

Which piece of holiday décor in Celestial Park is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

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