28 November 2025
Apparently, the fire-breathing winged creatures who were to soar above Universal Orlando's Epic Universe for its How to Train Your Dragon world need more training.
When the Isle of Berk attraction that celebrates the movie's theme opened on May 22, however, there were no dragons in sight.
As of press time, fans of the film—as well as everyone who loves immersive theme park experiences—have yet to witness the drone-powered dragons.
It has been a disappointing development—especially as some pretty stunning footage has been leaked showing the dragon Hookfang on the ground (click to see him here) and in flight (view the video here).
But getting a drone dressed up as a dragon to fly safely around the park was far more challenging then initially considered—a situation explained in the Peacock documentary, Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks.
"Our engineering team came to me in 2017 or 2018 and said, 'Hey you’re doing a dragon’s land—if we were going to do a drone, how fun would that be?'" says Katy Pacitti, Executive Producer, How to Train Your Dragon, Isle of Berk in the documentary. "And I’m like, 'Let’s do it.' You’re making this world where you’ve got dragons that just sort of fly around every day, so why wouldn't you want to try and recreate that? People grew up with these movies, and we need to deliver."
Soon, the team realized doing exactly that was not a small feat.
"He's not flying right now because we wanted to put in larger battery packs," explains Pacitti from the Hookfang workshop. "We also want the drone to have flapping wings so it seems more life-like."
Another challenge is one faced by companies rolling out drone delivery programs—noise.
"This is an industrial drone," says Pacitti. "It’s not something you’re going to get under the Christmas tree. So, it's loud—like a helicopter flying above—and we are trying to make it not so loud.
That's not all. For Hookfang—and other dragons—to fly continuously, the wind is an issue.
Then, there's the shape and action of the dragon/drone. The wingspan is ten feet—five feet in each direction—and the dragon's wings, head, and neck are moving simultaneously. Programming a drone for flight, animation, and weather has been challenging.
“Hookfang is the only working unit right now," Associate Engineer of Ride and Show Alec DiLiello revealed in the documentary. "The risk of flying it non-tethered and not mounted to anything is a little bit of a stressful situation, but it’s going to be very rewarding once it all works."
"There’s still a lot to do," added Pacitti.
But if the leaked footage is any indication of what's to be, dragons flying over the park's Isle of Berk are going to be worth the engineering hassles. After all, experiencing the impossible is one of the glorious features of great theme parks.
Witness the Isle of Berk Preview
