We had the good fortune of connecting with Aaron Nelson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aaron, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The single most important factor behind the success of the Epic Universal brand is a collective commitment to credibility.

From the very beginning, our team—a passionate group of researchers, creatives, and theme park experts—made a conscious decision to prioritize accuracy over clicks. Even when the brand started as a satirical project, we saw a genuine demand for verified information. Our team leaned into that, building a process for our “fan-powered journalism” model where we collaboratively dig into public records and track permits, ensuring the theme park news we deliver is something our community can trust implicitly.

It’s this team-driven dedication that has allowed the brand to evolve and flourish. It’s the reason our community has grown so rapidly and why we were able to expand our scope to cover the entire Universal Orlando Resort and parks worldwide. Hitting milestones like 100,000 followers and generating over 20 million impressions this year is a testament to our team’s shared vision. It validates our belief that there’s a huge appetite for thoughtful, accurate coverage.

Ultimately, our success is a reflection of the powerful connection our brand has built with its audience, all thanks to the trust our team earns every day.

What should our readers know about your business?
t’s amazing to think that Epic Universal started back in 2019 as a satirical side project. Today, it’s grown into a full-fledged media brand, a journey that now runs parallel to my current studies in Social Strategy at SCAD and Themed Entertainment Design at Purdue. Initially, I was just posting witty commentary and photoshopped art, but the community’s hunger for reliable information was undeniable. We quickly realized the biggest challenge wasn’t a lack of news, but a tsunami of misinformation. That’s when our team pivoted.

The journey meant transforming from entertainers into a trusted journalistic voice. We overcame that by building our brand on a unique model we call “fan-powered journalism.” Our team—a network of passionate creatives and researchers—made a commitment to prioritize accuracy over clicks, learning to dig into public permits and verify sources with an expert eye.

What truly sets Epic Universal apart is that we’re applying principles from my current design and strategy studies in real-time. We combine the creative soul of superfans with the analytical rigor of investigative journalists. Our team doesn’t just report what’s happening; our deep knowledge of the themed entertainment industry allows us to explain the why behind it. We’re not a faceless corporation; we’re an agile, award-winning team that understands both the data and the magic.

The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that an audience built on trust is unshakable. In the digital age, hype is temporary, but credibility is priceless, and our team has to earn it with every single post.

If there’s one thing we want the world to know about our brand and story, it’s this: Epic Universal is a testament to the power of passionate communities. We are proof that a small, dedicated team of fans can become an influential and trusted resource in an industry we love, and we’re committed to sharing that passion and insight with the world.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s an easy one for me. My absolute favorite spot has to be Pizza Moon.

And it’s funny, because it’s not the most thrilling ride or the most elaborate show. For our team, it’s all about the vibe. Pizza Moon is located in Celestial Park, the beautiful heart of the entire park, and for me, it’s the ultimate observation deck. It’s the perfect place to grab a slice, sit at an outdoor table, and just watch the world go by.

From that one spot, you can feel the park’s entire energy. You see families buzzing after a ride on the carousel, adventurers heading towards the portal to the Isle of Berk, and wizards returning from the Ministry of Magic. It’s the crossroads where all the different worlds of the park meet.

Honestly, I’ve probably written more breaking news posts for our @epicuniverseupdates social media from a table at Pizza Moon than anywhere else. It’s the perfect place to be fully immersed in the experience while reporting on it. In a park filled with incredible, complex attractions, Pizza Moon is this simple, perfect hub that brings everyone together. For a brand that’s all about community and sharing the park experience, it just feels like our home base.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely. This is the perfect question because Epic Universal would be nothing without its community and collaborators. The brand’s success is truly a shared one, and there are two groups that deserve all the credit.

First and foremost, the biggest shoutout goes to the incredible team behind the scenes. It’s not a formal corporate staff, but a brilliant network of passionate friends, classmates from my time studying at SCAD and Purdue, and even dedicated Redditors who evolved into research leads. These are the people who help track permits at midnight and debate the nuance of a new rumor. Their curiosity, talent, and dedication are the engine of our brand.

Equally important is our community of over 100,000 followers. They are so much more than an audience; they are our on-the-ground reporters, our fact-checkers, and the source of the user-generated photos and videos that made our coverage of the park’s opening so vibrant. The ‘fan-powered’ part of our journalism is not just a tagline; it’s our operational reality. This platform belongs to them as much as it does to us.

So my shoutout is dedicated to this entire ecosystem—the creators on our team and the community that supports us—who have collectively turned what started as a satirical project into an influential voice in the theme park world.

Website: https://www.epicuniversal.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicuniverseupdates/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EpicUniverseUpdates

Image Credits
Epic Universal

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