Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[OhHaiInternet95]

I think even with a recession (2-3 years til recovery) they will go ahead as long as they can operate the existing parks. If we are still dealing with closures I think you can kiss the parks and orlando bye.

@SeventyOne raised this point on twitter eariler today that there is a possibility that the theme park business will fold if we have extended closures.

Which is why we can't stay on lockdown until a vaccine, despite the wishes of some.

They're going to need SOMETHING to draw people back.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

Once we get through to the other side of things, however we get there, I feel like there won't be as many permanent changes as some are fearing. I don't foresee movie theaters ripping out half their seating, or queues to put down labels for users to keep 6 feet apart for the rest of forever.

We may be, I don't know, 5+ years away from getting back to 100% normal, but other than everyone being a little more cognizant about washing your hands more frequently, and maybe engaging in less hand shakes, I'm not sure I see too many big changes to human activity, especially in the entertainment and leisure sectors.

Agreed 100%. Once a vaccine is developed, we're off to the races of normalcy. The amount of time of recovery is anyone's guess, and is likely tied to however long the lockdown is. After that, we're not looking at anything beyond what you've said.

Well, I mean, that all remains to be seen, right? Definitely not trying to start a pure COVID talk, but there's a lot of wishful thinking and false hope around the vaccine. It's not enough to simply make a vaccine. You have to manufacture it. You have to supply it to billions of individuals, worldwide. Like, we're all hoping for a vaccine, but what you should really be hoping for is a medical manufacturing industry that is ready to meet the kind of scale they've literally never seen or could have even foreseen. Don't hope for a vaccine, hope for a stable supply chain. (And a lack of institutional greed.)

In any case—does EU just try to align itself with that 5+ year timeline of getting back to normal? You guys would know better than me. I just feel like opening a theme park in 2024 or 2025 that was completely scoped, designed and intended for a pre-COVID audience is a huge gamble. The likelihood of this theme park opening in the iteration we see currently feels very low to me, and not just because of budgets. The overall social climate will play a role, too, I would think? Or am I way off.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

My idea: when construction resumes, focus on opening just base Nintendo (aka what had been planned to open in Japan) and the Wizarding World stuff, and don't advertise that more is coming. Wa-la, park opens with two massive anchors, and SWGE-style Osborne effect avoided. I think people will be willing to visit a park with not that many attractions provided those few attractions are GOAT contenders.

 

[shiekra38]

My idea: when construction resumes, focus on opening just base Nintendo (aka what had been planned to open in Japan) and the Wizarding World stuff, and don't advertise that more is coming. Wa-la, park opens with two massive anchors, and SWGE-style Osborne effect avoided. I think people will be willing to visit a park with not that many attractions provided those few attractions are GOAT contenders.

Did Micheal Eisner write this?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Did Micheal Eisner write this?

The difference is that DCA's few opening day attractions were, from what i can tell, not very good (Soarin aside). I could see it as more like opening day DAK.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

The difference is that DCA's few opening day attractions were from what i can tell, not very good. I could see it as more like opening day DAK.

Disney could get away with that, because people will visit Disney even if your park has, like 2 rides (*cough Hollywood Studios *cough). Expectations about theme parks are also different now, and with the Internet, if your park only has three attractions, people will know.

Then again, Shanghai Disney opened with relatively few big attractions so what do I know

 

[JungleSkip]

If SNW isn’t in the new park, that probably means the new park has been cancelled. In which case, sure, put it in KidsZone.

Ah, I thought you were saying if EU is cancelled SNW would be too

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Disney could get away with that, because people will visit Disney even if your park has, like 2 rides (*cough Hollywood Studios *cough). Expectations about theme parks are also different now, and with the Internet, if your park only has three attractions, people will know.

Then again, Shanghai Disney opened with relatively few big attractions so what do I know

Yeah, but I think people will be a lot more forgiving if those few attractions are all-timers. It'd be like if DHS still had just four attractions but two of them were ToT and RotR.

Regardless, they NEED something to boost attendance in the years following this. And fairly quickly. More of what's far and away their most popular IP, combined with what could wind up being a close second, could very easily do the trick. Quality > Quantity

 

[Brian G.]

My idea: when construction resumes, focus on opening just base Nintendo (aka what had been planned to open in Japan) and the Wizarding World stuff, and don't advertise that more is coming. Wa-la, park opens with two massive anchors, and SWGE-style Osborne effect avoided. I think people will be willing to visit a park with not that many attractions provided those few attractions are GOAT contenders.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Did Micheal Eisner write this?

“You all wanted a Nintendo theme park, well here it is, JUST Super Nintendo World! Please don’t mind the cranes in the background.”

 

[Jerroddragon]

The impression I get is that this is mostly a cash flow issue, not that the demand won't eventually be there for this. Most people right now are probably not buying anything excessive since they don't know when things are going to return to normal. Outside of groceries, I've barely spent a penny since lockdown started (Not that there's much to spend money on anyway)



It's going to be interesting to see how the economy rebounds. Everybody is jacked up and wanting to just go and get back on with life, maybe even excessively get back into everything to make up for lost time.

I'm sure it is but it makes me laugh, you have these companies with more money than god but they don't have rainy day funds for this.
This is why companies need to budget better and have money so they don't have to do things like this. I'd be very surprised if florida is mostly back to normal by the time the park was going to open but now add a year or two, just to me is insane.

But it's mainly because I feel bad the people there wont be able to ride Mario kart for 4-5 years now, man that sucks

 

[Brian G.]

I'm sure it is but it makes me laugh, you have these companies with more money than god but they don't have rainy day funds for this.
This is why companies need to budget better and have money so they don't have to do things like this. I'd be very surprised if florida is mostly back to normal by the time the park was going to open but now add a year or two, just to me is insane.

But it's mainly because I feel bad the people there wont be able to ride Mario kart for 4-5 years now, man that sucks

There is no rainy day fund for this kind of event...There's a reason "unprecedented" is thrown around so much

Still, Universal was still able to take care of the majority of their employees for almost 2 months and continue to build other projects around the parks.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

“You all wanted a Nintendo theme park, well here it is, JUST Super Nintendo World! Please don’t mind the cranes in the background.”

Side note, I can’t STAND people referring to themed areas as theme parks. Drives me nuts.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Side note, I can’t STAND people referring to themed areas as theme parks. Drives me nuts.

You and me both. Having to convince my Mom Toy Story wasn’t it own entire theme park was a lot for her lol

 

[Brian G.]

Side note, I can’t STAND people referring to themed areas as theme parks. Drives me nuts.

You and me both. Having to convince my Mom Toy Story wasn’t it own entire theme park was a lot for her lol

Just a head's up.

Pet Peeves

What are some of your biggest pet peeves pertaining to the parks? When people refer to the Magic Kingdom as Disney World and when people refer to Rock n' Roller Coaster as Rockin' Rollercoaster. Also, can't stand when people refer to Test Track as Fast Track or Mission: Space as Mission To...

forums.insideuniversal.net

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Getting back to topic, what should they do in the time between Velocicoaster and EU to draw people back, if EU is delayed by more than a year? I think a year’s delay (2024 opening) is no probs, but the prospect of more than that is what made me pitch the above.

 

[Mike S]

But it's mainly because I feel bad the people there wont be able to ride Mario kart for 4-5 years now, man that sucks

Screw that crap I’m going out west.

MANIFEST DESTINY!!!

 

[Scott W.]

I'm sure it is but it makes me laugh, you have these companies with more money than god but they don't have rainy day funds for this.
This is why companies need to budget better and have money so they don't have to do things like this. I'd be very surprised if florida is mostly back to normal by the time the park was going to open but now add a year or two, just to me is insane.

But it's mainly because I feel bad the people there wont be able to ride Mario kart for 4-5 years now, man that sucks

They obviously have a rainy day fund to continue paying staff with zero income for the parks and for things like hurricanes when the parks close for a few days or a week max and go straight back to business as normal. To get an idea of how unprecedented this actually is. I think Disney World has only closed for 12 days total since it opened. This lockdown is already 5x longer than all the other closures combined and it's still ongoing and once it's over, profits are going to be low or non existent for maybe a few months or up to a year, we just don't know.

If you get fired from your job, you don't go out and buy a new car.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

They obviously have a rainy day fund to continue paying staff with zero income for the parks and for things like hurricanes when the parks close for a few days or a week max and go straight back to business as normal. To get an idea of how unprecedented this actually is. I think Disney World has only closed for 12 days total since it opened. This lockdown is already 5x longer than all the other closures combined and it's still ongoing and once it's over, profits are going to be low or non existent for maybe a few months or up to a year, we just don't know.

If you get fired from your job, you don't go out and buy a new car.

The challenge then becomes how to draw people back. A lot riding on Velocicoaster.

 

[Alicia]

The challenge then becomes how to draw people back. A lot riding on Velocicoaster.

Just do what WDW does... new cupcakes weekly and AP magnets monthly.

In all seriousness though, it’s likely going to come down to locals for the foreseeable future, so not sure the parks necessarily need to be opening big new rides to draw crowds... as it’ll just fall on deaf ears until the economy recovers.

Luckily there’s a lot of new things that just opened at all the parks in Central Florida, and they all have some new roller coasters they’ll eventually finish and open and have to promote for the time being.