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Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

Did the same thing after they said they were "looking into adding a 4th gate in Orlando" back in summer 2018.

At least we can be happy they tell their investors the truth, even though they know it is being recorded and will be released later that day... even if they'll then go and pretend they didn't say it for the next 14 months until an official announcement lol.

14 months is probably being optimistic. I’d say we got at least 24 months before we get any solid information haha
 
The bulk of the announcements will come in 2022 (with maybe confirming Nintendo in 2021 during the opening at USH). I'd be shocked if we get anything next year. Universal learned the hard way, and Disney as well right now, that announcing early will deter visitation. Tom W. straight up said they won't announce things in advance.

The earliest announcement we might get is the new pricing structure for APs.
 
14 months is probably being optimistic. I’d say we got at least 24 months before we get any solid information haha
I was saying it was 14 months from that last slip up until the official Epic announcement... 2023 may never be actually announced lol.

EDIT2: Sorry, forgot there was a link attached to that tweet. I assume that's why it was removed.
 
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The bulk of the announcements will come in 2022 (with maybe confirming Nintendo in 2021 during the opening at USH). I'd be shocked if we get anything next year. Universal learned the hard way, and Disney as well right now, that announcing early will deter visitation. Tom W. straight up said they won't announce things in advance.
I'm sure you know but to anyone who else who does not, Tom did mention they will do early reveals on their site. But the timeline is what we're debating.

Starts at 30:40 (I unfortunately can't link to time on mobile):
 
Complete Quotes:
Question said:
And then just one other question. Growth in parks has been volatile around storms and maybe competitive issues, and you aren't opening gates like you had been once. How should we think about the underlying growth at the parks business?
Answer said:
So in terms of the Theme Park business, 6 years ago, we made about $1 billion in the Theme Park business, and now we're at about $2.5 billion. So theme parks have been, historically, one of the fastest-growing parts of our portfolio. And we have a lot to look forward to. We're opening Nintendo in Japan, in Osaka, in our theme park in Osaka, which is very close to the headquarters of Nintendo in Kyoto.
And then if you go out into 2021, roughly 18 months from now, we open in Beijing. And Brian and I were there last week with Tom Williams, who runs our theme parks. It's going to be a spectacular park, and we're really looking forward to that. And we recently announced we're doing a fourth gate in Orlando in 2023. So we think the Theme Park business is a great business for us, and we're going to be making the investments to try to grow cash flow aggressively in the future.
Source: Comcast Corp (CMCSA) CEO Brian Roberts on Q3 2019 Results - Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha
 
Theme Park Insider is presently running a poll concerning vacations to Universal after hearing today's 2023 announcement. The compilations, as of 9:00 PM is:
Does an opening date for Epic Universe change your travel plans?

*No, we will continue to visit Universal as we planned before...............................................................................45%
*Yes, we're more likely to postpone a Universal Orlando visit until the opening..................................................20%
*Yes, we won't postpone a Universal Orlando visit, but we will plan an extra one. .............................................18%
*No, we weren't planning to visit Universal and still won't....................................................................................17%

Just something to talk about.......Seems number two and three basically cancel each other out since number three adds a visit while number two subtracts a visit(s)................ And number four is that hardcore Disney fan:ears: that hates Universal and would never even consider visiting ;):lol:
 
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NPR talked about the "official announcement" of Epic Universe coming in 2023 multiple times in brief news roundups (on WMFE Central FL).

I know the top executive (Comcast CEO Brian Roberts NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke) said "2023" in an answer to investors ... but I'm still skeptical as to whether this was him slipping up and leaking the information or if this year was purposefully announced (eg a scripted answer).

Either way I do believe 2023 is the target, now it's just down to if they stay on track.

Edit
Correction it was Stephen Burke.
 
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NPR talked about the "official announcement" of Epic Universe coming in 2023 multiple times in brief news roundups (on WMFE Central FL).

I know the top executive (Comcast CEO Brian Roberts) said "2023" in an answer to investors ... but I'm still skeptical as to whether this was him slipping up and leaking the information or if this year was purposefully announced (eg a scripted answer).

Either way I do believe 2023 is the target, now it's just down to if they stay on track.
It is unprofessional, or at very least a misunderstanding of the reporting going on, to be reporting this as an “announcement” in any outlet.
 
I'd argue it is an announcement. It's coming from the CEO of the company. Whether they do a big event or not, him saying 2023 is an announcement.
But it was to investors and stockholders, and not directed to anyone outside of the company.

Until it’s in a blog post or at a press conference, this isn’t an announcement, it’s an internal target date.
 
But it was to investors and stockholders, and not directed to anyone outside of the company.

Until it’s in a blog post or at a press conference, this isn’t an announcement, it’s an internal target date.

To echo @Joe, press cover earnings calls as it helps us find out more about certain things. Even if it's not going to be on a blog post, Brian coming out with a year is in of itself, an announcement.
 
Well anyone can listen to the call but the purpose was to show shareholders they were committed to their fiduciary duty which includes investing in the theme parks to create a positive ROI. The theme parks were the only really positive side of the NBCUniversal earning the last quarter compared to last year so it was highlighted more so for that reason than for them to announce an opening day and be like new park 2023 y'all.

The only reason we got an answer was because JPMorgan financial analyst asked a question about the parks.

And then just one other question. Growth in parks has been volatile around storms and maybe competitive issues, and you aren't opening gates like you had been once. How should we think about the underlying growth at the parks business?

Which Stephen Burke then had to correct him intentionally because they are opening new gates with Beijing and Epic Universe. Otherwise nothing would've been said.
 
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Well anyone can listen to the call but the purpose was to show shareholders they were committed to their fiduciary duty which includes investing in the theme parks to create a positive ROI which the theme parks was the only really positive side of the NBCUniversal earning the last quarter compared to last year than for them to announce an opening day and be like new park 2023 y'all.

The only reason we got an answer was because JPMorgan financial analyst asked a question about the parks.



Which Brian Roberts then had to correct him intentionally because they are opening new gates with Beijing and Epic Universe. Otherwise nothing would've been said.
I feel like if it was planned beforehand, he at VERY least would’ve actually said the new park’s name.

Also, who was this talking? Cause it wasn’t Brian. He says in the answer that Brian, Tom and him were recently at Beijing.
 
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