Dark Universe - Reviews, Photos & Media

[Mad Dog]

Loved RHPS movie....and loved it at HHN in the Beetleguise theater....But it only received half capacity crowds. It's a great cult classic but perhaps not what the GP would swamp to attend.......and I stand by my thoughts that three large live theater shows are one too many for Epic. And the weakest of the three, and wouldn't be Potter or Dragons, would be cut in a year or two due to low crowds at the theater. That's Universal's M.O. and I doubt that'll ever change. And though I love the live theater shows, and think they're crucial to a satisfying theme park experience, I believe it's better they cut it from the initial roster and replaced it with something that would fit in that space, instead of having an empty theater after a couple years.

 

[Brian G.]

We’re getting away from Reviews here…

 

[Stonecoldfreak1]

Got to go Saturday. Monsters Unchained opened up around 3:30, got delayed around 5 and then didn't reopen again until close to 9. By 9:15 or so, the ride hit capacity. Luckily we were able to get in and make that our last ride of the night. We had been waiting all day to ride it and thought it was absolutely worth the wait. I don't have much to say about it, but the ride is just super rad and I cannot wait to do it again.

 

[Frank Drackman]

 

[Brian G.]

 

[HHN Maddux]

I think this land really will be a perfect introduction to the Classic Monsters and the horror genre in general for younger audiences, albeit I do wish Monsters Unchained pushed the scariness factor just a bit more (which is really my only complaint about the ride).

 

[Hockeyman55]

This land really shines at night!

Monsters Unchained by Mike Sperduto, on Flickr

 

[DrStarlander]

After hearing about the final "scene" of Curse of the Werewolf I had to watch the POVs to see it. Oof. That is awful. It looks like something you'd see at a traveling fair or a pier amusement park.

They should start by removing the figure, get rid of the tacky graphics (just put up some weathered wood) and ideally make the area much darker by putting a canvas tent panel on the front of the area to block all the sunlight is coming in, with a hole just big enough for the ride vehicle and walking space on either side. The darker they can make that space the better as it looks terrible.

Even better, set-dress the space like the inside of a Mystics trailer and have a "window" with the translucent shade pulled down and put a flatscreen behind it showing the silhouette of a werewolf prowling around. Have all the furnishings thrashed, with broken chairs and table, lanterns knocked on their sides, and claw marks on the wall...as if a werewolf came through.

 

[Lucky Planet]

After hearing about the final "scene" of Curse of the Werewolf I had to watch the POVs to see it. Oof. That is awful. It looks like something you'd see at a traveling fair or a pier amusement park.

They should start by removing the figure, get rid of the tacky graphics (just put up some weathered wood) and ideally make the area much darker by putting a canvas tent panel on the front of the area to block all the sunlight is coming in, with a hole just big enough for the ride vehicle and walking space on either side. The darker they can make that space the better as it looks terrible.

Even better, set-dress the space like the inside of a Mystics trailer and have a "window" with the translucent shade pulled down and put a flatscreen behind it showing the silhouette of a werewolf prowling around. Have all the furnishings thrashed, with broken chairs and table, lanterns knocked on their sides, and claw marks on the wall...as if a werewolf came through.

that whole entire last room reminded me of SPIRIT Halloween stores lol
the colors of the banner and the statue and everything lol. felt like a display you would see at their stores

 

[Fidds]

I personally thought that Monsters: Unchained was overrated. They need to do something to make it darker in there because currently its very easy to see everything (including things you arent supposed to see). The story makes some sense and the ride starts out so strong, but IMO it falls apart midway through. I think the creature part is so random and unneeded. The phantom part is by far the best part but unfortunately its at the beginning. I would give this attraction a solid 8/10 but I think its because my personal expectations were way higher due to fan praise. I also think Dark Universe needs that expansion pad BADLY.

 

[biggerboat16]

that whole entire last room reminded me of SPIRIT Halloween stores lol
the colors of the banner and the statue and everything lol. felt like a display you would see at their stores

It’s so bad that part of me wonders if it was done on purpose. Almost like they designed it to be a self-aware tourist trap. Kind of like a traveling carnival rip-off where the witch lady who’s part of the story is scamming you. Where Darkmoor is set in the present day, maybe it’s possible they ‘built’ this thing to rip-off tourists coming to see the werewolf.

Regardless, it feels very Chester and Hester’s and is a horrible thematic fit. Especially when placed next to Monsters Unchained. As others have said, just a dark tunnel with some rough wood paneling would be a much better fit. If anything, they could make it as dark as possible and play some creaking and footstep sound effects to make it sound like the wolf is prowling.

As much as this coaster isn’t everything it could be, I think it’ll be better received once the park is fully open. Once the crowds pick up and wait times increase, this will likely become a low-wait C ticket

 

[DrStarlander]

It’s so bad that part of me wonders if it was done on purpose. Almost like they designed it to be a self-aware tourist trap.

Yeah, the thought crossed my mind: Are they being ironic?

That's a bad sign when you don't know if something is ironically bad, or just bad. They could "fix" the scene by pushing the irony. They could put a mechanical werewolf in there -- like a coin-op "kiddie ride" outside a supermarket, and some sandwich board signs selling tickets, with outlandish carnival-style promises. That would build on what they have so far!

Anyway, it needs to be torn out, and before May 22. You can have a $7 billion theme park yet this is the kind of thing that will get press attention. It's like the Madame Leota gift shop at Disneyland, when something is so outside "the norm" it is glaring and causes outsized condescension.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

After giving Werewolf a chance, I'd call Werewolf and its placement my biggest issue with Epic Universe.

As a ride, it's not great. Every time I've ridden, someone asked if that was it for the ride once we got to the end. A major issue with this attraction is that it's surprisingly more intense than Hippogriff, but the payoff is similar.

Its location is my biggest gripe. The village/land is the smallest with the least amount of offerings available at the park. I wish they could have left the Werewolf plot undeveloped and moved up the burning blade to where the Werewolf station is and expand the village a bit more. That way, they could leave a larger plot for a better 2nd addition later down the road.

With that said, the land is still solid and Monsters Unchained makes up for the lack of additional experiences within the land.

 

[HHN Maddux]

I personally thought that Monsters: Unchained was overrated. They need to do something to make it darker in there because currently its very easy to see everything (including things you arent supposed to see). The story makes some sense and the ride starts out so strong, but IMO it falls apart midway through. I think the creature part is so random and unneeded. The phantom part is by far the best part but unfortunately its at the beginning. I would give this attraction a solid 8/10 but I think its because my personal expectations were way higher due to fan praise. I also think Dark Universe needs that expansion pad BADLY.

As much as I love the ride, I do very much agree that it's getting a bit overhyped. I came off my first ride very happy, but at the same time a small sense of "wait, that was it?".

Really hoping that by the time of opening, it's much darker inside, animatronics and RV movements are coordinated perfectly for in-your-face intensity, and the audio is turned up a bit (I wanna hear Drac's laugh, not the air blast dang it!).

 

[Ryuniversal]

After giving Werewolf a chance, I'd call Werewolf and its placement my biggest issue with Epic Universe.

As a ride, it's not great. Every time I've ridden, someone asked if that was it for the ride once we got to the end. A major issue with this attraction is that it's surprisingly more intense than Hippogriff, but the payoff is similar.

Its location is my biggest gripe. The village/land is the smallest with the least amount of offerings available at the park. I wish they could have left the Werewolf plot undeveloped and moved up the burning blade to where the Werewolf station is and expand the village a bit more. That way, they could leave a larger plot for a better 2nd addition later down the road.

With that said, the land is still solid and Monsters Unchained makes up for the lack of additional experiences within the land.

it feels like it was shoe horned in last minute for the sake of having a second ride

 

[UniversalRBLX]

As much as I love the ride, I do very much agree that it's getting a bit overhyped. I came off my first ride very happy, but at the same time a small sense of "wait, that was it?".

Really hoping that by the time of opening, it's much darker inside, animatronics and RV movements are coordinated perfectly for in-your-face intensity, and the audio is turned up a bit (I wanna hear Drac's laugh, not the air blast dang it!).

I did find myself asking "that was it?" with the finale though since it just kind of abruptly ends (and I did experience the final drac). It's a great ride though and I think the weak finale doesn't take from the rest of the experience.

it feels like it was shoe horned in last minute for the sake of having a second ride

Yeah, I completely understand the reasoning behind it, but thinking 10 years from now it prevents the land from physically expanding the village portion. I honestly believe Curse of the Werewolf should have been an indoor experience or attached to Celestial Park as Space Fantasy's cousin.

 

[HHN Maddux]

I did find myself asking "that was it?" with the finale though since it just kind of abruptly ends (and I did experience the final drac). It's a great ride though and I think the weak finale doesn't take from the rest of the experience.


Yeah, I completely understand the reasoning behind it, but thinking 10 years from now it prevents the land from physically expanding the village portion. I honestly believe Curse of the Werewolf should have been an indoor experience or attached to Celestial Park as Space Fantasy's cousin.

I think once finale Drac is at full functionality, the ending will feel a lot better. I know I've said it already, but you can see what he's supposed to do in the animatronic reveal video, and that will get some genuine screams out of people.

 

[Mad Dog]

And, to repeat some of my previous posts. A significant reason that I'll generally watch a POV of a new attraction before I ride it is that overt expectations and hype won't lessen my initial experience.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I think once finale Drac is at full functionality, the ending will feel a lot better. I know I've said it already, but you can see what he's supposed to do in the animatronic reveal video, and that will get some genuine screams out of people.

I was fortunate to see it in person and it's amazing. But without it, the ride just ends without a punch. Hoping they can figure out an alternative B-mode for it.

 

[Lightningbolt]

I personally thought that Monsters: Unchained was overrated. They need to do something to make it darker in there because currently its very easy to see everything (including things you arent supposed to see). The story makes some sense and the ride starts out so strong, but IMO it falls apart midway through. I think the creature part is so random and unneeded. The phantom part is by far the best part but unfortunately its at the beginning. I would give this attraction a solid 8/10 but I think its because my personal expectations were way higher due to fan praise. I also think Dark Universe needs that expansion pad BADLY.

Completely agree. Starting to see alot more people finally point out that Unchained isn't this perfect dark ride and has various issues. I thought I was going crazy because everyone was praising it as the best dark ride of all time when imo at least, it definitely isn't. Not yet at least. While still a really cool ride and a must do at Epic; with some of the best animatronics you will ever see, so much holds it back. Issues such as lighting, pacing, and a lackluster ending (yes even when finale dracula is working) just to name a few. Also the story can get confusing if you can’t exactly hear the audio in the RV halfway through the ride. Hopefully at least some of this will be fixed before opening because the potential is obviously there. Haven’t had the chance to do ministry yet but I think I will like it more. Even with it being more screen heavy.