Let's play being head of Universal Creative...

[OrlLover]

If I was Universal I would…

• Start a huge renovation project across USF and IOA DLP style.
• Close every ride and give them a huge refurbishment in phases.
• Others that are closing like Rip Ride Rocket I would leave alone and the Simpsons I would fix broken effects for the time being.
• Revamp all the menus at every restaurant with poor reviews.
• Plus up existing theming throughout various areas that I can.
• Rebuild the iconic arch at USF and it has a different color when finished.

Now for new things…

• Replace the Simpsons with Pokemon. I mean demolish every thing and start from scratch to get as much as possible.
• Demolish one of the empty stages and build Sing Live.
• Replace Rip Ride Rocket with a Ghostbusters walkthrough attraction. Yes I know it’s gonna be an another coaster but a man can dream.
• Add a dark ride to Dreamworks Land.
• Build Wicked in the previous Lost Continent area. Zelda should go to Epic in my opinion.
• Im mixed on this but I think a slight retheme of Toon Lagoon to SpongeBob would be cool.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I know the park hasn't officially opened just yet, but it's fun to speculate on the future. Let me be clear, Epic Universe is a solid theme park. With that said, it's not perfect and there's a few things that need to be prioritized. (Number/Ideas on the map/image below are not in order). Obviously, USF improvement should be prioritized.

Significant Priority:

• Additional Dark Universe Capacity - the land unfortunately does not have enough attractions or experiences compared to the other ones. I'd quickly fill in the area between Werewolf and the existing Darkmoor village with some sort of interactive experience. Whether a catacomb walkthrough or special effects driven area.
• Shade Structure at Celestial Park - labeled 3 below, there's an entertainment stage that unfortunately requires guests to be out at the sun to enjoy. I'd add a a structure here similar to Constellation Carousel's to provide shelter.

Moderate Priority:

• Additional Family-Friendly experiences - the park is very family-friendly in theme, but it really only has a handful of decent attractions that the entire family can experience together without fear of motion sickness or getting wet (Yoshi Adventure, Mario Kart*, Cirque Arcanus, Constellation Carousel, The Untrainable Dragon). While I'd love for a 2nd Monsters Dark Ride personally, I think either a family-friendly experience should be added to either Potter's expansion pad or HTTYD (ideas below) before a monsters dark ride.
• Waveswinger at Celestial Park - this isn't a significant priority, but there's a perfect plot at #2 that a wave swinger can fit in perfectly. I'd like the idea of it being themed/dedicated to John Williams' classic scores that change each ride cycle.
• Harry Potter store - something fascinating about Epic Universe is that there isn't the traditional assortment of generic Universal merchandise at the gift shops throughout Epic. Likely, this will change over time and you'll see them slowly replace some of the Epic IPs with standard UOR merch, and they'll likely dedicate a larger area to Potter here (or an entirely different store concept).

The proposed timeline below is just Blue Sky & ambitious. I actually don't think they need to add a new portal anytime soon, I'd rather they flesh out each of them first.

 

[DrStarlander]

I know the park hasn't officially opened just yet, but it's fun to speculate on the future. Let me be clear, Epic Universe is a solid theme park. With that said, it's not perfect and there's a few things that need to be prioritized. (Number/Ideas on the map/image below are not in order). Obviously, USF improvement should be prioritized.

Significant Priority:

• Additional Dark Universe Capacity - the land unfortunately does not have enough attractions or experiences compared to the other ones. I'd quickly fill in the area between Werewolf and the existing Darkmoor village with some sort of interactive experience. Whether a catacomb walkthrough or special effects driven area.
• Shade Structure at Celestial Park - labeled 3 below, there's an entertainment stage that unfortunately requires guests to be out at the sun to enjoy. I'd add a a structure here similar to Constellation Carousel's to provide shelter.

Moderate Priority:

• Additional Family-Friendly experiences - the park is very family-friendly in theme, but it really only has a handful of decent attractions that the entire family can experience together without fear of motion sickness or getting wet (Yoshi Adventure, Mario Kart*, Cirque Arcanus, Constellation Carousel, The Untrainable Dragon). While I'd love for a 2nd Monsters Dark Ride personally, I think either a family-friendly experience should be added to either Potter's expansion pad or HTTYD (ideas below) before a monsters dark ride.
• Waveswinger at Celestial Park - this isn't a significant priority, but there's a perfect plot at #2 that a wave swinger can fit in perfectly. I'd like the idea of it being themed/dedicated to John Williams' classic scores that change each ride cycle.
• Harry Potter store - something fascinating about Epic Universe is that there isn't the traditional assortment of generic Universal merchandise at the gift shops throughout Epic. Likely, this will change over time and you'll see them slowly replace some of the Epic IPs with standard UOR merch, and they'll likely dedicate a larger area to Potter here (or an entirely different store concept).

The proposed timeline below is just Blue Sky & ambitious. I actually don't think they need to add a new portal anytime soon, I'd rather they flesh out each of them first.

View attachment 26125

Nice job! As far as another Wizarding World attraction, the flying coach they take from New York in Fantastic Beasts would be a cool inspiration for a scaled-up Peter Pan's Flight style attraction, where you fly from Paris to New York and elsewhere. Since the students from Beauxbatons fly to the Triwizard Tournament in a flying coach, this must be a very French way of magical travel, since it's seen in both movie series, both in the 1920s and 1990s...so a nice way to blur the lines between Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.

Since they don't need another intense ride, maybe the story is we're joining the students from Beauxbatons on a school trip to New York and a storm creates some low-intensity "peril" by pushing us off-course, causing us to fly over 1920s London along the way.

The exit could drop us out in a new 1920s New York street extension at a NYC Ministry of Magic. (Then, this world would have all three Ministry of Magics seen on film).

Most of all, what I would want is for Universal Creative to resist the temptation to use screens and try to achieve a simulation of reality. Rather, I'd love for the ride to have an old-school charm (like Peter Pan's Flight or it's a small word, etc.) and to have forced perspective models of Paris, New York, etc. that we would fly over...with a whimsical, charming, creative direction. Maybe use blacklights/Wildfire paints for a classic dark ride feel. They could take inspiration from Golden Books and Mary Blair and the original Harry Potter book cover illustrations to create an imaginative, stylistic look.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

2026 or 2027: Replace Rockit with either a Ghostbusters or BTTF themed coaster (instead of F&F). Around this time period, close down Lost Continent to begin work on Hyrule.

2027: Begin construction in Epic Universe for a Wicked land. Open a dark ride in the Dreamworks area.

2028: Open “Legend of Zelda: The Realm of Hyrule” at IOA replacing the Lost Continent. The Sinbad area can become Hyrule Castle Town or Kakariko Village and showcase cultures from the other lands like Gerudo, Rito, Zora, Goron, or even the Sheikah, with small entertaining shows/interactions. There would also be a meet-and-greet with Link and Princess Zelda. Sinbad is replaced with Hyrule Castle where a major attraction will be built involving the Zonai vehicles and riders will have to help Link stop Ganondorf (rough draft). Poseidon’s Fury is replaced by a temple themed attraction, perhaps that old boat ride hybrid concept from a while back. Mythos is remodeled to the Great Deku Tree and the servers are Koroks, with the menu being mostly the same with a Zelda-themed twist. Visitors, or “Hylian tourists,” can buy a fairy ocarina that can allow you to unlock mini shrines and rack up achievements (similar to Power-Up Bands). If you rack up enough achievements, a mini game similar to Bowser Jr Shadow Showdown becomes available to you (haven’t thought of the story yet, but this is a rough draft lol). Additionally, throughout this new land, references to many Zelda games are found.

Also 2028: Close down Springfield once the Simpsons contract expires and begin transforming it into Pokémon.

2029: Open “The World of Wicked,” a new land in Epic Universe using the plot between Stardust and Paris/Ministry. I would have guests enter the Emerald City and this land signature ride is a highly themed Vekoma FLY coaster, similar to Phantasialand’s but with dark ride sections, centered around Defying Gravity. There would be a second attraction to complement Epic Universe’s incredible attraction balance, just not sure if it would be a dark ride or a show. And you would meet various characters from Wicked like Elphaba, Glinda, or even the Wizard himself.

2030: Open “Pokémon City,” replacing Springfield. The Simpsons Ride would be demolished completely while Kang/Kodos would relocate somewhere else like Dreamworks Land or Minion Land. Animal Actors would also be replaced by a Pokémon stage show, perhaps involving a Pokémon lab - it would be similar to Cirque Arcanus with its use of puppets, and its theme would be an introduction to many Pokémon types. Like the other Nintendo lands, guests, or “Pokémon trainers,” would have the option to buy an interactive tool that allows you to catch Pokémon, and if you capture 6, you can enter a gym battle (again, similar to Bowser Jr Shadow Showdown) - and depending on how many gym leaders you faced, the difficulty can increase! The main ride is an E-Ticket dark ride involving a tour of the Pokémon wilderness but all of a sudden Team Rocket comes in capturing Pokémon against their will - and you have to stop them. Think of it like a Pokémon themed Kilimanjaro, but indoors (rough draft, but it can be worked from there). There would also be a large sit down Asian fusion restaurant with a Pokémon-themed twist.

As for smaller enhancements, I would revamp every restaurant with lower reviews, prioritizing higher quality and in some cases thematic food. Think like Circus McGurkis or Mel’s. Additionally, I would add some kind of interactive feature throughout the parks.

 

[DrStarlander]

Following up on some of the ideas included by @UniversalRBLX, plus others, it does look like a Wave Swinger could fit where suggested. The manufacturer calls for a 21 meter diameter area and based on what I can tell from Atlantic (~30m diameter) there is space. It may want to be on an elevated platform with a shady queue underneath.

I also think a 13,000 sq. ft. Fantasyland-style dark ride could fit adjacent to Pizza Moon (for comparison, Peter Pan's Flight at Disneyland is just over 9,000 sq. ft.).


In Dark Universe, a couple of enhancements could include an outdoor stage performance area where some of the backstage parking lot is. While smaller than the show they were exploring, it could be a comparable area to the performance area in Celestial Park, with a Mystics camp feel (shaded with canopies), and be a great place for Dark Universe theatrical storytelling.

A walk-through catacomb experience with jump scares would fit in nicely between Curse of the Werewolf and Darkmoor, and satisfy horror fans that want some "do you dare?" level scares.

I also think a new "final scene" for Curse of the Werewolf, flipped to the other side of the track for more space, and with an elongated entrance to allow low-light-level control, could really boost this attraction's value for a modest investment.


Finally, for Ministry of Magic. Here's a possible layout on an area that includes a flying carriage dark ride (journey from Paris to NYC), with a 1920s wizarding Times Square street/plaza. Forced perspective buildings at the top-rear of the show building would create the illusion of a full NYC skyline. An exit gift shop and NYC diner (burgers, shakes, sundaes) would fill out this world extension. A discreet tunnel passage would lead back into Wizarding Paris.


And for how this Times Square could look, here's some reference images: