I am hoping for some kind of soft opening/AP Preview that will allow for some lower crowds. If they do soft I will totally take off work and go mid week for even lower level of crowds.
Universal's Epic Universe Construction Thread
- Thread starter Brian G.
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- May 26, 2012
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Both USF and IOA had a few months of softs, I'd imagine EU will be the same. Most of the preview was for AP holders though
Well I will be keeping my APs that I will use the first time last week of this year until past Epic opens. I am thinking 6 months past Epic. Then we will probably move over to Disney APs. We rotate thru them now that the kids are older and we don't have time for all 3 places. We have had SW since we started going post-Covid until my son was tall enough to ride more stuff (he is 48" now).
So if they only let in AP holders I am good. But I assume they will also do something with people staying in the hotels.
I have this dark feeling that Universal will block out APs the first 2-3 months post-opening like DL did with SWGE. I'm hoping the AP preview of VelociCoaster shows them that giving APs time to preview it would deter massive crowds during its public opening.
I mean how can they block out the top pass that they say no black out dates?
But I also think that they will use Passholder Preview as part of the soft opening.
- Feb 15, 2012
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Good news is just like your other thoughts and feelings on the parks it's totally wrong, hilariously so.
They can block it out if the annual pass doesn't include Epic-- current passes only say they are valid for the current parks. When we're a year out from opening we'll know for sure if they offer a 3/4 park pass, or if they just keep the current passes and offer some kind of discounts for passholder to go to Epic. There's a chance that they just raise prices and include Epic, or they wait until they see how the park handles crowds first and offer Epic as an add on for an additional fee. If all the passholders go to Epic and not the other parks, it could be a HUGE problem. We might even see something like the single night HHN ticket offered for top tier passholders to go to Epic once with their pass, at least to start.
- Feb 23, 2023
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come on man, there's no need for this.
I'd imagine they will block out the lower 2-3 passes while making it "exclusive" for the higher tiers for the first month or so. I don't think they're worried about people ignoring IOA/USF, they're worried about similar reviews to Hagrid/Volcano Bay's first few weeks of operations when they were not ready to handle massive crowds.
lol
- Jul 8, 2019
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Magic Kingdom does still exist.
- Jun 5, 2023
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This would not surprise me ,
I’m prepared for Passholder previews, but no Passholder upgrades to start.
There were rumors they were going to require park reservations for the first few months.
Instead, they may only sell single day tickets to start, which require you to select a date, effectively creating a park reservation system.
There were rumors they were going to require park reservations for the first few months.
Instead, they may only sell single day tickets to start, which require you to select a date, effectively creating a park reservation system.
That's my thinking also. Given Universal's history of opening parks in Orlando, I can see a long soft opening period, hopefully, the APs will get it out of their system before the grand opening.
Yup
Not sure if it's the right strategy... but we shall see if it sticks. I'd imagine some guests might buy the traditional 2-Day Park to Park pass and not realize it doesn't include Epic (they can put all the fancy language in and it'll still cause people to get confused). Can't blame Universal for people not realizing/reading properly... but it's an unnecessary complication to what a theme park experience should be.
$330 for a 2-day park-to-park ticket (lowest price) + ~$150 for a 1-day is going to be a tough pill to swallow for lots of people.
Honestly, a reservation system wouldn't be the worst thing for the first few months of operations instead of complicating the ticket structure.
- Aug 7, 2018
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This seems like the best scenario for consumers, as well as operations tbh. They’ll know how to staff the whole resort better this way.
- Jan 30, 2013
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And they can control ticket numbers digitally without having to turn away a bunch of people at the gates. Don’t want that “disaster” label at opening. This is a smart move.
- Jun 5, 2023
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The current entrance arch will look nothing like the concept art. It is a mix of the land portal style with an armillary extending above it into the sky like a beacon and goddess statues on its left and right, with ironwork gates to its sides
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- Sep 2, 2012
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I still feel like EU will be the first U.S. theme park to truly equal some of the best in Asia.
- Feb 23, 2023
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Maybe a hot take, but I think Disneyland as an individual park is better than either of the Tokyo parks. At the very least, it’s right up there. And Islands of Adventure is no slouch!
