Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[Disneyhead]

Hm, that’s interesting. I feel that adds to the rumor that the EU announcement was a bit of a last minute decision, which I think some have rumored.

Even if not though, exciting to hear. Do you expect some of the “staples”
We saw in the hub to stay? A la the coaster, potential mission space building, what seems to be the giant restaurant right in the middle, fountain show, etc? Or are they developing completely new concepts for it?

I don't think the big round stained glass building is a restaurant. And I don't think it will be in the hub.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I have recently been told that the concept art that they released is a hold over from that concept, and that the hub will be significantly rearranged.

I’m thinking it might have been late 2018 vintage based on things I heard regarding the fountain show.

 

[WaterToWade]

Do we think the theme concept will remain?

 

[Scott W.]

Honestly wasn’t sure if the hub would stay the same or look different, especially with the IOA original concepr art having an identical port of entry but very different Lost continent I just figured it could go either way with original lands

Concept art can change and I have no doubt that this will as well.

We're what, at least a 1000 days from opening?

The only thing that is locked down just now is the general layout of the hub and lands, until it starts going vertical, anything can change. New ideas arise, better construction techniques, story tweaks etc.

 

[TheGamerOfKnowledge]

I’m still praying it’s Space Fantasy from USJ adapted (thematically fitting, doesn’t break immersion, popular attraction, doesn’t seem like I’d be as pricy as other attractions as beloved as it). Every review of USJ says it’s really, really fun (and the videos look phenomenal). I know it’s unlikely but a guy can dream.

It’s not actually that unlikely as you may think. That space building by the dueling coaster has a considerably sized show building connected to it, possibly for Space Fantasy.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Concept art can change and I have no doubt that this will as well.

We're what, at least a 1000 days from opening?

The only thing that is locked down just now is the general layout of the hub and lands, until it starts going vertical, anything can change. New ideas arise, better construction techniques, story tweaks etc.

I’d think the only other thing locked down is the land themselves. To build the land you need to prep the actual build, have your AAs ready, land and story approved, then go into testing and building before they’re onsite. Heck we’ve seen the DK ride vehicle testing so it takes multiple years to develop. While I’m not an expert on this, I’d presume the general gist of the land and their rides are pretty much set in stone at this point.

 

[Disneyhead]

Everything is locked down. They know what they are building. They just haven't told us. That's not to say there won't be minor tweaks, but it's all locked down.

 

[TheGamerOfKnowledge]

Everything is locked down. They know what they are building. They just haven't told us. That's not to say there won't minor tweaks, but it's all locked down.

Well 2023 is a long ways away still and much more could change unexpectedly but I think it’s safe to say a major chunk of it is locked.

 

[Legacy]

Well 2023 is a long ways away still and much more could change unexpectedly but I think it’s safe to say a major chunk of it is locked.

In construction of this scale, 2023 isn’t that far out. Single attractions are typically locked in 2-3 years out. A whole park is going to be predominantly locked 4-5 years out.

 

[Scott W.]

In construction of this scale, 2023 isn’t that far out. Single attractions are typically locked in 2-3 years out. A whole park is going to be predominantly locked 4-5 years out.

You’re talking about 2 years construction for the rides although that could be quicker since they don’t have to operate around an open park but on the same hand, they’re building a full park and labour can get stretched, especially in this golden age of theme park construction.

If we’re taking about the park opening in Spring 2023 and we allow for 2 months of soft opening and adding final touches plus staff recruitment and training, this needs to start going vertical in early 2021.

Add in 6 months of grading and 6 months of infrastructure and we’re looking at full on construction starting...now.

 

[TheGamerOfKnowledge]

In construction of this scale, 2023 isn’t that far out. Single attractions are typically locked in 2-3 years out. A whole park is going to be predominantly locked 4-5 years out.

You’re talking about 2 years construction for the rides although that could be quicker since they don’t have to operate around an open park but on the same hand, they’re building a full park and labour can get stretched, especially in this golden age of theme park construction.

If we’re taking about the park opening in Spring 2023 and we allow for 2 months of soft opening and adding final touches plus staff recruitment and training, this needs to start going vertical in early 2021.

Add in 6 months of grading and 6 months of infrastructure and we’re looking at full on construction starting...now.

Ah I see now. I am terrible with anything construction so thanks for the clear up.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

From @Alicia!

 

[Alicia]

From @Alicia!

And one more with estimated traffic usage per day:

 

[Kevin38]

commenting on 2/3/4 Park Annual Pass .I think once this opens They will try to achieve parity with Disney pass pricing and only offer 4 park pass .
At the same price as Disney Passes (1300 a year for us out of state) Not trying to start fight about if Volcano Bay is a water park or water theme park.Everyone has opinion on that but the only one that matters is Universals opinion .As a Business decision they may restrict Opening tickets to paid day tickets only ?

 

[WaterToWade]

As a Business decision they may restrict Opening tickets to paid day tickets only ?

I would be shocked if opening week wasn’t blocked out to APs but that’s just my personal opinion

 

[Alicia]

commenting on 2/3/4 Park Annual Pass .I think once this opens They will try to achieve parity with Disney pass pricing and only offer 4 park pass .
At the same price as Disney Passes (1300 a year for us out of state) Not trying to start fight about if Volcano Bay is a water park or water theme park.Everyone has opinion on that but the only one that matters is Universals opinion .As a Business decision they may restrict Opening tickets to paid day tickets only ?

Since they offer a 2-park and 3-park Annual Pass now, (so people like me that do not really care for water parks can exclude it), I imagine they will continue that trend after Epic Universe opens with a 3-park and 4-park annual pass option.

 

[Mad Dog]

Since they offer a 2-park and 3-park Annual Pass now, (so people like me that do not really care for water parks can exclude it), I imagine they will continue that trend after Epic Universe opens with a 3-park and 4-park annual pass option.

Yes, I agree. I doubt they would force a AP holder to include VB....and...VB doesn't have the capacity to handle all that many people anyway, so, as you said, it'll probably be two choices, 3 or 4.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I don't think it would be smart to tie a ride to one instance of a franchise especially one that would be very difficult to introduce to future audiences. I keep my Wii around specifically to play those games as I don't see a way for them to be ported forward since the remote was so integral.

I feel like this is bordering on the Wish List thread, but the two Mario Galaxy titles helped..well, reinvigorate the Mario brand so to speak (alongside NSMB) back in the 00's. There's a reason why other companies copied the artistic styles and choices that Nintendo had made with the two games.

Personally, I'd prefer if they were to bring Space Fantasy to the West, is to keep it original and updating it's animation style to better match western styles. There's a lot of potential with what the teams made when it first appeared at the Osaka park, but it needs some fine tuning to make it a bit better.

 

[Happytycho]

An interesting picture from the documents posted today:

Note what appears to be DK in the upper left, a bus loop on the right, and a possible hotel driveway at the bottom.

 

[ParkRumors]

An interesting picture from the documents posted today:

Note what appears to be DK in the upper left, a bus loop on the right, and a possible hotel driveway at the bottom.

To add a little more to this - those specific layers of the PDF are called 904_Gaming, so it sounds like "Gaming" is an additional codename for the Nintendo section.