Universal's Epic Universe Wish List & Speculation

[OhHaiInternet95]

They definitely do not want a repeat of USF opening. Heck, IOA had two months of guest previews to test out all the attractions

So, we can expect testing by April '25?

 

[Alicia]

Honestly, the opening of Volcano Bay has me worried they have not remembered the lessons of USF opening vs IOA.

And there are rumors that some elements may not be ready for certain rides until very last minute, so while ride systems may get plenty of testing, there are other aspects I worry won’t.

 

[DodgsonHere]

And there are rumors that some elements may not be ready for certain rides until very last minute, so while ride systems may get plenty of testing, there are other aspects I worry won’t.

Eek, what rides?

 

[Clive]

Eek, what rides?

(Disclaimer: I don't know about what Alicia is referring to)

I think we can safely rule out Mario Kart and Yoshi. Donkey Kong is a possibility, but they seem to be confident in the ride system/illusion, so maybe not. The Dragons show has already been mounted in Beijing and doesn't seem to have major issues, and none of the other rides in that area are especially complex in terms of known effects. I can't imagine it's anything in the hub.

...so that leaves the Wizarding World stuff and Monsters Unchained.

 

[DodgsonHere]

(Disclaimer: I don't know about what Alicia is referring to)

I think we can safely rule out Mario Kart and Yoshi. Donkey Kong is a possibility, but they seem to be confident in the ride system/illusion, so maybe not. The Dragons show has already been mounted in Beijing and doesn't seem to have major issues, and none of the other rides in that area are especially complex in terms of known effects. I can't imagine it's anything in the hub.

...so that leaves the Wizarding World stuff and Monsters Unchained.

Happy that those attractions will be unique and ambitious, definitely worried about this though.

 

[JungleSkip]

We’ll all freak out about an effect not working for a few months and then will never remember it happened once the park is 5 years old.

Stuff never works at first.

When Disneyland opened, nothing worked!

 

[DodgsonHere]

We’ll all freak out about an effect not working for a few months and then will never remember it happened once the park is 5 years old.

Stuff never works at first.

When Disneyland opened, nothing worked!

I’m more worried about a Rise of the Resistance situation. Rides delayed because they don’t work right, opening eventually with all effects only working for a short while, and then effects going down one by one destroying the experience while being plagued by downtime.

I do not like Rise of Resistance as it exists right now.

 

[JungleSkip]

I’m more worried about a Rise of the Resistance situation. Rides delayed because they don’t work right, opening eventually with all effects only working for a short while, and then effects going down one by one destroying the experience while being plagued by downtime.

I do not like Rise of Resistance as it exists right now.

That’s the nature of the beast when we’re talking about these hugely elaborate dark rides. I don’t think there’s any getting around it if that’s the kind of experience we’re expecting from Disney/Uni

 

[HHN Maddux]

I'm particularly worried about Monsters Unchained. Look at Forbidden Journey right now, and what I would argue is the main setpiece (the Whomping Willow) hasn't been working properly for at least a month now.

Now imagine Monsters, which is looking to be a ride completely based around epic setpieces and animatronics.

 

[jarmor]

You cant look at an almost 10 year ride in it's current condition and feel a totally new iteration of it, with new style seating and mechanisms will be the same when it opens. That' like comparing your 2014 honda accord to a 2025 honda accord. They are both accords and you should not expect the new one to have the problems the old one is having 10 years later, today.

 

[DodgsonHere]

I'm particularly worried about Monsters Unchained. Look at Forbidden Journey right now, and what I would argue is the main setpiece (the Whomping Willow) hasn't been working properly for at least a month now.

Now imagine Monsters, which is looking to be a ride completely based around epic setpieces and animatronics.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Whomping Willow down. Regardless any “in your face” monster effects will more likely be similar to the dementors, which I haven’t heard complaints about from anyone.

That’s the nature of the beast when we’re talking about these hugely elaborate dark rides. I don’t think there’s any getting around it if that’s the kind of experience we’re expecting from Disney/Uni

Personally, I think Rise’s issues are 90% maintaince issues. It really doesn’t do anything that no other attraction has done. Hoping EU’s new attractions get the best of care for a long while.

 

[HHN Maddux]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Whomping Willow down. Regardless any “in your face” monster effects will more likely be similar to the dementors, which I haven’t heard complaints about from anyone.


Personally, I think Rise’s issues are 90% maintaince issues. It really doesn’t do anything that no other attraction has done. Hoping EU’s new attractions get the best of care for a long while.

Very fair point.

 

[JungleSkip]

Personally, I think Rise’s issues are 90% maintaince issues. It really doesn’t do anything that no other attraction has done. Hoping EU’s new attractions get the best of care for a long while.

Rise does a million things at the same time while most rides do 100. The breadth of what it does is staggering. And I’m sure the maintenance load because of that is also staggering.

Now, Disney should have realized this and maybe scaled back a few things…but then people would be complaining they scaled back.

But if we want insane experiences on the level of Rise, we should be prepared for a heavier maintenance load and possibly more broken effects now and again

 

[DodgsonHere]

Rise does a million things at the same time while most rides do 100. The breadth of what it does is staggering. And I’m sure the maintenance load because of that is also staggering.

Now, Disney should have realized this and maybe scaled back a few things…but then people would be complaining they scaled back.

But if we want insane experiences on the level of Rise, we should be prepared for a heavier maintenance load and possibly more broken effects now and again

Some would disagree that Rise is an insane experience, even when it’s all working. Certainly good, maybe even great, but it’s not even the best in either park it’s in.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

We’ll all freak out about an effect not working for a few months and then will never remember it happened once the park is 5 years old.

Stuff never works at first.

When Disneyland opened, nothing worked!

This is like saying it's okay for a plane to crash because when they flew the first plane it crashed. Not saying it's a bad thing if some things don't work the first day at Epic, but the mentality should be to learn from and avoid the mistakes of the past rather than using them as justification.

And there are rumors that some elements may not be ready for certain rides until very last minute, so while ride systems may get plenty of testing, there are other aspects I worry won’t.

I'd be curious to hear what's substantiating this. Not that I'm balking at the rumor, but my first guess would be some kind of supply or time issue would factor into it, possibly tied in with the phase-two-ification of some restaurants.

If it's not a supply or time issue, I'd honestly be surprised. It seems like most of the rides were designed with the intent of not creating a maintenance nightmare. Besides the Donkey Kong boom lift system (which has already been heavily tested), and the vertical/scissor lift SCOOP, all of the rides are iterations on existing designs.

 

[kingcooger]

(Disclaimer: I don't know about what Alicia is referring to I think we can safely rule out Mario Kart and Yoshi. Donkey Kong is a possibility, but they seem to be confident in the ride system/illusion, so maybe not..

Isn’t Donkey Kong supposed to open in Japan next year?

If so, I would imagine the stateside iteration would be all set to go by 2025.

 

[Alicia]

Wow, sorry to leave that bomb and duck out all day.

I don’t want to try to elaborate because I have nothing to elaborate on. I don’t know anything. But the rumor is, (and if true, this is a good thing,) that there’s a lot of ambitious animatronics for a couple of the rides, and they may take awhile to get installed. That’s all.

Honestly, great news. If true.

BUT, in reference to the conversation we were having, imagine testing the rides without all the effects or AAs for awhile. That’s all. Just like testing Cosmic Rewind without final sound, it’s not like they won’t be able to get useful testing without all the AAs ready yet. Stick some big cardboard cut outs in there. The point is they’ll be there for opening day. And we would’ve never known it was down to the wire if I hadn’t alluded to anything here.

No reason to start panicking.

 

[JungleSkip]

This is like saying it's okay for a plane to crash because when they flew the first plane it crashed. Not saying it's a bad thing if some things don't work the first day at Epic, but the mentality should be to learn from and avoid the mistakes of the past rather than using them as justification.

You can’t learn from mistakes of the past on rides that have never been built before.

It’s just not a big deal if some things don’t work on day one. Gringotts and Hagrids had 9+ hour waits because they didn’t work for like, weeks. No one cares about that now because they’re some of the best rides on the planet.

 

[OrlLover]

Wow, sorry to leave that bomb and duck out all day.

I don’t want to try to elaborate because I have nothing to elaborate on. I don’t know anything. But the rumor is, (and if true, this is a good thing,) that there’s a lot of ambitious animatronics for a couple of the rides, and they may take awhile to get installed. That’s all.

Honestly, great news. If true.

BUT, in reference to the conversation we were having, imagine testing the rides without all the effects or AAs for awhile. That’s all. Just like testing Cosmic Rewind without final sound, it’s not like they won’t be able to get useful testing without all the AAs ready yet. Stick some big cardboard cut outs in there. The point is they’ll be there for opening day. And we would’ve never known it was down to the wire if I hadn’t alluded to anything here.

No reason to start panicking.

I wonder would Universal ever use Garner Holt as a supplier for their animatronics ?

I know Disney usually uses them exclusively for their projects. Also you have Sally Dark Rides based in Jacksonville.

Then there is Creature Technology from Australia which also some advanced tech that Uni would be smart to utilize.

 

[Jake S]

You can’t learn from mistakes of the past on rides that have never been built before.

right. I think, to really torture the plane analogy, the things that go wrong on modern jetliners is not the same things that went wrong when the wright brothers took off in kittyhawk. machines get progressively complicated and, as a result, things go wrong.

I agree that when you're charging more than $100 for admission to your world class theme park, things should work more often than they don't. but by pushing the limits we get more incredible attractions, if not always as effective as we'd hope.