Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Mike S]

I think that would be a pretty poor use of space, at most it should be as large as Donkey Kong.

I am curious how much space would be left over for future Nintendo expansion however. If Luigi's Mansion gets greenlit and Pokemon goes to USF, then it seems like that land would only be used for additional Mario minilands, or perhaps smaller lands for things like Animal Crossing or Splatoon.

Animal Crossing should be some sort of interactive play area with two shops included (Able Sisters and Nook’s Cranny). It doesn’t really need more than that as the king of the “cozy game” genre. It shouldn’t take up any amount of huge real estate imo.

 

[Gartooth]

Animal Crossing is tricky. It's incredibly popular, but also it's identity is clearly based on cozy, everyday life that does not at all feel like something natural to a Universal park.

Cute well themed facades with a gift shop, quick service, and character M&Gs? I can see all of that being a good fit for the IP. It's just any sort of attraction concepts is where the IP is a hard fit to make something compelling to guests yet also fitting the source material. The best I can think of for it is "Yoshi's Adventure but its a D-ticket rather than a C-ticket".

 

[mccgavin]

A slow moving boat ride filled with animatronics would fit Animal Crossing very well, but I'm not sure if that's the type of attraction Universal is interested in developing.

 

[Loki]

It's kind of like developing a land or part of a land around Tetris. Tetris is fun and addicting as a game but as a theme park concept it just wouldn't translate well. Would a game like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter work? I think Star Fox/Metroid could (and together would make an interesting space themed area). Of course Pokemon and Zelda are no brainers (and the reason they are rumored for the other parks).

 

[bdubsCEO]

I actually think an Animal Crossing ride would be an easy slam dunk. Use the Pets vehicle, have a slow moving dark ride with some simple plot like “KK Slider has a big show tonight, let’s get ready for it and make our way there!”. You buy an outfit at Able Sisters and Nookling Junction, pick up your animal friends from their houses, visit the museum for some reason, then end with a classic Splash style big musical finale. It doesn’t need almost any plot, just slowly moving through scenes from the game with cute fuzzy animatronics.

 

[jarmor]

To be fair Lightning Rod wasn't really RMC's fault and the problem mainly lied on the manufacturer of the launch system and Dollywood themselves for trying to put a launch on a wooden rollercoaster. It's been operating pretty smoothly since the lift hill was installed.

Sooo. . . who's to blame for RMC having to completely retrack the entire coaster with the I-beam track therefore replacing the original topper track? And lets not forget the constant "upgrades" wonder woman at SFFT keeps getting.

As much as I would love to see a well themed singe rail from RMC at the parks, I just don't feel what the company offers, overall, is a fit for Epic capacity wise and overall appeal because we know a park can choose the level of thrill their rides have.

 

[wutisgood]

Given the Florida weather I wouldn't put a wooden coaster at any major park. That being said I fail to see why ibox track on a steel structure whis has been used at times already wouldn't be a bad fit for any orlando park.

^ When it comes to the Universal crowds, yes. RMC coasters are niche at best, in my opinion. They don't really move the meter when it comes to park attendance as they are considered by most park goers as too extreme. At the end of the day, I feel Universal wants rides and attractions that everyone could enjoy if they wanted to.

Velocicoaster wouldn't move the needle as far as attendance goes and would be considered by most park goers as too extreme right? Did you happen to see the coaster universal is building in the middle of epic universe?

Just a thought, but how about we leave RMC’s and carnival rides for Six Flags? Universal is capable of creating all ages smaller experiences and attractions that can redistribute guests and add extra capacity. Epic Universe already has a (duelling) headlining coaster and three other family coasters to round up the offerings. That’s already plenty of exposed steel for a park that sells itself on having hyper immersive “worlds”.

I think a 150 million RMC built on steel supports with theming to the level of velocicoaster would be a relative bargain and extremely popular. Disney has multiple rides from vokoma during the period they were installing hang and bangs in regional parks. Maybe universal can afford to build a few good family rides too without spending 450 million on a single roller coaster.

 

[wutisgood]

A slow moving boat ride filled with animatronics would fit Animal Crossing very well, but I'm not sure if that's the type of attraction Universal is interested in developing.

It will be a educational dark ride based on Tom Nook and avoiding predatory loans.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Just a thought, but how about we leave RMC’s and carnival rides for Six Flags?

RMC is a ride system provider, just as "carnival rides" ignore the theming factor. Hagrid is this, and Constellation Carousel is just this in the end. Flat rides are underutilized and a great addition to parks for their size and cost efficiency. And using Six Flags as a snide snipe isn't as slick as you think it is.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Animal Crossing boat ride thru a town is the closest Universal would ever get to building Living With The Land

 

[Andysol]

If I were to do Wicked I would do:

Emerald City - suspended Gringotts defying gravity ride and the show from One Short Day (Wizomania)
Shiz University - boat ride through different Ozian landscapes
Munchkinland - tulip tea cup flat ride
Kiamo Ko (Witch's Castle) - could do a flying monkey coaster but would be similar to the one they're building in Warner Bros Movie World.

4 rides and a show would be quite the ask.

Just based on what we normally see with expansions at the parks, even 3 and a show would be unlikely.

 

[greendude33]

I think Animal Crossing would make such a great theme park land and would move so much merch - feels like there is so much you could do with it while embracing the slower pace of the game. A slower paced land, a KK slider show, a nice boat dark ride through a town, some flat rides to pad it out - could be a good people eater land.

Reposting this from another thread from some time back... was proposing it as a Lost Continent replacement (which I still think is the ideal place for it), but would be happy to see any of it anywhere.

How definite is Zelda? It feels odd to me to have two fantasy franchises right next to each other, if Zelda goes to LC.

I'm dreamcasting here, but I always thought Animal Crossing would be a much stronger IP than Zelda. I don't think AC was really on the table when Universal and Nintendo first started talking as it was fairly irrelevant. But AC exploded in popularity since then, with the release of New Horizons during the pandemic - it was a bit of a cultural moment that Nintendo hasn't had since the Wii or Pokemon Go. The National Video Game Museum in the UK just opened an exhibit on the impact AC had during the pandemic and there's even been academic studies on the subject.

AC New Horizons is the second best selling Switch title (the latest Zelda release sold less than half of what New Horizons did), and the 5th best selling Nintendo game of all time. Speaking anecdotally, far more people I know have played an AC game within the past 5+ years than a Zelda game - largely because AC is much friendlier to non-gamers. And there continues to be a steady stream of AC content posted to YouTube daily garnering hundreds of thousands of views. Zelda doesn't have that same kind of cultural relevance right now.

I also feel like AC would be a merch machine - imagine all the villager plushies and Tom Nook branded merchandise. The cute factor of the game is comparable to Pokemon (without needing to split profits with the Pokemon Company) and would appeal to a lot of people of all ages who've never played. Not to mention the central mechanic of the franchise is buying and collecting items.

I feel like a casual boat dark-ride through an AC island, getting to shop at all the different shops in AC (Nook's Cranny, Able Sisters, Jolly Redd's, the Roost, etc), meet and greets and photo ops with all the characters, and a KK Slider live show accompanied by a gyroid orchestra - DJ KK at nights! would be a really solid land and offer something a little bit different to what we already have. Imagine the music changing throughout the day like it does in the actual game, the seasonal holiday celebrations and limited time merch.

It just feels like a property that is ripe for a theme park land and I'm surprised I don't see it talked about more as an option - whether it replaces Lost Continent, Toon Lagoon or MIB.

 

[jarmor]

Velocicoaster wouldn't move the needle as far as attendance goes and would be considered by most park goers as too extreme right? Did you happen to see the coaster universal is building in the middle of epic universe?

V-coaster is so much more than a coaster, first of all, it is a BRAND. and even by intamin standards, it is pretty tamed. You can barely see the first part due to how low to the it is and even with the top hat, Universal still kept the hight within a "safe" range and still refused to have a vertical drop on the coaster (like they did with rockit. . .allegedly). So with saying that, Yes, Velocicoaster did help drive attendance at IOA as it went up about 10 % from 2019 numbers.

I get it, I like RMC coasters as well, but I stand on they are not up to par for a universal park yet because the majority of their coasters they are producing, that are worthwhile are hybrid wooden coasters.

Unless they can somehow incorporate their skills from working on "fire in the hole" and wild moose concept into a Mt. Crumpit coaster/dark ride. But that discussion belongs in the IOA thread. . .

 

[Henny]

RMC is a ride system provider, just as "carnival rides" ignore the theming factor. Hagrid is this, and Constellation Carousel is just this in the end. Flat rides are underutilized and a great addition to parks for their size and cost efficiency. And using Six Flags as a snide snipe isn't as slick as you think it is.

Cool. Still think Universal is capable of developing better attractions than carnival rides.

 

[Disneyson1]

I think Animal Crossing would make such a great theme park land and would move so much merch - feels like there is so much you could do with it while embracing the slower pace of the game. A slower paced land, a KK slider show, a nice boat dark ride through a town, some flat rides to pad it out - could be a good people eater land.

Reposting this from another thread from some time back... was proposing it as a Lost Continent replacement (which I still think is the ideal place for it), but would be happy to see any of it anywhere.

I personally think that it would be extremely difficult to get at the core of what makes Animal Crossing exciting: the thrill of designing your own town. While Mario Kart attempts to replicate the Mario Kart experience of tossing items while driving and the Donkey Kong experience recreates iconic sequences from the games, there really is no iconic transportation in Animal Crossing. Walking is part of the appeal.

The other issue is that, when guests enter Animal Crossing, they will not gasp at how the land looks so much like their village… in fact, the gimmick of Animal Crossing is that each village is different!

If Animal Crossing comes to Universal, I see it as one of several buildings in a Nintendo Village (Kirby Diner, PokeStop + Pokemon Ride, facades for WarioWare game company and Earthbound locations, etc) or as a daytime pop up show in a grassy area, like Central Park or in front of the Nintendo store in Celestial Park.

 

[Legacy]

I personally think that it would be extremely difficult to get at the core of what makes Animal Crossing exciting: the thrill of designing your own town. While Mario Kart attempts to replicate the Mario Kart experience of tossing items while driving and the Donkey Kong experience recreates iconic sequences from the games, there really is no iconic transportation in Animal Crossing. Walking is part of the appeal.

The other issue is that, when guests enter Animal Crossing, they will not gasp at how the land looks so much like their village… in fact, the gimmick of Animal Crossing is that each village is different!

If Animal Crossing comes to Universal, I see it as one of several buildings in a Nintendo Village (Kirby Diner, PokeStop + Pokemon Ride, facades for WarioWare game company and Earthbound locations, etc) or as a daytime pop up show in a grassy area, like Central Park or in front of the Nintendo store in Celestial Park.

Make the entire thing SCREENS! Then, guests can “create” their village (building names, colors, generalized placement) in a pre-show, load their “village” on a card, then swipe the card as they board an 8-person boat. Then you coast through each person’s village while Animal Crossing characters visit and play.

(Each building in a village is a screen front, that adopts the rider’s selected colors. Same with names.)

I wasn’t a big fan of an AC ride idea but this? This I could get behind. Suddenly, guests are not only designing their own village. They’re designing their own ride.

 

[Disneyson1]

Make the entire thing SCREENS! Then, guests can “create” their village (building names, colors, generalized placement) in a pre-show, load their “village” on a card, then swipe the card as they board an 8-person boat. Then you coast through each person’s village while Animal Crossing characters visit and play.

(Each building in a village is a screen front, that adopts the rider’s selected colors. Same with names.)

I wasn’t a big fan of an AC ride idea but this? This I could get behind. Suddenly, guests are not only designing their own village. They’re designing their own ride.

This is a great idea. I just wonder how quickly this turns into Test Track and dread the creation aspect. There certainly is a market for it - looking at Yoshi, it’d be similar!

 

[Legacy]

This is a great idea. I just wonder how quickly this turns into Test Track and dread the creation aspect. There certainly is a market for it - looking at Yoshi, it’d be similar!

I think it would be better received than Test Track, where the “creation” aspect was nominal to the ride experience whereas the creation in this IS the ride experience.

And if they add the ability to save your entire village to you app (like saving your upgrades for Villain Con) so you can just easily swipe and reload your village on return trips.

 

[IndyRs]

They could do a little replica of a neighborhood of Animal Crossing with houses and at the end is Blathers Museum and inside is like an aquarium that you can walk around and look at?
Other half of the building can be a restaurant

 

[Bill Cipher]

I feel like if they were to tackle Animal Crossing it would make for a great interactive play area. Add new Power Up Bands themed to the AC characters, and you can run around collecting bugs, fish, fossils, and fruit to display your collections in the app.