Epic Universe Preview Center

[UniversalRBLX]

Sorry - but did you experience it?

IDK if the age in your bio is accurate.

Haven't updated that, but no I never experienced it. I've seen more than enough videos of it that I can be confident to say that the issue with marketing IOA was entirely on the Escape bungle, not the preview center.

 

[Brian G.]

Haven't updated that, but no I never experienced it. I've seen more than enough videos of it that I can be confident to say that the issue with marketing IOA was entirely on the Escape bungle, not the preview center.

You know that's not the same, right? That's like judging a ride just of a POV. Usually, the people who lived through history are better versed than those who learned from it.

The Preview Center was a part of the marketing blitz. Was it the biggest reason? No. Was it A reason? It's possible; even if it was 1%.

The goal of marketing is one unified message to promote a product. How they go about that is totally up to them - whether it's highly-themed or not (and I know you said it was fine). As Legacy pointed out, while the Preview Center was full of great stuff, its messaging differed from what was coming to eventual fruition. It stands to say that it's within reason that the difference in information provided contributed to that. That's all.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

You know that's not the same, right? That's like judging a ride just of a POV. Usually, the people who lived through history are better versed than those who learned from it.

The Preview Center was a part of the blitz. Was it the biggest reason? No. Was it A reason? It's possible; even if it was 1%.

The goal of marketing is one unified message to promote a product. How they go about that is totally up to them - whether it's highly-themed or not (and I know you said it was fine). As Legacy pointed out, while the Preview Center was full of great stuff, its messaging differed from what was coming to eventual fruition. It stands to say that it's within reason that the difference in information provided contributed to that. That's all.

Well aware experiencing something in person is different from viewing it online - that's why I have yet to post any comments on Tiana's until I ride it myself this Friday. From Dave Cobb's video on YouTube, that does an excellent job at capturing most of it in detail, shows me the preview center did it's best at highlight the park's experiences... and that this was something "in addition" to USF, not a new attraction at the back of the park.

Yes, the preview center was part of the marketing package for IOA, I was simply defending it from a comment that had mentioned it as "being bad" and part of IOA's initial failure. Sure it had an impact, but it was so immaterial compared to the Escape-related promos that were plastered nationwide. Preview Center did it's best at showcasing (along with models) each land and details of the rest of the resort (w/ the giant resort-wide model) and CityWalk.

 

[Brian G.]

Well aware experiencing something in person is different from viewing it online - that's why I have yet to post any comments on Tiana's until I ride it myself this Friday. From Dave Cobb's video on YouTube, that does an excellent job at capturing most of it in detail, shows me the preview center did it's best at highlight the park's experiences... and that this was something "in addition" to USF, not a new attraction at the back of the park.

Yes, the preview center was part of the marketing package for IOA, I was simply defending it from a comment that had mentioned it as "being bad" and part of IOA's initial failure. Sure it had an impact, but it was so immaterial compared to the Escape-related promos that were plastered nationwide. Preview Center did it's best at showcasing (along with models) each land and details of the rest of the resort (w/ the giant resort-wide model) and CityWalk.

I think Joe was ultimately being cheeky with the "being bad" bit - but noted!

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I have family who traveling in August for 4 days (bless them) here and I don’t think they’re aware of the entirety of Epic Universe other than Super Nintendo World. They’d be a great ask for how they feel about this in a few months.

 

[GAcoaster]

I know a lot of people on this site are much younger than I am, so you don't quite remember what it was like when IOA opened. I (like you) was a 20 something coaster/park fan at the time. I kept up with all the latest news and information on all the parks, I was living in an adjacent market and one of the prime markets for their advertising Orlando parks, Atlanta. I knew practically nothing about IOA until I read Bob Coker's review on Thrillride! THAT was what made me come to Orlando and go to Universal (for the first time ever). The Universal Escape marketing was lousy and obviously didn't reach its intended audience (people like me). No matter how elaborate the preview center for IOA was, it was inside Universal so if someone never went there they'd never see any of it.

I think the Preview Center will do a fine job of selling to those who are already at Universal, just like the IOA center did, but there are much better ways to spend money to market a new park than to sink millions into a physical location that only reaches the audience you already have.

 

[RGMick77]

Based on Dave Cobb’s old footage, it seems like the IOA Preview Center was a lot more elaborate than the Epic Universe Preview Center.

As a fan who already knows everything that every insider has said about this new park, this preview center only serves to entertain me. I will not be a more informed consumer by viewing this.

At least the public doesn’t need to buy a ticket to one specific park in order to see this place. With it being in CityWalk, people can walk by and see the words “Epic Universe” and see the big 4 IPs being represented. If any of that draws them in, they can learn more.

We also live in an age where the entire library of collected human knowledge is at our fingertips at all times. And the Universal Parks have never been more popular than they are in this era.

It seems like it will be a lot easier for people to accidentally scroll across a video about Epic Universe than they are to actually walk into an Epic Universe preview center.

So to heck with this preview center. I, for one, will be following Inside Universal on Instagram to stay informed.

 

[Legacy]

The IOA marketing suffered because, at the time, Universal was very much a locals-only also-ran theme park in Orlando - a community weened to only accept low-thrill, Disney rides. Orlando had never had an inversion outside of the fairgrounds, let alone a launch and a dueling coaster. IOA brought experiences Central Florida didn’t know it wanted. From the outside, driving by on I-4, it looked more cheap than compelling. It was always going to fight uphill marketing needs. The Escape thing didn’t help, then 9/11 blew everything up.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I'd wager a good portion of the people on these forums never experienced the IOA Preview Center in person, but only wanted a preview center for Epic Universe based on the quality (real or just perceived) of that original experience.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

What's the point of a preview center? It's to show off what's coming in the future and get people to come back, anything else is a bonus. In a short amount of time it'll close and become only accessible on YouTube but the theme park will live on for decades to come. Complaining about the preview center, with many complaints that seem pre-meditated before the Legacy Store even closed, feels like the tail is wagging the dog, a "heads I win tails Universal loses" sort of situation.

a community weened to only accept low-thrill, Disney rides.

Amen.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

This reminds me of the Epcot preview model, and that worked great.

This kinda gets to the main point with all of this, in my opinion, which is in this era of themed entertainment, nobody needs to make a physical preview model for a new park (or a new anything) and display it somewhere for the public to view. You have a million options at this point that are cheaper and better equipped to reach people where they are. These days, it's just sort of customary; it's a tradition. (A fun tradition!) It's not a pillar of a marketing plan like it might have been for Epcot or even IOA for that matter.

This preview center will have no bearing on the success of the park. Its primary purpose is to give people who are curious about it something to look at, and it seems to be doing a pretty good job of that.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

You have a million options at this point that are cheaper and better equipped to reach people where they are.

In four months since the first reveal, Universal's professionally produced videos have reached over 4.5 million folks on just their YouTube account. It is very likely after all is said and done their reach is likely going to be significantly larger than if they spent the money used for the videos on a more elaborate preview center.

 

[viking_wizard_eyes]

In four months since the first reveal, Universal's professionally produced videos have reached over 4.5 million folks on just their YouTube account. It is very likely after all is said and done their reach is likely going to be significantly larger than if they spent the money used for the videos on a more elaborate preview center.

Also, those videos let you go "in the park" in a way that even the most elaborate physical display never could, so even if the preview center were to reach millions of people by the time EU opens, it's still a less effective way to sell what the experience is going to be like.

Complaining about the preview center is the epitome of "this is why we can't have nice things" energy.

 

[belloq87]

I think the level of pushback to these supposed "complaints" is not proportional to the "complaints" themselves. Nobody's condemning Universal. Nobody's even really arguing that the Preview Center isn't an appropriate allocation of resources.

Saying "I was more impressed with the IOA Preview Center because it was more elaborate and had more physical stuff to explore" is not the same as saying "How dare Universal put out this trash!" But those of us who express an opinion like the former seem to be confronted as if we said the latter.

 

[Brian G.]

I think the level of pushback to these supposed "complaints" is not proportional to the "complaints" themselves. Nobody's condemning Universal. Nobody's even really arguing that the Preview Center isn't an appropriate allocation of resources.

Saying "I was more impressed with the IOA Preview Center because it was more elaborate and had more physical stuff to explore" is not the same as saying "How dare Universal put out this trash!" But those of us who express an opinion like the former seem to be confronted as if we said the latter.

You're allowed to voice your displeasure with the Preview Center the same way others are entitled to call those posts out as silly, complaints, etc. Hit dog hollers and all that.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Complaining about the preview center is the epitome of "this is why we can't have nice things" energy.

Nothing is above reproach but like, what are we doing here? Is this really an issue here or is it another avenue for expressing anxieties in a further socially isolated society? This is yet another Potter lockers, Hagrid paths, or Sapphire Falls landscaping.

 

[belloq87]

You're allowed to voice your displeasure with the Preview Center the same way others are entitled to call those posts out as silly, complaints, etc. Hit dog hollers and all that.

Again, I don't think the pushback is proportional.

Of course somebody can say they disagree and think the Epic Universe Preview Center looks better than the IOA one, and here's why. Why does it have to go any further than that? Why must there also be the implication that a contrary opinion is coming from an old, out-of-touch, rose-colored, or (my personal favorite) bad faith place?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Is this really an issue here or is it another avenue for expressing anxieties in a further socially isolated society

 

[Brian G.]

Again, I don't think the pushback is proportional.

Of course somebody can say they disagree and think the Epic Universe Preview Center looks better than the IOA one, and here's why. Why does it have to go any further than that? Why must there also be the implication that a contrary opinion is coming from an old, out-of-touch, rose-colored, or (my personal favorite) bad faith place?

Everyone here has said the IOA Preview was better. The point that was argued was that it's a product of a different era of marketing, in a larger venue, and not aimed at the forum nerd; and the only real counterpoint to any of those points is "Well it can still be pretty and do the same". By your admission, despite your criticisms - you aren't even visiting because you've already made plans to go to Epic hammering down the point we've been trying to make about the Center not being for us. Ultimately, it's just a silly argument (and even sillier that I keep engaging despite my efforts to try to move on). We're wasting too much time on what it isn't instead of what it is. We have this great model full of detail, Nintendo merch (Finally!), our first looks at some concept art for Potter and Monsters and we're focusing on why the IOA Preview Center was better.

 

[USO92]

And not to mention there are two lands that have not seen any video production the likes of Celestial, SNW, or HTTYD. What if Universal plans to add more to the preview center than what they currently have once all properties have been fully announced? Maybe not, but what if? In my years, I've seen conversations like this, criticisms like this, "they should have done this instead of that", only to be forgotten once the actual experience comes to life. Nothing new under the sun...

Nothing will satisfy my desire to see Epic Universe details until I'm standing in the park. The preview center truly is made to grab hold of every last visitor that walks out the exit of Citywalk and to the garages. This is UO's Mecca of advertising opportunities. It will accomplish what it should accomplish: driving attention and sales for next year's vacation.