Epic Universe Ticketing Info, Advice, & Speculation

[Mad Dog]

There’s been more sources now.

But again, they just want to sell vacation packages first, doesn’t mean it’ll be all they offer.

I think when the dust settles, the package deals and purchase opportunities will become sweeter, once realty sets in. Epic is not going to sell out every day, in every season, in their first year. Far from it.... But if you want to go the first month, or two, and during any holiday weekend or holiday season, it will probably be tight.

 

[Disneyhead]

I wonder what they will set the parks capacity at?

 

[Mad Dog]

I wonder what they will set the parks capacity at?

That'll be interesting. They don't have great ride capacity, but the intangibles like restaurants, size, exploring all the immersive nooks and crannies, Celestial area layout and features, might cause them to set it higher than if it was a traditional park set up.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I wonder what they will set the parks capacity at?

20-25K maximum initially is my guess. Universal is somewhat comfortable with that range.

 

[Jake S]

20-25K maximum initially is my guess. Universal is somewhat comfortable with that range.

Man, that doesn't sound like a lot. Do we know what the capacity is for other Orlando-based theme parks? Non-Magic Kingdom division, obviously.

 

[GAcoaster]

30-40,000 is MOST of the Orlando parks

 

[IzzyB]

20-25K maximum initially is my guess. Universal is somewhat comfortable with that range.

What is their max for IOA? This just seems low.

 

[Disneyhead]

I believe IOA is 30K and USF is 35K. But those parks at that level are not a good guest experience.

I would guess they may cap Epic around 25K.

 

[MrBlonde]

This is just the first phase of tickets. They'll manage capacity but having Epic be a specific allocation and most likely single day tickets as they start up.

I think they'll mostly worried about cannibalizing sales by having everyone just rush EU and then IOA/USF turn into ghost towns. They want to grow the pie, not just shift demand. It makes sense to me. I think it'll be fine beyond sticket shock of an EU only single day ticket.

I can definitely see them making it as an add on to multi-day tickets for travelers vs an entitlement baked in beyond the 1 day.

Also for park-to-park with the inital tickets, EU is not included so if you for some reason start at USD/IOA/VB and then go to EU, it'll be 2 days of tickets and the 1 day they have to EU.

 

[belloq87]

But they’ll likely keep selling ticket packages with only 1 day for Epic tacked on as long as they keep selling. When and if sales slump and capacity is still left, they’ll release additional ticket types. It could happen as we get closer to grand opening, but since tickets will be date based, some days may already be sold out by the time single day tickets are released—namely opening day—and I’m sure they’re counting on that fear of missing out on opening day driving those multi-day multi-park initial ticket sales, even from folks who don’t need tickets to the existing parks.

Just circling back to this, and I know you're just the messenger, and this is all still hypothetical, more ticket options have yet to be revealed, etc....

But this strikes me as kind of anti-guest. People can't be planning trips just on the hope that there will be a ticket type available that works for their needs. And most people need to plan in advance to some degree.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I believe IOA is 30K and USF is 35K. But those parks at that level are not a good guest experience.

To be fair - aren't all parks a bad guest experience at capacity? lol

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Man, that doesn't sound like a lot. Do we know what the capacity is for other Orlando-based theme parks? Non-Magic Kingdom division, obviously.

30-40,000 is MOST of the Orlando parks

What is their max for IOA? This just seems low.

Based on 2019/2022 numbers (if you believe TEA), Universal averages around ~28-30K guests a day comfortably at IOA/USF... doubt they run Epic at that level until things settle and they gradually increase attendance as operations improve and are used to dealing with any headaches. Best guess is previews start at the 15-20K level and ramp up closer to 25K for opening and initial weeks. You want crowds, but you also don't want people not doing stuff and stuck in multiple hour plus long lines.

Theoretical capacity (as in the number of bodies you can fit) for the parks are far higher at 2-3x what they actually get on average, but like @Disneyhead mentions, it's poor guest experience. MK has a 100K guest capacity... but realistically never even gets close to it, maybe 60-70K on busy days (which no longer happens thanks to reservation and demand-based pricing).

HHN probably does ~30K guests a night and USF is bursting at the seams.

But this strikes me as kind of anti-guest. People can't be planning trips just on the hope that there will be a ticket type available that works for their needs. And most people need to plan in advance to some degree.

My hope is that Universal is transparent with information on how they plan on handling APs whenever tickets/packages drop. It's a questionable practice to ignore/remain silent on a significant chunk of your business in the hopes they "sucker up" and buy into a package/1-day ticket.

 

[Jake S]

Theoretical capacity (as in the number of bodies you can fit) for the parks are far higher at 2-3x what they actually get on average, but like @Disneyhead mentions, it's poor guest experience. MK has a 100K guest capacity... but realistically never even gets close to it, maybe 60-70K on busy days (which no longer happens thanks to reservation and demand-based pricing).

Yeah, this is more in line with what I was thinking. This is outdated information, but back in the early 2010s Disneyland would be pushing 60,000 guests on extremely busy days.

 

[Alicia]

Just circling back to this, and I know you're just the messenger, and this is all still hypothetical, more ticket options have yet to be revealed, etc....

But this strikes me as kind of anti-guest. People can't be planning trips just on the hope that there will be a ticket type available that works for their needs. And most people need to plan in advance to some degree.

I think that's the point. For those who are planning the furthest in advance, you have these options only, but at least you'll have them locked in. For those with more flexibility, you can wait for a better deal or less day ticket, but they may sell out certain days by then.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I believe IOA is 30K and USF is 35K. But those parks at that level are not a good guest experience.

I would guess they may cap Epic around 25K.

Much higher, you’re telling me IOA sells out every day it will only hit 10.5 mill guests a year? USF is mid 40s I think, last time I closed for regular capacity was for Fall Out Boy.

Epic is not 25k a day and they won’t cap it at that, sweet Jesus.

 

[belloq87]

I think that's the point. For those who are planning the furthest in advance, you have these options only, but at least you'll have them locked in. For those with more flexibility, you can wait for a better deal or less day ticket, but they may sell out certain days by then.

I think that's a pretty bad course of action.

Hopefully there's a wider array of ticket options available well before the park opens.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Epic is not 25k a day and they won’t cap it at that, sweet Jesus.

Not incorrect to assume lower capacity at the start as operations ramps up and gets used to the new park. Last thing you want is TMs overburden with holiday-like crowds at the start.

 

[Mad Dog]

On park capacity vs. attendance.....Many guests arrive and leave at different times of the day....plus pool breaks, etc......Scenario: Park A has 30,000 capacity....but there could have been an attendance of 40,000 guests on that given day since the actual attendance ebbs and flows....and more so with resorts like Universal that have a ton of on site hotels, plus CityWalk, where guests can easily go back and forth.....Capacity and attendance per day may be two distinct figures.....Just like when MK used to reach capacity often on holidays, would close the park to new guests, but open the gates a few hours later since x number of guests left the park.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

On park capacity vs. attendance.....Many guests arrive and leave at different times of the day....plus pool breaks, etc......Scenario: Park A has 30,000 capacity....but there could have been an attendance of 40,000 guests on that given day since the actual attendance ebbs and flows....and more so with resorts like Universal that have a ton of on site hotels, plus CityWalk, where guests can easily go back and forth.....Capacity and attendance per day may be two distinct figures.....Just like when MK used to reach capacity often on holidays, would close the park to new guests, but open the gates a few hours later since x number of guests left the park.

USF and IOA do not have capacities in the 30,000s. It’s just not true.

 

[vgp]

This will be doubly true for Epic, but capacity isn't really a fixed number and not something you could infer from TEA/AECOM attendance or anything like that.