Epic Universe Ticketing Info, Advice, & Speculation

[GAcoaster]

As is always the case with recent slang, it depends what you mean.

If you mean social media influencers, (1) there aren't really that many of them when you get down to The Law of Really Big Numbers, and (2) the top 10 or 20% -- the ones who could probably best afford am $800+ AP and days off of work -- will likely get all the content they need during media previews.

If you mean locals who make a theme park their whole identity and just like to hang out there "for the vibes" -- they were well established in Orlando by the time DAK and IoA opened. DAK was big enough to handle them (again, vast majority of people do have to work at least 5 days a week, usually during the day), IoA was ignored because it wasn't Disney and Mustafa said they must never go there.

Yes, the influencers are part of it, and locals who hang out at the parks regularly

There's also a whole culture of people who come to the theme parks that just didn't exist 20 years ago. It used to be Disney and Universal (and Orlando) were something people did once in a while (every few years), but now it's turned into people doing multiple trips a year. Part of it is DVC and other time shares here in Orlando, but the sheer number of people I see driving up and down I-95 between Florida and New Jersey with plates from every state in between with passholder magnets on their cars just keeps going up. Every time I take a flight between Newark and Orlando I hear people just flying in for a weekend at random. The market has grown and expanded over time and it has changed the patterns of visitation.

It makes me feel ancient, but when I was a kid people only went once every 5-10 years. Now I see the people I went to school with coming here yearly or sometime multiple times a year. Disney did an amazing job of making people come back again and again, and Universal has benefitted from that culture.

 

[wutisgood]

I think the biggest thing is the size of the Orlando airport and number of budget flights to and from Orlando.

When flights are often 100 or less round trip, I can justify season passes which pay for themselves (sans Disney) on the second trip. Because of this and repeat visits I follow forums and vloggers because there is a good chance I will be down at some point to experience x rides/food/events/other local attractions. Even though tickets are expensive, Orlando is about the cheapest place in America I can vacation.

I imagine international flights can also be cheaper vs other destinations. I always thought a lot of the merch demand was people bringing back merch to resell in other countries.

I keep putting off going to Vegas because its so much cheaper to go back to Orlando with passes already paid for.

In any case influencers are a massive powerful network of advertising for the parks. There is a reason serious ad money has moved over to social media.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Yes, the influencers are part of it, and locals who hang out at the parks regularly

There's also a whole culture of people who come to the theme parks that just didn't exist 20 years ago. It used to be Disney and Universal (and Orlando) were something people did once in a while (every few years), but now it's turned into people doing multiple trips a year. Part of it is DVC and other time shares here in Orlando, but the sheer number of people I see driving up and down I-95 between Florida and New Jersey with plates from every state in between with passholder magnets on their cars just keeps going up. Every time I take a flight between Newark and Orlando I hear people just flying in for a weekend at random. The market has grown and expanded over time and it has changed the patterns of visitation.

It makes me feel ancient, but when I was a kid people only went once every 5-10 years. Now I see the people I went to school with coming here yearly or sometime multiple times a year. Disney did an amazing job of making people come back again and again, and Universal has benefitted from that culture.

Remember when Disney believed the theme park market had dried up and avoided expansion? lol

 

[vgp]

Date specific tickets is a reservation system.

Not in practice; avoiding a res system was the primary factor for why the launch ticket structure is as reported.

In any case, I wouldn't read too much into anything at this point.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Date specific tickets is a reservation system.

What about with multiday passes?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Am I the only that isn't against a temporary use of a reservation system for AP holders solely for Epic Universe? I'd rather deal with a reservation for a few weeks/months than being blocked out entirely.

A reservation system is fine when capacity is actually severely limited (when WDW originally reopened)... but nowadays its rather useless.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'd guess any ticket system will be reevaluated after a few months, depending on market conditions at that point in time. ...Also, locals would probably swarm to Epic, and desert Studios and IOA during the first months if there wasn't some sort of system that'll keep IOA and Studios afloat with the locals, that are a pretty high share of Universal attendance, as evidenced by Saturdays almost always super busy. It's a touchy situation early on.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I'd guess any ticket system will be reevaluated after a few months, depending on market conditions at that point in time. ...Also, locals would probably swarm to Epic, and desert Studios and IOA during the first months if there wasn't some sort of system that'll keep IOA and Studios afloat with the locals, that are a pretty high share of Universal attendance, as evidenced by Saturdays almost always super busy. It's a touchy situation early on.

Yeah, but a lot of locals probably won't renew their AP unless they can upgrade to Epic. People love the parks, but they can delay an AP renew until Epic is included or outright cancel until they can properly renew.

Also, WDW is (while not equal to an all new theme park) strategically providing great discounts for FL Residents that will more than likely continue until next year along with a new night parade at MK supposedly.

 

[Mad Dog]

Yeah, but a lot of locals probably won't renew their AP unless they can upgrade to Epic. People love the parks, but they can delay an AP renew until Epic is included or outright cancel until they can properly renew.

Also, WDW is (while not equal to an all new theme park) strategically providing great discounts for FL Residents that will more than likely continue until next year along with a new night parade at MK supposedly.

Yes. It's a touchy situation, and has potential to be a big problem if not handled in a flexible manner. Universal can't be arrogant and think they won't have ramifications.

 

[GAcoaster]

I'd guess any ticket system will be reevaluated after a few months, depending on market conditions at that point in time. ...Also, locals would probably swarm to Epic, and desert Studios and IOA during the first months if there wasn't some sort of system that'll keep IOA and Studios afloat with the locals, that are a pretty high share of Universal attendance, as evidenced by Saturdays almost always super busy. It's a touchy situation early on.

And if they realize they closed the gates to tightly they just open up more availability.

Any system/program/plan they may have always has the ability to open up for more availability as they feel more comfortable with capacity/crowds. Much easier to let more people in than turn people away because you oversold.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Question

So are travel agents just allowed to leak things before Universal tells people?

Was this leaked to see what people think? Like I don't get why Universal would be ok with agents just leaking this info without an official announcement

 

[nikem3]

Yes. It's a touchy situation, and has potential to be a big problem if not handled in a flexible manner. Universal can't be arrogant and think they won't have ramifications.

Someone is going to be unhappy no matter what they do. There is no system that will be perfect. Not only that but with inevitable ride breakdowns, issues with food service, etc as they try to get all the kinks out, I am sure they are focused on trying to achieve the best scenario for the most amount of people.

 

[HandsomePete]

Question

So are travel agents just allowed to leak things before Universal tells people?

Was this leaked to see what people think? Like I don't get why Universal would be ok with agents just leaking this info without an official announcement

Guessing it’s like those surveys where they tell people it’s confidential and then half a day later there are screenshots or discussions about all over the internet. That information is going out to so many travel agents that if a screenshot winds up on Reddit there’s no chance they’ll know who it was.

They may not have wanted it leaked, but there’s also usually an implicit understanding that once it goes out it’s basically the same as announcing it.

 

[Mad Dog]

And if they realize they closed the gates to tightly they just open up more availability.

Any system/program/plan they may have always has the ability to open up for more availability as they feel more comfortable with capacity/crowds. Much easier to let more people in than turn people away because you oversold.

Someone is going to be unhappy no matter what they do. There is no system that will be perfect. Not only that but with inevitable ride breakdowns, issues with food service, etc as they try to get all the kinks out, I am sure they are focused on trying to achieve the best scenario for the most amount of people.

Yes....and that's why any system needs to be 'Flexible' so it can adapt to market conditions as they evolve.

 

[IzzyB]

But not one park has opened in the modern age of the internet.

IOA did NOT have weekly aerial construction updates followed by in depth breakdowns of those aerials.

I expect strong sales upon opening through at least January.

But how many people are really seeing that and of those how many have resources to travel when it first opens? They used TV/Radio before which also had a large audience.

This will be the first park to open in the “theme park lifestyler” era. It will be interesting to see…

But how many are there? They will also go once or twice at beginning and be done.

Yes, the influencers are part of it, and locals who hang out at the parks regularly

There's also a whole culture of people who come to the theme parks that just didn't exist 20 years ago. It used to be Disney and Universal (and Orlando) were something people did once in a while (every few years), but now it's turned into people doing multiple trips a year. Part of it is DVC and other time shares here in Orlando, but the sheer number of people I see driving up and down I-95 between Florida and New Jersey with plates from every state in between with passholder magnets on their cars just keeps going up. Every time I take a flight between Newark and Orlando I hear people just flying in for a weekend at random. The market has grown and expanded over time and it has changed the patterns of visitation.

It makes me feel ancient, but when I was a kid people only went once every 5-10 years. Now I see the people I went to school with coming here yearly or sometime multiple times a year. Disney did an amazing job of making people come back again and again, and Universal has benefitted from that culture.

I went several times and I was lower/middle class. But we drove down, I get more people are going now, but will even more go next year with the current downturn and how many more? And if they block AP holders that is a large amount who would not come down.

And if they realize they closed the gates to tightly they just open up more availability.

Any system/program/plan they may have always has the ability to open up for more availability as they feel more comfortable with capacity/crowds. Much easier to let more people in than turn people away because you oversold.

Blocking out AP holders, not giving them an option to upgrade and join in on previews, will have a ton of people cancel and then they can't pivot to unblock because they lost people. If they want to be flexible they would give AP an option to upgrade with ample preview access and block out for only a couple months and/or reservation system. Anything so restrictive that they completely block out APs for previews/first 6 months will put a sour taste in people's mouth and they may not be able to get those people back for awhile.

 

[nikem3]

Yes....and that's why any system needs to be 'Flexible' so it can adapt to market conditions as they evolve.

I agree, that is why I'm not really going to panic if the first month of sales is just packages. I am sure if demand is not met from out of towners, single day passes will be added shortly after. Plus annual pass plans or discounts. I can't imagine forcing APs to buy multi day tickets. I could however see them sell one day tickets to APs or maybe a preview day or two.

 

[SeventyOne]

Blocking out AP holders, not giving them an option to upgrade and join in on previews, will have a ton of people cancel and then they can't pivot to unblock because they lost people. If they want to be flexible they would give AP an option to upgrade with ample preview access and block out for only a couple months and/or reservation system. Anything so restrictive that they completely block out APs for previews/first 6 months will put a sour taste in people's mouth and they may not be able to get those people back for awhile.

This. Nothing takes place in a vacuum. Disney and Sea World would jump at this opportunity to lock up local theme park pass budgets for 2025. And long-time UOR APs would be rightly pissed, would tank the other two parks.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

This. Nothing takes place in a vacuum. Disney and Sea World would jump at this opportunity to lock up local theme park pass budgets for 2025. And long-time UOR APs would be rightly pissed, would tank the other two parks.

Yup - can't ignore the other two resorts. Epic will certainly draw theme park fans... but those same fans that Universal depends on providing positive reviews can quickly turn if they're all either blocked out or limited to a single visit.

Disney has already started offering free water park access on check-in day, and dining package deals in 2025... there's a lot they can do next year to play around with UOR.

 

[Mad Dog]

We talked about this earlier, but it seems to have been forgotten. Remember what, and how, happened to the Hogsmeade grand opening months at Universal Hollywood, and how Universal struggled to appease p.o. ed AP ers, after they treated AP's badly. Universal can't be inflexible again.....This is a difficult situation. Universal can project what may happen, but they don't really know until it happens. The Orlando theme park market has been very wonky the past 5 quarters, and now into the sixth wonky quarter. Best laid plans often go awry....I keep using the word 'Flexible'. I can't over emphasize how important that is. Hopefully, the powers to be don't get too hardheaded and arrogant with their ticketing decisions.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I'm gonna be honest - I don't think it should be THAT big of an issue to block out APs for .. idk, the first 2 months or so? At least through the first summer?