Universal Orlando Resort to Epic Universe Transportation News & Speculation

[Happytycho]

Has anyone driven Sand Lake Road recently to see how close to done that widening project is?

I don't know how accurate this is, but the Orange County ProjectTrak website currently lists it with an estimated completion date of July 29th, with the Kirkman extension construction then estimated to start on July 31st and conclude in December 2023.

 

[FlattestMatt]

Is the Brightline line confirmed to not be building a station on the convention centre?

I remember there was talk about it back before covid but not sure where that went.

 

[GAcoaster]

Is the Brightline line confirmed to not be building a station on the convention centre?

I remember there was talk about it back before covid but not sure where that went.

Currently, no they're not.

 

[RFRees]

They're still in negotiations, but rumors have it that the negotiations are not going well for Universal. There's news about this if you search Google

 

[JungleSkip]

I think people overvalue how much the train will really benefit either theme park destination.

 

[Scott W.]

Obviously, you can't dig underground in Florida but this shows where this technology is at.

In10 or 20 years, who knows how far self-driving cars will go and how that will influence the resort.

 

[Nick]

I think people overvalue how much the train will really benefit either theme park destination.

I mean, any direct transport from the airport to WDW or near UOR will be a benefit.

I do think WDW is getting a bit carried away in ending Magical Express, although that may have been a mutual decision.

 

[JungleSkip]

I mean, any direct transport from the airport to WDW or near UOR will be a benefit.

I do think WDW is getting a bit carried away in ending Magical Express, although that may have been a mutual decision.

I think the thing is, will it be faster and cheaper than an Uber straight to your hotel? My guess is no.

 

[Nick]

I think the thing is, will it be faster and cheaper than an Uber straight to your hotel? My guess is no.

No, but a lot of guests don’t necessarily like taking rideshare services (especially large families) and would probably rather the direct transport option.

 

[JungleSkip]

No, but a lot of guests don’t necessarily like taking rideshare services (especially large families) and would probably rather the direct transport option.

But the train isn’t even direct. You have to go to Disney Springs and then on a bus to your hotel. A ride share is more direct

 

[SkiBum]

Obviously, you can't dig underground in Florida but this shows where this technology is at.

In10 or 20 years, who knows how far self-driving cars will go and how that will influence the resort.

I'm not familiar enough with Orlando's traffic system but a dedicated roadway or lanes to/from the airport and Universal Orlando combined with autonomous vehicles/shuttles would enable this kind of experience. It seems that light rail is too expensive to implement although that would be the best method. Then, they could use electric vehicles, power the charging stations with solar, and demonstrate a commitment to green transportation methods.

 

[Nick]

But the train isn’t even direct. You have to go to Disney Springs and then on a bus to your hotel. A ride share is more direct

You’re not wrong, but there’s still a general distrust with ride share services with many people.

 

[lowbudget]

I think people overvalue how much the train will really benefit either theme park destination.

If you gave me the option of an 8 hour car ride with kids, stopping every 100-150 miles for a bathroom break, or a 10 hour train ride with freedom of movement. I'm taking the train all day.

But to your point, we are still taking the vacation and spending the money regardless, but a train would help us arrive in a much better mood.

 

[JungleSkip]

If you gave me the option of an 8 hour car ride with kids, stopping every 100-150 miles for a bathroom break, or a 10 hour train ride with freedom of movement. I'm taking the train all day.

...what? I’m talking about transportation to/from the airport

 

[tielo]

It would be very funny if Universal would start offering a complimentary (electric bus) shuttle service to and from the airport witch actual Hogwarts like windows that take you on an fun ride...that would be magical and would give them a leg or 2 up from Disney (not that they need it imho).

 

[Happytycho]

Obviously, you can't dig underground in Florida but this shows where this technology is at.

In10 or 20 years, who knows how far self-driving cars will go and how that will influence the resort.

Without autonomous driving, this is just dumb. And if they get the autonomous part working, then it's basically an underground, trackless, Personal Rapid Transit system. So I'm not very optimistic about such a system that can't be tunneled because then you are basically just talking about PRT, which we know hasn't worked well.

I'm not familiar enough with Orlando's traffic system but a dedicated roadway or lanes to/from the airport and Universal Orlando combined with autonomous vehicles/shuttles would enable this kind of experience. It seems that light rail is too expensive to implement although that would be the best method. Then, they could use electric vehicles, power the charging stations with solar, and demonstrate a commitment to green transportation methods.

If you can find the space to get a fully separated right of way between MCO and UOR you might as well just put rails down rather than trying to use autonomous buses.

I'm sure that a much better express bus system between the airport and the I-drive area could be done, but other than that I don't think there are any cheap solutions. And putting aside theme park politics and focusing on the relative locations, its hard to justify spending $1 billion on a MCO-WDW line and $1 billion on a MCO-Idrive line if you can just build a MCO-Idrive-WDW line for $2 billion and avoid needing transfers from other destinations.

 

[Magic Feather]

Obviously, you can't dig underground in Florida but this shows where this technology is at.

In10 or 20 years, who knows how far self-driving cars will go and how that will influence the resort.

Bad example. The only reason this was built was because they managed to undercut the other bids for a transit system by making infrastructure that has an abysmal capacity.

I mean, any direct transport from the airport to WDW or near UOR will be a benefit.

I do think WDW is getting a bit carried away in ending Magical Express, although that may have been a mutual decision.

It was not a mutual decision.

 

[GAcoaster]

I guess this goes in this thread:


The "Intermodal Site" is new to me.

 

[JoeCamel]

I guess this goes in this thread:


The "Intermodal Site" is new to me.

The green spot is a bus depot with parking now. Direct bus to WDW if you have time to kill and free parking.

 

[Bobharlem]

Photos of the Bus Loop construction, which partly is prepping for the needs of Epic transport.