Universal's Epic Universe Construction Thread

[Magic-Man]

Hypothetically, Starfall Racers and the carousel would be open to the public in some way as well. There would be plenty to do between the rides, the restaurants, the nighttime show, and the various stores.

 

[Ahmanet]

I think they are going for the Ocean's 11 final scene / Las Vegas water fountains show vibe

Will draw people away from I-Drive at night ... and Disney Springs even

 

[mccgavin]

Hypothetically, Starfall Racers and the carousel would be open to the public in some way as well. There would be plenty to do between the rides, the restaurants, the nighttime show, and the various stores.

The carousel is within the realm of possibility, but I think it's very unlikely Starfall Racers would be open to guests without a park ticket. It looks to be one of the park's signature rides, and it would really make the wait a nightmare in the evening. They'll likely verify you have a ticket when walking to the entrance area.

 

[Tomfoolery]

The carousel is within the realm of possibility, but I think it's very unlikely Starfall Racers would be open to guests without a park ticket. It looks to be one of the park's signature rides, and it would really make the wait a nightmare in the evening. They'll likely verify you have a ticket when walking to the entrance area.

People visiting without a ticket can also buy single access per attraction and get scanned through to ride,

 

[kingcooger]

People visiting without a ticket can also buy single access per attraction and get scanned through to ride,

They must be VERY confident on capacity if this is the case.

Or just not care about the paying day guests who like doing rides (in this case a roller coaster) at night.

Also, everyone seems to be assuming that the four lands will close early, but that would really put a damper on their night time atmosphere.

 

[belloq87]

I am quite opposed to the "hub open to non-park guests" concept, primarily because I'd like the theme park to remain open at night. As all theme parks should be.

 

[Magic-Man]

The carousel is within the realm of possibility, but I think it's very unlikely Starfall Racers would be open to guests without a park ticket. It looks to be one of the park's signature rides, and it would really make the wait a nightmare in the evening. They'll likely verify you have a ticket when walking to the entrance area.

There's two coasters there, most likely able to run three or more trains each. As long as the trains aren't super short Starfall Racers will be a capacity monster.

 

[tielo]

From what I've seen from SNW and expect from the other lands I think the restaurant offerings in the lands will be stunning, relieving pressure on the hub, Above that I expect park guests will be able to reserve a table in one of the many restaurants as you can do in CityWalk. I've been turned away regularly in CityWalk as I never book a restaurant bit I always find somewhere lese to eat at CW.
I expect the two attractions in the hun will be having a day guest line and a non day guest line who have to pay (a lot).
I expect a parking fee for evening guests until the hub gets less crowded (maybe a parking charge will stay there for the weekends).
The fountain show will be reserved for day guests. Say the show starts at 8 pm they could limit day guests until the first portal entrances from the front of the park thill 8:05pm.

 

[tielo]

Alicia also mentioned the projected characters on AA's, Isn't it the same effect like in pirates of the Caribbean shanghai where the skeleton changes into Johnny Depp? It sounds cool.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Three full service restaurants with bars, plus additional bars, but street food vendors, a party atmosphere, and nightly fireworks. Plus, later, an entertainment flex space. It’s not just a cheap pizza/burger place to eat.

It may very well end up offering Universal’s fanciest restaurants, and perhaps that’ll be draw enough, the same way I’ve gone to Hard Rock or Portofino just for a nice meal. But we shall see.

I do agree that the restaurants here will be great/offer great designs, especially with the recent changes Universal is implementing resort-wide, but I'm struggling to see how, for example, a tourist will choose EU versus Disney Springs/Outlets for dining. Disney Springs is a monster.

You are oversimplifying the hub....Think of it like going to a city park that has restaurants with the park area.

I'm sure they are going to have live entertainment and more in the spaces around the area giving it streetmosphere and I wouldn't be surprised if they kept the carousel running as the only attraction people can ride without a park ticket after 6 pm.

For people who work nearby in Dr Phillips area etc, i can see the hub becoming a hang out spot especially if they do bring free parking after 6pm which they drink at the Oak and Star Tavern and just hang out and talk in an area with better vibes than icon park or pointe orlando.

I don't think I'm oversimplifying it lol - it's large in size, but simple in its offerings: 2 rides, a handful of restaurants and an entertainment offering.

It's going to be nice-looking, it'll be grand... I'm just trying to figure out the draw from a tourist's perspective.

Additionally, Universal needed a place where guests who are residing on that side of the area can go that isn't far for dinner...this is the best option for that. They still have three new hotels full of guests they need to support for evening entertainment and busing them to citywalk isn't the best option financially or timewise.

I mentioned that it could work as an onsite hotel perk, but I just can't see it realistically open to the public.

I also want to point out Universal isn't the first park to do the park being open to guests who are unable to do attractions.

There are a few non US based theme parks for example that allow park entry prior to people being allowed to do things in the park (ex before 4pm and after 4am ticket. with a before 4 ticket where you are able to ride things before 4pm but after 4pm you can stay in the park but the attractions are not open for you and switched for the after 4pm...and those parks and those park guests have no issues there). Those parks do well by adding a discount and people still spend money in the parks because they enjoy the ambiance and the food aspects.

That's a different concept than "the park is open to all, but restricted to only one section of it" that Epic is trying to do. Epcot for years had an after-4 PM annual pass, but it made sense for a park that had 20+ restaurants, multiple attractions, and various entertainment. EU doesn't have that capacity if they just use the hub.

Hypothetically, Starfall Racers and the carousel would be open to the public in some way as well. There would be plenty to do between the rides, the restaurants, the nighttime show, and the various stores.

As I mentioned earlier, that might be a customer relations nightmare if the ride were to go down (let's say for weather) for a good chunk of the day and result in long wait-times later in the day once the After 6 people arrive.

They must be VERY confident on capacity if this is the case.

Or just not care about the paying day guests who like doing rides (in this case a roller coaster) at night.

Also, everyone seems to be assuming that the four lands will close early, but that would really put a damper on their night time atmosphere.

Starfall has good capacity, possibly 3-4K more than Velocicoaster, but flat rides historically aren't that great so the carousel might see ridiculous wait-times if after 6 PM people get in free.

I am quite opposed to the "hub open to non-park guests" concept, primarily because I'd like the theme park to remain open at night. As all theme parks should be.

Universal seems to have changed their attitude on early park closures a bit recently, with IOA consistently closing at 9 PM most days now and USF eventually receiving some sort of nighttime event in the next year or so. BUT, Epic Universe gives them a perfect excuse to unfortunately close lands early in exchange for private events.

 

[Alicia]

I do agree that the restaurants here will be great/offer great designs, especially with the recent changes Universal is implementing resort-wide, but I'm struggling to see how, for example, a tourist will choose EU versus Disney Springs/Outlets for dining. Disney Springs is a monster.


I don't think I'm oversimplifying it lol - it's large in size, but simple in its offerings: 2 rides, a handful of restaurants and an entertainment offering.

It's going to be nice-looking, it'll be grand... I'm just trying to figure out the draw from a tourist's perspective.


I mentioned that it could work as an onsite hotel perk, but I just can't see it realistically open to the public.


That's a different concept than "the park is open to all, but restricted to only one section of it" that Epic is trying to do. Epcot for years had an after-4 PM annual pass, but it made sense for a park that had 20+ restaurants, multiple attractions, and various entertainment. EU doesn't have that capacity if they just use the hub.


As I mentioned earlier, that might be a customer relations nightmare if the ride were to go down (let's say for weather) for a good chunk of the day and result in long wait-times later in the day once the After 6 people arrive.


Starfall has good capacity, possibly 3-4K more than Velocicoaster, but flat rides historically aren't that great so the carousel might see ridiculous wait-times if after 6 PM people get in free.


Universal seems to have changed their attitude on early park closures a bit recently, with IOA consistently closing at 9 PM most days now and USF eventually receiving some sort of nighttime event in the next year or so. BUT, Epic Universe gives them a perfect excuse to unfortunately close lands early in exchange for private events.

I wasn’t arguing as to whether it would “work or not.” Just correcting that it’s a bit more than a single quick service.

We don’t have any concrete details, only vague rumors, so it’s hard to decide whether something would work without having the complete picture.

Maybe the “after 6” rumor *is* only for hotel guests. Maybe the “after 6” is for convention goers. Maybe the “after 6” is for for dining reservations only. We have no idea yet.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Keep It Simple Stupid

 

[Alicia]

Keep It Simple Stupid

Universal Escape II

 

[OLSinFLA]

Alicia also mentioned the projected characters on AA's, Isn't it the same effect like in pirates of the Caribbean shanghai where the skeleton changes into Johnny Depp? It sounds cool.

That effect is pepper's ghost -- it's not projected on the figure but a transparent plane of glass (or similar) put in front. The lighting and angle hides the glass.

 

[Alicia]

The best example is probably the busts on Haunted Mansion, where film is projected onto a 3-dimensional figure. But instead of locked busts, this would be a realistic moving/walking animatronic figure.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I share the concern about the restaurants - 2 table services per theme park are fine… when you have CityWalk and another theme park a short walk away. I question whether 3 (I hadn’t realized the Tavern was TS) will cut it for an entire “entertainment district,” especially one that will presumably pull a lot of traffic from the nearby convention center.

The other issue that springs immediately to mind is that the hub is HUGE and seemingly dwarfs the lands. That’s more or less fine if the whole thing is a conventional park, but if the hub is free for a significant part of the day, you’re going to get folks wondering what they’re paying hundreds of dollars for. How large are JUST the four lands in relation to the Studios? More importantly, how large will guests PERCEIVE them to be if the hub is free?

This all sounds like an idea that seems great in a board room but is an unmanageable mess to actually promote and operate. Escape2.0 indeed.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I also want to point out Universal isn't the first park to do the park being open to guests who are unable to do attractions.

There are a few non US based theme parks for example that allow park entry prior to people being allowed to do things in the park (ex before 4pm and after 4am ticket. with a before 4 ticket where you are able to ride things before 4pm but after 4pm you can stay in the park but the attractions are not open for you and switched for the after 4pm...and those parks and those park guests have no issues there). Those parks do well by adding a discount and people still spend money in the parks because they enjoy the ambiance and the food aspects.

Cite your sources bro, which parks are you talking about? I gotta know.

 

[belloq87]

Alicia also mentioned the projected characters on AA's, Isn't it the same effect like in pirates of the Caribbean shanghai where the skeleton changes into Johnny Depp? It sounds cool.

That effect is pepper's ghost -- it's not projected on the figure but a transparent plane of glass (or similar) put in front. The lighting and angle hides the glass.

The best example is probably the busts on Haunted Mansion, where film is projected onto a 3-dimensional figure. But instead of locked busts, this would be a realistic moving/walking animatronic figure.

As I've said in one of the Epic Universe threads in the past, I think there's reason to be quite excited about the potential applications of this technology.

I also think it's something Universal should implement very carefully and strategically. I would hate for it to end up a lazy crutch, where all future AAs are grey-white blob-figures that are just projection surfaces. I still want to see actual, detailed figures, and ideally, this tech would augment figures that are already high-quality.

TL;DR -- Don't turn AAs into screens.

Universal seems to have changed their attitude on early park closures a bit recently, with IOA consistently closing at 9 PM most days now and USF eventually receiving some sort of nighttime event in the next year or so. BUT, Epic Universe gives them a perfect excuse to unfortunately close lands early in exchange for private events.

I think 9pm should be the absolute floor for a theme park closing time (outside of events like HHN).

The other issue that springs immediately to mind is that the hub is HUGE and seemingly dwarfs the lands. That’s more or less fine if the whole thing is a conventional park, but if the hub is free for a significant part of the day, you’re going to get folks wondering what they’re paying hundreds of dollars for. How large are JUST the four lands in relation to the Studios? More importantly, how large will guests PERCEIVE them to be if the hub is free?

I don't know about the value or size questions, but purely on an irrational psychological level, the idea of there being (potentially) a "free admission" area within the boundaries of the actual theme park does kind of rub me the wrong way. Not because I'm some "I paid money to be here!" stickler, but because I think there is a sense of exclusivity (in a positive, thematic sense) and cohesion to being in an environment with a single tier of accessibility. The notion of having to cross the "public" area to get to the "real" areas of the park threatens immersion, even if it's not at all something that is reflected by the theme-work.

But as you said, that's even if this plan would be implemented during normal park hours. Hopefully it wouldn't be.

 

[Alicia]

I’m sure several additional dining locations will be added in 2026 and 2027 if the open hub after 6 plan goes into effect. Even Cassini’s kitchen and foundation is probably being built as an outdoor market to start, but can be expanded to become the indoor dining location later if needed.

Seems like they’re still playing wait and see to see where dining will be needed more first to me. But also, they ran out of time to get it all built out by opening.

As I’ve said before, I’m happy they delayed dining over rides to save time. But that could play into the open hub concept and how or if it’ll be implemented for sure.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I’m sure several additional dining locations will be added in 2026 and 2027 if the open hub after 6 plan goes into effect. Even Cassini’s kitchen and foundation is probably being built as an outdoor market to start, but can be expanded to become the indoor dining location later if needed.

Seems like they’re still playing wait and see to see where dining will be needed more first to me. But also, they ran out of time to get it all built out by opening.

As I’ve said before, I’m happy they delayed dining over rides to save time. But that could play into the open hub concept and how or if it’ll be implemented for sure.

Fine by me, I like a little in-park construction as a treat. Wouldn't be a real theme park without some in-park construction to gawk at.