Universal's Epic Universe Construction Thread

[DodgsonHere]

Still unsure how I feel about the actual design or the portals themselves from the main hub. Specifically with Nintendo, is the entrance to the land not a warp pipe anymore, and instead a warp pipe behind a portal? Without having seen the finished product, I think the impact would have been greater if the entrance was more like Hollywood or Japan. This concern also carries over to Monsters for me, the entrance with the rockwork, roots, and electrical tower looks beautiful; is the portal attached to the front of it going to look too out of place compared to the rest of the structure?

I totally understand the concept and appreciate how it’s cohesive with the park, I just worry about the execution.

 

[Alicia]

Still unsure how I feel about the actual design or the portals themselves from the main hub. Specifically with Nintendo, is the entrance to the land not a warp pipe anymore, and instead a warp pipe behind a portal? Without having seen the finished product, I think the impact would have been greater if the entrance was more like Hollywood or Japan. This concern also carries over to Monsters for me, the entrance with the rockwork, roots, and electrical tower looks beautiful; is the portal attached to the front of it going to look too out of place compared to the rest of the structure?

I totally understand the concept and appreciate how it’s cohesive with the park, I just worry about the execution.

It’s very much a hub in an MMO to me. Wildly themed portals all with the same passageway effect you enter in the front. Like a hub in a video game.

And SNW will have several pipes with floating power ups floating above them above the portal entry. The extremely themed “beacons” above each portal are the weenies to draw people in, and communicate the theme.

EDIT: And as I mentioned in this video, even the main entry arch at the park entrance will have the same style portal. Because even Celestial Park needs a portal to enter.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

If you look closely, you can even see the warp pipe after the gate before the escalators in that image! So we technically do have a green warp pipe. It’s just after the portal arch and celestial theming.

Right, but the celestial gate is common across all the gates even if the theming beyond the gate is unique to each land.

 

[Loki]

I was hoping the escalator in SNW would be Mario themed

 

[mccgavin]

I was hoping the escalator in SNW would be Mario themed

I mean, it's inside a warp pipe. I imagine it will have similar lighting and sound effects to the other iterations of the land as you're going up. You can't really make major modifications to the escalator platform itself while keeping it safety compliant.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

The portal concept is so unique here I am very excited to see the final product of it.

 

[Scott W.]

I was hoping the escalator in SNW would be Mario themed

If you're talking about the CAD image in Alicia's video, that's a barebones idea of what it will look like.

 

[Loki]

If you're talking about the CAD image in Alicia's video, that's a barebones idea of what it will look like.

I hope that's all it is. But in thinking about it I don't think I have seen an escalator in a Mario game. So not sure how it could be themed.

Closest image I could find. The arrows going up and down would be a nice touch

 

[jarmor]

I mean, we haven't seen a toadstool's cafe in the games either but some practicality and measures have to be taken lol.

 

[Loki]

I mean, we haven't seen a toadstool's cafe in the games either but some practicality and measures have to be taken lol.

Agreed and I didn't mean to suggest that if it didn't exist in any of the games that they couldn't theme it, just that I didn't know which direction they could go to theme it.

I am not a very imaginative person when it comes to decor. Hell, the walls in my house are still white. I have grand ideas but no way to express those in a way that translates to reality.

 

[GAcoaster]

Looks like the hype is starting to wind up. Small press event today

Crews make progress on groundbreaking Orlando theme park Epic Universe

Crews are making progress on Epic Universe, which will be the first major theme park to open in Orlando since 1999.

www.wesh.com

If you watch the chopper video, the scaffolding is coming down on the Dark Universe Portal Beacon!

 

[Rhian]

I hope that's all it is. But in thinking about it I don't think I have seen an escalator in a Mario game. So not sure how it could be themed.

Closest image I could find. The arrows going up and down would be a nice touch

View attachment 20013

"inclined moving walkway" would be your golden search terms. They look exactly like that and would be pretty simple to theme. From the plans shown earlier it looks like it's using the more traditional escalator instead of this. There may not be enough space to use this kind of walkway for the entrance to the second floor.

 

[saint.piss]

Holy s**t!!!!!

 

[Loki]

That looks... shall I say Epic

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

Well that’s just spectacular isn’t it.

 

[Imperius]

Holy s**t!!!!!

 

[belloq87]

The quality of that work looks excellent.

I do think it feels slightly more high fantasy/LORD OF THE RINGSy than "mad scientist," but the top portion doesn't look completed yet, so I'm hoping the rumored Kenneth Strickfaden-esque* electrical lab piece will yet be added.

*Read about him here!

 

[Mad Dog]

Impressive. Significantly sets the mood.

 

[GA-MBIT]

God, this park is going to be incredible. 2025 can't arrive soon enough.

 

[NotPennysBoat]

Looks like a window or door in the red circle. Wonder what that’s for? Could a scare actor come out every 15 minutes or so and put on a little show? That would be cool.