Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[Jake S]

Feel like in this forum one moment feels like everyone’s all hyped abt Epic and it could be one of the greatest theme parks in the world. Another, it feels like meh its not that big a deal, Disney is and will always be bigger and better.

probably because "everyone" doesn't feel one way and the way people feel is more nuanced than what you're presenting.

I think we're all looking forward to the park being open so we can experience it for ourselves.

 

[Alicia]

To be clear, I just think Disney would dominate news cycle over an opening date announcement for Epic. If they dropped tickets, or had another world to reveal it may be a closer match, but even a blue sky piece of concept art for a possible new ride at Disney World is going to get more evening news coverage nationwide than the opening date for Epic—so it’s in Universal’s best interest to wait for a less crowded time to make that sort of announcement, when they can be the focus of attention.

 

[Mike S]

Don’t know if this is the thread for this but I had a bit of a crazy idea last night. What if Nintendo and Universal held some kind of Epic Universe/Switch 2 event if they just so happen to be opening/launching close enough together next year?

 

[Disneyhead]

To be clear, I just think Disney would dominate news cycle over an opening date announcement for Epic. If they dropped tickets, or had another world to reveal it may be a closer match, but even a blue sky piece of concept art for a possible new ride at Disney World is going to get more evening news coverage nationwide than the opening date for Epic—so it’s in Universal’s best interest to wait for a less crowded time to make that sort of announcement, when they can be the focus of attention.

That's why they I think they will wait for the dust to settle after D23. But we are under a year out so they have to drop a date soon.

And they still have the Helios Grand Hotel reveal to drop.

 

[Alicia]

That's why they I think they will wait for the dust to settle after D23. But we are under a year out so they have to drop a date soon.

And they still have the Helios Grand Hotel reveal to drop.

Agreed. But can’t announce a date if they don’t got one yet!

Hoping Helios won’t take much longer to get details revealed, but know permit info show it as being fairly behind, so worried it won’t be ready with the park now.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Don’t know if this is the thread for this but I had a bit of a crazy idea last night. What if Nintendo and Universal held some kind of Epic Universe/Switch 2 event if they just so happen to be opening/launching close enough together next year?

Entirely possible, maybe a contest?

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

For whatever it’s worth, I haven’t been to a Florida theme park since 2011. Too expensive (generally). Too complicated (for us, mostly). And we went so frequently prior to then, there hasn’t been a big enough (singular) addition to warrant a special trip for it.

Curious, have you attended a park in general since?

And yup, it's sad that Florida effectively lacks a budget-friendly park when even Cali has a couple.

 

[Disneyhead]

Agreed. But can’t announce a date if they don’t got one yet!

Hoping Helios won’t take much longer to get details revealed, but know permit info show it as being fairly behind, so worried it won’t be ready with the park now.

We are still 10-11 months out. I am sure they can complete the hotel by park opening.

 

[OLSinFLA]

Missing Star Wars Land, Toy Story Land (a surprisingly huge hit for families for obvious reasons), Pandora, Guardians (technically not an addition, but far more popular than the previous occupant), Ratatouille, etc.

Not saying Epic isn't going to be amazing... but there's a lot of quality additions at WDW recently that can still sway people over.

Star Wars land was, overall, a bust. Toy Story land was a kiddie coaster and a flat ride attached to an existing ride. Pandora is great, but as you pointed out Guardians took over an existing building (also completely out of theme). But you compare to redresses and removals, comes up short. Even while Ratatouille was new, the basically removed Impressions de France for a clip show sing along

 

[Jake S]

Star Wars land was, overall, a bust. Toy Story land was a kiddie coaster and a flat ride attached to an existing ride. Pandora is great, but as you pointed out Guardians took over an existing building (also completely out of theme). But you compare to redresses and removals, comes up short. Even while Ratatouille was new, the basically removed Impressions de France for a clip show sing along

This is an absolutely wild take lmao.

 

[Nick]

Star Wars land was, overall, a bust. Toy Story land was a kiddie coaster and a flat ride attached to an existing ride. Pandora is great, but as you pointed out Guardians took over an existing building (also completely out of theme). But you compare to redresses and removals, comes up short. Even while Ratatouille was new, the basically removed Impressions de France for a clip show sing along

Guardians took over an existing building that was seeing next to zero guest traffic. MMRR mostly did the same.

TSL was a full on expansion that added much needed rides for younger kids in DHS.

SWL replaced LMA and essentially Osborne Lights so I think we’re fine.

Ratatouille isn’t an expansion? News to me. Also Impressions still plays plenty if you want to see it. Tron was also an expansion.

Just a really trash post to be blunt.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Star Wars land was, overall, a bust. Toy Story land was a kiddie coaster and a flat ride attached to an existing ride. Pandora is great, but as you pointed out Guardians took over an existing building (also completely out of theme). But you compare to redresses and removals, comes up short. Even while Ratatouille was new, the basically removed Impressions de France for a clip show sing along

Star Wars Land, in most theme park fans' (including myself) opinion, is a dud... but it's a highly successful land that is generating attendance & revenue. Toy Story Land is a highly successful land (we can argue all day over the lack of theming attributed to budget cuts), but the land is very popular, especially with its target demographic. DHS is now the 2nd most popular park at WDW because of these 2 additions. Not a fan of them replacing Great Movie Ride and other changes at the park... but the general public loves it.

Like Nick Said, nobody was riding Energy Adventure. It was great for it's time, but Guardians is driving attendance into Epcot and is being better received.

If anything, adding the Beauty and the Beast Sing Along added capacity to the park because it provided an additional attraction for those, specifically with children, who maybe weren't interested in it previously. Now, there's effectively 2 attractions you can choose from versus 1.

My post doesn't defend Disney's choice to retheme/replace over true expansion, but a lot of what has been replaced were low-attended experiences and/or expansion pads.

 

[IzzyB]

Star Wars Land, in most theme park fans' (including myself) opinion, is a dud... but it's a highly successful land that is generating attendance & revenue. Toy Story Land is a highly successful land (we can argue all day over the lack of theming attributed to budget cuts), but the land is very popular, especially with its target demographic. DHS is now the 2nd most popular park at WDW because of these 2 additions. Not a fan of them replacing Great Movie Ride and other changes at the park... but the general public loves it.

Like Nick Said, nobody was riding Energy Adventure. It was great for it's time, but Guardians is driving attendance into Epcot and is being better received.

If anything, adding the Beauty and the Beast Sing Along added capacity to the park because it provided an additional attraction for those, specifically with children, who maybe weren't interested in it previously. Now, there's effectively 2 attractions you can choose from versus 1.

My post doesn't defend Disney's choice to retheme/replace over true expansion, but a lot of what has been replaced were low-attended experiences and/or expansion pads.

I agree with you. I think we sometimes look at it from a theme park lens and forgot what the GP thinks which in the end is all that matters. We are a small % of people going to parks. The GP drives revenue not us. EVERYONE I talk to absolutely loves all the new things Disney did. SW blows people away both in the land and the RoTR. Everyone is super impressed with Rise. TSL slinky was a GREAT addition to a park that was known to have more thrills. This gave smaller kids a "thrill" ride while being a pretty decent coaster for adults.

On the other side, the GP do like Fallon, but most everyone I talk to thinks F&F was a dud. So Universal actually had a true dud, but that is not what I hear about any of the Disney stuff honestly.

 

[Nick]

I agree with you. I think we sometimes look at it from a theme park lens and forgot what the GP thinks which in the end is all that matters. We are a small % of people going to parks. The GP drives revenue not us. EVERYONE I talk to absolutely loves all the new things Disney did. SW blows people away both in the land and the RoTR. Everyone is super impressed with Rise. TSL slinky was a GREAT addition to a park that was known to have more thrills. This gave smaller kids a "thrill" ride while being a pretty decent coaster for adults.

On the other side, the GP do like Fallon, but most everyone I talk to thinks F&F was a dud. So Universal actually had a true dud, but that is not what I hear about any of the Disney stuff honestly.

F&F is a dud and Fallon is fine… but Fallon also rarely has too many people waiting suggesting that it isn’t exactly pulling in the type of crowds off the street as maybe Universal would like either.

 

[saint.piss]