Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[HHN Maddux]

On the topic of CityWalk, bringing this back...

 

[12th Man]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

Universal’s creative staff have been grumbling at industry events recently that their mega-theme park project in Orlando, Epic Universe, is getting less and less epic by the day. What the project was promised to be, and what it is shaping up to be, may not live up to the grandiose name.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

 

[Alicia]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

Written by “MiceChat Staff”

 

[Brian G.]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

It’s being discussed here.

Universal Executive Leadership Changes

Though, I do wonder what this means for Singapore. Because as it seems, there was no leadership changes whatsoever with the Malaysian park. Universal Singapore isn't operated by Comcast. It's a licensed park like Tokyo Disneyland.

forums.insideuniversal.net

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

It’s a nothing burger.

 

[quinnmac000]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

Sure, I’ve heard complaints years ago that the final plan for Epic wasn’t as grand as what they were originally envisioning. (Which had a hotel at the back of every land, massive gardens in the center connected by boat, an even bigger show fountain, indoor lands, extravagant multi level gardens with dining and entertainment, a Lord of the Rings land, a Broadway style theater with outside guest access, etc etc…)

But that all wasn’t approved.

Everything we’ve seen in site plans. Everything they are actually building IS approved. The only changes we’ve seen from officially released concept art to now was a single burger quick service cut and a show replaced with a roller coaster.

Any complaints about Epic Universe being changed or cuts… Is likely not about what we’ve spent the last few years talking about. If there’s anything to it at all, it’s about blue sky level concepts that were never approved in the first place.

Because the Epic that was announced in 2019, is still being built before our eyes.

I mean the original idea for sure was next level epic but at the same time thinking about that's a lot of money with staffing and ROI likely not coming even close to what they wanted to spend but what we are getting is still good.

The original plans sounded like the most amazing park in the history of the world but even then though it would be a park that would be doomed to fail because the expectations and work would be too high.

 

[Alicia]

I mean the original idea for sure was next level epic but at the same time thinking about that's a lot of money with staffing and ROI likely not coming even close to what they wanted to spend but what we are getting is still good.

The original plans sounded like the most amazing park in the history of the world but even then though it would be a park that would be doomed to fail because the expectations and work would be too high.

It’s fun to think of exquisite gardens and pretty stuff to look at, but at the end of the day rides sell. Rides matter more.

That said, the compromises made to the hub from some of the early, more extravagant plans, make for an easier to navigate and more useful hub in my opinion.

 

[Tobias]

It’s fun to think of exquisite gardens and pretty stuff to look at, but at the end of the day rides sell. Rides matter more.

That said, the compromises made to the hub from some of the early, more extravagant plans, make for an easier to navigate and more useful hub in my opinion.

Bingo. Something that I'm reminded of is when AK first opened, they wanted folks to take their time in the Oasis and explore it, not rush through to get to the rides. What did people do? Rush through to get to the rides, as they do.

While it would've been nice to have the hub like the early plans, what they're getting is still gonna' be nice, and the ease in navigation will be important since this isn't your usual hub and spoke design.

 

[shiekra38]

Curious to get all of your thoughts on this.

https://www.micechat.com/342098-universal-creative-shocker-executive-exodus/

Thoughts....Disney shills will crap on Epic Universe for a decade like they did IOA

And it will do exactly what it's supposed to do and be what it's supposed to be

It does feel like, for many of the senior creatives, that Epic is their final project and therefore probably meant a whole lot to them

Yet, as someone who's followed the project from the first rumblings (like many of you)...it appears to still be very worthy of the 'Epic' name

And many of the changes we've seen feel very par for the course, and, dare I say it, minor

SNW alone has further pushed boundaries of the idea of what a "themed interactive land" could be and is a truly remarkable endeavor

It could have been worse, VB could have been their final project

Bingo. Something that I'm reminded of is when AK first opened, they wanted folks to take their time in the Oasis and explore it, not rush through to get to the rides. What did people do? Rush through to get to the rides, as they do.

While it would've been nice to have the hub like the early plans, what they're getting is still gonna' be nice, and the ease in navigation will be important since this isn't your usual hub and spoke design.

Yes, sometimes creative's intention and park ops clash a bit.

Yet, there is still a sense of getting lost in a jungle that I think was achieved...even as people hurry through

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

That said, the compromises made to the hub from some of the early, more extravagant plans, make for an easier to navigate and more useful hub in my opinion.

Doesn't the current hub still have those gardens? Barring the Monsters coaster and the Meteor Grill, it's the same plan most of the forum has been on board with since 2019. If the disappointment is stemming from not being able to realize the extravagant early concepts with underground waterways and Norse mythology, then that's absurd.

 

[Loki]

As far as the Hub goes I think Universal is doing a great job of balancing practicality with aesthetics. I have high hopes that from the images I have seen that the mixture of landscaping and water features (including cascading water falls and the central "lakes") will be something we haven't yet seen in a Universal theme park. The ideal would be on the level of Tokyo DisneySea but that park is unique in that the amount of space they had to work with is astounding. I don't think any park in the U.S. could ever justify that much "unused" themed land in between attractions.

I believe the title of Celestial Gardens will be apt once we get a look at the final product.

 

[GAcoaster]

Every project starts with pie in the sky and ends up with "what's practical"

Pie in the sky gets you things like "Let's build a park about nature, but we're not going to issue maps because we want people to just explore!", or "Let's build a huge animatronic, but there's no way to fix it without tearing the building around it down"-- great in theory but in the real world they just don't deliver.

 

[nikem3]

Every project starts with pie in the sky and ends up with "what's practical"

Pie in the sky gets you things like "Let's build a park about nature, but we're not going to issue maps because we want people to just explore!", or "Let's build a huge animatronic, but there's no way to fix it without tearing the building around it down"-- great in theory but in the real world they just don't deliver.

That is because every project starts with creative team or design team and then engineers and all the other teams review and say "Umm... what the heck were you trying to do here? Do you know this this and this problems that could occur?"

 

[tielo]

If I was in this business I would go for a 15 knowing we would get a 10. A 10 is an amazing score for a hub. Excessive amounts of money don't guaranty anything good. That goes for movies (for instance Waterworld) or theme park lands/rides. If I look what a park as Efteling can do with a very modest budget it proves creativity trumps money always.

 

[Alicia]

Doesn't the current hub still have those gardens? Barring the Monsters coaster and the Meteor Grill, it's the same plan most of the forum has been on board with since 2019. If the disappointment is stemming from not being able to realize the extravagant early concepts with underground waterways and Norse mythology, then that's absurd.

Yea I’m talking about ideas that were never approved, like the underground waterways and multi level gardens. What we’re getting is ridiculously less expensive and multiple times more useful for wayfinding through a large theme park.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, not much has changed since 2019, so if anyone *is* complaining that the park isn’t as epic as it could’ve been, I assume they’re talking about pre 2019 concepts.

 

[salismetho]

Another fantastic TPS video that gives a pretty comprehensive view of the Monsters land

 

[Living Dead Dude]

Another fantastic TPS that gives a pretty comprehensive video of the Monsters land

I really hope this land has little Easter eggs to Bride of Frankenstein lives and Legends Collide

 

[Magic-Man]

I wonder if this dark ride will go upside down or feature any coaster elements? The Kuka Arm is capable of stuff like that.

 

[MagdolHauntsMe]

Please, God, let the final name for the restaurant be "The Stakehouse".

 

[belloq87]

Another fantastic TPS that gives a pretty comprehensive video of the Monsters land

I'm mildly concerned about how much of a design "reinvention" or "modern update" Universal is going to attempt to apply to these characters. I really think they risk overthinking it if they go too far, turning the characters into generic versions.