Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens May 22 2025

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Streetway Again

Well-Known Member
Streetway Again said:
that sounds WAAAY too optimistic, and I like universal. I’m nervous that if it falls short, execs will pull back on the investment.

I don’t think Epic will ever be a full on euro Disney impact but still. That is not a good recipe. Hope it works out


Epic the park will be great
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I don’t really think universal CAN kill disney in the way they want to. Not because they can’t make great attractions, and have better parks which they can do, it’s just that Disneyland and Disney world have permiated pop culture in a way that is behind any other theme park. (Not to sound glazey).

But I hope epic leads them to a bright future where they give competitors a wake up call.

And do we Really need to still do this console wars shtick? Team both.
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
Disney Analyst said:
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Are we comparing a ticket that gets you into 4 theme parks in a day, to a ticket that gets you into a single park?
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Four theme parks that are loaded with attractions, one has a boat load of animal exhibits, compared to one park that has... 14 attractions if you include shows and put the carousel on equal footing with Monsters Unchained.


I mean, I'm going, I'm excited for this, but that price should definitely get another look at. This isn't Magic Kingdom levels of iconic to get away with Magic Kingdom pricing. This is an all new park where the most popular IP has been done in two cheaper parks apart of the same company in Florida (HP).
 
D

DKampy

Well-Known Member
As someone who was raised in Florida I understand most in that state know about what all the parks have to offer….but what about the rest of the country…. As someone who now lives in Wisconsin…. Most of the people I have encountered have talked about planning a Disney vacation…. No one had ever mentioned a Universal vacation…. Much less know what each park has to offer….Comcast better have some amazing promotion lined up if they want that elusive Universal vacation with Disney add on
 
S

Streetway Again

Well-Known Member
Is anyone worried at all that EU won’t live up to the person hype you’ve built up over years of excitement for it?

A bit nervous about that ngl.

Happened with cosmic rewind for me
 
Vegas Disney Fan

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
Jrb1979 said:
I don't think Universal ever thought Epic was going to be a Disney killer. What Epic is supposed to do is make Universal a 4-5 night vacation with Disney being the add on.
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I don’t think they’ll ever be most people’s primary reason to go to Orlando (not in my lifetime anyway), and I also don’t think they’ll get 4-5 nights of most peoples vacations, but I fully agree it’s meant to make Uni a larger portion of more peoples trips. I think if Uni can change their Orlando parks from a 1-2 day add on to a 3-4 day shared trip they’ll consider Epic a 100% success.

My guess is most people have a week at most for their FL trip, with a couple days devoted in part to travel that leaves 4 full days at WDW and 1 full day at Uni, if Epic can turn that into 2-3 days at WDW and 2-3 days at Uni that would be a seismic shift in how people view vacationing in Orlando.
 
Sir_Cliff

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
Streetway Again said:
Is anyone worried at all that EU won’t live up to the person hype you’ve built up over years of excitement for it?

A bit nervous about that ngl.

Happened with cosmic rewind for me
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I think it's always healthy not to go into anything expecting it to be earth shattering, if that's where your expectations are.

I'm curious to see what happens over the coming months, but this is also giving me IOA/Universal Escape vibes in the sense that there has been some glee in hyping up something new that will be an immediate game changer. Instead, I suspect it will take Universal more than Disney some time to absorb and understand the impact of the new park.

It is also worth noting that Universal is opening this park in a very challenging environment. Attendance at WDW and Universal is down and there is a lot of economic uncertainty including talk of a recession in the near future. Already, Uni seems to be hit harder than Disney and I'm not sure I buy that it is because of so many people waiting for Epic Universe. In the longer term, the park may be part of a successful strategy to shift the Orlando theme park vacation market more in their favour as I think IOA also was. In the shorter term, though, they're not having much luck in terms of timing and are probably being too aggressive in terms of pricing.

Just as a point of personal preference, I also think Uni should stop building so many exposed roller coasters. It's not that those rides aren't popular, but rather they send a signal that their parks are still on a continuum between amusement parks and Disney theme parks rather than equal to or better than Disney parks. I always think of the signal that seeing Maliboomer sent about the quality of DCA 1.0 before you even entered the park. Maybe that's just me, though.
 
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Disneyhead'71

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
When I say, "Epic is a solid park". That is exactly what I mean. It is absolutely a top tier world class theme park. It checks off 90% of the boxes.

I have always said HTTYD was the sleeper hit of the park, and I still think that...kinda. The revel out of the Portal is everything that I had hoped for and more. Brilliant!

SNW was closed the day I went...so. (shrug)

The Potter ride is "experiencing technical difficulties" and has not been available during TM previews. But Potter's Paris is impressive.

I have thoughts on the Frankenstein ride. Unbelievably impressive, but less HHN and more cartoony than I was expecting. LOTs of impressive AAs. Looks like a maintenance nightmare.

But I now think Celestial Park is in the running for sleeper hit. It is beautiful. And the soundtrack is fantastic. I won't call it a background loop because it is loud-ish, sub-woofers and all. Very cinematic. And the Carousel is surprisingly good. The movements of the "horses" are synced with the soundtrack. The more dramatic the music, the higher the horses go. Subtle but very cool.
 
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Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
Orange is the new Red said:
I’m not sure who it was but I think the park president said the other day, he now wants to be the park that people think of first in Orlando ahead of Disney.

I think that is the short and mid term plan.
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Multiple Universal execs over the past few years have mentioned that they want to be a primary destination, not just a side trip from their WDW vacation. However, it's never been quoted by anyone (I could be wrong) that Universal sees themselves as a 'replacement' of WDW.

Sir_Cliff said:
I'm curious to see what happens over the coming months, but this is also giving me IOA/Universal Escape vibes in the sense that there has been some glee in hyping up something new that will be an immediate game changer. Instead, I suspect it will take Universal more than Disney some time to absorb and understand the impact of the new park.
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I am somewhat feeling the same that Universal is overhyping themselves and being too bold with their Epic pricing. Time will tell.

So far their marketing is great, but their ticketing and website information is throwing people off.

Sir_Cliff said:
Just as a point of personal preference, I also think Uni should stop building so many exposed roller coasters. It's not that those rides aren't popular, but rather they send a signal that they parks are still on a continuum between amusement parks and Disney theme parks rather than equal to or better than Disney parks
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I agree to an extent, however for a different reason. If Universal wants to increase its attendance at all parks, they need family-friendly additions to its parks. They've cornered the thrill market, and they need to expand on experiences that the entire family can do together.
 
mkt

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
SNW was closed the day I went...so. (shrug)
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My thought on SNW. It's my favorite of the three SNWs in Universal Parks, and the one I have the most long term hope for. Why? Even though it doesn't have the most attractions (that's Osaka's win), Orlando's SNW has though is plenty of space to expand if it's successful.
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
Disneyhead'71 said:
When I say, "Epic is a solid park". That is exactly what I mean. It is absolutely a top tier world class theme park. It checks off 90% of the boxes.

I have always said HTTYD was the sleeper hit of the park, and I still think that...kinda. The revel out of the Portal is everything that I had hoped for and more. Brilliant!

SNW was closed the day I went...so. (shrug)

The Potter ride is "experiencing technical difficulties" and has not been available during TM previews. But Potter's Paris is impressive.

I have thoughts on the Frankenstein ride. Unbelievably impressive, but less HHN and more cartoony than I was expecting. LOTs of impressive AAs. Looks like a maintenance nightmare.

But I now think Celestial Park is in the running for sleeper hit. It is beautiful. And the soundtrack is fantastic. I won't call it a background loop because it is loud-ish, sub-woofers and all. Very cinematic. And the Carousel is surprisingly good. The movements of the "horses" are synced with the soundtrack. The more dramatic the music, the higher the horses. Subtle but very cool.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by "kinda"... Worrying me.
 

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