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

[UNCgolf]

A few things. The scale of the queue and ride are large. It has large facade, sets, animations but practical and physical in a large show building and DEMAND that pleases a wide audience. Buit as a major draw and succeeds in that.

You also make the mistake that E ticket status is static and can't change. Mario Kart is the anchor of the land and demand.
Demand has always been the ultimate decider of what can be sold at a higher ticket price. Don't get hung up on it.

I'm looking at E ticket based on overall scale of the attraction, not demand -- if we were just using demand then Na'vi River Journey is an E ticket.

I'm willing to accept that I'm wrong based on how Universal built it and size of show building etc., but nothing about the attraction felt E ticket level when I was on it. I really don't see a significant difference between it and Tangled, or maybe even the Little Mermaid attraction (whose sets are worse and definitely looks cheaper, which is a differentiating factor, but the scale doesn't really feel any different).

 

[UNCgolf]

You don't appreciate how large the sets and figures are until you ride it in person.

It's a huge 2-storey show building (queue upper level, ride lower)

It's not a D-ticket.

That doesn't mean it's a perfect ride, but it checks off all the boxes for being a headliner dark ride.

I've been on it in person (the LA version)! It never crossed my mind that it was supposed to be E ticket level.

That said, maybe the AR shooting is part of the problem. It's bad and distracting and maybe the scale would have been more impressive/noticeable if that wasn't in the way.

 

[celluloid]

You don't appreciate how large the sets and figures are until you ride it in person.

It's a huge 2-storey show building (queue upper level, ride lower)

It's not a D-ticket.

That doesn't mean it's a perfect ride, but it checks off all the boxes for being a headliner dark ride.

100 percent. I rode it in in Osaka and while the ride and property are not my favorite, the immersion and scale are top tier, and the queue at EPIC is more modeled after Osaka's, which goes on forever and glad I did not wait in all of it.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

100 percent. I rode it in in Tokyo and while tje ride and property are not my favorite, the immersion and scale are top tier, and the queue at EPIC is more modeled after Osaka's, which goes on forever and glad I did not wait in all of it.

Is Hollywood really much shorter? You go through the Yoshi Story section and outdoor queue before entering Bowser's Fortress

 

[celluloid]

I'm looking at E ticket based on overall scale of the attraction, not demand -- if we were just using demand then Na'vi River Journey is an E ticket.

prob would be execs fighting to make it so if we were using pay per ride ticketing, the thing the phrase you are using as a label is based on.

The phrase stirs excitement because of investment and demand.

Part of river journey's demand is that everyone can ride it and it had the worst capacity of any boat dark ride a major theme park has created.


brass ring is artistic merit, E ticket is general phrase of how many people it will attract and how much Disney could expect to charge for that tier.

RNR, a cloned coaster in a box with blacklist and audio was an E ticket due to demand.
If you can understand this, you can understand Mario Kart as an E.

 

[UNCgolf]

Also, how are we getting to 6 E-tickets in the park?

There are only two that jump out as E to me personally (Monsters and HP), but I'm aware that's due to personal bias. Stardust Racers is definitely one my bias aside, and I'll accept that Mario Kart is one as well (apparently the Hollywood version is different so that's probably part of the issue), but I'm struggling to come up with two others. I guess if you really stretch you could include Hiccup's Wing Gliders (seems like a classic D to me along the lines of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), but what's the 6th?

E ticket on a design/scale level, not a demand level; the whole park might be E tickets at opening on a demand level.

 

[celluloid]

Is Hollywood really much shorter? You go through the Yoshi Story section and outdoor queue before entering Bowser's Fortress

Quite different meaning Queue section

 

[UNCgolf]

Quite different. Yes.

Ah, maybe that's the problem then. I thought they were all the same; I've only been on the Hollywood version which did not feel like an E ticket.

 

[Jrb1979]

From watching different videos, the park looks absolutely amazing. It feels like a major upgrade to Islands of Adventure. Dark Universe and Ministry of Magic seem like they will be 2 of the best dark rides in Orlando.

It feels like many here wanted Disney lite out of Epic Universe. What we got is an upgraded IOA.

 

[UNCgolf]

I've also watched a few videos and was in two minds about whether to comment as I think I've been perhaps too much on the negative side in this thread and more than a little repetitive.

My overriding view, though, was confusion about why they seem to go so close toward Disney-level theming and immersion as though that's what they're aiming for, even in the portal concept, but then cut corners all over the place such that it doesn't quite get there. For example, Darkmoor has a lot that looks great, but why build a plain steel rollercoaster surrounded by nets and plain metal fences in the middle of it all? Or why not go all in on the portal concept and build up the berm so that the hotel tower is not looming behind the graveyard inside the entrance?

You've already covered all the many things in Isle of Berk where you think "couldn't they have just...?" In general, why invest so much into what could be a very cool "portal" concept without then putting in the effort to make them work beyond SNW and Wizarding Paris?

At the risk of being repetitive, after watching some videos, Celestial Park is still the area where I am the most puzzled by the excitement it seems to inspire from some. To me, it looks very much like it could be a new hotel, retail, and dining complex in Las Vegas or a Disney Springs-style venture. It is not bad, per se, but in terms of themed entertainment it seems more on a Disney Springs level than a DisneySea level. On that note, it kind of makes sense when people suggest it will become a park where locals would hang out after work and maybe get dinner or a few drinks as it looks like a venue designed for that in a touristy city.

Well, I think I've said too much and been too negative yet again! I am honestly glad that people are finding it lives up to their expectations, though, and just want to reassure you that I am also very negative about a lot of things current Disney is doing, too!

Yeah, I've honestly found some of this discussion interesting in that it seems like Universal is getting a pass (or even praise) for things that would get criticism if Disney did it (especially from certain people).

And I say that as someone who is highly critical of current Disney. I'm treating Universal the same as I treat Disney in terms of criticism but it feels like I'm more negative/less impressed overall than many others.

 

[celluloid]

which did not feel like an E ticket

That sums up the crux of what you are stuck on. E Ticket is a slang for main attraction, anchor attraction and draw from ticketing. Nomenclature akin to many things in an industry having inside terms. How much can we expect people to want this thing and are.they coming here primarily for this?

It has an objective. Being a main draw. It is certainly the anchor attraction of Nintendo and one of the main of the entire park for many people.

It is not a feeling.

 

[UNCgolf]

That sums up the crux of what you are stuck on. E Ticket is a slang for main attraction, anchor attraction and draw from ticketing. Nomenclature akin to many things in an industry having inside terms. How much can we expect people to want this thing and are.they coming here primarily for this?

It has an objective. Being a main draw. It is certainly the anchor attraction of Nintendo and one of the main of the entire park for many people.

It is not a feeling.

I think you're getting hung up on the word feeling. E ticket also has a design use that's different from demand. Rides are internally classified that way (at least by Disney) based on scale, design, etc.

At least that's what @lazyboy97o has indicated. Something can have high demand and still not be an E ticket from a design standpoint, and something can be designed as an E ticket but have poor demand. The Little Mermaid ride may have been classified as an E ticket internally (I'm not sure about that, but they sure spent enough money on it to be one), but I don't think many people think it's an E ticket when they ride.

I'm saying Mario Kart (at least the Hollywood version) doesn't seem to have E ticket design when riding.

But I still accept that Universal intended it to be one, so I accept that it's an E, even though I'd say they failed in their goal.

 

[Agent H]

From watching different videos, the park looks absolutely amazing. It feels like a major upgrade to Islands of Adventure. Dark Universe and Ministry of Magic seem like they will be 2 of the best dark rides in Orlando.

It feels like many here wanted Disney lite out of Epic Universe. What we got is an upgraded IOA.

Agreed. From what I’ve seen of the lands everything looks great. I’ve been critiquing little things but that’s mostly because that and the overall land videos are all I’ve been seeing. I’m avoiding the spoilery stuff for the rides.

 

[MisterPenguin]

When people don't care for one of the E Ticket rides, they argue vehemently that it's only a D Ticket.

When people really like a D Ticket ride, they argue vehemently that it's indeed an E Ticket ride.

- M. Penguin

 

[MisterPenguin]

I like the tiered viewing area around the main tidal pool / fountain.

EPCOT should to a major renovation of the lagoon's shoreline to do the same.

 

[UNCgolf]

When people don't care for one of the E Ticket rides, they argue vehemently that it's only a D Ticket.

When people really like a D Ticket ride, they argue vehemently that it's indeed an E Ticket ride.

- M. Penguin

A lot of people do this, but it's irrational. Someone's personal like/dislike shouldn't matter.

I think Cosmic Rewind is mediocre, e.g., but it's still an E. Tiana's Bayou Adventure isn't suddenly a D ticket just because some people hate it.

That said, there are definitely attractions that are kind of borderline between D and E. I think the queue etc. is a factor in this -- look at Flight of Passage. It's essentially Soarin' through Pandora (the seating is different, so it's not exactly the same, but otherwise it's a very similar experience; you're just watching a different movie). Most people would classify FoP as an E and Soarin' as a D, though.

 

[celluloid]

I think you're getting hung up on the word feeling. E ticket also has a design use that's different from demand. Rides are internally classified that way (at least by Disney) based on scale, design, etc.

At least that's what @lazyboy97o has indicated. Something can have high demand and still not be an E ticket from a design standpoint, and something can be designed as an E ticket but have poor demand.

I'm saying Mario Kart (at least the Hollywood version) doesn't seem to have E ticket design when riding.

Again, the phrase stems from demand and then in turn based on.
Yes, a result can be that people don't like it over time. You are hung up on it being static just because it was budgeted and intended to be. Supply and demand after it is open.

Objectively, Mario Kart is an E Ticket in production goal and currently the result. It does not have to be for all. It currently is a major attraction.


No opinions of individual taste nessessary. You can bet if individual ticketing was a thing, Mario Kart would be in the top tier Universal ticketbooks would have.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Saw this on my feed – Needs more trees!

I hate the large painted, yet still noticeably visible, go away green / sky blue buildings… I know a lot of people aren’t fans of the Helios hotel but it looks like it belongs, I would rather parks “hide” building by making them look like they belong rather than try to “hide” them with paint that never works.

Nearly the entire Harry Potter area is facades and it looks incredible. I wish they’d find creative ways like that to “hide” buildings rather than simply painting them green or blue and pretending like that makes them disappear.

Tower of Terror is another great example, themed to look like a building that fits the theme is infinitely better than a big blue cosmic rewind box that couldn’t be less “hidden”.

 

[celluloid]

I hate the large painted, yet still noticeably visible, go away green / sky blue buildings… I know a lot of people aren’t fans of the Helios hotel but it looks like it belongs, I would rather parks “hide” building by making them look like they belong rather than try to “hide” them with paint that never works.

Nearly the entire Harry Potter area is facades and it looks incredible. I wish they’d find creative ways like that to “hide” buildings rather than simply painting them green or blue and pretending like that makes them disappear.

Tower of Terror is another great example, themed to look like a building that fits the theme is infinitely better than a big blue cosmic rewind box that couldn’t be less “hidden”.

Well said.

I always felt the best way to hide Forbjdden Journey's building was not physical rockwork or mural(both tested) but rather give some JP warehouse and paddock paint to the JP side it definitly leaks into tk further the world.

Honestly, some would have hated it but the dragon theater building in a budgetless world could have been a cool Isle hill berm and mural painting most gives a background distance.
It helps that ToT was put on end of an alley. From the quarter of the side you can't see it, it looks quite different. Some of the best staging of all time.

 

[Agent H]

Well said.

I always felt the best way to hide Forbjdden Journey's building was not physical rockwork or mural(both tested) but rather give some JP warehouse and paddock paint to the JP side it definitly leaks into tk further the world.

Honestly, some would have hated it but the dragon theater building in a budgetless world could have been a cool Isle hill berm and mural painting most gives a background distance.
It helps that ToT was put on end of an ally. From the quarter of the side you can't see it, it looks quite different. Some of the best staging of all time.

Just slap the ingen logo on it and call it a day.