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Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Now Open!
- Thread starter Bob Harlem
- Start date
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Looks good with CP to me. Really good.
Don't confuse grand backdrop with centerpiece. We have Kronos on one end and this on the other.
If it was too much it would be this gawdy thing that not everyone can walk through, get too close to or enjoy.
I don't think it looks like a random resort you kight find anywhere. That is selling it a bit too low. MMV.
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Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
It's not a terrible looking hotel, but it's not really themed or as attractive/elaborate as other in park hotels.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Yes, I think it is a shame they went so generic with the hotel as it undercuts the whole CP area for me. The images we're seeing of the fountains at night with synchronised lights and music look very nice. It gives a sense of how a fountain could have elevated the new Epcot spine. However, there's no getting around that big hotel tower in the background which looks even more like a generic hotel when you see room lights on. The overall effect is thus more a scaled down version of the Bellagio as in a tourist destination rather than an immersive theme park land.
Precisely! *fist bump*This thread has literally turned into same few posters high-fiving each other and saying “exactly.”
What a joke.
You are thinking of The Polynesian's latest.
DarkMetroid567
Well-Known Member
That’s fair. I think you could change out Island Tower, Gran Destino, and Helios and they’d all look vaguely the same to me.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
Universal is breaking a lot of rules in the Disney Theme Park Design Rule Book.
Bold move, we will see how it works out.
Bold move, we will see how it works out.
Island Tower to me and Bay Lake definitely are lower for me, but that has to do with the arches and look Helios has, the entrance garden/plaza as well as what is inside for those paying to stay there.
The greenery is better than anything Bay Lake or ISLAND Tower has. I thi k you will notice more when you visit.
Grand Destino is closer in scale.
You can see the return to European Infuence like Phantasialand in some areas and other European garden parks in others.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
And Luna Park on Coney Island around 1910.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Which I have praised so profusely….
The difference is, even if you don't love the Helios, most habe stated see far more character in The Helios.
Island Tower pariticularly jarring when around the other sights of the monorail line.
flynnibus
Premium Member
The videos of Helios are really underwhelming...
Rooms are small and Hilton Garden Inn kinda stuff. Not really premium, let alone luxury... 325sq is not premium.
The decor style is really contemporary which in itself isn't a problem, but it just looks really sterile and interchangeable.. like it lacks character and warmth. I don't really see a lot of that decor aging well either. The lobby sounds incredibly loud... and the bar and resturant are topped by almost any random casino bar in Vegas. These aren't destination level venues.
The park views look amazing.. I don't have a beef with its exterior... except the pool complex being so far away is a negative.
The saving grace is they aren't asking Disney stupid rates.. but rates still every snapshot I look at are excessive.. especially without Express pass. No way I'm paying $600+/night just to be next to the park. Random date in Feb.. still 520+ a night.
Anyone know of a rate chart or something that shows when these cheaper rate windows supposedly are?
Rooms are small and Hilton Garden Inn kinda stuff. Not really premium, let alone luxury... 325sq is not premium.
The decor style is really contemporary which in itself isn't a problem, but it just looks really sterile and interchangeable.. like it lacks character and warmth. I don't really see a lot of that decor aging well either. The lobby sounds incredibly loud... and the bar and resturant are topped by almost any random casino bar in Vegas. These aren't destination level venues.
The park views look amazing.. I don't have a beef with its exterior... except the pool complex being so far away is a negative.
The saving grace is they aren't asking Disney stupid rates.. but rates still every snapshot I look at are excessive.. especially without Express pass. No way I'm paying $600+/night just to be next to the park. Random date in Feb.. still 520+ a night.
Anyone know of a rate chart or something that shows when these cheaper rate windows supposedly are?
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It is a boutique hotel by major theme park resort standards f only 500 rooms and you getaway hour in the park, with probably 45 min of it ahead of anyone bussing or driving over from other resorts.
I giot a theme park view for about 640 a night for my time in June when I booked in November.
Short notice and higher demand on the long term prices will have them high for awhile. Like airlines best advice is likely, keep checking.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
I think like other Universal hotels the per night rate drops when you commit to 4 or more nights
Helios's exterior isn't as ornate as it should have been given that it serves as the park's "weenie," and I also don't like seeing it throughout most of the park for that reason, as its integration with the park just feels like an excuse to not hide it from the park more than anything else. However, I don't understand the Vegas comparisons, as Vegas has a well-documented tendency to do everything up more glitzy than Orlando. We were never getting anything on a Vegas-like scale.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Because Vegas copied Disney... and both are trying to be destination resorts... for adults. It's not hard thinking. Pick another venue if you like.. this hotel is pretty weak for a resort except for plopping it next to the new park. Does it even top the resorts they built on property nearly 30yrs ago? Doesn't seem like it..