Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Now Open!

[Tom Morrow]

Random question: Does anyone know if they have plans to further spruce up the Kirkman road extension between the existing parks and Epic? There are a handful of unsightly views between the two.

Traveling between the two parks on Universal Boulevard looks fine, and entering from Destination Parkway looks fine. It's just some of the stretch of Kirkman between I-Drive and the raised traffic circle that could use some cleaning up and additional landscaping.

 

[sedati]

Cody Graysin // CGM

youtube.com

Nice videos taken with a cinematic eye for detail.

 

[Giss Neric]

Is there a trip planning thread for Epic?

Anyways, to people who have already gone to Epic, is the park worth visiting from a DL local perspective? We are thinking about buying tickets for a four day (not including flight days) trip the end of July/start of August having not visited Florida since December 2019. Mainly thinking about a three-day package for UOR w/ Epic and three-four nights at Stella Nova with a side trip to Epcot (we have never been there, pretty shocking- not going to the other parks either, nothing super new in DHS or AK, MK sucks imo), with consideration of express for Epic. With four people it could cost up to $5000 so it really comes down to Epic itself-

With summer crowds and the added "new park" crowds, we're kinda worried about spending hundreds of dollars to just be waiting in lines the entire day. Is Epic worth flying over from CA and visiting in the summer or should we wait it out for the winter months/2026? For added context I'm the only big theme park/rollercoaster fan in the family, and while I'll personally enjoy the details and stuff, I'm not sure the "average" theme park guest would appreciate waiting in line. Express is basically $800...

That sounds reasonable but I would exchange Epcot with MK as there will be a new nighttime parade (no date yet but probably around the time of your travel) but if that's not your thing then Epcot it is.

 

[Gringrinngghost]

 

[Andrew25]

If you are flying from out of state, I'd hold off on visiting Epic Universe until Ministry of Magic is found to be more reliable.

I think Epic Universe is a FANTASTIC park and is an amazing park. BUT, I wouldn't risk missing out on Ministry if you only have one chance at visiting Epic Universe.

I'd probably wait until early next year when the weather is better and the park is running efficiently. Epic Universe will suffer from downtime during Florida's afternoon rainstorms in the summer.

 

[mkt]

Is there a trip planning thread for Epic?

Not yet

Anyways, to people who have already gone to Epic, is the park worth visiting from a DL local perspective? We are thinking about buying tickets for a four day (not including flight days) trip the end of July/start of August having not visited Florida since December 2019. Mainly thinking about a three-day package for UOR w/ Epic and three-four nights at Stella Nova with a side trip to Epcot (we have never been there, pretty shocking- not going to the other parks either, nothing super new in DHS or AK, MK sucks imo), with consideration of express for Epic. With four people it could cost up to $5000 so it really comes down to Epic itself-

With summer crowds and the added "new park" crowds, we're kinda worried about spending hundreds of dollars to just be waiting in lines the entire day. Is Epic worth flying over from CA and visiting in the summer or should we wait it out for the winter months/2026? For added context I'm the only big theme park/rollercoaster fan in the family, and while I'll personally enjoy the details and stuff, I'm not sure the "average" theme park guest would appreciate waiting in line. Express is basically $800...

I'd say it's worth it, but yes - it will undoubtedly be crowded.

Another option - albeit pricier. For your Epic day, pay for a group VIP tour. You're guarantee a certain number of attractions, and it also includes valet parking for the day, merchandise discounts, continental breakfast, and lunch.

 

[BrianLo]

The ride vehicle is far FAR more technologically advanced than spiderman/transformers.

Not a criticism of Ministry since I’m now very uninformed, but this is precisely one of the largest criticisms of Gringotts.

They make this fancy systems and slap a generic experience on top, negating the purpose by and large. Though again I hope and assume this experience is doing things scoop couldn’t provide?

Or in the extreme complaint category, their ride is so generic that it can be applied to ?3-4 different ride platforms and it essentially doesn’t matter. Minions mayhem.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

They make this fancy systems and slap a generic experience on top, negating the purpose by and large.

This is actually one of my biggest qualms with JWA, you can tell it wasn’t meant to be a Scoop ride but the ride does the classic Scoop motions bc why not.

EDIT: Spider-Man was clearly designed with the Scoop in mind. Transformers was, for all its flaws, clearly inspired by Spider-Man in its ride design. Even TDS Peter Pan is very intentional in how it uses its Scoop.

And then JWA is just like “yeah whatever.” You can tell it was aching to be the IJA Vehicle/Time-Rover.

 

[mkt]

Looks like Epic will be getting a halfway decent amount of EV chargers

View attachment 853113

I just received confirmation from a friend physically there - they are installing Novacharge L2 chargers through Chargeup, the same setup used at Disney Springs, UO Team Member Parking, and other places in Orlando.

So these will definitely not be free chargers.

 

[celluloid]

Not a criticism of Ministry since I’m now very uninformed, but this is precisely one of the largest criticisms of Gringotts.

They make this fancy systems and slap a generic experience on top, negating the purpose by and large. Though again I hope and assume this experience is doing things scoop couldn’t provide?

Or in the extreme complaint category, their ride is so generic that it can be applied to ?3-4 different ride platforms and it essentially doesn’t matter. Minions mayhem.

This is the issue with so many primarily stop at a screen-based things. Fatigue hits so much faster and revealing flaws when things are not implemented in unique ways or order.

Fast and Furious has many flaws in general, clearly, but one of them is you are in a speed tunnel on a giant moving bus, that become a motion simulator.

It can happen with any ride, magic trick or performance piece, but without unique elements it goes faster. Gringotts certainly should have been more coaster and the pacing is all off.


On the positive side of Ministry, the younger and 40 inch height crowd finally have a large scale Potter dark ride they can go on.

 

[earlthesquirrellover23]

It's basically Spiderman/Transformers where you're moving from one screen to another and people are saying this is better than Monsters Unchained?

Spoiler: Ministry pov

This is an awful POV, it does not capture what the ride experience is actually like at all.

 

[BrianLo]

This is the issue with so many primarily stop at a screen-based things. Fatigue hits so much faster and revealing flaws when things are not implemented in unique ways or order.

Fast and Furious has many flaws in general, clearly, but one of them is you are in a speed tunnel on a giant moving bus, that become a motion simulator.

It can happen with any ride, magic trick or performance piece, but without unique elements it goes faster. Gringotts certainly hould have been more coaster and the pacing is all off.


On the positive side of Ministry, the younger and 40 inch height crowd finally have a large scale Potter dark ride they can go on.

We are in alignment! It’s not this product, it’s strictly the sins of the father.

USO has an atrocious balance and it bring down the whole industry. It has 4-5 too many *kinda mediocre/bad* screen based experiences.

I know we have a couple extremists, but several of my top ten global rides and many top 25 are screen-forward.

 

[celluloid]

We are in alignment! It’s not this product, it’s strictly the sins of the father.

USO has an atrocious balance and it bring down the whole industry. It has 4-5 too many *kinda mediocre/bad* screen based experiences.

I know we have a couple extremists, but several of my top ten global rides and many top 25 are screen-forward.

To be frank for me, it is Disney and Uni have both rested on laurels plenty of times in the last fifteen years or so that have brought down the industry since they are the top two.

Seaworld and Busch Gardens used to have to try harder when they did. 90s Sea World and Busch Gardens were a much stronger product.

Regional parks in turn, were able to not try as hard as well.

EPIC has its flaws, but it is not one of those times IMHO. I don't even think it is IOA at opening strong, but it is not DCA.

I know Forbidden Journey is not everyone's cup of tea, but it was a very innovative screen hybrid attraction as it used screens for flight and the Kuka arm in a way no one had yet. Hagrid's is one of the top themed coaster experiences out there, but it is going to always pale to an innovative dark ride for me. And a coaster going through theming is a lot of fun, but that is going to get fatigued too. Luckily EPIC has a nice balance for now.

 

[BrianLo]

To be frank for me, it is Disney and Uni have both rested on laurels plenty of times in the last fifteen years or so that have brought down the industry since they are the top two.

Seaworld and Busch Gardens used to have to try harder when they did. 90s Sea World and Busch Gardens were a much stronger product.

Regional parks in turn, were able to not try as hard as well.

EPIC has its flaws, but it is not one of those times IMHO. I don't even think it is IOA, but it is not DCA.

I know Forbidden Journey is not everyone's cup of tea, but it was a very innovative screen hybrid attraction as it used screens for flight and the Kuka arm in a way no one had yet. Hagrids is one of the top themed coaster experiences out there, but it is going to always pale to an innovative dark ride for me.

I quite like Hagrids and Forbidden Journey. My two highest rated Universal attractions globally. IOA has an entertainment problem that brings it down several rungs.

DCA I think has a very solid plan. Maybe not what people want, but all three of the major attractions could be favourites.

The bottom of the industry right now between both operators is WDSP. I actually think it will be one of Universal’s Studio parks, probably Orlando, by next year. There’s no other park I can think of that has so many major things I would actually be happy to see removed, replaced, or fixed. Well over 50% of its contents just for straight up removal.

 

[celluloid]

I quite like Hagrids and Forbidden Journey. My two highest rated Universal attractions globally. IOA has an entertainment problem that brings it down several rungs.

DCA I think has a very solid plan. Maybe not what people want, but all three of the major attractions could be favourites.

The bottom of the industry right now between both operators is WDSP. I actually think it will be one of Universal’s Studio parks, probably Orlando, by next year. There’s no other park I can think of that has so many major things I would actually be happy to see removed, replaced, or fixed. Well over 50% of its contents.

Indeed. The rush of change to Universal Studios Florida post ROTM was not great for that park as a whole.

And don't get me wrong. Hagrids is an amazing situation, I just don't want it to see the fatigued trend of coasters going through theming as the standard for most E Tickets, but it also makes sense as the audience is calling for it and more physical thrill oriented recently.

With DCA, I meant more from an opening perspective and its flaw compared to EPIC and its current flaws. I should have been more specific.

Comcast has not always gotten it right, but they have genuinely done more great for the Orlando Property as anyone has post opening era. They ultimately know this with studio as well, as they have leaned into the nostalgia properties that are a bit more timeless that left fast in the last 20 years, and RRR is going bye bye.

 

[DCBaker]

If you're heading to a Passholder preview:

 

[celluloid]

Cool! From the image it looks like the mailer that went to AP's last year.

The tagline and size make it look like the same poster.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

I don't know, I get that it's Universal, but the orchestra completely orchestra makes it sound and look like another Cinesational but yet the Cinesational soundtrack gives you chills. This is Epic so I expect a different sound. Same with Epcot, if it's too much Orchestra I don't like it either. Epic needs to keep the Galaxy and Renaissance of it's theme and place to thrive with Helios! If you incorporate Universal films then have a Galaxy ring to it or along with it. Anyone else kind of unthrilled by the music here.

 

[Chef idea Mickey`=]

The whole reason Eisner freaked out about the deal that lead to the Swan and Dolphin is because of the location. He wouldn’t have cared if it was just another hotel tower over on Hotel Plaza Blvd.

Eisner or Michael Graves don't remember which think Eisner personally didn't like just tall glass towers said they looked like refrigerators. Now years later they built one Swan Reserve smack in the middle!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I personally think that Epic! is the most ambitious theme park at opening from the big 2 since EPCOT Center in 1982. Way better than Disney-MGM and OG USF. DAK was and still is WAY under built. IOA is great, But there is still a tongue in cheek attitude that is very UNIVERSAL.

Epic! has a much more mature and deeper approach.

Epic! Is far from perfect. I had seen SNW in Japan and Hollywood, and thought it looked great. When I finally went, I exited the portal and thought WOW, it looks great! And then as I moved through the land, I thought WOW, it cramped and tight, and crowded. At that point all the built in kinetic energy made the experience a bit overwhelming. Not my favorite land. Although, I did enjoy Mario Kart. I knew exactly what to expect and thought it was more fun than any POV I have seen.

I don't know, I get that it's Universal, but the orchestra completely orchestra makes it sound and look like another Cinesational but yet the Cinesational soundtrack gives you chills. This is Epic so I expect a different sound. Same with Epcot, if it's too much Orchestra I don't like it either. Epic needs to keep the Galaxy and Renaissance of it's theme and place to thrive with Helios! If you incorporate Universal films then have a Galaxy ring to it or along with it. Anyone else kind of unthrilled by the music here.

I don't think this is THE Nighttime Spectacular. I think they will playing the 5-7 min. sections throughout the night.