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

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
I certainly was not blaming anyone… they can choose to do what they want…. It is just I see complaints about the Disney premiere Pass… while not so much with Universals express… sometimes it feels like a double standard… although I was not calling anyone out…I feel if there is demand it is a smart business decision… although I do not think either is worth it for myself…. Unless I stay onsite at Universal and get the free express with my stay
I have no issue with Disney having a premier pass. I have always been for it. My issue has always been the cheaper version Disney sells. IMO too many people are still using the LL queues and it affects standby. IMO Disney should follow Universal and only sell Premier pass.
 

EricsBiscuit

Well-Known Member
Mine-Cart Madness is running in the 950/hour range, which I think is pretty close to max OHC.

We've not measured more than 1,500/hour at Monsters, and that's supposed to be at 2,000/hour.
We've seen a max of 450/hour at Fyre Drill, but that might be just low demand.
Could that low throughput on MU also be from demand? I do tend to notice that many of the ride vehicles go unfilled.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
I have no issue with Disney having a premier pass. I have always been for it. My issue has always been the cheaper version Disney sells. IMO too many people are still using the LL queues and it affects standby. IMO Disney should follow Universal and only sell Premier pass.

Very few people who are locals with APs are ever buying LL. LL users are almost entirely people on vacation buying it out of FOMO, which in turn drives up usage of the LL queues, which makes the standby lines longer, which makes even more people buy LL, etc.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
Very few people who are locals with APs are ever buying LL. LL users are almost entirely people on vacation buying it out of FOMO, which in turn drives up usage of the LL queues, which makes the standby lines longer, which makes even more people buy LL, etc.
If you limit it like every other park does, then it doesn't cause that problem. I'm sure Universal limits the amount of Express passes sold per day
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
If you limit it like every other park does, then it doesn't cause that problem. I'm sure Universal limits the amount of Express passes sold per day

Both LL and Express have a limit to how many are sold per day, but the cap for both is far above the amount at which either would not affect the standby line.

A lot of Universal fans will insist that Universal’s Express Pass doesn’t affect's the standby lines the way Disney’s LL/Fastpass do, but anyone who has worked a high demand attraction at Universal (and pays attention) will tell you that it does. Especially when considering that a lot of Universal guests get “free” Express - the queues get slammed by Express right at 4:00 PM for the AP premiere pass “express after 4” users, for example.
 

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
Both LL and Express have a limit to how many are sold per day, but the cap for both is far above the amount at which either would not affect the standby line.

A lot of Universal fans will insist that Universal’s Express Pass doesn’t affect's the standby lines the way Disney’s LL/Fastpass do, but anyone who has worked a high demand attraction at Universal (and pays attention) will tell you that it does. Especially when considering that a lot of Universal guests get “free” Express - the queues get slammed by Express right at 4:00 PM for the AP premiere pass “express after 4” users, for example.
HIgh demand attractions will always be affected the most. All I'm saying is if Disney got rid of the cheaper version of the LL pass it would be much better on standby. A lot of those people that buy the cheap one won't spend the money on the premier pass.
 

mkt

When a paradise is lost go straight to Disney™
Premium Member
It was a BAD PARK OPS DAY.
Just wanted to add, I don’t think they hit their hiring goals for Epic.

Central Florida may have finally reached the tipping point where there simply aren’t enough people willing to work in the parks. Or, conversely, the people who are willing may be running into rehire restrictions from past employment that are keeping them out.
 

lentesta

Premium Member
HIgh demand attractions will always be affected the most. All I'm saying is if Disney got rid of the cheaper version of the LL pass it would be much better on standby. A lot of those people that buy the cheap one won't spend the money on the premier pass.

At the Magic Kingdom at least, standby waits in May were lower than they've been in at least a decade. And that's with steady or rising attendance.

I think they've made some operational changes:
  • Slightly de-prioritizing LL and prioritizing standby when it comes to boarding guests
  • Maybe posted wait times are less inflated ("even more accurate", if you will) than they've been
Disney can't talk about either of those things, obviously. I'd bet an in-park coffee that they're both true.
 

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
This may be a little bit of a diversion, but looking at some of these operational issues that Epic has been having leads me to wonder what the opening months of Disney's Animal Kingdom were like.

That park opened with far fewer attractions and before the days of all these ticketing schemes aimed at limiting capacity, so watching some of the challenges Universal has faced makes we wonder how Animal Kingdom didn't absolutely collapse when people showed up to experience a new park with so few attractions. Is it just that memories have faded of those challenges? Was the technology more straightforward and thus reliability better? Or is there some kind of other mix of factors?
 

JusticeDisney

Well-Known Member
The park has been open for 8 days... I'm still going to guess in 2026, we will see a decrease in the amount of people going to EPCOT, DHS, and AK as they trade 1 day of their Disney vacation to see EPIC.
I wouldn’t count on that, but ok. In any event, I was making a larger point, which is that some people keep insisting that Universal is going to dethrone Disney. It’s simply never going to happen. Universal does great theme parks, there is no question about that. And plenty of people prefer Universal over Disney. But on the whole, Disney will always remain king.
 

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
I wouldn’t count on that, but ok. In any event, I was making a larger point, which is that some people keep insisting that Universal is going to dethrone Disney. It’s simply never going to happen. Universal does great theme parks, there is no question about that. And plenty of people prefer Universal over Disney. But on the whole, Disney will always remain king.
I don't think many people thought this park was going to bankrupt Disney, but even a small dent in their profits and attendance (which can be contributed to EPIC) might cause them to invest more into the parks.

Regarding USO and IOA loosing attendance. I'm sure they will, but my guess is the gains from EPIC will outpace the losses from USO and IOA (essentially UOR gets more guests even if spread through 3 parks instead of 2).
 

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