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

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DarkMetroid567

Well-Known Member
TalkingHead said:
Google reviews have a 4.2 rating for Epic, the lowest for any of the major Orlando parks. By comparison the other two Universal parks have a 4.7. SeaWorld has a 4.4. The lowest WDW park is Hollywood Studios with 4.6.

That crowdsourced metric shows Epic has had a bit of a rocky reception, certainly related to its number of attractions and the wait times. Best thing they could do is fast track a couple indoor C-tickets to open ASAP.
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I imagine that Google Score will rise and normalize as the numbers grow higher, but looking at the wait times today — yikes. Definitely would not recommend anyone visit anytime soon with a 100 minute Yoshi wait, a 90 minute Fyre Drill wait, and 145 minute Hiccup’s wait.

What’s worrying here is that these are USJ numbers but we know they’re not even close to USJ attendance. I’m really worried about how this shakes out as the park gets more popular. I’d like to visit again but if this story goes the way it’s looking, I might have to skip Epic on my next Orlando trip.

Then again, the two best rides in the park (Monsters and Stardust) have the lowest waits. That’s good!
 
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crispy

crispy

Well-Known Member
We visited Epic for a preview day on May 18th. I really loved the park. Minecart Madness and Werewolf were closed that day, but we were able to ride everything else. We had very few issues when we visited and the park felt well-established. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and knocked it out of the park on immersion.

We were split on our favorite lands - my daughters loved Nintendo, my husband loved Harry Potter, and I loved Isle of Berk (which surprised me!). We all thought Monsters Unleashed was probably the best ride, but I think Dark Universe is just harder to appreciate in the daytime. Can't wait to visit again and see it at night. I loved Hiccup's coaster. It was an unexpectedly good little ride.

We did get to ride Ministry of Magic. We all thought the queue was insanely good. My oldest daughter thought the ride really delivered, but the rest of us thought it was good, but didn't live up to the hype. We all thought the Cirque de Arcanus was amazing. I wasn't sure what I was expected, but it was a highlight for me. Really fabulous!

Final shout out to the carousel. I love carousels anyway, and this one made me feel like I was in a ballet. It was a lovely experience and I would love to ride it at night.

Overall, we had a great experience.
 
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disneylandtour

Well-Known Member
simon9454 said:
There is already omnimover-style dark ride in Epic called Yoshi's Adventure.
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Yoshi is, by far, the weakest ride in the whole park. There are some amazing areas and attractions at Epic. But Yoshi's is Six Flags level. Also, I wouldn't say that this is a classic indoor dark ride. It reminds me more of the kiddie train at Knott's that takes you past outdoor dioramas of Peanuts characters. That there were no classic indoor dark rides for families, especially in Berk, is sorta a mind-blowing oversight IMO.
 
Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

Well-Known Member
disneylandtour said:
Yoshi is, by far, the weakest ride in the whole park. There are some amazing areas and attractions at Epic. But Yoshi's is Six Flags level. Also, I wouldn't say that this is a classic indoor dark ride. It reminds me more of the kiddie train at Knott's that takes you past outdoor dioramas of Peanuts characters. That there were no classic indoor dark rides for families, especially in Berk, is sorta a mind-blowing oversight IMO.
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Yoshi could be their equivalent of Small World...but nah. They decided to skip any and all chill, family dark ride experiences.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
Some people have unrealistic expectations. This new park can't be everything to everyone. That is just not how life works.
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Yeah I mean good point, what do people expect? To not pay $100 to slow roast like a raisin over a slow ride with mostly just seeing what you can already seen in the land? People are just unreasonable!

I mean people are seriously thinking a multibillion dollar company could like replicate idk half the charm and rideability of a ride that is about to celebrate 50 years just down the road...

Universal has had parks open in Orlando for 35 years but couldn't figure out that a slow moving, uncovered ride in the direct sun was a bad idea?

What is unfair about people saying its a bad ride... it pretty much is by most metrics?
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
Sir_Cliff said:
Perhaps that should be the new inscription over the main portal into the park?
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To all who enter this park, please note that we do cannot cater to everyone. We cater to only the EPIC people. People who like FAST rollercoasters and being internally cooked to a crisp 425 internal. If you don't like that, then SCRAM. (we can't handle more than 15k people a day anyway)
 
Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
It is Epic Universe, not toddler world. This isn't the MK and they aren't Disney. Nor should they try to be. If someone wants chill, family dark ride experiences, this isn't the park for them.
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Universal is absolutely trying to cater to families, especially as their goal is to grow their audience and pull more vacationers over. No one is saying they need to fill the park with "toddler" rides, but they should absolutely have added more family friendly indoor dark ride experiences. Lots of people can't handle crazy thrills, or intense dark rides. There is a place in a well rounded park for smaller dark rides, walk through experiences, and family friendly fare.

I used Small World as an example of what a Yoshi ride could be. Heck, How to Train Your Dragon would be perfect for a long form boat ride experience, chill like Pirates, maybe with a small drop.

So much opportunity to flesh out the park, and allow more ride variety.
 
BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
It is Epic Universe, not toddler world. This isn't the MK and they aren't Disney. Nor should they try to be. If someone wants chill, family dark ride experiences, this isn't the park for them.
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This is a confusing criticism. Who is Yoshi currently for if not toddlers?

It is the very definition of a toddler ride, except toddlers cannot ride it… A ride built for everyone would have been a better choice.

Your criticisms would stand if Universal actually wanted to go for a demo slice. Except they didn’t, they wanted to go broader and they simply failed.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
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I will say Universal did a great job evading expectations, who expected them to mix this with an episode of Dora the Explorer (can YOU find all the eggs) and turn it into a ride where there is somehow a height requirement that is more strict than Barnstormer. I mean I couldn't have thought of it myself so I give some major props.
 
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DarkMetroid567

Well-Known Member
It’s an interesting question — who is Epic for? It’s not really for the kids (outside of the Mario kids), nor is it for the top thrill-seekers in the way Islands kinda is. It’s not for anyone like my mom who likes the calmer rides and doesn’t want to be violently shaken on Monsters or Ministry.

Is it just for the theme park heads, like us? It’s kinda seeming like it.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
DarkMetroid567 said:
It’s an interesting question — who is Epic for? It’s not really for the kids (outside of the Mario kids), nor is it for the top thrill-seekers in the way Islands kinda is. It’s not for anyone like my mom who likes the calmer rides and doesn’t want to be violently shaken on Monsters or Ministry.

Is it just for the theme park heads, like us? It’s kinda seeming like it.
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It's for younger Millenials and Gen Z definitely.
 
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AidenRodriguez731

Well-Known Member
disneylandtour said:
There are many strong elements to Epic, but this is not a family park.

If you think it is, put together a day of activities that a family with kids aged 4, 7, and 10 can do together for an eight hour visit that would justify the $750 admission fee.
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It's not a family park yet Universal advertised 2/4 of the lands with children as the main actors showing them off?

And the description saying "Universal Epic Universe offers different worlds for everyone."

I would say they are trying to cater to families based on how 3/4 of the actors in the portals for the video in general are not traditional young adults. 2/4 are kids and another is clearly an older mom soooooo....?

We're not arguing it's a GOOD family park but it i marketed to families
 
Agent H

Agent H

Well-Known Member
DarkMetroid567 said:
It’s an interesting question — who is Epic for? It’s not really for the kids (outside of the Mario kids), nor is it for the top thrill-seekers in the way Islands kinda is. It’s not for anyone like my mom who likes the calmer rides and doesn’t want to be violently shaken on Monsters or Ministry.

Is it just for the theme park heads, like us? It’s kinda seeming like it.
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I’d think it differs from land to land and is each portal is mostly geared towards fans of the IPs they’re based on. Now there are age demographics too. Please note that none of the following is intended to be offensive or genalizing. These are guesses about how universal sees it. Super Nintendo world is geared toward kids teenagersand adults who are nostalgic for the brand. Harry Potter is geared towards millennials and to a lesser extent whole families. How to train your dragon apparently has a decent sized gen z fan base but more realistically it’s supposed to be the parks Toy Story land with its ride lineup. Dark universe is the tricky one. I would imagine it’s mostly geared towards goths and younger monsters fans. I imagine that it’s going to be the most popular with passholders because it’s almost an original ip land which passholders tend to like.
 
earlthesquirrellover23

earlthesquirrellover23

Well-Known Member
disneylandtour said:
There are many strong elements to Epic, but this is not a family park.

If you think it is, put together a day of activities that a family with kids aged 4, 7, and 10 can do together for an eight hour visit that would justify the $750 admission fee.
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A family with young children could easily spend all day in SNW and Berk alone. It is most definitely a family oriented park, just like every other park in Orlando.
 

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