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

[lentesta]

I think the "Elon Musk" thing was added to the article to generate clicks. The Boring Company hasn't responded to the RFQ and I think the other two companies are looking at buses and autonomos cars.

 

[Andrew C]

I think the "Elon Musk" thing was added to the article to generate clicks. The Boring Company hasn't responded to the RFQ and I think the other two companies are looking at buses and autonomos cars.

Yeah. My takeaway is that universal is actually interested in doing this, regardless of who they work with.

 

[mkt]

Universal's looking to build a transportation network for its Orlando resort:

Elon Musk may bring underground transit between Universal parks

Newly released bid documents reveal the company is exploring a transit system connecting its properties that would reshape how guests move across the resort area.

www.wftv.com

A tunnel will not happen. Like I said back in July:

A tunnel between Universal Studios Florida and the new park by the convention center sounds cool on paper, but in Florida? Not realistic.

For it to even work, you'd need at least 40 inches of reinforced concrete to deal with the water table, soil conditions, and structural loads. That’s serious engineering. And the cost? It's absurd enough that a gondola, or even a monorail starts to look like a budget option.

This is why PortMiami is the only place in Florida with a vehicular tunnel. It made sense there because the port moves billions in cargo and passengers every year. PortMiami’s economic impact on Florida in a single year is more than Epic Universe will generate in a whole decade.

Different scale, different priorities.

No, it wouldn’t be worth the effort.

Just looking at the numbers: it took a $61 billion annual economic engine to justify a 4,200-foot, $1.5 billion tunnel in Miami. A 3.1-mile tunnel to connect both campuses of Universal Orlando would easily cost more - and while Universal’s impact on Florida is big (around $7–8 billion/year with Epic Universe), it’s still nowhere near what PortMiami contributes.

And to be fair, Miami faces a lot of the same tunneling challenges as Orlando... maybe worse. High water table, porous limestone, major flood risks. But the difference is PortMiami supports international trade, not just tourism. That’s a completely different funding conversation. It pulled in federal dollars and solved freight congestion for one of the country’s busiest ports.

A theme park, no matter how successful, doesn’t carry that same strategic value. So spending billions to tunnel under Kirkman Road just isn’t in the same league. For that money, you could fund a massive expansion toward Epic - or make a serious down payment on a fourth gate.

To connect both campuses in a meaningful way, buying above-ground right-of-way for a private monorail, light rail, or gondola system would likely be cheaper. You’d get more flexibility, faster deployment, and fewer engineering headaches. And if they wanted to go really cheap - but still cool - an elevated-lane BRT could be a smart solution.

 

[mkt]

I think the "Elon Musk" thing was added to the article to generate clicks. The Boring Company hasn't responded to the RFQ and I think the other two companies are looking at buses and autonomos cars.

Whew. I just read this, but still keeping my previous reply up to explain the reasoning,.