It sure would be nice if Epic opens big and popular, considering how the first two parks had botched openings.
While possible, I can't see them offering Epic as a stand alone, as that basically gives people to skip IOA and USF a priority - something Universal definetly does not want. I could...
My two complaints: It feels like the portion from load to launch, and from end break to unload is longer than the actual ride and the fact it brakes so hard entering the show building. It's like it teases you outside with the visible launch and then you hit the brake and slow waaaaay down. It's...
There will be no fifth gate. And they haven't even broken ground on anything, which means anything they start is 3-5 years away. One can assume Universal isn't going to sit on their butts all that time. There's Zelda for IOA and possibly new coaster for USF among other.
Not the exec's in Florida. They didn't want the damn thing. But the higher ups approved it on the condition the budget build two for cost sharing. They were stuck with it.
Heck, Disneyland's two main icons (The Castle and the Matterhorn) both came from movies, and the castle in particular is an IP icon (built to promote the forthcoming movie).