Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens 2025

[lazyboy97o]

The park stopped construction during Covid, but okay. It still takes Disney that long to build a single ride.

Why do you think there are already rumors about the first additions to Epic Universe? Because they’ve already been in development.

 

[UNCgolf]

Other than Fast and Furious, I don't agree. Gringotts certainly services fans of the franchise with an impressive and atmospheric queue, and while the actual ride portion suffers from pacing issues in the second half, it definitely delivers on a thrilling mine cart ride through the vaults. I don't see any issues with Mario Kart either. It may not have the depth of gameplay as the actual games, but it's a practical implementation of those mechanics into a physical ride.

I couldn't disagree more on Mario Kart -- the ride doesn't really resemble the game. It's much closer to a virtual shooting gallery than a race.

I also think it's quite bad (it would be significantly improved if the AR glasses were excised and it was simply a Mario dark ride, because some of the sets etc. are very good and the AR stuff just gets in the way), but that's a separate discussion.

 

[JT3000]

I wasn't counting the months of construction pause. I mean, that would be dishonest and disingenuous... despite the fact that people do that to Disney's projects during the pandemic.

So, let's add on 8 months for the pause and call it 6 years!

The park wasn't even announced until 2019, so nice try, but no cigar. It also didn't even go vertical until construction resumed. Were it not for Covid, it would have already opened last year.

 

[JT3000]

Why do you think there are already rumors about the first additions to Epic Universe? Because they’ve already been in development.

What does that have to do with the park's construction timeline?

 

[lazyboy97o]

What does that have to do with the park's construction timeline?

Everything. Construction doesn’t just happen. It is the last part of the design phase and can start at different point along the timeline. The idea that it’s somehow good that an attraction takes five years to go from start to open because construction was only a year and a half but bad that an attraction takes five years from start to open because construction was three years is nonsensical.

 

[JT3000]

Everything. Construction doesn’t just happen. It is the last part of the design phase and can start at different point along the timeline. The idea that it’s somehow good that an attraction takes five years to go from start to open because construction was only a year and a half but bad that an attraction takes five years from start to open because construction was three years is nonsensical.

But we're strictly talking about construction, not the rest of the design phase. Generally speaking, none of us has any idea how long each attraction's design phase is anyway. We do know Tron was a clone and still took forever, so that doesn't bode well either way.

Another thing that should be avoided is announcing a project too far in advance, but both Disney & Universal have been guilty of that. Disney has just developed a knack for doing it while Universal typically tries to avoid it.

 

[lazyboy97o]

But we're strictly talking about construction, not the rest of the design phase. Generally speaking, none of us has any idea how long each attraction's design phase is anyway. We do know Tron was a clone and still took forever, so that doesn't bode well either way.

Another thing that should be avoided is announcing a project too far in advance, but both Disney & Universal have been guilty of that. Disney has just developed a knack for doing it while Universal typically tries to avoid it.

Just talking about construction is meaningless. It’s a pointless metric that tells you nothing. There are different means of project delivery that start construction at different points in the process. Universal’s entire process is still generally faster than Disney’s but not as much as is suggested by construction since Disney will often start that earlier in the process than Universal.

TRON is a great example as construction started very shortly after the design work started.

 

[BrianLo]

Other than Fast and Furious, I don't agree. Gringotts certainly services fans of the franchise with an impressive and atmospheric queue, and while the actual ride portion suffers from pacing issues in the second half, it definitely delivers on a thrilling mine cart ride through the vaults. I don't see any issues with Mario Kart either. It may not have the depth of gameplay as the actual games, but it's a practical implementation of those mechanics into a physical ride.

I would actually identify myself almost as a bigger fan of Harry Potter and Nintendo than 'insert Disney IP' - Disney just is so vast and contains many things I love.

Gringotts and Mario Kart both fail to properly capture the source material. I don't think failing to capture the source material makes the attraction empirically bad (that wasn't actually my criticism to begin with, it was the poster I was responding to).

I think Radiator Springs Racers captures Mario Kart and Mummy captures Gringotts expected experiences far more successfully. Those a half step away from the source material don't tend to be so harsh on these experiences. Fast and Furious is just a straight bad attraction, no matter if you align with the source material or do not (and I don't).

 

[JT3000]

Just talking about construction is meaningless. It’s a pointless metric that tells you nothing. There are different means of project delivery that start construction at different points in the process. Universal’s entire process is still generally faster than Disney’s but not as much as is suggested by construction since Disney will often start that earlier in the process than Universal.

TRON is a great example as construction started very shortly after the design work started.

The length of an attraction's or park's construction definitely isn't meaningless, especially with regards to delays. By that point everyone knows something is coming, it can potentially affect other areas of the park, and it's just not something we want to sit around and wait forever to finish. With regards to an attraction's design phase, I think the length of that is typically a lot more meaningless in the sense that you can still be putting out other new attractions no matter how long it takes you to nail down a particular one. In most cases, just opening something new every year or two is more important than finishing up the design of a specific project that hasn't even been announced. Park geeks like us are the only ones who may even have an inkling that said project even exists. No one else will know or care.

It's not surprising that a clone had a short design phase. The construction phase was still inexcusable.

 

[BrianLo]

I was referring to the annoumced EU attractions, not the ones in other parks, but I agree there have been some big misses there.

Got it - and I would just caution that I have been burned before on evaluating things before they open, in both directions. I had absolutely no qualms with Gringott's the entire way - until I personally rode it.

Though Mario Kart is in fact in Epic. Your read on Tiana is probably excessively harsh in the opposite direction.


Occasionally things almost sound above criticism on paper and then somehow miss. I'll give two Disney examples just so I am not playing favourites. Millennium Falcon and Voyage to the Crystal Grotto (Shanghai) are two that come to mind immediately for me. Execution can matter a heck of a lot.

I wouldn't say Epic is riding on the Monsters or Potter attraction. I've seen enough to know there is more than enough to excite me and the product is very solid for a non-first gate. But, if both are not well received attractions it would let some of the air out of Epic. Potter I think would be the one that could run the risk, or alternatively be in the running for the greatest attraction in Orlando. It has the slight possibility of parking a slow moving ride vehicle into stagnant movie scenes... maybe. I sure hope not!

 

[MisterPenguin]

The park wasn't even announced until 2019, so nice try, but no cigar. It also didn't even go vertical until construction resumed. Were it not for Covid, it would have already opened last year.

Ground breaking was September 2019.

Do the math.

 

[JoeCamel]

Ground breaking was September 2019.

Do the math.

I count ground breaking when they started trucking dirt to the site. That was a year plus time for compaction and I was aware at least 18 months before that they were maneuvering to regain the property from Stan and the other owners.

Build time is meaningless when you see the scope of the work done.

 

[JT3000]

Ground breaking was September 2019.

Do the math.

I'm afraid your math simply isn't mathing. That ain't 6 years, even if you DO include the pause in construction (which you shouldn't.)

 

[lazyboy97o]

The length of an attraction's or park's construction definitely isn't meaningless, especially with regards to delays. By that point everyone knows something is coming, it can potentially affect other areas of the park, and it's just not something we want to sit around and wait forever to finish. With regards to an attraction's design phase, I think the length of that is typically a lot more meaningless in the sense that you can still be putting out other new attractions no matter how long it takes you to nail down a particular one. In most cases, just opening something new every year or two is more important than finishing up the design of a specific project that hasn't even been announced. Park geeks like us are the only ones who may even have an inkling that said project even exists. No one else will know or care.

It's not surprising that a clone had a short design phase. The construction phase was still inexcusable.

You don’t want to wait because you now know. It’s not something most people are following.

The vast majority of design work is done after they nail down the particular attraction. The amount of work done before they decide which projects to have move forward is a very small fraction of the total design work required.

Separating construction and design would only make sense if they were completely separate and isolated. They are not. They are part of the larger project delivery process. You can start construction before design is done.

Being a clone only saves on a small amount of design time. I wasn’t pointing out that TRON had a short design phase, but that construction started very early in the design phase.

 

[JT3000]

You don’t want to wait because you now know. It’s not something most people are following.

The vast majority of design work is done after they nail down the particular attraction. The amount of work done before they decide which projects to have move forward is a very small fraction of the total design work required.

Separating construction and design would only make sense if they were completely separate and isolated. They are not. They are part of the larger project delivery process. You can start construction before design is done.

Being a clone only saves on a small amount of design time. I wasn’t pointing out that TRON had a short design phase, but that construction started very early in the design phase.

You never start construction on a project until the designs are finalized. That's just construction 101. If that's truly how they operate, then no wonder everything takes so long, and no wonder Disney has an animatronic that can't be turned on because it'll tear the entire structure apart.

 

[JoeCamel]

You never start construction on a project until the designs are finalized. That's just construction 101. If that's truly how they operate, then no wonder everything takes so long, and no wonder Disney has an animatronic that can't be turned on because it'll tear the entire structure apart.

Design/build is a common practice

 

[lazyboy97o]

You never start construction on a project until the designs are finalized. That's just construction 101. If that's truly how they operate, then no wonder everything takes so long, and no wonder Disney has an animatronic that can't be turned on because it'll tear the entire structure apart.

It is not Construction 101. It doesn’t always make sense to wait. It’s also not a uniquely Disney practice.

The are photos in this thread from 2018 of site work being done at the South Campus. Universal didn’t start filing for the building permits for the actual in-park facilities until 2020. They weren’t just sitting on finished design work for all of that time. The site work was done while they did actual design work for the park because they didn’t need that much work done to start getting things ready. Even after submitting for permits, Universal changed their mind and continued to make changes. They didn’t pause construction work to redesign Dark Universe. The coaster wasn’t just sitting on the shelf waiting to be dropped into place occupied by other already designed attractions.

Design/build is a common practice

Design-build is when the architect and contractor are the same entity. You’re hiring one company that will design and build the project. Overlapping design and construction is “fast-track” but can also be part of “integrated project delivery”.

 

[DCBaker]

Universal has released details for How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk land in Epic Universe.

Here's are details in a new video:


Blog post:

Details Revealed About How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk

Soar, dive and swoop through the details

blog.discoveruniversal.com

 

[Earlie the Pearlie]

Universal has released details for How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk land in Epic Universe.

View attachment 775301

Here's are details in a new video:


Blog post:

Details Revealed About How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk

Soar, dive and swoop through the details

blog.discoveruniversal.com

The most interesting thing to me was the ice dragon head spraying water at guests. I really hope that that’s an animatronic and not a static head. Other than that, we pretty much knew everything, but it still looks pretty amazing!

 

[WDWFREAK53]

The most interesting thing to me was the ice dragon head spraying water at guests. I really hope that that’s an animatronic and not a static head. Other than that, we pretty much knew everything, but it still looks pretty amazing!

We did know pretty much all of it but what I got out of this video is how beautiful the land is. We knew the attractions...but seeing the little touches and everything in color really brought it all together. This looks stunning.