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

[MrPromey]

The general consensus of Epic Universe is that it's a creative success. People are applauding the rides, shows and creative design of each land. The vast majority of criticisms are ride reliability, weather-related delays, and lack of shade.

Having been multiple days and enjoyed it, these seem like incredibly fair and valid criticisms to me. I'm sure they'll get a handle on that first one and as foliage grows in and up, a small amount of that third one will adjust too but number two is an absolute issue and more could certainly be done with 3.

We ended up buying umbrellas to walk around with on our second day which is something I've never done before when it wasn't raining.

 

[JT3000]

I've been reading through the Epic Universe reviews, and I doubt any podcaster doing such a thing will impact the overall review significantly.

That would depend entirely on their reach.

Just because there are people with legitimate concerns about the park, that doesn't mean review bombing isn't possible.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

I buy that someone is trying to review bomb, but I doubt that it’s significant enough to meaningfully impact the review score. Almost all the big Disney influencers are very positive on Epic, and even the more pessimistic ones like blogmickey and WDW-NT are overall impressed.

A very good chunk of the Google reviews are other languages anyways. Lots of disappointed Spanish speakers, lol.

 

[TalkingHead]

A lot of reviews complain about bad value for the price, especially when storms disrupt touring and lead to the perception of overpaying for an inferior experience. Lot of complaints about the cost and limited usefulness of Express. Anyone know how Universal is handling complaints at guest services? Are comp/replacement tickets being offered sometimes?

 

[Rich Brownn]

One of the things about outdoor rides is they do add kinetic energy to the land - especially at Berk where there's the coaster zipping by and the flyers appearing over the buildings. One of the things people complain about Galaxy's Edge is it feels empty

 

[Andrew25]

A lot of reviews complain about bad value for the price, especially when storms disrupt touring and lead to the perception of overpaying for an inferior experience. Lot of complaints about the cost and limited usefulness of Express. Anyone know how Universal is handling complaints at guest services? Are comp/replacement tickets being offered sometimes?

They're being very lenient on comp tickets. Not sure how long it'll last.

Talking about Express... I think they should have never offered until later this year. The park already struggles enough, and once rides go back in operation, it creates a horrendous express to standby ratio.

One of the things about outdoor rides is they do add kinetic energy to the land - especially at Berk where there's the coaster zipping by and the flyers appearing over the buildings. One of the things people complain about Galaxy's Edge is it feels empty

There's a happy medium of outdoor rides and indoor rides to offer. Magic Kingdom does a great job of this. When the afternoon thunderstorms arrive, you can seek shelter at one of the many indoor rides or indoor theater shows.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

Take worth a grain of salt.

There are a couple other Disney fansites and a podcaster or two (not to be mentioned here) that have been encouraging members to downvote EU, whether or not they have actually been to EU.

I heard of review bombing before. It is something I am not a fan of.

I am not a bit surprised a podcaster and a fansite is encouraging review bombing. I don't know how much of an impact that did since you didn't mention the Disney podcast and Disney fansites that encouraged that type of behavior. Not all Disney fansites and podcats have the same amount of popularity.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but on days when the park closes at 9, the rides are apparently unofficially staying open up to 10:00 PM.

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but on days when the park closes at 9, the rides are apparently unofficially staying open up to 10:00 PM.

Can confirm

 

[Andrew25]

Today is looking like the "busiest" day wait-time wise.

Unsure if attendance has increased or if their just having issues.

Stardust being a 120 wait, is suggesting operational difficulties since it has 2.4K in capacity.

This park was severely underbuilt when it comes to capacity, and the expected demand for it.

 

[rd805]

The only good thing I can see about this is that if they are having this many people visit, they have to know they need to fast track some sort of attraction...right....RIGHT? (Feel like the Anakin / Padme meme template ha).

 

[lazyboy97o]

The only good thing I can see about this is that if they are having this many people visit, they have to know they need to fast track some sort of attraction...right....RIGHT? (Feel like the Anakin / Padme meme template ha).

The problem though is that means things like Minion Blast and DreamWorks Land, which the park doesn’t really need.

 

[Andrew25]

The only good thing I can see about this is that if they are having this many people visit, they have to know they need to fast track some sort of attraction...right....RIGHT? (Feel like the Anakin / Padme meme template ha).

I wish, but the park is struglging with operating rides efficiently. The math doesn't make sense for Stardust to be a 120 min wait with a capacity of ~2,300 guests an hour, while Monsters Unchained with a capacity of ~2,100 guests is a 45 min wait.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I wish, but the park is struglging with operating rides efficiently. The math doesn't make sense for Stardust to be a 120 min wait with a capacity of ~2,300 guests an hour, while Monsters Unchained with a capacity of ~2,100 guests is a 45 min wait.

Just guessing here: But maybe that's because Uni's core guests are into coaster/thrill rides, and they're showing up for Stardust, and not some dark ride.

Or... Stardust had a closure because of rain and is now back open with a long backed-up waiting list.

 

[BrianLo]

View attachment 871095
Today is looking like the "busiest" day wait-time wise.

Unsure if attendance has increased or if their just having issues.

Stardust being a 120 wait, is suggesting operational difficulties since it has 2.4K in capacity.

This park was severely underbuilt when it comes to capacity, and the expected demand for it.

But shout out to Monsters Unchained. Though skewing thrill (nothing wrong with that), it seems to be a near-perfect attraction.

 

[BrianLo]

The minor complaint is that they really should have done it sufficiently for the outlay the first time. Now we have yet another distraction that holds them back from fixing their core resort.

So what is the priority? Addressing Epic Capacity, addressing IOAs entertainment gap and currently abandoned land, or fixing questionably the most discordant major park. Or… saving money and doing a few cheap fixes because they just spent a lot of money.

This is why empirically I’m not as high on new gates like a lot of the membership. The sudden hit feels good, but there’s a lot of long term damage and a long recovery done to the two original parks.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I certainly hope the lower waits for Monsters is simply due to better reliability and efficiency, and not because people are skipping Monsters... would be a big blunder if that land ends up not being very popular.

 

[Gusey]

The minor complaint is that they really should have done it sufficiently for the outlay the first time. Now we have yet another distraction that holds them back from fixing their core resort.

So what is the priority? Addressing Epic Capacity, addressing IOAs entertainment gap and currently abandoned land, or fixing questionably the most discordant major park. Or… saving money and doing a few cheap fixes because they just spent a lot of money.

This is why empirically I’m not as high on new gates like a lot of the membership. The sudden hit feels good, but there’s a lot of long term damage and a long recovery done to the two original parks.

I do wonder if after the Rip Ride Rockit replacement, USF will take a pause, especially as it has just opened Minion Blast, DreamWorks and soon the new coaster, plus the new parade and night show. Apart from F&F and Fear Factor Stage being the major flaws of the park, there is enough there to keep it going whilst IoA gets Lost Continent sorted. I do think that whatever they're doing at Volcano Bay will impact how much construction they'll have at the other parks, especially if its more than just a refurb but an actual expansion

 

[MrPromey]

I certainly hope the lower waits for Monsters is simply due to better reliability and efficiency, and not because people are skipping Monsters... would be a big blunder if that land ends up not being very popular.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: I think this is the best attraction in the whole park.

If people are skipping it, they need to do something to promote this one more and drive people to it.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: I think this is the best attraction in the whole park.

If people are skipping it, they need to do something to promote this one more and drive people to it.

Right, but I also wonder, is the Monsters franchise too niche? Is it one of those cult brands, where it has very loyal fans, which are a subset of Universal Parks fans, but not the wider appeal needed to ensure the land is doing the numbers it needs?

Time shall tell.