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

[MisterPenguin]

It's true that EU is going to attract a large number of people because it's new and it has a few show-stopper rides.

It's also true that the overall capacity of the rides isn't that great.

Both those things together lead to lengthy queues.

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It's true that EU is "at capacity." BUT... only if you look at the sell-out of one-day tickets.

It's also true that there are nearly an unlimited number of multi-day tickets that are still available. So, technically, the park isn't sold out at capacity. Buying a more expensive multi-day ticket just to go to EU is something a lot of people aren't willing to do.

Both these things together mean the park has 'hit capacity' and 'hasn't hit capacity' at the same time is true. From a certain point of view.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

It’s a clear exaggeration because someone who thinks Hm being at 35 minutes 2 hours before close means MK is a ghost town is ridiculous. So of course I oversold it, it’s a ridiculous statement to apply to another ridiculous statement. But at the time I commented that, the only ride in all of Epic that went over 35 was star dust racers

 

[Fox&Hound]

And I think that's surmountable but it'll take effort to bill this attraction as an "adventure" ride rather than a horror one.

We've done this one close to a dozen times and in one of the pre-shows where Igore is demonstrating the vehicle, we witnessed one couple nope-out (when the model goes out of control and starts spinning) which which was a little funny but also kind of unfortunate. It confirms though that first-time riders are unsure of what they're in for and none of the queue leading up to it or the staff who when we were there, all stayed stoically in character really helps that... which is unfortunate because the mood and setting in the queue is like Forbidden Journey cool and it would suck to see them lighten that even a little.

Personally, I don't mind this one having low wait times if people never figure it out but it would be a real shame for the takeaways they'd probably have from it under-performing.

Does the ride actually spin like crazy? Sorry, I have avoided spoilers, but that would impact me riding it one day.

 

[AidenRodriguez731]

Your HM estimate is closer to completely wrong than remotely right.

As a separate aside, a 35 minute HM wait is another an indication of a dead MK.

Wait times are a horrible indication of a ride’s success. Wait times are almost entirely a product of capacity and skip-the-line product strategy, but that gets obfuscated and people interpret waits as demand.

Most numbers I’ve seen have it at 2,880 capacity with a theoretical of over 3000

 

[Agent H]

I mean, it is Summer and kids are out of school, and yet today HM had a 35 min. wait time.

But I think the actual conversation this summer is about why HM has 35 wait times. NOT why Epic is at capacity with long wait times. The latter is obvious. It's a brand new state of the art park with some of the best rides on the planet.

But why is MK a ghost town.

MK is not any more of a ghost town than any universal park currently. The reason all the parks seem to be getting somewhat lower attendance is because one. Summer has been getting less busy for a while and two. People still seem to be comparing the current tourism trends to ones from 3 years ago or from before the pandemic. In both cases circumstances regarding the economy and people’s attitudes towards travel in general have changed drastically.

 

[Purduevian]

No Idea how they do this or how accurate it is... but Thrill data seems to think EPIC is running about 44% capacity today.

https://www.thrill-data.com/epic-universe-capacity/

At 11am that gives us:
180: Mario Kart
165: HPBATB
120: Minekart
85: Toothless
75: Yoshi/Fyre Drill/ CotWW

 

[SplashJacket]

Most numbers I’ve seen have it at 2,880 capacity with a theoretical of over 3000

The ridership number is closer to completely wrong than remotely right.

No Idea how they do this or how accurate it is... but Thrill data seems to think EPIC is running about 44% capacity today.

https://www.thrill-data.com/epic-universe-capacity/

At 11am that gives us:
180: Mario Kart
165: HPBATB
120: Minekart
85: Toothless
75: Yoshi/Fyre Drill/ CotWW

44% capacity of what?

Available tickets are not the capacity.

They don’t expect to sell 100% of tickets for every single ticket type.

 

[mellyf]

Does the ride actually spin like crazy? Sorry, I have avoided spoilers, but that would impact me riding it one day.

I'd like to know this too. It's the ride I've been looking forward to the most, but a lot of spinning would render it a no-go. Love coasters, hate spinning. (Love Forbidden Journey, btw - if it's similar to that.)

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Your HM estimate is closer to completely wrong than remotely right.

As a separate aside, a 35 minute HM wait is another an indication of a dead MK.

Wait times are a horrible indication of a ride’s success. Wait times are almost entirely a product of capacity and skip-the-line product strategy, but that gets obfuscated and people interpret waits as demand.

What is the hourly capacity, then?

What @AidenRodriguez731 is posting is in line with most of the information available online, including in this thread.

I have always assumed Haunted Mansion was renowned for having a very high capacity, so I am genuinely curious to know if that is a myth.

 

[Purduevian]

The ridership number is closer to completely wrong than remotely right.

44% capacity of what?

Available tickets are not the capacity.

They don’t expect to sell 100% of tickets for every single ticket type.

The capacity Universal is willing to let EPIC reach. Again no idea if it's accurate or not, but Thrill data is claiming 27,082 people could buy a ticket in some form and walk into the park in the next hour.

 

[Gusey]

Does the ride actually spin like crazy? Sorry, I have avoided spoilers, but that would impact me riding it one day.

It's not as crazy as the model in the queue,

 

[DarkMetroid567]

This thread is a joke.

Let’s trace back our steps and see how we got started lol

 

[TalkingHead]

I wish people would just stay away from this thread if they’re such a hater.

People obsessively shilling for one of the world’s largest companies in Disney is embarrassing, and this is coming from a diehard fan.

Only saints shill for Comcast

 

[BrianLo]

Yea, plenty of Pixie Dusters spamming the reviews having never been there.
…
Epic is still reaching max capacity every day.

And yea, a max capacity day at any park is a miserable experience at any Orlando park.

You’ve answered your own conspiracy. Has everyone forgotten the Volcano Bay bruh-haha? The general public is exceedingly reactive to excessive wait times.

This is not an indictment on the parks quality. It also isn’t likely fake based on the operations we are seeing out of Epic. I highly suspect the North American general public wouldn’t tolerate Tokyo Disney Sea or USJ in the last year.

 

[The Underminer]

Only saints shill for Comcast

How am I shilling for Comast?

I’ve literally been to every Disney theme park in the world. I am a diehard Disney fan, and a passholder.

I am simply not so obtuse I cannot admire theme parks from any company because of nostalgia.

(Also, Comcast’s cash flows fund a very independent Universal Studios division… it’s actually been a huge net benefit for the theme park division specifically, regardless of the other areas).

Try again.

 

[BrianLo]

The only park that even remotely rivals its theming is Tokyo DisneySea, and even then, it has taken 20 years to arrive to a ride line up that rivals Epic on opening day.

I don’t want to over get into it because I’m truly not a tear down Epic person. It’s great. But you are out to lunch comparing current day TDS to Epic. The former can now easily handle twice the guest load.

Animal Kingdom has an equal level of theming quality (and is so underrated), but the SCALE does not remotely reach Tokyo DisneySea.

Kilimanjaro Safari is on a bigger scale than really anything that exists at any major Uni/Dis park save the Tram tour. Kilimanjaro is unnecessarily slept on. But yes, overall DAK has like three large scale lands and TDS has like 6 that I’d qualify.

 

[Dranth]

Why do people keep claiming it is at max capacity? Max capacity would imply no one else could fit in the park. Sold out would imply that no more tickets were available. Neither of those things are true most days so where is this coming from?

Even with it not selling out or even remotely touching max capacity it has terrible waits most days. Much of this is going to be operational which can be forgiven early on as they work things out, but I am truly puzzled by the folks falling all over themselves to try and twist every last negative others bring up into some kind of personal attack. I get pushing back against ridiculous claims from those just trying to stir the pot, but most critiques have been pretty reasonable.

From where I sit, it looks like people think EU is pretty good to great, but that it also has a LOT of problems. Issues like low attraction capacity overall, massive hit when the weather turns bad, expensive, and some strange gaps in theming are all legit issues.

No doubt those are all things that can be fixed but people are trying to judge the park based on what it is now, not what it will be five years from now.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

We are being overzealous advocates in both directions right now — it ain’t that deep!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Why do people keep claiming it is at max capacity? Max capacity would imply no one else could fit in the park.

Capacity is constrained by, but not based on area. There is no occupant load calculation for an outdoor theme park like there is for a building. Capacity is instead a function of the hourly throughput capability of the attractions. Epic Universe could physically fit way more people than would have an enjoyable experience.

 

[Dranth]

Capacity is constrained by, but not based on area. There is no occupant load calculation for an outdoor theme park like there is for a building. Capacity is instead a function of the hourly throughput capability of the attractions. Epic Universe could physically fit way more people than would have an enjoyable experience.

Poor wording on my part. When I say fit another person, I don't mean there is literally no more space available. To me, max capacity in the number of folks the park will allow for when operating at full bore. That will obviously largely depend on the companies policies towards staffing, waits, individual attraction capacity, etc.

Outside of MK on some holidays in the past, I can't think of many parks that every hit their max and EU is certainly not hitting that number right now.