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I’m still not sure there is any coherence of a plan to fix USF though. The piecemeal approach is unlikely to work. Particularly when the batting average there is a one dud for every success.
1) Valid worry; I'm not doubtful the roller coaster will be upgrade over RRR. The bar is so low on F&F, that WHATEVER replaces it should be at worst a minimal upgrade. That's at worst.
***They do need to work out some theming to make it "actually" cohesive, and not just better attractions too, so I get that.
And what idiot named the glider ride dragon RACER and the rollercoaster dragon GLIDER when they are basically next to each other and can’t tell which entrance leads to what?
Has anybody checked out the three-part documentary "Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks" that arrived on Peacock last Monday? It covers the construction and months leading up to Epic Universe's grand opening. Any thoughts for those that seen it? Currently finished Episode 1: The Build.
3) First episode didn't hit quite the way I wanted it too; something that Disney Imagineering documentaries always seem to be able to do. But, I'm going to revisit maybe tonight though lol
My Great/Good/Bad/Ugly/Weird/Notable Review of Epic and the Helios Grand Hotel
Who: me (48/m), my daughter (10/f), my buddy (52/m), his wife (younger than me, but I don't ask), their sons (11,10)
When: Saturday, 11/22/25
The Great
1. The placemaking. Every land is extremely well done. Darkmoor is much better at night; the rest work both day and night. Walking into the Ministry of Magic was as awe-inspiring as walking into the Stormtrooper room on Rise the first time. As a kid of the 80s, being able to walk into and around a Mario game was incredible. Berk is probably the most complete land, and the details are amazing. I really like the portal conceit.
2. The headliners. MoM, Monsters Unchained, Untrainable Dragon and Stardust Racers are all top-notch attractions. I didn't notice anything being down or in B-mode (though to be fair, I went in without watching videos - I'm just saying that nothing stood out as wrong or off).
The Good
1. The score. The music in all the lands is really good. A little loud, especially in Celestial Park. But otherwise good.
2. The Mac & Cheese Cones in Berk. Worth the hype. Carb-filled to fuel you, tastes good, fun and unique. Was a hit with every person in my party.
3. The semi-private VIP tour. This one cost us about $500 per person. In 4 hours, we did 8 rides (everything except Yoshi, Fyre Drill and the carousel), and afterward, you get an Express pass. Because of that, plus the early entry from Helios, we did about 20 attractions each - everything except the carousel, most things twice, and some three times. And that was getting in line at 8:30 and getting back to the hotel at 8:45. To the extent anything is "worth" anything, that was worth it to all of us.
4. Park-view room at Helios. I am not a "view" guy when it comes to hotels normally, but this was worth it. Epic is a gorgeous park, especially at night.
The Bad
1. Ride length for some attractions. Mine Cart and Wing Gliders are really fun family coasters, but both are way too short. Werewolf is absurdly short, and it also needs to be done at night only - during the day,
none of us saw the werewolves, but at night we did and that was fun
!
2. Cirque Arcanus preshow. None of us cared for the show at all, and I think a big reason is the preshow - you go through a line to stand for a 10-minute-ish preshow like cattle, then are fed into the main room for the show. By the time we got into the show, we were in bad moods. This was a one-and-done.
3. Yoshi. It's also short, but in this case, that's a good thing. I'd ride Circus McGurkus another 100 times before getting back on Yoshi.
4. Tiny ride vehicles. Universal continues to self-select itself out of big and tall guests. Several of the vehicles are really uncomfortable - Werewolf, Yoshi, Wing-Gliders, and others.
The Ugly
1. Universal Tech. I cannot get over the frustration with their tech. I don't know why they can't have all of your entitlements (entry, express, photos, room key, payment) on one card or wearable. Having to keep up with multiple cards at all times is just absurd. For all the crap we give Disney (myself included, as I think their tech is mid), they absolutely blow Universal away here.
2. Bar Helios. The bar is cool looking, the menu looks good, and they have a decent selection of booze. But the prices are absurd, and they are really rude. Hostess stand on two different nights were just rude. And they told us they were full of reservations, but there were always at least 1/2 of the tables empty both nights we went. I did not care for their attitude at all.
The Cognitively Dissonant
1. Celestial Park is huge and spread out and feels empty. But every land is compact and crowded - especially SNW and Potter. It's jarring to move from wide open spaces into crazy crowds.
Neither Good Nor Bad, But Notable
1. Our consensus on day/night preference
A. Experience During the Day
(1) Berk
B. Experience at Night
(1) Dark Universe
(2) Werewolf
(3) Stardust Racers
C. Experience Both Times
(1) SNW
D. Doesn't Matter
(1) HP
Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed it. MoM and Monsters Unchained are absolutely top-notch. With an Express Pass, the rides and show can all be done in a half-day. It really does need more. Potter needs another ride. Dark Universe needs another ride and maybe a show. Nintendo could use a show. Celestial Park could use more to do. Only Berk feels like a fully-fleshed out land.
It's not a Disney-killer or MK-killer, but it's a lot of fun and we will be back.
And as I sit here typing this, Ministry, Monsters Unchained, Mario Kart and Hiccup's Wing Gliders are all down.
That is absolutely and utterly unacceptable. There are 11 rides in the park, and 4 of them are down. And that includes the two mega-headliners and the A attraction in all four portals.
And as I sit here typing this, Ministry, Monsters Unchained, Mario Kart and Hiccup's Wing Gliders are all down.
That is absolutely and utterly unacceptable. There are 11 rides in the park, and 4 of them are down. And that includes the two mega-headliners and the A attraction in all four portals.
Universal Tech. I cannot get over the frustration with their tech. I don't know why they can't have all of your entitlements (entry, express, photos, room key, payment) on one card or wearable. Having to keep up with multiple cards at all times is just absurd. For all the crap we give Disney (myself included, as I think their tech is mid), they absolutely blow Universal away here.
I think the issue is that you aren't just dealing with Universal for those things. the hotel key is Loew's, the park entry ticket is Universal and the photos is Colorvision International.
I agree it would have been really nice to just scan the barcode on the hotel key at park entry and it all link together for the free express pass and park entry, as the system linked it to my face correctly so both the express pass and park ticket were both showing in the app, but the physical barcode wasn't interchangeable.
I always feel that way about a lot of Universal attractions, but I end up warming up to them over time. Once past that initial overwhelming first handful of ride-throughs, and I begin to process what's occurring among the chaos, I start to look forward to certain lines of dialogue or the punchy sound design. I see why people would be angry waiting for 3+ hours for something like Ministry, but I've come to know the beats of the ride and think that it gets better with repeat ride-throughs.
I think the problem is that the majority of guests likely aren't riding these rides more than once or twice on a trip, and then may not be back for years. That's really the audience that matters for ride design; not people who visit regularly.
Not that I think people who only ride once dislike these attractions, though.
I think the problem is that the majority of guests likely aren't riding these rides more than once or twice on a trip, and then may not be back for years. That's really the audience that matters for ride design; not people who visit regularly.
Not that I think people who only ride once dislike these attractions, though.
This is why I think Mario Kart might be receiving some of the worst satisfaction scores ever. More than any other ride I can think of, it is more enjoyable after your first ride. But in terms of wait time, expectation of what the ride experience should deliver based on the IP and being blind-sided by it being a slow moving shooter ride, the game itself being somewhat complex, the visuals being over-stimulating, etc etc, the vast majority of guests are riding it once and leaving dissatisfied.
I quite liked Mario Kart too but it was better on the second go. It is definitely a shooter ride (like Buzz, Toy Story Mania, Men in Black etc) and not a kart racing game though.
I quite liked Mario Kart too but it was better on the second go. It is definitely a shooter ride (like Buzz, Toy Story Mania, Men in Black etc) and not a kart racing game though.
This is why I think Mario Kart might be receiving some of the worst satisfaction scores ever. More than any other ride I can think of, it is more enjoyable after your first ride. But in terms of wait time, expectation of what the ride experience should deliver based on the IP and being blind-sided by it being a slow moving shooter ride, the game itself being somewhat complex, the visuals being over-stimulating, etc etc, the vast majority of guests are riding it once and leaving dissatisfied.
I've been on Mario Kart once and thought it was quite bad. I think it would be a better ride if they dumped the AR shooter aspect and just focused on the setting -- that part is very good but the AR stuff actually detracted from the experience instead of enhancing it for me.
I've been on Mario Kart once and thought it was quite bad. I think it would be a better ride if they dumped the AR shooter aspect and just focused on the setting -- that part is very good but the AR stuff actually detracted from the experience instead of enhancing it for me.
I felt the same. On my second ride I did enjoy it a bit more, having a better idea of both how to play the game and knowing when to "ignore" it. Unfortunately due to its long waits, most visitors will only do it once.
Either way, it's a "mixed reaction" ride at best. One of Universal's bigger misses on failing to deliver what people want and expect from the IP.
I think the issue is that you aren't just dealing with Universal for those things. the hotel key is Loew's, the park entry ticket is Universal and the photos is Colorvision International.
I agree it would have been really nice to just scan the barcode on the hotel key at park entry and it all link together for the free express pass and park entry, as the system linked it to my face correctly so both the express pass and park ticket were both showing in the app, but the physical barcode wasn't interchangeable.
That may be the case. But as the end-user, their goal should be to reduce friction. Instead, I had one day of Express where they didn't like my face but liked my daughter's (and the passes weren't linked correctly) and another day where they liked my face but not my daughter's (which doesn't happen anywhere in the real world, and, again, the passes were not correctly linked). And nobody could fix it. And everyone was confused. At least they all ended up waving me through.
And then there were the pics, which I was told could easily be done at the end of the trip in 20 minutes as long as I had a ballpark of when I rode each ride. An hour of my trip and two locations later, I got all the pics linked.
Contrast that to Disney, where we walked up to MK today and scanned and fingerprinted and walked right in. The few LLs we had were there with no problem. The dining reservations were there with no problem. It was just....seamless. And all one one medium - our MBs. I didn't have the 3 different cards I was walking around with at Uni.
That may be the case. But as the end-user, their goal should be to reduce friction. Instead, I had one day of Express where they didn't like my face but liked my daughter's (and the passes weren't linked correctly) and another day where they liked my face but not my daughter's (which doesn't happen anywhere in the real world, and, again, the passes were not correctly linked). And nobody could fix it. And everyone was confused. At least they all ended up waving me through.
And then there were the pics, which I was told could easily be done at the end of the trip in 20 minutes as long as I had a ballpark of when I rode each ride. An hour of my trip and two locations later, I got all the pics linked.
Contrast that to Disney, where we walked up to MK today and scanned and fingerprinted and walked right in. The few LLs we had were there with no problem. The dining reservations were there with no problem. It was just....seamless. And all one one medium - our MBs. I didn't have the 3 different cards I was walking around with at Uni.
Never had a problem with face scan at Universal. Literally 2 seconds and I'm in. But the security is ****** and parking lot attendants are as close to useless as you can get
The facial recognition is definitely still a mixed bag, unfortunately. It generally loves me (I usually get the green check immediately after it starts scanning no matter the variables, 0 delay 95% of the time), but it really doesn’t like my wife as it always takes a while and half the time it takes multiple attempts for her no matter the time of day.
I think the problem is that the majority of guests likely aren't riding these rides more than once or twice on a trip, and then may not be back for years. That's really the audience that matters for ride design; not people who visit regularly.
Not that I think people who only ride once dislike these attractions, though.
Why is it not relevant to people who visit regularly? Repeat people who like Universal and travel from afar still spend quite a lot of money, right? Universal has also fostered a much stronger culture among passholders and locals. I guess Disney perceives them as lower spenders, but myself and others will still spend money frequently in the parks. Universal has done a much better job of making their parks into "third spaces" than Disney has.
I always feel that way about a lot of Universal attractions, but I end up warming up to them over time. Once past that initial overwhelming first handful of ride-throughs, and I begin to process what's occurring among the chaos, I start to look forward to certain lines of dialogue or the punchy sound design. I see why people would be angry waiting for 3+ hours for something like Ministry, but I've come to know the beats of the ride and think that it gets better with repeat ride-throughs.
As a massive Harry Potter fan that has read the entire series 10 times, Ministry doesn’t evoke much emotion for me. 95% of the emotion is in the queue, and the 5% on the ride is the adorable vacuum cleaner. I’ve been on the attraction 3 times, and while I’ve become more comfortable with the attraction, I also found it more irritating. The dialogue is poorly written and feels extremely forced. The sound design is irritating after being blessed with the wonderful film soundtracks in the queue.
Universal has also fostered a much stronger culture among passholders and locals. I guess Disney perceives them as lower spenders, but myself and others will still spend money frequently in the parks. Universal has done a much better job of making their parks into "third spaces" than Disney has.
I mean, UOR is quite a bit closer to the typical Orlando resident than WDW is. In fact, UOR is often located “on the way” to WDW, which probably explains why UOR caters to locals more than WDW. UOR’s location gives them an unbeatable advantage when it comes to attracting locals, which they have reinforced with better passholder perks (although I know a lot of passholders are very upset about the Epic situation). On the other hand, WDW likely sees no point in getting into a perks competition with UOR for locals when they don’t have to and, again, they are further away from most locals. However, in terms of culture, I have to say I see a heck of a lot more cars in Orlando with Florida plates that have WDW stickers/magnets than I do Universal stickers/magnets. In any event, the locals situation is undoubtedly Disney’s territory in LA.
I laughed months ago when those green beams in the background were somehow projected to create this massive wall.
And here's the easily expected real-world result. It's nice that they did something, though Universal is lauded for putting up a green wall when Disney would be lambasted for such a thing.
Why is it not relevant to people who visit regularly? Repeat people who like Universal and travel from afar still spend quite a lot of money, right? Universal has also fostered a much stronger culture among passholders and locals. I guess Disney perceives them as lower spenders, but myself and others will still spend money frequently in the parks. Universal has done a much better job of making their parks into "third spaces" than Disney has.
This doesn't really make sense as a response to what I said.
Most visitors don't visit regularly or ride something several times in one trip. You suggested that Universal's rides maybe don't work as well as they should the first time you ride it, but get better with repeat rides -- I'm pointing out that's more or less backwards from a design standpoint (not that I'm suggesting they should get worse with repeated rides).
It's good that there's more to see/experience on multiple rides -- that's why rides like Pirates of the Caribbean are all-time classics -- but they shouldn't be underwhelming/hard to understand on a first ride, because that's the main audience.
