Battle at the Ministry, the scenes are too large to capture in a POV camera
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Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Now Open!
- Thread starter Bob Harlem
- Start date
Stripes
Premium Member
Which physical set in the ride is the biggest?
Also Important to add that Uni has much more generous pasholder discounting as in any quick service locations will give the ten or fifteen percent on food and non alcoholic beverages and Freestyle Cups where as WDWs does not often have the passholder discount.
Gusey
Well-Known Member
The Parking Lot signs were designed in 2023 too (Poseidon's Fury closed in May 2023). Still don't know what the Hero lot is meant to represent as there are no Heros with swords/shields in the park. I can understand Explorer because of Captain Cacao and Maya the Explorer
OrlandoRising
Well-Known Member
You're asking the wrong question. Why would it still be included if those plans have been totally scrapped? There would've been plenty of time to change those features.
Why would Zelda be the *only* franchise represented in the store's decor without also already being a part of Super Nintendo World?
The "just a Nintendo store" explanation only works if other Nintendo characters were slipped in, like Kirby, but it's just the Mario family of characters, Donkey Kong, and then Zelda.
There's NO actual Zelda merch in the store either, so the decor isn't just there to fit with a larger Nintendo theme.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
I’m not asking questions…
Through all of the design and the overwhelming majority of the construction of Epic Universe, Legend of Zelda was eyed for Islands of Adventure. At one point it would have even opened before Epic Universe and Super Nintendo World. The Eight Voyage of Sinbad was closed in 2018 for Zelda but it didn’t move forward. Poseidon’s Fury was closed in 2023 for Zelda but again, the project didn’t move forward. Only very recently has Zelda now been considered for Epic Universe. So I’m not sure what they would have removed because throughout the design and construction of the store the anticipation was that Zelda would be in another park.
Baloo124
Premium Member
And this is before Jun, Jul, Aug... heat arrives on scene.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Hello I have some thoughts on Battle at the Ministry. Skip this post if you don't want to know anything, but I avoided spilling the big surprises if you're already aware of what the ride system is.
I know lots of people have seen the queue. The queue is great, but I really wish they weren't using the same musical score tracks as the other Potter attractions. Just feels copy/paste ish and low effort, like they for whatever reason can't think of another way to make sure you know you're in Potterland than playing the same familiar Potter tunes.
The ride is good. Very good. They learned from a lot of the complaints of Gringotts - about how despite being on the wild cart system we saw in the films, you hardly pull any actual crazy maneuvers and mostly just sit and watch. This is the opposite. Tons of movement, both physical and simulated. The "stop and watch" segments are really only there as breathers. People who get motion sickness easily will likely have a hard time with this ride. But, despite being heavily screen based, it does feel like a true thrill ride whereas Gringotts always felt like it cheated you out of a full ride experience.
No, it does not feel like Tower of Terror. You don't leave your seat. It's more of a floaty, bouncy feeling throughout.
The LED wall screens combined with the parallax effects look really good, maybe even better than projected 3D because of how much more saturated they are, the fact that they can't go out of focus, and the ability to display true black. Yes, you lose the ability to have things come toward the rider, but the effect of adding depth to the scene works just as well as with 3D glasses.
The animatronics were good, however I think they are more impressive in Monsters Unchained.
I do have some criticisms!
First, this is a ride that really needed a true pre-show. I'm not a huge Potter nerd, I have seen all the films but not read the books. I had no idea what the hell was going on. Umbridge is on trial, okay, but... what about everything else happening?
Second - yet again: pacing. Universal can't help themselves but make rides that are completely bombastic and overwhelming the entire time, which results in rides that take multiple rides to fully appreciate and often leaves me with a less than stellar opinion the first round. That, combined with lots of screen-based motion simulation makes this the ride that feels the most familiar to past Universal attractions out of everything at Epic.
Third - by the third time the characters in another lift were floating in front of me delivering the "next steps" dialogue, it felt redundant/repetitive.
Because of these criticisms, I would say it is an 8/10 for me.
Monsters Unchained is a 9/10. It loses one point because of pacing, story, and tone issues.
For reference, I still consider Rise of the Resistance, the full experience with everything working, to be a 10/10.
I know lots of people have seen the queue. The queue is great, but I really wish they weren't using the same musical score tracks as the other Potter attractions. Just feels copy/paste ish and low effort, like they for whatever reason can't think of another way to make sure you know you're in Potterland than playing the same familiar Potter tunes.
The ride is good. Very good. They learned from a lot of the complaints of Gringotts - about how despite being on the wild cart system we saw in the films, you hardly pull any actual crazy maneuvers and mostly just sit and watch. This is the opposite. Tons of movement, both physical and simulated. The "stop and watch" segments are really only there as breathers. People who get motion sickness easily will likely have a hard time with this ride. But, despite being heavily screen based, it does feel like a true thrill ride whereas Gringotts always felt like it cheated you out of a full ride experience.
No, it does not feel like Tower of Terror. You don't leave your seat. It's more of a floaty, bouncy feeling throughout.
The LED wall screens combined with the parallax effects look really good, maybe even better than projected 3D because of how much more saturated they are, the fact that they can't go out of focus, and the ability to display true black. Yes, you lose the ability to have things come toward the rider, but the effect of adding depth to the scene works just as well as with 3D glasses.
The animatronics were good, however I think they are more impressive in Monsters Unchained.
I do have some criticisms!
First, this is a ride that really needed a true pre-show. I'm not a huge Potter nerd, I have seen all the films but not read the books. I had no idea what the hell was going on. Umbridge is on trial, okay, but... what about everything else happening?
Second - yet again: pacing. Universal can't help themselves but make rides that are completely bombastic and overwhelming the entire time, which results in rides that take multiple rides to fully appreciate and often leaves me with a less than stellar opinion the first round. That, combined with lots of screen-based motion simulation makes this the ride that feels the most familiar to past Universal attractions out of everything at Epic.
Third - by the third time the characters in another lift were floating in front of me delivering the "next steps" dialogue, it felt redundant/repetitive.
Because of these criticisms, I would say it is an 8/10 for me.
Monsters Unchained is a 9/10. It loses one point because of pacing, story, and tone issues.
For reference, I still consider Rise of the Resistance, the full experience with everything working, to be a 10/10.
DarkMetroid567
Well-Known Member
It is really fascinating how similar the design philosophy at Creative has stayed over the years in regards to pacing and story-telling for its dark rides. Every Universal ride feels like it just ends so suddenly with a “thanks! bye!” ending. The abrupt ending of Monsters seems to be its #1 critique and the ending of Ministry seems to be similarly unsatisfying.
I think part of what makes Rise, Spider-Man, and even something like Runaway Railway work so well is that they have some of the best and most memorable ride conclusions.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Universal Creative had a very consistent, very involved team of top executives.
It is more noticeable in a screen and non viceral ending.
In those you mentioned Spiderman, Rebel soliders and Mickey play heroes to the story.
In the other rides it is mostly peril, either characters not utilized at all or under/weak. These are minor in the big things but some of the best rides do the thanks as if we were of importance of the situation. BTTF was rushed but had some of the best ride ending writing ever. Jaws and Konfgrontation worked because we were heroes and had a physical experience conquering the peril. This enhanced by situations like Jaws when the ring of fire hit and the Skipper asks the guest audience "Should we go for it?"
A safe way for people to take the risk and even though an illusion of danger, visceral enough to be interactive to our emotional side and elicicit a response from most by the end. Spidey did a pre recorded version of that and Kong's with "Congratulation your heroes, I knew it all along" from the rough character of JJ Jameson who doubted everyone from the start of the queue experience and did not care..
It is not just a Uni pacing choice, although because of big steaks and peril directly lifted from films and thrilling fast pace, we are going to have more of it for sure.
At WDW. Indiana, an all time classic being cloned again has the ending with Indy's nod and dialogue thanking us in character.
Guardians of the Galaxy, the most expensive and most recent WDW successful large ticket has those ending clips from characters thanking us.
A way to add variety, as seen in scattered in various ways is to add meta humor and sarcasm to break up that important but final moment of celebration after peril.
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Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Yes! The lack of a build up and instead diving right into the chaos, maintaining that level of chaos throughout, and then a quick send-off results in rides that do not immediately resonate on the same emotional level as rides with proper pacing.
By comparison, Rise of the Resistance has tons of build up before you even get on the ride vehicle. Then the action and peril during the ride increases as it goes, building up to the climax of the physical drop and simulator escape segment. Then there's the whole winding down and proper sendoff goodbye from Lieutenant Bek on the final stretch outside.
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
I will agree with you on the preshow point. This is the one ride at Epic that requires a more traditional preshow that explains everything. Unlike the other Potter rides that you can get away with knowing just a bit of the IP, the Time Turner/Floo network will be very confusing to the non-Potter head. With that said, it's still an enjoyable experience.
Obviously, it's all personal preference, but Ministry of Magic is at the same level as Rise. It's at a larger scale and several scenes are better.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Yes, it is the most esoteric of the five previous Potter rides by far. Forbidden Journey and Hogwarts Express are highlights of famous series elements, Hagrid's only requires you to know that there are magical creatures and a creepy forest. Gringotts requires a little more knowledge, but one could get by just knowing that Voldemort and Bellatrix are main villains.
Re: Rise - the fact that every scene is a fully realized, 360 degree themed environment tips the scale for me. No area is unthemed and/or obscured or hidden by darkness. That and they truly nailed the pacing and emotional beats, which, for story-heavy, theatrical rides, is very important.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
Yes, but if the line is moving swiftly or if the crowd is loud, you can't really pick up on it. The ride takes the same "pre-show" approach as Forbidden Journey in that you're supposed to listen to everything in the queue to pick up on the story, but without a deliberate pre-show moment to stop and listen to, it's easy to miss.
Which brings an interesting discussion - rides that should have a preshow but don't (Ministry) vs. rides that have a pre-show but shouldn't (Cosmic Rewind)
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Agent H
Well-Known Member
I find this trend so annoying. Give me my exposition universal!
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
(Let me know if I need to relocate this post)
Epic Universe is a fantastic park. Its major flaw is the lack of family-friendly attractions that can be experienced by the entire family that does not involve significant motion or getting wet. I'd prioritized a family-friendly dark ride at the park to help improve this aspect (either #1 or #7). I'd also try to fast-track some sort of minor addition to Dark Universe (#4 below) to add additional experiences within the land.
After experiencing the park, I don't think they need to touch the large expansion pads until the existing portals are fleshed out (and USF/IOA get significant investment)
Epic Universe is a fantastic park. Its major flaw is the lack of family-friendly attractions that can be experienced by the entire family that does not involve significant motion or getting wet. I'd prioritized a family-friendly dark ride at the park to help improve this aspect (either #1 or #7). I'd also try to fast-track some sort of minor addition to Dark Universe (#4 below) to add additional experiences within the land.
After experiencing the park, I don't think they need to touch the large expansion pads until the existing portals are fleshed out (and USF/IOA get significant investment)
Yes and no.
I find it quicker overall. The difference is that at Citywalk, you have cover almost the entire way to Citywalk (unless you get rooftop parking).