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

C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
Some changes some of the nitpickers will be happy with in the next week, but many are going to be nitpicking either way.

Nothing major, but positive tweaks.

Also, the Botanical beuaty of Celestial Park is realy coming in now. Loving that.


For those who do not know you can make Blue Dragon reservations now.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member


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Architectural Guinea Pig

Architectural Guinea Pig

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Agent H said:
I can’t speak for everyone but whenever I ride the only thing that’s broken is the cannons.
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My sister went on the DL Rise yesterday. Unlucky enough for the ride to break down while she was in line just once the entire day (as far as I know). Aside from that, after the ride reopened she reported that all effects were working, including the cannons! Operations are very smooth there.
 
Agent H

Agent H

Well-Known Member
Architectural Guinea Pig said:
My sister went on the DL Rise yesterday. Unlucky enough for the ride to break down while she was in line just once the entire day (as far as I know). Aside from that, after the ride reopened she reported that all effects were working, including the cannons! Operations are very smooth there.
Click to expand...
I’m pretty sure there was a whole press release about it a bit back.
 
MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
Agent H said:
Yes. This park will increase overall profit and attendance for universal but the parks impact on Disney is grossly overstated and honestly just comes off as wishful thinking. I predict this park will be the third most visited park in Orlando for the first 2 to 3 years and then will join the the ranks of the parks that have to be updated every couple of years to keep attendance as high as the other parks.
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I don't thing Universal's goal was ever to stick it to Disney.

I'm pretty sure it's always been about building the strength of their own business. I don't know that they actually care about market share as long as they're doing well in their own right. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Of course they'd like to better develop their own bubble and lock people in with resort stays but there's a lot in Unviersal and Disney guests that don't overlap that much. This may change as Disney continues to dip their toes in the thrill/action ride category to some degree but that's still a space they're clearly not feeling overly threatened by or trying to dominate... yet.

I could see this peeling off a day of what might otherwise have been a Disney-only trip in some instances and that might give TDO some pause if that ends up being the case, especially when it comes to where those folks are staying.

I'd like to see it succeed and scare Disney into doing a better job. Whether it does or not is anyone's guess.
 
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Purduevian

Purduevian

Well-Known Member
Agent H said:
If any attraction were to get big updates I would pick donkey Kong. That ride seriously needs more capacity.
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Not sure how much they can do to expand DK capacity outside of better OPs and reliability. The coaster is a prototype and suffers capacity for it.

My guess is they build a DK barrel flat ride, Jungle vine swing ride, ect. Give people something to do in the area that doesn't have a horrible wait.
 
Andrew C

Andrew C

You know what's funny?
MrPromey said:
I don't thing Universal's goal was ever to stick it to Disney.

I'm pretty sure it's always been about building the strength of their own business. I don't know that they actually care about market share as long as they're doing well in their own right. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Of course they'd like to better develop their own bubble and lock people in with resort stays but there's a lot in Unviersal and Disney guests that don't overlap that much. This may change as Disney continues to dip their toes in the thrill/action ride category to some degree but that's still a space they're clearly not feeling overly threatened by or trying to dominate... yet.

I could see this peeling off a day of what might otherwise have been a Disney-only trip in some instances and that might give TDO some pause if it ends up being the case, especially when it comes to where those folks are staying.

I'd like to see it succeed and scare Disney into doing a better job. Whether it does or not is anyone's guess.
Click to expand...
I have mentioned some of this before, but when it comes to theme park vacations, our family has completely shifted from WDW to Universal. The value proposition at WDW just isn't there anymore for us. And that combined with what Universal can offer us (even before this new park), it is a no brainer. More value for us, better pre-arrival experience, and honestly a better experience while being there. So, while I will miss many things about WDW, I just cannot justify going there when I know we will have a better experience at Universal, and will not feel like I am being ripped off. And that doesn't even touch on the fact that my kids are starting to get older...

I cannot be the only one who is going this way. Although I am also not exactly a typical theme park guest...
 
Stripes

Stripes

Premium Member
Agent H said:
Yes. This park will increase overall profit and attendance for universal but the parks impact on Disney is grossly overstated and honestly just comes off as wishful thinking. I predict this park will be the third most visited park in Orlando for the first 2 to 3 years and then will join the the ranks of the parks that have to be updated every couple of years to keep attendance as high as the other parks.
Click to expand...
blogmickey.com

D'Amaro: Epic Universe Will Not Cannibalize Walt Disney World Visitation

Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D'Amaro was recently asked about Universal Epic Universe and the impact it'll have on Walt Disney World
blogmickey.com blogmickey.com
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
Andrew C said:
I cannot be the only one who is going this way
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you aren't - and it's a train of thought in 'online theme park wars' that gets lost when people fight for their camps vs just consider themselves as customers.

The products change... what made something good or bad in 2002 isn't necessarily the same in 2022.
What you experienced as a kid who was green and carefree is different from what you experience as an adult doing the organization and bill paying.
What your family needs or enjoys will evolve as the make-up of your family changes with age, growing up, growing older, etc.

TLDR - things evolve, both the product (like the WDW changes you mention) and you as a customer.

What made Disney so stand out for so many years was how the product managed to appeal to customers at various stages and could KEEP a customer engaged as they evolved.. so you got this generational cycle that built such loyalty. But they broke that cycle... and so it's not uncommon at all for evolving customers to find themselves stepping out of the loop.. or feeling out of place in the loop.
 
Sir_Cliff

Sir_Cliff

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
What made Disney so stand out for so many years was how the product managed to appeal to customers at various stages and could KEEP a customer engaged as they evolved.. so you got this generational cycle that built such loyalty. But they broke that cycle... and so it's not uncommon at all for evolving customers to find themselves stepping out of the loop.. or feeling out of place in the loop.
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I would be curious to know how true this has been during the lifespan of the parks and when/if it changed. My memory is that one of the issues with the Disney brand generally that was identified when Eisner took over is that it appealed to people when they were children, lost them when they became teenagers, and only regained them when they had children of their own. This was part of the logic for diversifying the options available at WDW and, on the studio side, creating Touchstone.

Unless I am misremembering something, then, I would be interested to know when Disney transitioned to a point where they held customers throughout their life and then when that changed and what made it change. I wouldn't think it would be pricing so much, as that is more pricing certain consumers out entirely rather than, say, making the parks less appealing to teenagers. As a brand, I would suggest that Disney is actually more all-ages now than it has ever been.
 

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