Finally is the word that comes to my Mind... If EU can pull this off every might I'll be Happy!
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Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Now Open!
- Thread starter Bob Harlem
- Start date
Maybe...But does it have large obtrusive ugly floating barges that look like giant metal tacos?
Epcot82Guy
Well-Known Member
Only in the parallel universe the Celestials open. We call it... EpiCOT.
Seriously though, I really liked this. The feeling in Celestial Park when all the lights are going and you can literally walk through the show (minus the main fountain) is awesome. The fireworks add a much needed layer. I really hope they add passholder access, because I would love to see this live many times. Is it perfect, no. But, this appears to be a very solid show and a great "first go" for a Universal full-scale show.
Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
No, this is not better than Happily Ever After or Luminous and does not come close to having the emotional weight and gravitas of those. But it's nice! Having all the lights in Celestial Park be part of the show adds a lot. I think they should have incorporated some or more of the Epic Universe themes to be less of a quick runthrough of the IP's. It would add some time to the show and a little more artistic merit.
I also think perhaps it shouldn't conclude with the Universal Studios theme, as that feels more appropriate for a USF show.
I also think perhaps it shouldn't conclude with the Universal Studios theme, as that feels more appropriate for a USF show.
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Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
The tacos left with Harmonious and they've gone back to the IllumiNations model of only moving in the show equipment in the evening.
So... it is nice.
It's big.
But...
So, in the end, I felt that it was afraid to tell a story.
There were no moments of calm to contrast with the climax. If felt like the fountain and fireworks were doing their own thing barely in sync with each other and the music.
It was just too... much. Same critique I had for Harmonious and Cascade of Light.
Here's a story:
You're welcome, Universal.
It's big.
But...
1. (Almost) all the fireworks bloomed in the same spot over and over again.
2. The firework bursts were just one after another after another, and so on...
3. The fountains were... there. In the same spot. Cycling through a few set-ups.
4. The music was... there. Mario and Potter were recognizable. But recognizable or not (as with Dark and Berk)... it was... just... there.
5. The color projections on Helios were pitifully simple and plain.
So, in the end, I felt that it was afraid to tell a story.
There were no moments of calm to contrast with the climax. If felt like the fountain and fireworks were doing their own thing barely in sync with each other and the music.
It was just too... much. Same critique I had for Harmonious and Cascade of Light.
Here's a story:
A. The joy of Mario. Everything it in red and yellow.
B. The Dark menace disrupts Mario with its dark theme. Purple with flashes of lightning.
C. The dark side of Potter joins in with Green colors mixed in.
D. The good side of Potter comes in to fight the evil with blues and golds.
E. But it seems that the good side of Potter is failing until Berk joins in with sprays of dragon breath of many colors including red and yellow.
F. That 'wakes' up Mario and the joy of his gaming world.
You're welcome, Universal.
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Tom Morrow
Well-Known Member
^ I agree with all of that. This still feels placeholder-ish. However, with all the added show tech upgrades, the foundation is now there for a better show.
As far as having a show with story or meaning, I suppose we have to come to terms with the fact that there's just not much to work with. A Magic Kingdom night show has Disney's entire catalog to pull from. An Epcot show has big, important themes about humanity to work with. An Epic Universe show has only the four IPs. But still, yeah, a better structured and more interesting show is possible. In addition to your critiques, I think instead of the narration summarizing the whole show before it happens, that narration should be reworked and broken up throughout the show to have a quick line that introduces each Portal segment.
Like:
(Dark Universe segment ends)
(A moment of silence followed by a calm musical intro, for pacing)
"And finally, you did dragon stuff"
(Berk segment)
It's still a plus to Epic Universe, not trying to deny that or anything.
As far as having a show with story or meaning, I suppose we have to come to terms with the fact that there's just not much to work with. A Magic Kingdom night show has Disney's entire catalog to pull from. An Epcot show has big, important themes about humanity to work with. An Epic Universe show has only the four IPs. But still, yeah, a better structured and more interesting show is possible. In addition to your critiques, I think instead of the narration summarizing the whole show before it happens, that narration should be reworked and broken up throughout the show to have a quick line that introduces each Portal segment.
Like:
(Dark Universe segment ends)
(A moment of silence followed by a calm musical intro, for pacing)
"And finally, you did dragon stuff"
(Berk segment)
It's still a plus to Epic Universe, not trying to deny that or anything.
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I audibly laughed when I saw their Mega Movie parade with how cynically corporate the Studios theme feels. It’s a horrible piece of music to use as the filler base. I really don’t get their base desires to constantly dip into it.
Sometimes you just need to steal from the best. Get a pair of 20 year old vocalists to sing about wizarding spells, dragon fire and happiness; I’m there for it.
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
Maybe I’m weird (certainly wouldn’t be the first time that accusation is made), but I really love the studio theme, especially the 100th anniversary version that Brian Tyler arranged, and it genuinely gives me goosebumps and a really good feeling whenever they use it as a finale cue for a show. And that’s as someone who never had an overall association with movies from Universal the same way I (and pretty much every kid) had with Disney. I do think a new arrangement with a slightly more ethereal sound for use with Epic would make sense, but I think the soundtrack for the show works really well. The addition of the fireworks really elevates what was already there, and that’s from my vantage from outside the park gate last night. I’m super excited to eventually experience this one from inside the park.
—————
If you all must have an explicit story for everything, I think they should look back to how CineSpec was structured. Despite how maligned it seems to be the past few years, I think that it’s still the overall best nighttime show Universal has done. It had an overall direction, distinct acts, and a finale that brought it home combined with an excellent soundtrack. Of course, Morgan Freeman narrating certainly helped.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I generally concur with everyone that it's a good addition and solid overall, but your first few points about it being a little repetitive also stood out to me. Once it gets going, you very quickly see all their moves and they mostly seem to just repeat them until the end of the show.
I will also say another point against using the hotel as the backdrop to the park is that it is not especially easy to integrate it into the show as you can't make people turn off the lights in their room. It would probably be a waste for them to project too much detail beyond colours an basic shapes onto the hotel for that reason as you never know how many rooms will be lit up on a given evening.
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
For clarity I was referring to the parade, myself. I’m spoiler-ish free on the night show.
I hope it is better done than the parades weird sound mix and that sounds to be the case from you.
So for that one year, let's assume the parks are on their own.
It’s already happening on the ground. There have been layoffs at the parks and in other divisions of the company that have not made the news, and they have brought in restructuring consultants across the entirety of it.
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
I'm not saying it won't happen.
But corporate America is doing its thing right now.
There's no reason that McKinsey and Bain consultants should be at the parks, studios, and offices, but they're there.