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

J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
JT3000 said:
Did they announce those things? Hell, I'd settle for Mary Poppins.
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There were signs for them (and more) when the park opened. Honestly, I’m far more wary of nebulous pre-opening promises of possible future 2.0 expansion than I am of targeted individual attraction adds once you get a bit farther into the life of a park.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is being replaced... that's the first domino to fall.

Fast & Furious: Supercharged is on the chopping block, with USH's version now gone. Wicked experiences are on their way according to Universal themselves.

Disney is very transparent... Universal loves to wait until things are under construction.

Universal has lots of things under development, but they obviously don't want any sort of attention on those things since they have a massive park to open up first.
 
J

JT3000

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
We're mixing up Disney's overpromised attractions with Universal's secrecy.
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Literally telling everyone that you're already working on new attractions isn't really secrecy, but even if their current, unspecified plans were to fall through, I'd certainly take that over officially announcing something only to later cancel it. I don't think Universal's ever made that mistake, thankfully.
 
Gusey

Gusey

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
Have they...
​
1. Mentioned how much Capex they're going to spend to expand/upgrade the parks?​
​
2. Given a timeline of when that Capex will be spent?​
​
3. Mentioned specific new/reimagined attractions?​
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If the Hero Parking Lot rumor is true, that along with a shop window will likely confirm what their next attraction intends to be, unless we end up with another AK Unicorn parking lot.
 
J

James Alucobond

Well-Known Member
JT3000 said:
Literally telling everyone that you're already working on new attractions isn't really secrecy, but even if their current, unspecified plans were to fall through, I'd certainly take that over officially announcing something only to later cancel it. I don't think Universal's ever made that mistake, thankfully.
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It’s not really a mistake, at least in the “unintentional” sense. I guarantee that if Universal had the same announcements-to-dollars pipeline as Disney, they’d also announce things way earlier. Disney has D23 seats to sell, books to publish filled with unrealized plans, no additional property rights holders to whom they’re beholden, and a department in Imagineering that has enduring mystique and a vault filled with ideas that can generate D+ content.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
James Alucobond said:
It’s not really a mistake, at least in the “unintentional” sense. I guarantee that if Universal had the same announcements-to-dollars pipeline as Disney, they’d also announce things way earlier. Disney has D23 seats to sell, books to publish filled with unrealized plans, no additional property rights holders to whom they’re beholden, and a department in Imagineering that has enduring mystique and a vault filled with ideas that can generate D+ content.
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Agree. Similar to DVC, Disney has trapped itself into a program/process that can be burdening yet rewardful... so they just push whatever they can no matter what it is.

D23 has become a spectacle for them, so they have to release stuff to fill 2 hours of content.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
They will simply repeat stuff from the last one.
Its Disney's process - Talk about stuff for two or three years before dirt moves.
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This is what I expect for next year's D23. One year with significant announcements, with the next year revealing details on previous announcements and minor announcements.

Attractions/new experiences should have a maximum 4-year cycle between announcement and debut.
 
Tom Morrow

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Andrew25 said:
This is just a test. First time they've been recorded and active


Werewolf is more themed than Hippogriff, with the exception that Hippogriff doesn't have those ugly nets along its track.

Since the park's first aerial concept art was release, it was pretty obvious there would be "holes" in the theming. Nintendo and Ministry will be the two "Diagon Alley" level lands in theming. Pretty difficult to see outside those two lands.

HTTYD & Monsters, unfortunately, are where you either get very little theming (Dark Universe) or visual intrusions from outside the world (HTTYD - Stardust) or unthemed showbuildings (Untrainable Dragon building).

Outside of that, the park is great.


I think you can describe any other park in Orlando with this statement.

I'm not defending Universal (I hate some of the choices they've made here creatively and ticketing, etc.), but there will unfortunately be 'duds' in any project of this scale.
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I agree with these statements based on what I’ve seen / heard. I do think a lot of theme park enthusiasts will need to temper their expectations a bit from what the hype train has built this up as. This is not a ”Disney killer” and not a game changer for the theme park industry. If all four portal lands were on the immersive level of Ministry then it might be different.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
Tom Morrow said:
I agree with these statements based on what I’ve seen / heard. I do think a lot of theme park enthusiasts will need to temper their expectations a bit from what the hype train has built this up as. This is not a ”Disney killer” and not a game changer for the theme park industry. If all four portal lands were on the immersive level of Ministry then it might be different.
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Yes, theme park enthusiasts need to temper expectations a bit. Ministry & Monsters are great attractions, but a lot of people are wondering if the park will match DisneySea in design and scale... it certainly won't. There are sections of the park that will look great, but they're just partial sections or have visual intrusions once you turn the corner. DisneySea is completely themed everywhere you look.

I don't think Univeral is doing anything unique theming-wise here, but they are attempting a few things...
  • More unique entertainment (flying drones during the day)
  • Unique F&B options, not just chicken tenders and burgers
  • Facial recognition (I'm sure more parks will utilize the tech as it is very easy to use)

Moth said:
It's looking like Potter ate up the budget for another Universal expansion.... again.
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Potter had an attraction cut, so I wouldn't necessarily blame it on that. Universal just had extra time with Covid to fine-tune the park and cut anything that they didn't deem necessary (Monsters Show and VR attraction at Potter).
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
I think the proper term for EU is ambitious, and it looks like they'll stick the landing pretty hard.

It's the closest the USA will get to its own DisneySea in my eyes (still weaker than DisneySea but still), but I think the effort put into EU is great.

I am curious if I'd still be as receptive to EU if Disney wasn't actively shooting itself in the foot but still.
 
D

DarkMetroid567

Well-Known Member
Andrew C said:
Epic matching DisneySea was never a thought that entered my mind? Did it really enter the minds of others?
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Try Twitter or YT/Instagram/TikTok comments!
Moth said:
It's the closest the USA will get to its own DisneySea in my eyes (still weaker than DisneySea but still), but I think the effort put into EU is great.
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Imo it’s hard to see how this isn’t still Animal Kingdom. The design philosophies, down to the river/sea throughlines and mostly IP-less lands, are super similar.

Honestly it’s hard to think of what TDS and EU actually do have in common.
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
DarkMetroid567 said:
Try Twitter or YT/Instagram/TikTok comments!

Imo it’s hard to see how this isn’t still Animal Kingdom. The design philosophies, down to the river/sea throughlines and mostly IP-less lands, are super similar.

Honestly it’s hard to think of what TDS and EU actually do have in common.
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Nono, you're right. DAK is the closer comparison. Much more fitting.

EU is what DHS wants to be, I guess :p.

Themed, immersive IP lands, only that EU has (seemingly!) pulled it off and the best DHS can give us is Galaxy's Edge.
 
Disney Analyst

Disney Analyst

Well-Known Member
Moth said:
I think the proper term for EU is ambitious, and it looks like they'll stick the landing pretty hard.

It's the closest the USA will get to its own DisneySea in my eyes (still weaker than DisneySea but still), but I think the effort put into EU is great.

I am curious if I'd still be as receptive to EU if Disney wasn't actively shooting itself in the foot but still.
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Not at all. The closest we’ve gotten is Animal Kingdom. Regardless if you find it a full day park, or love the attraction line up, from a theme and immersion standpoint, AK is still king. I don’t think EU is close to that level, not with barebones coasters and sight line intrusions in multiple lands.
 
Moth

Moth

Well-Known Member
Disney Analyst said:
Not at all. The closest we’ve gotten is Animal Kingdom. Regardless if you find it a full day park, or love the attraction line up, from a theme and immersion standpoint, AK is still king. I don’t think EU is close to that level, not with barebones coasters and sight line intrusions in multiple lands.
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Yeah, I stand corrected on that point. Even with Tropical Americas, DAK is what the US has closest to DisneySea.
 

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