Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens May 22 2025

trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
·
Feb 18

Wide aerial photo looking across Epic Universe. Left top arrow about center of the park, right top arrow about the entrance. Kirkman Rd is arrow in foreground, and will intersect with road with right-most that leads to guest parking. Berms seem to be shaped to be permanent.
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Aerial photo looking across site of Epic Universe. Left arrow about where the entrance will be. Other arrow about center of the theme park.
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At center is a concrete plant in the work site of Epic Universe. In foreground is a longstanding Orange County water reclamation plant. Team member parking top right is adjacent Sand Lake Rd.
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Aerial look at a recently added concrete plant on-site at Epic Universe.

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Aerial look at a portion of the Epic Universe site. A circle in the sand is starting to lose definition. Circle is location of a fountain in front of an in-park hotel. Hotel to be about center of this photo.
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Aerial photo of some of the concrete form work in Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe.
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Aerial overview of construction of Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe. Two cranes are active with concrete forms. A third crane is being assembled at right.
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Aerial photo of what will likely be pad for a show building in Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe. Notice the lineup of rectangles. There are also circular columns of rebar.
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trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Feb 18

Aerial look at excavation and concrete work for a show building in Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe.
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Aerial look at some of the concrete work in progress in Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe. A crane is raising a form wall. Nearby are footers, pads. Top right is a very interesting set of concrete forms. Behind the crane there is a line of vaults where pipes connect.
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Aerial look at some of the construction in Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe. Much concrete work seen here, and also a line of vaults at left where pipes will connect.
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Aerial overview of Super Nintendo World construction in Epic Universe.
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Aerial overview of Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe. Two cranes are active with concrete forms at top. At center a white crane is assembling another crane. The blue fenced area is a staging area, and likely a future expansion pad of the park.
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Aerial photo of multiple tall cranes in site of Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe. Bottom arrow at an additional crane being assembled. Top arrow is
@MCO
Orlando airport control tower.
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Aerial look at where (top arrow) an Epic Universe related hotel will be built. Universal Blvd at top of photo. Construction of Kirkman Rd extension at right. Left arrow on a road bed reaching day guest parking.
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Aerial look at what will be the intersection of Universal Blvd and the extension of Kirkman Rd.
@OrlandoParkStop
recently reported that there's permits for an Epic Universe hotel at the arrow.
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trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Feb 18
Aerial look at a staging area for electrical construction in Epic Universe.
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Aerial look at one of the staging areas for Epic Universe. Blue tarps are covering what is believed to be track for Yoshi’s Adventure.
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Aerial overview of construction at Epic Universe.
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https://twitter.com/bioreconstruct

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Feb 19

A steel retaining wall being driven in the site of Epic Universe. A detail overlooked in aerial photos yesterday.
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Arrow at a retaining wall being driven in site of Epic Universe. Aerial photo yesterday.
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trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
tommyhawkins said:
If we don't see a park completed by Dec 2024, snagging the following months, followed by spring soft Openings ready for a June 7th Grand Opening I will be shocked
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count me in if they need testers for the soft opening just fly me down and house me at that hotel and let me in for free then
 
tommyhawkins

tommyhawkins

Well-Known Member
Andrew25 said:
With Universal, the construction part doesn't bother me, it's the actual testing phase since they pretty much skim through that. It's not just a new park, but an entire change to the way they operate the entire resort.
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Velocicoaster started testing in November 2020 for a June 2021 opening, lesson learnt with hagrids. I imagine we will see similar come November 2024
trr1 said:
count me in if they need testers for the soft opening just fly me down and house me at that hotel and let me in for free then
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i think the whole of Orlando will have gone to the park before its ready for the world to see.
MisterPenguin said:
Again, if EU is that good -- and I do hope it is -- it's going to hurt Universal's other two theme parks more so than Disney's four.
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That's on the basis that neither park do anything to compete with their own internal rival. The expansion opportunities at USF once everything gets moved to the south campus are enormous. I think people are going to be surprised how bullish they will be the following years after this park opens. I also believe that Nintendo will bring a different crowd to what we have historically seen
 
J

JT3000

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
Again, if EU is that good -- and I do hope it is -- it's going to hurt Universal's other two theme parks more so than Disney's four.
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Given everything we know about the nature of multi-day ticket packages and the logistics related to a park's location, this statement flies in the face of all logic. If seeing the brand new Universal park is someone's priority, it is not the other Universal parks they will cut out of their vacation.
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Frankenstein79 said:
I'm hoping Universal kicks Disney's *** with Epic Universe. Disney has to be knocked off their high horse. They seem to think that they are unbeatable.
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Magic Kingdom will still be the most popular park in Orlando no matter what.

However, where Universal could hit Disney is in bringing down attendance at the other WDW parks.

The biggest potential paradigm shift for Orlando visitors would be a switch from a multi-day Disney trip with a day at Universal to the opposite, but it could take time for that to happen. I suspect there will be a learning curve for people to understand that this is a separate park in a location away from the rest of Universal.
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Just speaking from anecdotal experience, people know that Universal Studios is in Florida, but are not familiar with Islands of Adventure and that it is a separate park, let alone Volcano Bay.

Similarly, many people still think "Disney World" = Magic Kingdom, and don't grasp the size and number of hotels/parks there are in WDW.
 
F

fryoj

Active Member
Animaniac93-98 said:
Just speaking from anecdotal experience, people know that Universal Studios is in Florida, but are not familiar with Islands of Adventure and that it is a separate park, let alone Volcano Bay.

Similarly, many people still think "Disney World" = Magic Kingdom, and don't grasp the size and number of hotels/parks there are in WDW.
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Isn't the most asked question at Disney World "Where is the Harry Potter Park?"
 
Poseidon Quest

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
Again, if EU is that good -- and I do hope it is -- it's going to hurt Universal's other two theme parks more so than Disney's four.
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How so? I believe that the investments that UOR has seen over the last decade is in preparation to stepping it up as a multi-day resort that can reasonably compete with Disney. The slate of new hotels, Volcano Bay and now the new property with its own hotels and possible shopping/dining district will definitely change the equation. So many people come to Disney and stay there exclusively because there's so much to see and do and Universal's new park will definitely change perceptions. It'll go from a possible 1 or 2 day side-trip, to a viable alternative as an encompassing vacation destination with quite a bit to offer. The only thing that I think Universal needs to improve on is adding more recreational activities. They have the mini-golf in City Walk, but they could certainly also shoot for some other options to draw people in as well.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
For the people that think this is not progressing, they forget what a new theme park looks like for a long time before things really pick up. Things are moving in place since the Covid pause. It makes sense, one has not been made since internet fan culture had constant and good coverage. So much of it early on is getting the infastructure right and this is a plot of land that is huge and not just a theme park.

They are also used to Disney's pace to clone attractions and building. A good amount of the major attractions for Epic Universe have had versions elsewhere and so much is created and housed as other things, such as infastructure are getting ready.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
celluloid said:
For the people person that think this is not progressing, they forget what a new theme park looks like for a long time before things really pick up. Things are moving in place since the Covid pause. It makes sense, one has not been made since internet fan culture had constant and good coverage. So much of it early on is getting the infastructure right and this is a plot of land that is huge and not just a theme park.

They are also used to Disney's pace to clone attractions and building. A good amount of the major attractions for Epic Universe have had versions elsewhere and so much is created and housed as other things, such as infastructure are getting ready.
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Fixed that for you. ;)
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
celluloid said:
They are also used to Disney's pace to clone attractions and building. A good amount of the major attractions for Epic Universe have had versions elsewhere and so much is created and housed as other things, such as infastructure are getting ready.
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The only part of Epic Universe that exists elsewhere are Super Nintendo World and the How to Train Your Dragon Flat Rides.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
The ride systems existing elsewhere doesn’t really help with anything.
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It does on the teams I have been on.
Why do you think the team tour segments and other rides are often trends of things that came before it. The industry like many are a constant practice.

So much so that the third time Transformers was built it was completed amazingly fast.


Bourne Stunt has tech in it that is directly related to aspects of Epic Universe Projects I am privy to.
 

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