Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens 2025

[TalkToEthan]

Because they only clone successful attractions

That doesn’t tell the whole reasoning. Yes, when an original attraction is met with enthusiasm cloning becomes an easy choice

But what about the original ones which didn’t get huge appreciation but later cloned up anyway.
Soarin at DCA opened without a great following but became a monster hit in Epcot; same with Rat in Disney Studios Paris but yet replicated for Epcot.

Ariel didn’t exactly make a splash in DCA but got cloned for Magic Kingdom only to get overwhelming mixed reviews..
And there must have been overlap in construction since the two openings came fairly close together

 

[Andrew25]

The one thing that stood out above everything else for me was the video felt like a Disney video, did Universal poach Disneys PR person? because that felt just like a Disney hype video.

This isn't talked about much, but Universal has shifted from a "look at how thrilling this is" mentality to a similar message to what Disney does (nostalgia, friends & family, etc.).

The first Epic Universe announcement was very much about nostalgia and feelings... didn't focus on specific details on thrill rides.

 

[britain]

This looks like a great collection of rides, but it doesn’t feel like Burk. C’mon, the painted sky on the “Untrainable Dragon Theater”?

Unfortunately, Universal always seems to come up a little short in some places (though modern Disney does too).

BUT, it looks like a whole lot of fun, like a more water-centric Toy Story Land.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

 

[UNCgolf]

It seems I am in the minority here…I like the Kinetic energy, but as someone who is childless and has a bit of fear of heights…HTTYD does not move the needle much for me… as even the boat ride is not that exciting to me…doesn’t Lego land have a similar attraction….as someone said there should be some mountainous rock work

People are comparing this to Pandora…but in my mind there will be no comparison… obviously the land is beautiful… but I also think the rides are great… as some who is not crazy about heights Flight of Passage is thrilling to me… plus I disagree with those that complain about Navi River Journey… it was never meant to be an E ticket… but it is a solid D… nice relaxing boat ride with a great final animatronic… I also think the screens work well in the ride as oppose to rides that park you in front of a screen for the simulation… I even feel I will like Galaxy’s Edge over this

The one aspect of this land I am excited for is the show… if it is truly broadway level and the possibility of life size dragons

The 2 lands I am excited for most is Monsters Universe(about time Universal) and Harry Potter… even though I am not a potter head… I feel the other lands are top notch… excited to hear what those entail

The land looks decent to me, but not remotely comparable to Pandora from a beauty standpoint (although that's more a factor of the IP itself than any kind of design flaw). The additional kinetic energy will be nice, though.

My issue with it is that the rides don't look interesting at all, but we already knew about them.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Looks awesome so what is Disney doing oh that's right " we're gone" translates do nothing

In the last decade they have opened:
New Fantasyland (technically 2013 but Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was 2014)
Pandora
Toy Story Land
Galaxy's Edge
Runaway Railway
Ratatouille
Cosmic Rewind
Tron
(honorable mention) Moana

But you're right they've done "nothing" since they're not currently doing anything, even though they'll still be one theme park, one water park, and a ton of resort hotels ahead when all is said and done.

 

[Jrb1979]

In the last decade they have opened:
New Fantasyland (technically 2013 but Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was 2014)
Pandora
Toy Story Land
Galaxy's Edge
Runaway Railway
Ratatouille
Cosmic Rewind
Tron
(honorable mention) Moana

But you're right they've done "nothing" since they're not currently doing anything, even though they'll still be one theme park, one water park, and a ton of resort hotels ahead when all is said and done.

Even after all that they still lack in capacity.

 

[Andrew25]

But you're right they've done "nothing" since they're not currently doing anything, even though they'll still be one theme park, one water park, and a ton of resort hotels ahead when all is said and done.

Let's be honest, they're like 0.5 parks & 0.5 (half the year) water parks ahead once EU opens lmao

Disney has been working on projects, but that's also after a significant period of little to no investment in the parks.

Everest to Pandora... 12 years (we're now 7 years since Pandora)
Soarin (last actual park expansion) in 2005 to Remy in 2021.. nearly 20 years

 

[Tom Morrow]

I think this looks... pretty good? I like that this park seems to have a lot of lagoons, as I always feel like water elements aide a lot in parks feeling more organic. The kinetic movement everywhere is nice too. From the flythrough though I feel like there are a bit too many little huts/kiosks/stands that still make it look very definitively "standard theme park design".

Even after all that they still lack in capacity.

True, because on a typical day the Magic Kingdom alone sees more guests than all of UOR.

Let's be honest, they're like 0.5 parks & 0.5 (half the year) water parks ahead once EU opens lmao

True about the water parks, but DAK is a full day park if you actually do all the things instead of just Pandora/Everest/Dinosaur/leave.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Even after all that they still lack in capacity.

True - because every one of those things replaced existing attractions or an existing land, rather than adding to the park. Swapping out Camp Minnie-Mickey with Pandora, and expanding Toy Story Land, did result in a gain of a couple of attractions each, but most other "new" things at WDW are a wash with what was there before, capacity-wise (although I think each of the new attractions is generally more popular than what was there before, meaning that _additional capacity_ was even more badly needed!).

 

[Andrew25]

From the flythrough though I feel like there are a bit too many little huts/kiosks/stands that still make it look very definitively "standard theme park design".

That's kind of the design of the movies...?

True about the water parks, but DAK is a full day park if you actually do all the things instead of just Pandora/Everest/Dinosaur/leave.

DAK is my favorite park, but calling it a full day park at the same level of MK/Epcot is a bit of a stretch. If you take your time walking around, waiting 2 hours for Flight Of Passage, 60-90 minutes for Na'vi, etc. of course you'll have a full day there lol

You can spend a solid 3-4 hours in Pandora alone if you are brave enough to hit both rides back to back utilizing standby.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Is my math off, but, if it rains, will EU only have 3 rides running?

 

[rd805]

Is my math off, but, if it rains, will EU only have 3 rides running?

Monsters, Kart, Dragon Show, Carousel, HP Show, Ministry -- possibly Yoshi ride.
Add in the Nintendoland Bands and Wizarding Wands, Dragon & Nintendo Meet and Greets -- i think there is still plenty.

It's a viable reason for fear, but I also envision a not too distant future after opening (3 years?) with expansion already occuring to help soften crowds.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Monsters, Kart, Dragon Show, Carousel, HP Show, Ministry -- possibly Yoshi ride.
Add in the Nintendoland Bands and Wizarding Wands, Dragon & Nintendo Meet and Greets -- i think there is still plenty.

It's a viable reason for fear, but I also envision a not too distant future after opening (3 years?) with expansion already occuring to help soften crowds.

Forgot the carousel... so, likely only four *rides*.

I know that there are other attractions, mostly indoor, but amongst a subset of theme park fans, only *rides* count.

 

[Andrew25]

Is my math off, but, if it rains, will EU only have 3 rides running?

Yes, unfortunately similar to IOA. (Mario Kart, Monsters, Potter) attractions will remain (at least its 3/4 biggest attractions at the park) plus the two theater shows.

Monsters, Kart, Dragon Show, Carousel, HP Show, Ministry -- possibly Yoshi ride.
Add in the Nintendoland Bands and Wizarding Wands, Dragon & Nintendo Meet and Greets -- i think there is still plenty.

It's a viable reason for fear, but I also envision a not too distant future after opening (3 years?) with expansion already occuring to help soften crowds.

Yoshi will close for weather, has outdoor portion. Good thing is that some of the rumors are leaning towards indoor rides, so it should be fine.

One thing I'm interested in knowing is if Universal (and Disney) are looking at indoor lands as people start to avoid the summer months. Last year was absolutely miserable, can't imagine they're happy with crowds now shifting away entirely.

I know that there are other attractions, mostly indoor, but amongst a subset of theme park fans, only *rides* count.

2 of which are major shows... so those should count. So 5 "solid" tickets are open during weather delays.

 

[MisterPenguin]

2 of which are major shows... so those should count. So 5 "solid" tickets are open during weather delays.

Shows count as attractions. Not rides.

Rides count as attractions.

So, yes, you count them if you're counting attractions. But again, there are those (not me) who are only interested in *rides,* and they call some parks half-day parks because they can polish off all the rides in half a day, even though the park may have plenty of other non-ride attractions to make it a full-day park.

 

[aladdin2007]

is the music in the video from the films soundtrack?

 

[Tom Morrow]

That's kind of the design of the movies...?

I'll have to see more detailed viewed of the other lands to see if they follow suit of this design or not. I'm going with "probably not" but it does give this area sort of a "Busch Gardens" level of theming look to it.

DAK is my favorite park, but calling it a full day park at the same level of MK/Epcot is a bit of a stretch. If you take your time walking around, waiting 2 hours for Flight Of Passage, 60-90 minutes for Na'vi, etc. of course you'll have a full day there lol

You can spend a solid 3-4 hours in Pandora alone if you are brave enough to hit both rides back to back utilizing standby.

I mean, on a slow day I can plow through USF in like 3 hours. "What is a full day park?" is somewhat subjective.

 

[Andrew25]

I'm going with "probably not" but it does give this area sort of a "Busch Gardens" level of theming look to it.

Alright let's settle down now lol

I mean, on a slow day I can plow through USF in like 3 hours. "What is a full day park?" is somewhat subjective.

Obviously subjective, but the general consensus is that DAK is a half-day park with a number of experiences available while Epic Universe provides more experiences.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I mean, on a slow day I can plow through USF in like 3 hours.

That's awfully fast. Perhaps a case of premature perambulation?