Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens 2025

[Andrew25]

Criticism of Universal is certainly valid. Especially given their recent price hikes, food quality and the privacy policy on their facial rec system (but maybe that's the privacy attorney in me). I also think praise on this project also seems due. As always, we'll have to see the final product. But, there is a lot to be excited about, IMHO.

Big difference when you raise prices with heavy investments/additions going in as opposed to “cause we always do….”

Yeah, BOTH resorts deserve criticism for very similar price hikes/entertainment cuts, but at least one of them is giving us new stuff to look forward to that is interesting.

Universal can get away with price hikes, Disney shouldn't (but they do unfortunately).

You’ll be able to see the actual track if you look in spots. Universal isn’t the best at hiding such things. Disney USED to be excellent in this area but has slipped.

There is a suspension of disbelief expected for this, but so far the footage from USJ shows the track is well hidden from pathways.

One thing I wonder about: Epic Universe will be SOOO good that guests will see USF as way beyond its prime. I mean its nothing but motion simulators and Harry Potter. I'm sure Uni will structure ticket offers to include USF as a means for guests to continue going.

I think the assumption there is they move into a significant redo of that park next

USF is/will be the "Epcot" of UOR... past its prime, banks on fan nostalgia and food festivals to exist. The plus side is that we're getting a Rockit replacement soon and something happening in the Springfield area.

I presume at some point after the initial rush, they’ll push 3 and 4 park tickets, perhaps with a pre scheduled UEU day to manage crowds. They treat on-site guests better than Disney does, so I’d anticipate some sort of priority.

Fully expecting them to complicate the ticketing structure a bit (because that's what parks do lol)... except for onsite guests who are automatically allowed to visit at anytime during their visit. Depends on how they forecast attendance really

My worry is that they pull a SWGE Disneyland and ban APs for an entire summer. Ideally they just utilize a simple reservation system to prevent APs from flooding the park all summer.

So…
This is the land I’m least excited for. And this reveal was my least favorite/anticipated.
I know we already know everything for every land. But most of this stuff has already been built, seen, and reviewed. This video didn’t have new concept art. It didn’t have anything that we haven’t already seen. It just had videos and some concept art that’s basically just drawings of Japan’s land.
I don’t like duplicates. I know it’s unrealistic to hope for different things in every park, but do we need another identical Nintendo World? I know most people can’t afford to travel the world/country just for theme parks, but why couldn’t this Nintendo World been themed to a different location from a Mario game?
I know I’m nitpicking. But this is why is bugs me when people say, “we need this here!” Because most of the time nowadays, when theme parks build another land based on the same property, we just get a clone. (That’s why I’m excited for Avatar in Cali, and Indy in Florida- they look like they will be changed enough to be unique).
All in all, I’m really excited for this park, but this will probably be the land I will spend the least time exploring.

I understand the desire for different things, but the vast majority of people visiting Orlando have not (or ever will) be able to visit Japan or California versions of the park. Only us fans will have. I'm not entirely against clones as long as they clone the good stuff lol

Also... EU has an expansion pad possibly for future Nintendo attractions not yet present elsewhere. Universal is being bold with expected expansion plans in the work post-2025.

 

[European1992]

This looks awesome. I have a hunch this park is going to break records within its first year.

 

[ToTBellHop]

This looks awesome. I have a hunch this park is going to break records within its first year.

What record will it break? New parks don’t have the highest attendance numbers because they are smaller than mature parks.

 

[sonoma15]

What record will it break? New parks don’t have the highest attendance numbers because they are smaller than mature parks.

New parks historically also haven't opened with massive IPs on the level of Potter and Nintendo.

 

[peng]

One thing I wonder about: Epic Universe will be SOOO good that guests will see USF as way beyond its prime. I mean its nothing but motion simulators and Harry Potter. I'm sure Uni will structure ticket offers to include USF as a means for guests to continue going.

Definitely, USF radiates misery (IOA doesn't), I remember visiting in 2017ish and my family was miserable at USF. That being said, I think one of the goals for EU was to fully make Universal a full week thing instead of something you tack on after you do something else in Florida. At the very least, it will take another day off of disney trips at the risk of canabalizing some of the visitors USF/IOA gets, SNW is a clone, but it will probably be the biggest draw as out of the four IPs, it has the most outside appeal (Dark Universe is the land I am looking forward to the most, really got into the Universal Monsters movies in college and what I've heard about the dark ride there makes me really excited).

 

[ToTBellHop]

New parks historically also haven't opened with massive IPs on the level of Potter and Nintendo.

That doesn’t influence its capacity. IoA will still hold more people.

 

[European1992]

What record will it break? New parks don’t have the highest attendance numbers because they are smaller than mature parks.

Most visitors in its first year within USA maybe. I am just talking, lol, not sure if it is possible. But there has not been a park of this scale and theming in along time.

 

[Andrew25]

What record will it break? New parks don’t have the highest attendance numbers because they are smaller than mature parks.

Is it going to beat out IOA/USF or a WDW park in it's first year attendance-wise? No.

Will it be a serious contender for the 2nd or 3rd most popular theme park in Orlando in 2026... possibly yes.

Also, the park offers similar (if not more) attractions than some pre-existing "mature" parks in Orlando.

Epic Universe has 8 "major" attractions (excluding any flat rides, interactive areas to make it simple), 2 stage shows
DAK has 6 major experiences, 2 stage shows
DHS has 9 major experiences, 3 stage shows

New parks historically also haven't opened with massive IPs on the level of Potter and Nintendo.

Bingo. Whether or not you like the attractions/lands... the marketing power is HUGE. There were discussions back in 2019 about how Potter was "losing" popularity and Hagrid was built way after the boom of HP related stuff... and Hagrid was by far one of the more popular additions of the Wizarding World.

Definitely, USF radiates misery (IOA doesn't), I remember visiting in 2017ish and my family was miserable at USF.

I surprisingly kind of agree with you? The park feels dated in a lot of areas that feel very industrial and not very "fun" to be in. It does have a solid attraction lineup, they just need to update or refurbish them properly.

The park can certainly benefit from an aesthetic overhaul similar to DCA's a few years back.

That doesn’t influence its capacity. IoA will still hold more people.

Epic's entire hub is the size of IOA's lagoon if you filled it in with concrete...

Epic Universe is far larger with far more walking space.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Most visitors in its first year within USA maybe. I am just talking, lol, not sure if it is possible. But there has not been a park of this scale and theming in along time.

It will be popular, for sure. Universal may hamstring themselves by restricting too much but we will see. It’s a big park but several attractions have surprisingly low capacities. Worried about DK lines with the combined low height requirement and 4-person vehicles.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Is it going to beat out IOA/USF or a WDW park in it's first year attendance-wise? No.

Will it be a serious contender for the 2nd or 3rd most popular theme park in Orlando in 2026... possibly yes.

Also, the park offers similar (if not more) attractions than some pre-existing "mature" parks in Orlando.

Epic Universe has 8 "major" attractions (excluding any flat rides, interactive areas to make it simple), 2 stage shows
DAK has 6 major experiences, 2 stage shows
DHS has 9 major experiences, 3 stage shows


Bingo. Whether or not you like the attractions/lands... the marketing power is HUGE. There were discussions back in 2019 about how Potter was "losing" popularity and Hagrid was built way after the boom of HP related stuff... and Hagrid was by far one of the more popular additions of the Wizarding World.


I surprisingly kind of agree with you? The park feels dated in a lot of areas that feel very industrial and not very "fun" to be in. It does have a solid attraction lineup, they just need to update or refurbish them properly.

The park can certainly benefit from an aesthetic overhaul similar to DCA's a few years back.


Epic's entire hub is the size of IOA's lagoon if you filled it in with concrete...

Epic Universe is far larger with far more walking space.

You are contradicting yourself by pointing out the IPs drive people but Celestial Park is big.

It’s a problem that the two most popular IPs were given cramped lands. They’ll need another attraction in MoM and SNW ASAP (I realize they are planned). And the size of the IP lands are strong determinants of the guest count Universal will allow. You can’t say, “sorry, Super Nintendo World is full. Please enjoy our Celestial Park pools. No, you can’t swim in them. Just…look at them.”

I’m not trying to be critical. Just realistic. It’s an impressive day 1 park. Very ambitious. But it won’t suddenly bring 10 million new people to UOR in its first 12 months. And, as always, the proof will be in the pudding. Isle of Berk looks better than expected while SNW looks…exactly as expected. Very curious to hear about the last two lands.

 

[Andrew25]

You are contradicting yourself by pointing out the IPs drive people but Celestial Park is big.

It’s a problem that the two most popular IPs were given cramped lands. They’ll need another attraction in MoM and SNW ASAP (I realize they are planned). And the size of the IP lands are strong determinants of the guest count Universal will allow. You can’t say, “sorry, Super Nintendo World is full. Please enjoy our Celestial Park pools. No, you can’t swim in them. Just…look at them.”

I’m not trying to be critical. Just realistic. It’s an impressive day 1 park. Very ambitious. But it won’t suddenly bring 10 million new people to UOR in its first 12 months. And, as always, the proof will be in the pudding. Isle of Berk looks better than expected while SNW looks…exactly as expected. Very curious to hear about the last two lands.

Not contradicting myself. You mentioned that Epic Universe doesn't have enough capacity to accommodate crowds, when it certainly does with how large the park is. I specifically mentioned Celestial Park as it's size is comparable to the IOA lagoon. (Distance from the entry portal to Helios is the same as Port of Entry to JP Discovery Center)

Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade are cramped... SNW/Ministry will be fine.

UOR doesn't expect (nor anyone here) 10 million new people in the first year. They expect those already visiting to add an extra day plus some new guests who were previously not interested in visiting.

By year 2, Universal does expect Epic to approach similar (if not beat) attendance of their current parks. I'd take the bet that Epic Universe will be Universal's most popular theme park attendance-wise by the 3rd year easily.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Not contradicting myself. You mentioned that Epic Universe doesn't have enough capacity to accommodate crowds, when it certainly does with how large the park is. I specifically mentioned Celestial Park as it's size is comparable to the IOA lagoon. (Distance from the entry portal to Helios is the same as Port of Entry to JP Discovery Center)

Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade are cramped... SNW/Ministry will be fine.

UOR doesn't expect (nor anyone here) 10 million new people in the first year. They expect those already visiting to add an extra day plus some new guests who were previously not interested in visiting.

By year 2, Universal does expect Epic to approach similar (if not beat) attendance of their current parks. I'd take the bet that Epic Universe will be Universal's most popular theme park attendance-wise by the 3rd year easily.

If we are betting popsicle sticks, I’d bet it’s still IoA #1 in 2026. We can revisit in 2027!

USF will tank…it needs a lot of work and they’ve struggled to operate the existing complex. How will they operate a resort this size? How will they add what we want to EU while also replacing Lost Continent and…almost all of USF? Companies are not historically able to spend that kind of money immediately after opening a new park. But maybe they’ll be the exception.

 

[SplashJacket]

Is it going to beat out IOA/USF or a WDW park in it's first year attendance-wise? No.

I don’t particularly know if that’s true…

I wouldn’t expect it to pass IOA or Magic, but I could easily see it passing USF and Animal Kingdom.

How they handle APs and tickets will ultimately determine the attendance. If they price gouge Epic or separate it for APs, it’ll drastically hurt attendance even if per guest spend is much higher than the other parks due to pricing strategies.

 

[Andrew25]

If we are betting popsicle sticks, I’d bet it’s still IoA #1 in 2026. We can revisit in 2027!

USF will tank…it needs a lot of work and they’ve struggled to operate the existing complex. How will they operate a resort this size? How will they add what we want to EU while also replacing Lost Continent and…almost all of USF? Companies are not historically able to spend that kind of money immediately after opening a new park. But maybe they’ll be the exception.

With Epic under construction, Universal has continued to invest (albeit comparatively) small dollars into their existing parks with Hagrid/Velo at IOA and Bourne/Minions/DreamWorks/Parade/Nighttime Show into USF. This is in conjunction with additional expansion/funding into their special events.

I'm hopeful we will see construction crews "move" into IOA/USF over the next 2 years for major projects. Universal loves to churn out new experiences (and hotels) constantly.

I will admit, I was very anti-3rd park/Epic Universe initially as I thought UOR found a perfect recipe with having 2 parks close by that are constantly evolving and feature "maxed out" experiences/land usage enough to have 2-days worth of experiences at each park without any abandoned/outdated areas.

I wouldn’t expect it to pass IOA or Magic, but I could easily see it passing USF and Animal Kingdom.

No park in Orlando will (or ever) get close to MK's popularity, but I can certainly see a scenario where the SNW IP is just enough to tip it over IOA.

Really depends on how Universal tackles Epic Universe ticketing.

 

[JT3000]

You’ll be able to see the actual track if you look in spots. Universal isn’t the best at hiding such things. Disney USED to be excellent in this area but has slipped.

I don't know what you're talking about. The carts will actually jump the track, just like in the game.

So…
This is the land I’m least excited for. And this reveal was my least favorite/anticipated.
I know we already know everything for every land. But most of this stuff has already been built, seen, and reviewed. This video didn’t have new concept art. It didn’t have anything that we haven’t already seen. It just had videos and some concept art that’s basically just drawings of Japan’s land.
I don’t like duplicates. I know it’s unrealistic to hope for different things in every park, but do we need another identical Nintendo World? I know most people can’t afford to travel the world/country just for theme parks, but why couldn’t this Nintendo World been themed to a different location from a Mario game?
I know I’m nitpicking. But this is why is bugs me when people say, “we need this here!” Because most of the time nowadays, when theme parks build another land based on the same property, we just get a clone. (That’s why I’m excited for Avatar in Cali, and Indy in Florida- they look like they will be changed enough to be unique).
All in all, I’m really excited for this park, but this will probably be the land I will spend the least time exploring.

We've always known this would be a clone of Japan's land. That's kinda what Universal (and now Disney) does, they clone their most lucrative IP lands wholesale. While differentiating them might sound nice in theory, in practice it won't make any difference for the vast majority of guests, as they will never visit both parks. If they thought they needed two Nintendo lands on opposite sides of the US, they obviously didn't think having one in Japan was relevant to the domestic market, and Hollywood's is a Cliff's Notes version.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If we are betting popsicle sticks, I’d bet it’s still IoA #1 in 2026. We can revisit in 2027!

USF will tank…it needs a lot of work and they’ve struggled to operate the existing complex. How will they operate a resort this size? How will they add what we want to EU while also replacing Lost Continent and…almost all of USF? Companies are not historically able to spend that kind of money immediately after opening a new park. But maybe they’ll be the exception.

“Stuggling to operate the complex” is contagious on I-4 these days

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If we are betting popsicle sticks, I’d bet it’s still IoA #1 in 2026. We can revisit in 2027!

USF will tank…it needs a lot of work and they’ve struggled to operate the existing complex. How will they operate a resort this size? How will they add what we want to EU while also replacing Lost Continent and…almost all of USF? Companies are not historically able to spend that kind of money immediately after opening a new park. But maybe they’ll be the exception.

“Stuggling to operate the complex” is contagious on I-4 these days

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

If we are betting popsicle sticks, I’d bet it’s still IoA #1 in 2026. We can revisit in 2027!

USF will tank…it needs a lot of work and they’ve struggled to operate the existing complex. How will they operate a resort this size? How will they add what we want to EU while also replacing Lost Continent and…almost all of USF? Companies are not historically able to spend that kind of money immediately after opening a new park. But maybe they’ll be the exception.

My guess is EU will be #1 in 2026 since it will be open for the entire year. The whole park looks strong in terms of offerings. EU is what got me interested in going to Universal. We are trying Universal for the first time this summer to determine if Universal will be a full trip next year or EU + Disney.

 

[ToTBellHop]

My guess is EU will be #1 in 2026 since it will be open for the entire year. The whole park looks strong in terms of offerings. EU is what got me interested in going to Universal. We are trying Universal for the first time this summer to determine if Universal will be a full trip next year or EU + Disney.

My family currently spends four days at Universal. We will likely add one more day for epic. Given the ease of passing between the two existing parks, I imagine we will spend four days passing between them and then spend one day at epic, especially if my express pass only works at the existing two parks. Therefore, of my five days, epic would only get one click while the other two parks get the remaining four. I imagine that will be a strategy.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

My guess is EU will be #1 in 2026 since it will be open for the entire year. The whole park looks strong in terms of offerings. EU is what got me interested in going to Universal. We are trying Universal for the first time this summer to determine if Universal will be a full trip next year or EU + Disney.

I don’t think so…but it should be solidly ahead of 3 wdw parks