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

[trr1]

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Jan 29

Aerial look at a portion of the Epic Universe site. Imagine parking top center to top right, and park entrance at the pole toward top right. Center of the park is about where the pole is at center, with a fountain basin (the circle) as a visual goal when you enter the park.

Aerial look at site prep for a land in Epic Universe. Excavation underway seems to be for a show building. Top center is circle that will be fountain basin of an in-park hotel.

Aerial look at retention pond excavation near the Kirkman Rd extension construction.

Aerial photo looking South across what will be day guest parking for Epic Universe. Running left-right at top is SR 528 Beachline, with Universal Blvd interchange top right.

Aerial look at how Kirkman Rd interacts with a Lockheed Martin private perimeter road. At left is the road bed for the extension to Epic Universe and then to the Orange County Convention Center.

 

[trr1]

bioreconstruct

@bioreconstruct
Jan 29

Aerial look at where day guest parking for Epic Universe will be. A traffic circle can be seen under construction at left, for a road connecting to Destination Pwy. Road bed spanning to left center connects to the Kirkman Rd extension.

Aerial look at where current construction of the Kirkman Road extension ends at Universal Blvd, near the expansion pad of the Orange County Convention Center.

Aerial look across Epic Universe. Road bed left-right is the extension of Kirkman Road. Heading toward top right is a road bed leading to day guest parking.

Aerial look at what is believed to be the Nintendo land in Epic Universe. Show building outlines seem to be in the sand. Center of the park about where the tall pole is. Circle top left to be a fountain basin at in-park hotel.

Aerial look across much of the Epic Universe site. Imagine what this will look like next year

Aerial look at some of the construction in Epic Universe. Top left is the first concrete work, now with wall construction. Bottom center has recently added walls. Top right is center of the park, with outline of a circular fountain basin. Much site prep in progress.

Aerial look at sections of Epic Universe. Top left is believed to be Nintendo land, and outline for a show building can be seen. Center with blue fence is likely a staging area for initial construction, then a park expansion pad. Active excavation in the section in foreground.

 

[trr1]

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Jan 29

Aerial look at a section of Epic Universe which got a fresh layer of sand or crushed rock. Tall blue fence indicates this might be a staging area for the initial construction. Long term: a park expansion pad.

Aerial look at some of the site prep in a land of Epic Universe. First concrete work in the park itself at right. Center of the park about where the top tall pole is, with circle for a fountain basin just above. Bottom tall pole about where the park entrance will be.

Aerial overview of many excavations and earth moving in progress at Epic Universe. Bottom center is a line of earth moving trucks. First concrete work in the park itself is lower left.

Aerial overview of construction of Epic Universe. Center of the park about where the tall pole is, and to right is a circle that will be a fountain basin in front of an in-park hotel. Many details and variety of work to ponder. Arrow at some of the attraction staging.

Aerial overview of the Epic Universe site. Center of the park is about where the tall pole is. A large circle etched in the dirt is where a fountain basin will be in front of an in-park hotel. Various themed land work sites have fencing and different site conditions.

Aerial look at some o the current attraction staging for Epic Universe. Some of the blue tarps are covering ride track believed to be for a Nintendo attraction.

Aerial overview of the Epic Universe site. Parking lot to be built in foreground, a traffic circle can be seen leading to the toll plaza road at right of it. Destination Pwy at lower left. Road into site from it is currently signed: Public Rd.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

View attachment 617946

Based on the rumored layout, this would be construction for the Monster's area.

 

[trr1]

Based on the rumored layout, this would be construction for the Monster's area.

I believe so

 

[tommyhawkins]

I believe so

Based on the rumored layout, this would be construction for the Monster's area.

Monsters with current permitted buildings included

 

[trr1]

View attachment 617986


Monsters with current permitted buildings included

that looks great can you do the other areas also? with out the outlined buildings the areas looks small

 

[tommyhawkins]

that looks great can you do the other areas also? with out the outlined buildings the areas looks small

 

[OG Runner]

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Jan 29

Aerial look at a section of Epic Universe which got a fresh layer of sand or crushed rock. Tall blue fence indicates this might be a staging area for the initial construction. Long term: a park expansion pad.
View attachment 617961
Aerial look at some of the site prep in a land of Epic Universe. First concrete work in the park itself at right. Center of the park about where the top tall pole is, with circle for a fountain basin just above. Bottom tall pole about where the park entrance will be.
View attachment 617962
Aerial overview of many excavations and earth moving in progress at Epic Universe. Bottom center is a line of earth moving trucks. First concrete work in the park itself is lower left.
View attachment 617963
Aerial overview of construction of Epic Universe. Center of the park about where the tall pole is, and to right is a circle that will be a fountain basin in front of an in-park hotel. Many details and variety of work to ponder. Arrow at some of the attraction staging.
View attachment 617964
Aerial overview of the Epic Universe site. Center of the park is about where the tall pole is. A large circle etched in the dirt is where a fountain basin will be in front of an in-park hotel. Various themed land work sites have fencing and different site conditions.
View attachment 617965
Aerial look at some o the current attraction staging for Epic Universe. Some of the blue tarps are covering ride track believed to be for a Nintendo attraction.
View attachment 617966
Aerial overview of the Epic Universe site. Parking lot to be built in foreground, a traffic circle can be seen leading to the toll plaza road at right of it. Destination Pwy at lower left. Road into site from it is currently signed: Public Rd.
View attachment 617967

To me this is the fun part. In a few years we will be walking through this park and these attractions, hopefully remembering,
"We knew this area when it was a dirt lot."

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Well to be fair tron and guardians will still ve fresh in 2025 only a few years old....i cant imagine disney really ramps up anything else large? Could fire up the reimagined epcot and do a grand opening "rebranding " to call it new. Make it buzz worthy.

I also dont think disney needs to legitimately compete 1 for 1 disney is still the leader here and still has 4 parks. I agree the gap continues to shrink but disneys latest buisness practices really hammer home to me the fact they only want that well off pixie dust lover. Those die hards who come for a week once a year etc. Those folks wont be turned off by epic. If anything that demographic can just add days to there Orlando vacation and do both. Now its possible epic universe steals some filler days away from Disney but i dont see it having a huge impact. I think pie is big enough. Plus disney os okay trading away APs those APs like myself will just hang out at uni.

I'm skeptical that Disney won't be in trouble once Epic opens. The issue isn't that Universal will take a large chunk of the market share, so much as it affects the cultural narrative around Disney. WDW as it exists today is perceived almost as a cultural milestone to check off of the bucket list for most American families. When people who are told by die-hard Disney fans that it's not worth going and that Universal is a better alternative, that hurts Disney's hegemony. I believe that adding a third park and a few more hotels could really change perceptions. It turns Universal from a side-trip and into a feasible multi-day destination. I'm not sure if Disney should be depending on the whales and losing their "once in a lifetime" vacationer demographic. Once they do, it'll be difficult to get them back regardless of how many discounts they offer.

Guardians and Tron will do nothing to counter this I believe. The only thing that could really work is major construction projects across all parks, adding attractions that are actually interesting and have a long shelf life. The IP infatuation of current Disney will cause further issues down the line and doesn't work as a crutch for boring attraction design. For as often as they perpetuate the myth of "outdated Epcot", how long until Guardians, Ratatouille, Frozen and Cartoon Playland lose relevancy?

 

[OG Runner]

I'm skeptical that Disney won't be in trouble once Epic opens. The issue isn't that Universal will take a large chunk of the market share, so much as it affects the cultural narrative around Disney. WDW as it exists today is perceived almost as a cultural milestone to check off of the bucket list for most American families. When people who are told by die-hard Disney fans that it's not worth going and that Universal is a better alternative, that hurts Disney's hegemony. I believe that adding a third park and a few more hotels could really change perceptions. It turns Universal from a side-trip and into a feasible multi-day destination. I'm not sure if Disney should be depending on the whales and losing their "once in a lifetime" vacationer demographic. Once they do, it'll be difficult to get them back regardless of how many discounts they offer.

Guardians and Tron will do nothing to counter this I believe. The only thing that could really work is major construction projects across all parks, adding attractions that are actually interesting and have a long shelf life. The IP infatuation of current Disney will cause further issues down the line and doesn't work as a crutch for boring attraction design. For as often as they perpetuate the myth of "outdated Epcot", how long until Guardians, Ratatouille, Frozen and Cartoon Playland lose relevancy?

Sorry but one of the "new" lands for Epic Universe is Monsters. All based on Monsters featured in movies from the 1950s and 1960s
and you are talking relevancy? I am looking forward to Epic Universe but arguing the relevancy of the attractions isn't going to do it.

 

[DCBaker]

 

[Casper Gutman]

Sorry but one of the "new" lands for Epic Universe is Monsters. All based on Monsters featured in movies from the 1950s and 1960s
and you are talking relevancy? I am looking forward to Epic Universe but arguing the relevancy of the attractions isn't going to do it.

Except for Creature, the Monsters hail from the 20s and 30s. Their source material, of course, is many decades older. But that’s kind of the point. The Monsters have achieved a “timeless” status, much like Mickey and friends, who hail from the same era. Tron isn’t going to achieve that. I have questions about Rat and some of Disney’s other IPs. In many ways, Monsters is the safest land in EU (Dragon is the most prone to the vicissitudes of time).

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Except for Creature, the Monsters hail from the 20s and 30s. Their source material, of course, is many decades older. But that’s kind of the point. The Monsters have achieved a “timeless” status, much like Mickey and friends, who hail from the same era. Tron isn’t going to achieve that. I have questions about Rat and some of Disney’s other IPs. In many ways, Monsters is the safest land in EU (Dragon is the most prone to the vicissitudes of time).

These characters are so deeply entrenched in our popular conception of horror and Halloween that I can't imagine any human in the Western world who has never heard of Dracula or Frankenstein or does not know what a werewolf is, regardless of whether they have seen the specific Universal movies of that time period.

 

[JT3000]

Sorry but one of the "new" lands for Epic Universe is Monsters. All based on Monsters featured in movies from the 1950s and 1960s
and you are talking relevancy? I am looking forward to Epic Universe but arguing the relevancy of the attractions isn't going to do it.

The oldest of the Universal Monsters actually date back to the 1920s, with their golden age coming in the 30s, but I fail to see what this has to do with their relevance. They are pop culture icons with proven longevity. You don't necessarily even have to familiarize yourself with the actual movies or their literary source material to "know" these characters, the Universal versions specifically (and while I recommend watching the films, there's something to be said for possessing such a quality.) Mickey Mouse also debuted in the 1920s, does that automatically make him irrelevant?

 

[MisterPenguin]

These characters are so deeply entrenched in our popular conception of horror and Halloween that I can't imagine any human in the Western world who has never heard of Dracula or Frankenstein or does not know what a werewolf is, regardless of whether they have seen the specific Universal movies of that time period.

And yet, many movies featuring these timeless, classic, universal, popular monsters have tanked. While others were successful.

Remember how in the current IP regime of Disney, certain theme park connoisseurs keep reminding us that the IP doesn't matter if the ride is bad?

In the same way, using this IP isn't going to guarantee a good theme park 'land.' Especially when this IP couldn't save some of the movies based on this IP.

And, as I've said before: Universal has done good work and very poor work. Based on that history, some or all of EU can be good or bad or somewhere in between. I hope it's good. The competition would be welcome. But, again, given some of the bad things Universal cooked up, I don't know how anyone can assume that EU will automatically be good or the use of this IP will make it good (but I hope it will be).

 

[JT3000]

And yet, many movies featuring these timeless, classic, universal, popular monsters have tanked. While others were successful.

Remember how in the current IP regime of Disney, certain theme park connoisseurs keep reminding us that the IP doesn't matter if the ride is bad?

In the same way, using this IP isn't going to guarantee a good theme park 'land.' Especially when this IP couldn't save some of the movies based on this IP.

And, as I've said before: Universal has done good work and very poor work. Based on that history, some or all of EU can be good or bad or somewhere in between. I hope it's good. The competition would be welcome. But, again, given some of the bad things Universal cooked up, I don't know how anyone can assume that EU will automatically be good or the use of this IP will make it good (but I hope it will be).

I don't believe anyone here has suggested that using the Monsters IP will automatically make it a good land. We all have our own expectations, based more on our attachment to each respective IP than anything else, because other than Nintendo we don't know how any of it will look. That said, I don't really get the pessimism.

What was being discussed is the relevance of the Monsters IP, which shouldn't be in doubt. No, some of the more recent monster reboots have not done well, largely because they were bad or uninspired films, but this land is not based on those. As far as I'm aware, it's based entirely on the classic films that were huge successes and propelled these characters into the public consciousness.

 

[tommyhawkins]

I don't believe anyone here has suggested that using the Monsters IP will automatically make it a good land. We all have our own expectations, based more on our attachment to each respective IP than anything else, because other than Nintendo we don't know how any of it will look. That said, I don't really get the pessimism.

What was being discussed is the relevance of the Monsters IP, which shouldn't be in doubt. No, some of the more recent monster reboots have not done well, largely because they were bad or uninspired films, but this land is not based on those. As far as I'm aware, it's based entirely on the classic films that were huge successes and propelled these characters into the public consciousness.

I'd probably just add to that bu saying to be honest I have no doubts about any of the lands, even the ones that aren't automatically to my taste. Universal Creative have been knocking it out of the park consistently for years now, and we know the faults of Supercharged lay with management fitting a square peg into a round hole. I'm not that excited by the Monsters IP but I am sure excited for the land. I guess the more details that come out the more buy in we will get from folks, at the moment everyone seems to be projecting their assumptions with limited knowledge as objective truths. And to be fair I've seen the same thing being done with Cosmic Rewind, despite trying to inform everyone on more cool details of that ride.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I'd probably just add to that bu saying to be honest I have no doubts about any of the lands, even the ones that aren't automatically to my taste. Universal Creative have been knocking it out of the park consistently for years now, and we know the faults of Supercharged lay with management fitting a square peg into a round hole. I'm not that excited by the Monsters IP but I am sure excited for the land. I guess the more details that come out the more buy in we will get from folks, at the moment everyone seems to be projecting their assumptions with limited knowledge as objective truths. And to be fair I've seen the same thing being done with Cosmic Rewind, despite trying to inform everyone on more cool details of that ride.

I’d argue that since Universal opened in Orlando, Universal Creative has made some bad RIDES but has never made a bad LAND. In the same period, Disney has made a surprising number of bad LANDS (TSL, Pixar Pier, Avengers Campus, many of the original California Adventure lands).

I also think it’s a very big deal that Universal’s senior creative exec publicly called F&F a mistake. I can’t imagine Disney management making an admission like that.

As for GotG, IF the ride had a reasonable budget AND wasn’t the lynchpin of the lackluster makeover of a deeply broken park AND wasn’t very, very similar to multiple existing attractions and one that is under construction at the same time… then it would be much easier to get excited about it.

 

[OG Runner]

The oldest of the Universal Monsters actually date back to the 1920s, with their golden age coming in the 30s, but I fail to see what this has to do with their relevance. They are pop culture icons with proven longevity. You don't necessarily even have to familiarize yourself with the actual movies or their literary source material to "know" these characters, the Universal versions specifically (and while I recommend watching the films, there's something to be said for possessing such a quality.) Mickey Mouse also debuted in the 1920s, does that automatically make him irrelevant?

Please read before you defend. (attack)