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

[DonniePeverley]

I think the point is somewhat fair regarding Velocicoaster, which is very lightly themed (at least as far as the on-ride experience), but I agree with you in general.

My point exactly.

Velocicoaster is just a general coaster bought of the shelf. They then rebrand it, add some nice queue, colour the track etc - but at the heart it's just a generic coaster that you would find at Six Flags.

That's my point. I am sick of these generic coasters. Universal is more that that.

In saying that Hagrids was just wonderful.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

My point exactly.

Velocicoaster is just a general coaster bought of the shelf. They then rebrand it, add some nice queue, colour the track etc - but at the heart it's just a generic coaster that you would find at Six Flags.

That's my point. I am sick of these generic coasters. Universal is more that that.

In saying that Hagrids was just wonderful.

You just described Rock n Rollercoaster.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

Velocicoaster is just a general coaster bought of the shelf. They then rebrand it, add some nice queue, colour the track etc - but at the heart it's just a generic coaster that you would find at Six Flags.

This isn't directed at you because I know your goal here is to be combative and annoying, but to anyone who might be reading, The Velocicoaster is certainly not an off-the-shelf experience. Like any art, coasters can be full of nuance and the layout is incredibly specific and unique to Islands of Adventure. It's crafted to be visually and kinetically stunning from various locations on the ground and its elements create an incredibly well paced and novel experience, especially with the unique roll over the water. Plus, the coaster itself is woven into the story of Jurassic World and while that franchise may not necessarily resonate well with everyone, The Velocicoaster is doing a lot more thematically than something like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Rock n' Rollercoaster.

 

[UNCgolf]

This isn't directed at you because I know your goal here is to be combative and annoying, but to anyone who might be reading, The Velocicoaster is certainly not an off-the-shelf experience. Like any art, coasters can be full of nuance and the layout is incredibly specific and unique to Islands of Adventure. It's crafted to be visually and kinetically stunning from various locations on the ground and its elements create an incredibly well paced and novel experience, especially with the unique roll over the water. Plus, the coaster itself is woven into the story of Jurassic World and while that franchise may not necessarily resonate well with everyone, The Velocicoaster is doing a lot more thematically than something like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Rock n' Rollercoaster.

It's definitely not an off-the-shelf coaster, but I don't think it's comparable to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a thematic experience (and that's not because Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is something incredible), even though I understand that it's diegetically a roller coaster inside the Jurassic World theme park. I'm also only talking about the thematic experience while actually on the ride.

That's a separate discussion from whether it's a good attraction in a vacuum, though, and it is one of the few examples where a relatively unthemed coaster actually works thematically in the themed setting.

 

[Rich Brownn]

I never said Epic was all coasters. I said there seems to be far too many coasters.

Coasters in my opinion are cheap attractions you find in your local theme park. Universal and Disney are so much more than that. See the innovation and ground breaking technology for attractions like Spiderman when it first came out.

Coasters aren't cheap -- especially ones like Hagrids. But even the ones like the dual coasters coast millions of dollars. They also fill out the appeal of the park - some people want thrill rides, some want dark rides, some want both. There's a whopping 4 in the whole park, one of which is a unique and innovative design, two of which are themed to the lands they are on complete with show buildings. If you think they're Six Flags style coasters, you must have one hell of a SF near you.

 

[Rich Brownn]

You just described Rock n Rollercoaster.

Which actually is an off the shelf coaster as two outdoor versions of it already exist.

 

[Rich Brownn]

It's definitely not an off-the-shelf coaster, but I don't think it's comparable to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a thematic experience (and that's not because Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is something incredible), even though I understand that it's diegetically a roller coaster inside the Jurassic World theme park. I'm also only talking about the thematic experience while actually on the ride.

That's a separate discussion from whether it's a good attraction in a vacuum, though, and it is one of the few examples where a relatively unthemed coaster actually works thematically in the themed setting.

7D is a very short kiddie coaster (the swinging turned out to be a waste). VC is designed to be a world-class coaster-it opted for theme (the queue is light years beyond any SF coaster) and track design over highest, longest etc. It's literally two coasters in one - the first half twisting and turning over rock work and waterfalls, the second half flat out speed and thrills. SF goes for biggest, longest etc and doesn't add rock work, plants, waterfalls, etc.

 

[jpinkc]

I am seeing far too many lazy off the shelf coasters, slap of paint, make a nice queue and call it 'whatever IP you want'. Universal are doing this lazy nonsense far too much now.

Where is the innovation ? Or is it making things on the cheap ?

I do agree somewhat with this. They dont want to be Disney in the past when they didnt have enough (exciting coaster) rides to appeal to tweens and coaster enthusiasts. It did make them seem like a kiddie park. But I am concerned about non coaster attractions for Epic. They Coasters are getting all the noise, I do know of one Flume ride I have seen a bit about. But they do need to flesh out NON Coaster attractions. They need some dark rides etc, I know of 2 that might be dark rides, Monster one and the Yoshi one? As I am getting older I know which Coasters I can still do and which ones I cant LOL. So for me Peter Pan, Pooh, (damn I miss Mr Toad still), Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Living with the Land, Rat, Pandora, Dinosaur etc, still are enjoyable and someday maybe I can still go to the parks with a grandchild and we both enjoy it. Unless they price us all out.

 

[Andrew25]

I do agree somewhat with this. They dont want to be Disney in the past when they didnt have enough (exciting coaster) rides to appeal to tweens and coaster enthusiasts. It did make them seem like a kiddie park. But I am concerned about non coaster attractions for Epic. They Coasters are getting all the noise, I do know of one Flume ride I have seen a bit about. But they do need to flesh out NON Coaster attractions. They need some dark rides etc, I know of 2 that might be dark rides, Monster one and the Yoshi one? As I am getting older I know which Coasters I can still do and which ones I cant LOL. So for me Peter Pan, Pooh, (damn I miss Mr Toad still), Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Living with the Land, Rat, Pandora, Dinosaur etc, still are enjoyable and someday maybe I can still go to the parks with a grandchild and we both enjoy it. Unless they price us all out.

Epic Universe will have 4 dark rides - Mario Kart, Yoshi, Monsters, Potter. Plus 2 theater shows and a nighttime spectacular. 3 of the coasters are “family-friendly” with no intense maneuvers or inversion.

From Day 1 it’ll have a comparable lineup to DHS with expansion pads available.

 

[danlb_2000]

No theme park is going to open with

Epic Universe will have 4 dark rides - Mario Kart, Yoshi, Monsters, Potter. Plus 2 theater shows and a nighttime spectacular. 3 of the coasters are “family-friendly” with no intense maneuvers or inversion.

From Day 1 it’ll have a comparable lineup to DHS with expansion pads available.

I think the opening lineup it pretty balanced. Not all rides can be ground breaking e-tickets. Someone pointed out Spiderman, but ignores that fact that it opened in a land with two off the shelf flat rides and a pretty standard coaster.

The Universal nay-sayers should also be happy that the opening lineup isn't overly screen heavy.

 

[Rush]

Epic Universe will have 4 dark rides - Mario Kart, Yoshi, Monsters, Potter. Plus 2 theater shows and a nighttime spectacular. 3 of the coasters are “family-friendly” with no intense maneuvers or inversion.

From Day 1 it’ll have a comparable lineup to DHS with expansion pads available.

More rides than DHS and AK, and same amount as EPCOT.

a pretty standard coaster.

The Hulk was actually revolutionary as a coaster and remains iconic to the coaster enthusiast community to this day.

 

[UNCgolf]

7D is a very short kiddie coaster (the swinging turned out to be a waste). VC is designed to be a world-class coaster-it opted for theme (the queue is light years beyond any SF coaster) and track design over highest, longest etc. It's literally two coasters in one - the first half twisting and turning over rock work and waterfalls, the second half flat out speed and thrills. SF goes for biggest, longest etc and doesn't add rock work, plants, waterfalls, etc.

None of this is really relevant to the point I made.

Velocicoaster is a very lightly themed coaster in terms of the on-ride experience, which is why it's ultimately rather boring to me and not worth waiting in line to ride. Disney has coasters like this too; it's not an attack on Universal.

It's also just my personal preference in attractions; it doesn't mean it's bad. I don't think there's really an argument regarding the amount of theming while riding the attraction, though. It's not supposed to be anything other than a roller coaster.

 

[Haymarket]

This is amazing—Jurassic World Adventure at Universal Beijing. I hope EU has at least a couple rides like this.

 

[My95cobras]

None of this is really relevant to the point I made.

Velocicoaster is a very lightly themed coaster in terms of the on-ride experience, which is why it's ultimately rather boring to me and not worth waiting in line to ride. Disney has coasters like this too; it's not an attack on Universal.

It's also just my personal preference in attractions; it doesn't mean it's bad. I don't think there's really an argument regarding the amount of theming while riding the attraction, though. It's not supposed to be anything other than a roller coaster.

what more theming would you like at 65mph, outside?

 

[UNCgolf]

what more theming would you like at 65mph, outside?

That's the whole point. It can't really be a good themed experience.

As I said, it's not supposed to be anything other than a roller coaster in the Jurassic World universe, so the theming works to that extent, but it's just kind of... boring, I guess, even though I know that's not how most people would describe a roller coaster.

Hagrid's and Revenge of the Mummy are both much better coasters at Universal solely from a theming perspective.

 

[My95cobras]

That's the whole point. It can't really be a good themed experience.

As I said, it's not supposed to be anything other than a roller coaster in the Jurassic World universe, so the theming works to that extent, but it's just kind of... boring, I guess, even though I know that's not how most people would describe a roller coaster.

Hagrid's and Revenge of the Mummy are both much better coasters at Universal solely from a theming perspective.

It’s the best coaster in the southeast US. If you think it’s boring, you’re wrong. I’ll chalk you up to being another donnie.

 

[UNCgolf]

It’s the best coaster in the southeast US. If you think it’s boring, you’re wrong. I’ll chalk you up to being another donnie.

Or, you know, you could accept that people look for different things in attractions instead of just dismissing anything that doesn't conform to your personal opinions.

It's not that Velocicoaster is boring compared to other roller coasters (and I even specifically said boring is a weird word to use). It's that I find coasters in general "boring" (again, not really the best word) unless they are heavily themed. The sheer physical thrill isn't especially interesting to me; I need something more than that to really enjoy an attraction.

It's not like I'm suggesting they should tear it down or that other people are wrong to enjoy it. It just doesn't do much for me personally.

 

[Poseidon Quest]

It's definitely not an off-the-shelf coaster, but I don't think it's comparable to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as a thematic experience (and that's not because Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is something incredible), even though I understand that it's diegetically a roller coaster inside the Jurassic World theme park. I'm also only talking about the thematic experience while actually on the ride.

That's a separate discussion from whether it's a good attraction in a vacuum, though, and it is one of the few examples where a relatively unthemed coaster actually works thematically in the themed setting.

The issue I have with 7DMT is that while the rockwork and trees are pretty, there's not much that's thematically significant on the ride. You have the short scene with the Dwarfs in the mine and the cottage at the end but there's really not much else. I think its next closest comparison is Big Thunder Mountain, which is full of little scenes and props that do a lot to flesh out the world it's trying to sell you and 7DMT unfortunately has very little of this. While much of Velocicoaster is a sleek, concrete building, it's tying quite heavily into the first film narratively and is full of small details that reveal a larger story through deduction.

I would like to see more to it like the heavily rumored scene at the end that was supposed to have been cut, but it's ultimately a world class coaster that is doing a lot more storytelling than it really needed to do, at least in my opinion.

 

[UNCgolf]

The issue I have with 7DMT is that while the rockwork and trees are pretty, there's not much that's thematically significant on the ride. You have the short scene with the Dwarfs in the mine and the cottage at the end but there's really not much else. I think its next closest comparison is Big Thunder Mountain, which is full of little scenes and props that do a lot to flesh out the world it's trying to sell you and 7DMT unfortunately has very little of this. While much of Velocicoaster is a sleek, concrete building, it's tying quite heavily into the first film narratively and is full of small details that reveal a larger story through deduction.

I would like to see more to it like the heavily rumored scene at the end that was supposed to have been cut, but it's ultimately a world class coaster that is doing a lot more storytelling than it really needed to do, at least in my opinion.

I don't think 7DMT does much either; it's certainly not comparable to better themed coasters like Expedition Everest (especially if all original effects were working) and Big Thunder Mountain, or Hagrid's and Mummy at Universal (7DMT is at least better than Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleighs). I do think it offers more than Velocicoaster if you want something more than just physical thrill on an attraction, though, mostly because of the two scenes.

Anyways, this is all about what I personally enjoy. As I said above, I've never been overly interested in coasters solely as coasters; they don't really thrill me. While I agree Velocicoaster does a bit more than it needed to as something that's specifically intended to be a roller coaster thematically, it doesn't do anywhere near enough to make it worth waiting for if the physical thrill isn't a draw for you (to be clear, I'm not suggesting 7DMT is worth waiting for either). It's very similar to Slinky Dog Dash in that way, although obviously the on-ride physical experience is not remotely similar between the two.

The bigger potential issue re: Epic Universe (to bring it back to the thread topic) is how many of their coasters will make thematic sense in their location, assuming they're open air and exposed track. At the very least, regardless of anything else, Velocicoaster (and Slinky Dog) work diegetically in their locations. Will that be the case for the coasters at EU? I don't know enough about what they're building.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Or, you know, you could accept that people look for different things in attractions instead of just dismissing anything that doesn't conform to your personal opinions.

It's not that Velocicoaster is boring compared to other roller coasters (and I even specifically said boring is a weird word to use). It's that I find coasters in general "boring" (again, not really the best word) unless they are heavily themed. The sheer physical thrill isn't especially interesting to me; I need something more than that to really enjoy an attraction.

It's not like I'm suggesting they should tear it down or that other people are wrong to enjoy it. It just doesn't do much for me personally.

IMO Velocicoaster is the best coaster I've ever been on. I emphasize the word coaster. It's not the best coaster-based attraction though. I would rather ride Hagrid's than Velocicoaster. To me, VC just falls short on theming elements and I know it's going at 65mph but they still could've given the feel of threat from the raptors. Maybe have a simple animatronic (like the bird on a stick) pop out at one of the corners...or pop up on a rock right before the coaster dives under. Yes, you're in the raptor paddock...but never once do I feel like the raptors are a threat...they're just there.