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

networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
MrPromey said:
Then why are you saying "53% of Comcast's revenue is traditional cable TV" if you know, apparently better than most, that that's not true?
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Its the same physical plant and infrastructure and baked in associated cost structure. It doesn't matter if its a package of channels or just a big internet delivery pipe. In fact the largest cable provider in the US, Spectrum, is doing away with the traditional set top box and replacing it with a streaming solution. Granted cable as an ISP is more profitable than packages, but also observe that like AT&T, Comcast has wandered into the acquisition of content creators minefield as well to both reduce their licensing costs to feed packages and sell that same content to others (note that this also includes advertising revenue)

Cable delivery of internet or packages still has to contend with the limitations and cost of DOCSIS. I'm not going to delve into technical fundamentals any further. Let it suffice to recognize that this is just a point in time and Comcast has sufficient funds to complete the initial build of Epic Universe.
 
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MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
networkpro said:
Its the same physical plant and infrastructure and baked in associated cost structure. It doesn't matter if its a package of channels or just a big internet delivery pipe. In fact the largest cable provider in the US, Spectrum, is doing away with the traditional set top box and replacing it with a streaming solution. Granted cable as an ISP is more profitable than packages, but also observe that like AT&T, Comcast has wandered into the acquisition of content creators minefield as well to both reduce their licensing costs to feed packages and sell that same content to others (note that this also includes advertising revenue)

Cable delivery of internet or packages still has to contend with the limitations and cost of DOCSIS. I'm not going to delve into technical fundamentals any further. Let it suffice to recognize that this is just a point in time and Comcast has sufficient funds to complete the initial build of Epic Universe.
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I think where we were all going with this was you saying that most of their money was coming from traditional TV cable and also classifying that as a dying business that would soon not be able to fund stuff like this.

Obviously, we all know that folks still need internet access to get to things like Disney+ and since there is higher profit for companies like Comcast (and Spectrum) in providing broadband access than there is in acting as a traditional cable TV operator, the situation isn't actually that dire.

Not sure what DOCSIS has to do with any of this discussion. They're going to need to transition to fiber some day if they haven't already started in some areas but I imagine that'll probably be a pretty slow and controlled rollout and of course, Disney+ and Neflix and Co. will all be helping to foot the bill on that whether they want to or not... along with the rate increases to customers that'll help keep the Comcast brand as one of the most disliked in the country.

As for the content, something tells me we won't be seeing Peacock Day at a Universal park anytime soon.

Good thing they didn't decide to name it Comcast's Epic Universe. ;)
 
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Rich Brownn

Rich Brownn

Well-Known Member
networkpro said:
WHAT IS BIG?
(1) Cable Communications:$65 Bil53%
(2) NBCUniversal Media:$20 Bil16%
(3) NBCUniversal Studio And Theme Park:$20 Bil16%
(4) Sky:$17 Bil14%
TOTAL Revenues in FY2023:$122 Bil100%

WHAT HAS CHANGED?
Over FY2020-23
Change in Cable Communications:$7.0 Bil
+ Change in NBCUniversal Media:$3.0 Bil
+ Change in NBCUniversal Studio And Theme Park:$9.4 Bil
+ Change in Sky:$-1.2 Bil
TOTAL Change FY2020-23:$18 Bil
+ Comcast Revenues in FY2020$104 Bil
= TOTAL Revenues in FY2023$122 Bil
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Cable Communications includes video and internet. Internet makes ups the majority of the profit.
 
Rich Brownn

Rich Brownn

Well-Known Member
MrPromey said:
I think where we were all going with this was you saying that most of their money was coming from traditional TV cable and also classifying that as a dying business that would soon not be able to fund stuff like this.

Obviously, we all know that folks still need internet access to get to things like Disney+ and since there is higher profit for companies like Comcast (and Spectrum) in providing broadband access than there is in acting as a traditional cable TV operator, the situation isn't actually that dire.

Not sure what DOCSIS has to do with any of this discussion. They're going to need to transition to fiber some day if they haven't already started in some areas but I imagine that'll probably be a pretty slow and controlled rollout and of course, Disney+ and Neflix and Co. will all be helping to foot the bill on that whether they want to or not... along with the rate increases to customers that'll help keep the Comcast brand as one of the most disliked in the country.

As for the content, something tells me we won't be seeing Peacock Day at a Universal park anytime soon.

Good thing they didn't decide to name it Comcast's Epic Universe. ;)
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Last mile fiber turned out to be an expensive dead end.
 
C

celluloid

Well-Known Member
MrPromey said:
As for the content, something tells me we won't be seeing Peacock Day at a Universal park anytime soon.

Good thing they didn't decide to name it Comcast's Epic Universe. ;)
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Also a good thing that they were smart enough to have a deal with Netflix for their content too! More kids and families are raised by Universal's content than ever. Their theatrical and home content in that arena have done very well recently.(last decade)
 
S

SouthDakotaTink

New Member
networkpro said:
I hope they have enough funding to fully complete it. The Comcast money printing machine (monthly cable TV revenue) is running out of steam. On average, Comcast lost more than 5,500 TV customers every single day in 2023. As of Q3 2023, Comcast has 14.5 million subscribers. This is a decrease from previous years and a 20% decline from 19.36 million cable subscribers in the first three months of 2022. The Hulu sale is just a one time revenue event.
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I have to say I miss Comcast cable... I moved from NJ to SD and I don't have them as a option. Their cable was the best!
 
trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Aerial overview of Epic Universe.
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Aerial overview of Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of Helios Grand in-park resort at Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of the portal of Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of cascading water features near the front of Epic Universe
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Aerial photo of the front of Starfall Racers. The dual-racing roller coaster in Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo looking across Epic Universe.
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Aerial look at the construction of Celestial Carousel in Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of a deep excavation at front of Starfall Racers. The dual-racing roller coaster in Epic Universe.
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trr1

trr1

Well-Known Member
bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
Aerial look at development in the Southwest corner of the Epic Universe development. West of Terra Nova.Parking lot was originally a staging area of track for Yoshi's Adventure.
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Aerial photo of work so far near what will be Chronos Tower over the semicircle portal into Epic Universe.The curved green wall at center of this photo will be an overlook of cascading water features.
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Aerial photo of the front of the Epic Universe Harry Potter land.
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Aerial photo of areas outside the Harry Potter land in Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of an area of an Epic Universe entrance building.
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Aerial photo of current work on the raised traffic circle near Epic Universe. Donkey Kong roller coaster top left. Stella Nova at top right.
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Aerial photo of How To Train Your Dragon land and the Starfall Racers roller coaster station near Celestial Park in Epic Universe.
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Aerial photo of cascading water features in Epic Universe.1 A roof that likely will be placed at 23 Foundations of a bridge4 Plumbing for fountains in elaborate patterns can be seen in this basin.
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Aerial look at the landscaping in progress near the exit of the Epic Universe Harry Potter land.Many of these octagon shaped foundations have been spotted through Celestial Park. The white pipes indicate water supply, so a good guess is these are Coca-Cola Freestyle locations.
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SouthDakotaTink

New Member
networkpro said:
Wow, I bet that was a culture shift!
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Thanks! Not too bad as I'm in Sioux Falls so it has all I need.
celluloid said:
I went from FL to Idaho, so I get culture and lifestyle changes. I hope to stop by and see Wall Drug on a future road trip.
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Wall Drug is awesome! I stopped in the summer and only saw like 10% of it. So neat! Definitely need to check out the Badlands as well that are close to Wall Drug. They are like nothing I have seen before!
 
SpectreJordan

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
Andrew25 said:
Epic will have 3 major dark rides
  • Mario Kart
  • Monsters
  • Ministry (their "answer" to Rise)

Epic will have 4 coasters with various intensity levels:
  • Starfall - the "extreme" coaster
  • Donkey Kong - family-thrill, akin to something like a mix of Hagrid/Space Mountain
  • Werewolf - family, a "beefed up" version of Hippogriff
  • HTTYD Coaster - family, basically Slinky Dog... but with actual rock work lol

2 stage shows, a nighttime spectacular, and probably street entertainment since Universal still believes in that somewhat.

That isn't taking into account all the flats and interactive experiences the park will have. Don't get me wrong, I would love if Epic had 1 more "classic" relaxing dark ride, but let's not pretend this park is skimping out on attractions.
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On paper, this is a fantastic lineup of rides. I'm just hoping they have the quality of IOA's rides vs the mediocre quality of Uni Studios's rides.
 
WDWFREAK53

WDWFREAK53

Well-Known Member
I would've liked a family dark ride along the lines of the Great Movie Ride in Celestial Park. (Not necessarily the same ride system or anything, but more an introduction ride that sort of gets you prepared for the rest of the park.)

It could've started out as a theater/planetarium which showed constellations based on the themed lands. Those constellations would come to life and the room would open up into show scenes depicting the lands which could be narrated throughout as if talking about the gods or myths of these lands. Artistically, the scenes would all be aesthetically themed in a similar style which doesn't match the real-world lands but more like artwork/paintings found in history books.
 
SpectreJordan

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
phillip9698 said:
I understand that when people are deciding what to spend their money on the fact that something is new and therefore still has room to grow doesn’t factor much into the equation when a fully built out park is on the other side.

But………….this park is opening with a vastly superior lineup than what other parks offered day one in recent Orlando history. That is what I’ll measure them against and IMO they are well above the bar.
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Yeah, this is (on paper) a great lineup. I'm not sure what more people could expect out of the gate.
UNCgolf said:
How much do we actually know about the HP ride (and the Monsters ride, for that matter)?

Forbidden Journey is like half dark ride and half simulator, and although I know I'm in the minority, I don't think it's especially good because the simulator portions are pretty boring. It's also not very pleasant to ride because it's so jerky; I hope the Kuka arm Monsters attraction is smoother.

I also hope there's no simulator portion to either.
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You're not alone. I'm not big on FJ, those 480p screens look awful & are the only thing in any park that makes me sick. The queue is AMAZING though.
Mike S said:
A rumor from Alicia Stella also suggests that the first expansion after opening will be a Luigi’s Mansion ride. Don’t know when exactly but there’s already things lined up.
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I'm praying that's Universal's "Haunted Mansion", that could be such a fun ride.
 

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