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

[TalkToEthan]

My bigger concern is the low capacity of the ride and that it's only one minute in length.

Ouch!!
…..another Tron

 

[trr1]

 

[ToTBellHop]

Ouch!!
…..another Tron

Are any of the coasters in the park MORE than a minute in length? Maybe the HtTYD coaster.

My concern over DK is that with those boxy cars, I doubt you'll really be aware of jumping the track (and certainly not from the back row), so it's all show for a ground-level gimmick. I've never seen a mine cart coaster with such a low height requirement, so it must not be intense at all. Will it be worth waiting 2 hours for?

Thus far, nothing they've done with the Nintendo contract has been particularly impressive to me. Which is...surprising.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

Are any of the coasters in the park MORE than a minute in length? Maybe the HtTYD coaster.

My concern over DK is that with those boxy cars, I doubt you'll really be aware of jumping the track (and certainly not from the back row), so it's all show for a ground-level gimmick. I've never seen a mine cart coaster with such a low height requirement, so it must not be intense at all. Will it be worth waiting 2 hours for?

Thus far, nothing they've done with the Nintendo contract has been particularly impressive to me. Which is...surprising.

My six-year-old says otherwise. Perhaps the bright, colorful magical plumber is not only for grown men.

 

[mickEblu]

…..a number like that really cuts into the thrill side of things

For me the ultimate attraction is a 2 part formula: theme 60% and thrill 40%

Yeah I feel like 40 inches was the number I was looking for. And remember this is Universal and their height requirements always seem much more aggressive than Disney.

 

[mickEblu]

What it lacks in physical thrills it should make up for in the psychological thrill of the jump track moments. My bigger concern is the low capacity of the ride and that it's only one minute in length.

One minute length? That’s no good. It’s really too bad. My imagination went wild with the possibilities for Mario Kart. A DK mine coaster has so much potential. Both concepts deserve rides on a much larger scale.

 

[ToTBellHop]

My six-year-old says otherwise. Perhaps the bright, colorful magical plumber is not only for grown men.

Perhaps they need to build a land that will still attract people in 5 years after the luster is gone.

No one plays Donkey Kong Country and thinks, "this should be a kiddie coaster." The Yoshi ride makes sense because he's largely used as a cute stuffed animal now.

It is surprising to see a park like IoA, packed with big kid coasters, and then this park gets 3 family coasters? Where's the balance?

 

[mickEblu]

So what is going to be this parks signature attraction(s)? I’m guessing the Monsters Ride and/ or Harry Potter Ride.

 

[Andrew25]

I'm not a fan of some of the choices Universal made on the Donkey Coaster (way too short, low-capacity, etc.), but I wouldn't call it a "kiddie coaster". Universal AND Nintendo wanted family experiences, and I think they made the correct choice intensity-wise for Donkey Kong. The thrill comes (and should) from the "jumping the track" gimmick, not the coaster itself.

Epic Universe Roller Coaster Summary (mostly on par with just about every other coaster in the world)
Donkey Kong Coaster - ~60-sec in length -> similar intensity to Big Thunder
Werewolf Spinning Coaster - ~50-60 secs in length, similar experience/intensity to Flight of the Hippogriff (albeit a bit more thrilling)
Starfall Racers - approximately ~90 secs in length, similar experience/intensity to Velocicoaster
Hiccup's Wing Gliders - probably 90-120 secs in length, similar experience to Slinky Dog Dash, a bit more intense than SDD

Space Mountain is only ~60 secs once you exit the lift and into the final brake run.

So what is going to be this parks signature attraction(s)? I’m guessing the Monsters Ride and/ or Harry Potter Ride.

Universal would define it as Mario Kart, Dark Universe Dark Ride and the Ministry of Magic.

It is surprising to see a park like IoA, packed with big kid coasters, and then this park gets 3 family coasters? Where's the balance?

From Day 1, the goal of Epic Universe was to create a far more family-oriented theme park than a teen/young-adult park like IOA. They chose the right direction, and it's not like "thrill rides" are only tied to coasters. The Monsters & Ministry Dark Rides will both offer thrills.

The park is fairly balanced from an intensity perspective.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Sorry but 36” is a kiddie coaster. 2-year olds will be riding. At least it’s themed better than Barnstormer. Trolls or Goofy match that age group a bit better than DK.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Sorry but 36” is a kiddie coaster. 2-year olds will be riding. At least it’s themed better than Barnstormer. Trolls or Goofy match that age group a bit better than DK.

Only 2-year-old dare devils!!

 

[sonoma15]

My concern over DK is that with those boxy cars, I doubt you'll really be aware of jumping the track (and certainly not from the back row), so it's all show for a ground-level gimmick.

You will be able to see the track jumping from the back row (well maybe not if you are short and have someone really tall in front of you), the trains have stadium seating for that purpose. The effect will look great in the front row too, based off fan recreation videos.

 

[ToTBellHop]

You will be able to see the track jumping from the back row (well maybe not if you are short and have someone really tall in front of you), the trains have stadium seating for that purpose. The effect will look great in the front row too, based off fan recreation videos.

The only coaster trains that give me a clear view of the track right in front of me are ones with nothing in front of the front row.

 

[mickEblu]

I'm not a fan of some of the choices Universal made on the Donkey Coaster (way too short, low-capacity, etc.), but I wouldn't call it a "kiddie coaster". Universal AND Nintendo wanted family experiences, and I think they made the correct choice intensity-wise for Donkey Kong. The thrill comes (and should) from the "jumping the track" gimmick, not the coaster itself.

Epic Universe Roller Coaster Summary (mostly on par with just about every other coaster in the world)
Donkey Kong Coaster - ~60-sec in length -> similar intensity to Big Thunder
Werewolf Spinning Coaster - ~50-60 secs in length, similar experience/intensity to Flight of the Hippogriff (albeit a bit more thrilling)
Starfall Racers - approximately ~90 secs in length, similar experience/intensity to Velocicoaster
Hiccup's Wing Gliders - probably 90-120 secs in length, similar experience to Slinky Dog Dash, a bit more intense than SDD

Space Mountain is only ~60 secs once you exit the lift and into the final brake run.


Universal would define it as Mario Kart, Dark Universe Dark Ride and the Ministry of Magic.


From Day 1, the goal of Epic Universe was to create a far more family-oriented theme park than a teen/young-adult park like IOA. They chose the right direction, and it's not like "thrill rides" are only tied to coasters. The Monsters & Ministry Dark Rides will both offer thrills.

The park is fairly balanced from an intensity perspective.

Are we sure it's similar in intensity to Big Thunder? I find that hard to believe. Again Universal's height requirements are a bit more aggressive than Disney too so 36 inches to me sounds like it ll be more on par with a kiddie coaster. 3 year olds can ride Thunder Mountain so its not like something a bit more thrilling with a little higher height requirement would not make it a family experience. I don't think the 2 year olds would mind.

 

[Andrew25]

Height Requirements have nothing to do with thrill intensity, it's the restraint system utilized that dictates requirements.

Flight of Passage has a 44-inch height requirement. Tower of Terror has a 40-inch height requirement.
By that logic, Flight of Passage is more intense than Tower of Terror.

Are we sure it's similar in intensity to Big Thunder?

Possibly yes. Somewhere in the ball park between Big Thunder and Seven Dwarfs.

 

[mickEblu]

Height Requirements have nothing to do with thrill intensity, it's the restraint system utilized that dictates requirements.

They tend to when it comes to coasters.

 

[celluloid]

You will be able to see the track jumping from the back row (well maybe not if you are short and have someone really tall in front of you), the trains have stadium seating for that purpose. The effect will look great in the front row too, based off fan recreation videos.

The only coaster trains that give me a clear view of the track right in front of me are ones with nothing in front of the front row.

The difference is with Donkey Kong not having a real track, the broken sections bending up can be exaggerated for visual. It is not just a gap. The real track the boom bar is on underneath will rise up enough to clear the scenic element that is the faux track.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Height Requirements have nothing to do with thrill intensity, it's the restraint system utilized that dictates requirements.

This is not necessarily true. If you were to buy a Vekoma family coaster and a thrill coaster using their stock trains they would both have the same restraint but different height requirements due to the different intensities. There are a variety of factors that are involved. Even at Universal Orlando Resort their are different height requirements for Skull Island and Fast & Furious despite having the same ride system.

 

[BrianLo]

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.

It is important that unrealistic expectations not be set. I think Epic will be HIGHLY successful.

I do not think it is possible for UOR to increase gate clicks by 50% year one. No other resort ever has and that includes not just crap second gates (Epcot, DisneySEA). It will take some time, the other parks will shed attendance to Epic more than length of stays and new guests will counter-balance.

 

[BrianLo]

We are living and dying on the final success of the Potter and Monsters headline attractions at this point. The park is very solid without them (I really think the HTTYD area is great), but we pretty much know what we are getting with everything else showed so far. Which way the final reviews of this park sway I think are very much dependent on if they get those last two attractions hit or not.

Even if those two attractions whiff, I'm confidently calling this park already superior to USF.


I agree with everyone that they've made some big mistakes with SNW. The land is wonderful. Yoshi has a height requirement, DK Coaster seems like a looming ridiculous capacity nightmare and MK misses the point. Though MK seems like a nice enough attraction if one sets aside "the point". They really need that Luigi's Mansion area stat.