danlb_2000
Premium Member
Yes, but the park overall will have about the same number of rides as Magic Kingdom had at it's opening, and more rides than either Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom have now.
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Universal Epic Universe (South Expansion Complex) - Opens May 22 2025
- Thread starter Bob Harlem
- Start date
Yes, but the park overall will have about the same number of rides as Magic Kingdom had at it's opening, and more rides than either Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom have now.
Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
Never said otherwise. I said the 'first selling points'.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
Which is incredibly sad.
Which means absolutely nothing.
You called them "primary selling points," when you know full well they aren't. I don't know why you even felt the need to compare this to what Disney's doing, but the fact that you arbitrarily focused on two obviously peripheral experiences to make up the basis of your comparison is pretty telling, in and of itself, isn't it?
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
Right! This isn't so much, "There are so many rides" moreso than "How do those parks ONLY have that many rides?"
The days of building a "Fantasyland" are over.
Even New Fantasyland managed to add 2 rides, an extensive meet n greet/show, and a table-service restaurant.
As far as numbers go, that seems more than any "full" lands they've built lately.
But, for an opening day lineup, Epic Universe seems to be just fine.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Magic Kingdom has 24 rides. Epic will 11 when it opens. It'll have the same amount as Epcot. Definitely more than DHS and DAK, but not as many as MK. I'm sure the park overall will probably be fine rides wise I just think Harry Potter needs an e ticket and c or d ticket along with it. Although doesn't diagon Alley only have one ride too?
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I believe MK had 15 "rides" when the park opened. But some of those were the Main Street Vehicles and Keelboats.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Good point. Epic has a really good opening lineup.
Mike S
Well-Known Member
New Fantasyland replaced Snow White with Seven Dwarfs and finally gave us a new ride where 20K used to be. It brought the land back to a previous number.
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
Correct but those weren't just overlays or replacing existing layouts. That was a new land. Complete ground-up build.
I'm not saying it added much capacity, but as a new "area of an existing land" it added more than most new complete lands.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
It wouldn't be my expectation that a new park opens with the same number of rides that a park that has been around for 50 years has.
Diagon sort of has 1 1/2 rides if you include the Hogwarts Express.
Starship824
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I just realized you put "at its opening"
. I am dumb. 
I wouldn't really consider the Hogwarts Express a ride, if it is than should we say the monorail is a ride? I wouldn't say that.
The monorail also isn't a themed experience.I just realized you put "at its opening"
I wouldn't really consider the Hogwarts Express a ride, if it is than should we say the monorail is a ride? I wouldn't say that.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Yes and no. The key issue is desired/anticipated attendance. Magic Kingdom has not drastically increased its capacity (and in areas like dining has even had a net loss) that was intended to max out at accommodating 10 million guests per year.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
These numbers sound reasonable for Universal. Their current attendance is close to Epcot and Studios, not Magic Kingdom.
Universal has also shown they are willing and able to build new attractions quickly when they want to. If this park does gangbusters they'll expand relatively quickly.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
But Magic Kingdom was designed for those types of numbers.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
True, but in my experience Universal also has different attendance patterns.
It's been a few years for me but I found they would be busy during the day but popular attractions would be walk-ons in the last hour. Disney parks by comparison tend to have a consistent level of business right until closing.
I never had an issue getting everything done and then some at Universal parks. This was February though so other times might be different.
Combine that with the restrictive ticketing plan, as rumoured, and I suspect the attraction lineup will be sufficient, at least to start.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I just realized you put "at its opening"
I wouldn't really consider the Hogwarts Express a ride, if it is than should we say the monorail is a ride? I wouldn't say that.
I definitely consider it a ride. If it didn't take you to another park it would still provide an immersive experience.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
But I would also think it comes down to cost and available resources. How much bandwidth do your creative, engineering and construction team have.
Andrew25
Well-Known Member
That has changed a bit with attendance increasing over the last few yaers.
DAK pretty much sees a (pre Potter) Universal-like drop off at 4-5 PM (and far quicker to empty out than IOA/USF)
USF has changed in the last few weeks now with the popularity of the drone show. The biggest issue is that Universal kinda encourages you to leave early by unfortunately closing quick service locations an hour+ before park close.
IOA is still very popular at the headliners (Spidey/Velo/Hagrid), with Hagrid consistently operating for at least an hour after park close.