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

[Sorcerer Mickey]

For those talking about slow EU ticket sales...

Everyone here knows the only way to access EU is by purchasing a three-day ticket. I just priced out one of these packages for myself, my wife, and son. Our daughter is 2 so she gets in free. We'll be in the Orlando area at the end of July. The price of the tickets alone is a whopping $1.1k. No urge to visit UO or IoA because my son is not a thrill seeker.

Yeah, no thanks. Hit me up when the one-day tickets are on sale. $200/person is the upper end of my comfort level.

 

[UNCgolf]

For those talking about slow EU ticket sales...

Everyone here knows the only way to access EU is by purchasing a three-day ticket. I just priced out one of these packages for myself, my wife, and son. Our daughter is 2 so she gets in free. We'll be in the Orlando area at the end of July. The price of the tickets alone is a whopping $1.1k. No urge to visit UO or IoA because my son is not a thrill seeker.

Yeah, no thanks. Hit me up when the one-day tickets are on sale. $200/person is the upper end of my comfort level.

If you don't want to visit IoA or UO because your son isn't a thrill seeker, then I'm not sure why you'd want to visit EU either.

The attraction lineup there isn't significantly different than what's offered at IoA or UO; it's still pretty heavy on thrill rides.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

If you don't want to visit IoA or UO because your son isn't a thrill seeker, then I'm not sure why you'd want to visit EU either.

The attraction lineup there isn't significantly different than what's offered at IoA or UO; it's still mainly thrill rides.

Yeah I think EU’s popularity for families lives-and-dies on how well Isle of Berk is received. Otherwise, the top-rated experiences are all quite intense. While the family E-ticket, Mario Kart, is already a disappointment.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Love it. Love all of it.

Do it.

Many of us are.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If you don't want to visit IoA or UO because your son isn't a thrill seeker, then I'm not sure why you'd want to visit EU either.

The attraction lineup there isn't significantly different than what's offered at IoA or UO; it's still pretty heavy on thrill rides.

It really isn’t unless every coaster is being classed as a thrill ride.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

If you don't want to visit IoA or UO because your son isn't a thrill seeker, then I'm not sure why you'd want to visit EU either.

The attraction lineup there isn't significantly different than what's offered at IoA or UO; it's still pretty heavy on thrill rides.

Valid point, but hear me out.

1) Part of the reasoning is selfish. I've been watching the construction of Epic Universe for 5+ years and can't wait to go. My family is being dragged with me, albeit not kicking or screaming.

2) We visited SNW in California two years ago. We loved Mario Kart, but the land itself was part of the experience. Longtime theme park enthusiasts are used to rushing towards new attractions and running past anything else that's in between the park entrance and the queue. But what Universal has done with Mario land, and likely with every land in EU, is to make the world part of the attraction. So even though there are a good amount of thrill rides, there's plenty to experience around them.

 

[mkt]

But what Universal has done with Mario land, and likely with every land in EU, is to make the world part of the attraction. So even though there are a good amount of thrill rides, there's plenty to experience around them.

This is the most correct assessment I’ve yet read

 

[mkt]

Many of us are.

I live stateside and I’m doing similarly.

 

[UNCgolf]

It really isn’t unless every coaster is being classed as a thrill ride.

Some are of higher intensity than others, obviously, but that's true at every park -- I think family coasters are still thrill rides, at least to an extent (they're just targeted at kids). I also think the Monsters ride (and possibly even the HP ride) are at least thrill adjacent.

It feels pretty similar to the collection of attractions at IoA and USF to me.

 

[UNCgolf]

2) We visited SNW in California two years ago. We loved Mario Kart, but the land itself was part of the experience. Longtime theme park enthusiasts are used to rushing towards new attractions and running past anything else that's in between the park entrance and the queue. But what Universal has done with Mario land, and likely with every land in EU, is to make the world part of the attraction. So even though there are a good amount of thrill rides, there's plenty to experience around them.

I wasn't super impressed with SNW (part of that is because I thought Mario Kart was terrible), but this basically describes Disney parks (with a few exceptions), as well as the HP areas at USF and IoA. I don't think that's anything new. It's the main reason Disney was generally so far above other parks (at least for people like me); there was far more to see/do outside of the attractions themselves due to the heavy theming (unfortunately Disney has backed off on this). People could enjoy a day without riding anything.

I also think it highlights the problem with IP reliance (which applies to Disney just as much as Universal) -- Isle of Berk, e.g., looks incredibly bland to me, and I have no connection to the IP. So even if it is full of great details, it may not be impressive/resonate with people who don't already care about the IP.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Some are of higher intensity than others, obviously, but that's true at every park -- I think family coasters are still thrill rides, at least to an extent. I also think the Monsters ride (and possibly even the HP ride) are at least thrill adjacent.

It feels pretty similar to the collection of attractions at IoA and USF to me.

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is only a 40" height requirement. Same with all of the coasters except Stardust Racers. The bigger issue isn't so much thrills but that most of the attractions have a height limit, so the park doesn't really offer a lot for those under 40". That's not too bad when you consider that a 4 year old can meet that, but it does limit families.

 

[UNCgolf]

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry is only a 40" height requirement. Same with all of the coasters except Stardust Racers. The bigger issue isn't so much thrills but that most of the attractions have a height limit, so the park doesn't really offer a lot for those under 40". That's not too bad when you consider that a 4 year old can meet that, but it does limit families.

My comment was solely in response to someone saying his kid didn't enjoy thrills, though, so everything was in context of that -- not whether they were actually rideable by kids. I was assuming he wouldn't want to ride any kind of coaster etc.

Mario Kart, Yoshi, the boat ride, and the carousel might be the only rideable attractions for someone like that. Possibly HP as well.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

I wasn't super impressed with SNW (part of that is because I thought Mario Kart was terrible), but this basically describes Disney parks (with a few exceptions), as well as the HP areas at USF and IoA. I don't think that's anything new. It's the main reason Disney was generally so far above other parks (at least for people like me); there was far more to see/do outside of the attractions themselves due to the heavy theming (unfortunately Disney has backed off on this). People could enjoy a day without riding anything.

I also think it highlights the problem with IP reliance (which applies to Disney just as much as Universal) -- Isle of Berk, e.g., looks incredibly bland to me, and I have no connection to the IP. So even if it is full of great details, it may not be impressive/resonate with people who don't already care about the IP.

My argument is not whether it's new, but that SNW (and potentially EU) is built in that way. UO and IoA, outside of their Potter lands, are not. UO especially is not an interesting theme park outside its individual attractions.

You said Isle of Berk "looks incredibly bland" but "is full of great details". These two ideas are at odds with each other. Separately, not everything has to resonate with you. An attraction based on a children's' movie should be primarily geared towards children.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

You said Isle of Berk "looks incredibly bland" but "is full of great details". These two ideas are at odds with each other.

That’s not true — these are not mutually exclusive.

I heavily disagree with their opinion on Berk, but bland + great details is exactly how I’d describe Celestial Park, which looks like it has the allure of a Vegas resort.

 

[TalkToEthan]

Now we’ve opted to bump up our Japan trip to late this year instead of 2026,

Priorities…….

Nicely done!! That is the right way to expedite things and move the important things to the forefront.

 

[UNCgolf]

You said Isle of Berk "looks incredibly bland" but "is full of great details". These two ideas are at odds with each other. Separately, not everything has to resonate with you. An attraction based on a children's' movie should be primarily geared towards children.

That's not what I said -- I said even if it's full of great details, that won't necessarily matter if they only resonate with fans of the IP. Isle of Berk looks bland to me period, likely because I don't care about the IP -- it just looks kind of generic and uninteresting.

That's the problem with building a bunch of single IP lands, and as I said, it's not just a Universal problem (want to be clear I'm not picking on Universal specifically here). Not everything has to resonate with every guest, but when it's almost a quarter of the whole park, that definitely matters.

Also, gearing whole areas specifically at children is a bad strategy (although I'm not claiming that Berk is geared towards children), at least if your goal is a park for everyone to enjoy. That's something you generally want to avoid, just as much as you want to avoid building whole areas that are only geared towards adults. If you're building a park solely for kids (something like Legoland) then that's a different discussion.

Regardless, I'm aware that I'm in the minority in that EU doesn't actually look great to me. I think the Nintendo area is a disappointment (although hopefully the Donkey Kong ride will be good) and Isle of Berk almost completely uninteresting, so that's basically half the park. HP is kind of an unknown... it looks solid, but also not nearly as interesting as Hogsmeade/Diagon Alley. Monsters seems like the clear highlight. Plus, the park overall is really lacking from an attractions standpoint for me.

But I'm also aware that they don't need me to be impressed!

 

[999th Happy Haunt]

Many reports of Monsters Unchained being one of the best dark rides ever created, if not THE best. Queue and preshow sound like attractions on their own.

 

[UNCgolf]

Many reports of Monsters Unchained being one of the best dark rides ever created, if not THE best. Queue and preshow sound like attractions on their own.

I'm really hoping they're right this time -- it looks like the most interesting attraction at EU. A lot of people said that about Forbidden Journey too and it's not great.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

That's not what I said -- I said even if it's full of great details, that won't necessarily matter if they only resonate with fans of the IP. Isle of Berk looks bland to me period, likely because I don't care about the IP -- it just looks kind of generic and uninteresting.

That's the problem with building a bunch of single IP lands, and as I said, it's not just a Universal problem (want to be clear I'm not picking on Universal specifically here). Not everything has to resonate with every guest, but when it's almost a quarter of the whole park, that definitely matters.

Also, gearing whole areas specifically at children is a bad strategy (although I'm not claiming that Berk is geared towards children), at least if your goal is a park for everyone to enjoy. That's something you generally want to avoid, just as much as you want to avoid building whole areas that are only geared towards adults. If you're building a park solely for kids (something like Legoland) then that's a different discussion.

Regardless, I'm aware that I'm in the minority in that EU doesn't actually look great to me. I think the Nintendo area is a disappointment (although hopefully the Donkey Kong ride will be good) and Isle of Berk almost completely uninteresting, so that's basically half the park. HP is kind of an unknown... it looks solid, but also not nearly as interesting as Hogsmeade/Diagon Alley. Monsters seems like the clear highlight. Plus, the park overall is really lacking from an attractions standpoint for me.

But I'm also aware that they don't need me to be impressed!

Even if someone is not familiar with the How To Train Your Dragon IP, Vikings and dragons are pretty well known in pop culture. It a kids version of Game of Thrones.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Even if someone is not familiar with the How To Train Your Dragon IP, Vikings and dragons are pretty well known in pop culture. It a kids version of Game of Thrones.

I feel I'm in the minority along with @UNCgolf on this, but not having a connection to the IP does make a difference to me. To give a Disney example, I don't have any real connection to the Cars films and I think that's why, while I can recognise that Carsland is well done, I don't feel a great connection to or affection for it. It really doesn't spark my imagination as much as the main lands over at Disneyland or probably even Grizzly Peak at DCA.

In general, I think theming is most effective when it evokes general concepts (even if those concepts are a time or place such as Africa or Asia at DAK) rather than recreates the world of a specific IP. I feel that approach allows multiple ways into the land depending on people's associations with different elements of the theme while broadly making sense to everyone. That's part of the reason I think a lot of us are most excited for Dark Universe as it works on that conceptual level that was the basis for Disneyland's initial success but which both Disney and Universal have largely abandoned in recent decades.