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

[s8film40]

Not trying to be a party pooper, but the new Star Wars hotel will have a direct entrance into DHS, through Galaxy's Edge, part of the immersion of the hotel, and it will be done long before this.

That a very specialized hotel only serving a small number. Also it won’t have its own entrance, it will have transportation to the park.

 

[lebeau]

Not trying to be a party pooper, but the new Star Wars hotel will have a direct entrance into DHS, through Galaxy's Edge, part of the immersion of the hotel, and it will be done long before this.

Does it really count if no one can afford to stay there? The bungalows at the Poly may as well not exist. This hotel will likely fit in the same category for most.

 

[Coaster Lover]

If you want to see what is likely the prototype for the Donkey Kong coaster testing...

 

[Jeffxz]

This is not political but part of the way Universal and Disney are paying for these explanations is due to the Trump tax cuts which allow for 100% write off of capital investments. That can cover 21% of the cost as they won't have to wait years for the tax deduction. The rest of it will come from higher ticket and food prices offset by increases in attendance. Using attenance of 20 million a year, a $10.00 per day increase would bring in $200 million a year and that is $600 to $800 million over the years of construction. The cost of the hotels, unlike Disney's, are paid for by Loews Hotels as they own them and share the profits with Universal. If the tax law changes expect massive cuts to both Disney and Universal expansion plans.

I'm not a tax accountant, but I don't think this is correct. The 100% write off only applies to short-lived investments that would depreciate in 20 years or less. It is not going to apply to a theme park.

 

[raven]

Correct me if I am wrong, but we don't know that's what they have done. It could incorporate more Dreamworks properties. The problem is, they don't fit together very well if you're trying to build a cohesive land.

That’s called The Tomorrowland Effect.

 

[RobbinsDad]

And I'm sure this will further anger the Universalists, but Epic Universe is a stupid name. Way to tap into the Fortnite generation. Was Lit Adventure already taken? LOL

 

[Sped2424]

It's no more lame and uninteresting than every piece of concept art Disney has released lately

Except I didn't mention Disney, they put out their extreme fair share of lame concept art. As it stands to me for revealing a park and giving no concrete details beyond that and vague art it feels meh.

 

[lebeau]

And I'm sure this will further anger the Universalists, but Epic Universe is a stupid name. Way to tap into the Fortnite generation. Was Lit Adventure already taken? LOL

Remember when E.P.C.O.T. was just a nonsense word?

Epic Universe will do just fine.

 

[s8film40]

And I'm sure this will further anger the Universalists, but Epic Universe is a stupid name. Way to tap into the Fortnite generation. Was Lit Adventure already taken? LOL

I’m not a fan of the name either, but I think it’s better than Fanrastic Worlds. I’m not too concerned overall though, the name is ultimately kind of pointless.

 

[tirian]

People complained heavily about Shanghai Disneyland being barren, spread out, and lacking on open but the concept demonstrates what appears to be 5 rides and 2 shows. The entire park has no cohesive elements which tie anything together, everything is just haphazardly thrown about with little to no thought. The hotel seems to add nothing to the park besides simply being there. Hotel MiraCosta at Tokyo DisneySea adds to the park in more ways than I can say, but Epic Universe seems to be a shallow attempt at expanding Universal Orlando.

I’m surprised at how bad this concept art is. They really don’t want to show any details, but this looks like a massive lake with some tents and a coaster. But if you zoom in — as @MisterPenguin did a few pages back — you can see there are a few discernible areas.

As usual, we’ll have to wait for more announcements. The era of beautiful, detailed concept art seems to have died when Disneyland Paris opened. Even Tokyo’s concept art hasn’t looked like much more than a quick digital painting on an iPad.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Except I didn't mention Disney, they put out their extreme fair share of lame concept art. As it stands to me for revealing a park and giving no concrete details beyond that and vague art it feels meh.

This announcement seems to exist only to preempt Florida’s public records laws spilling the beans.

And I'm sure this will further anger the Universalists, but Epic Universe is a stupid name. Way to tap into the Fortnite generation. Was Lit Adventure already taken? LOL

It’s not a great name. Universal’s Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort.

 

[MisterPenguin]

It’s not a great name. Universal’s Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort.

UEUUOR it is then!

Or is it UOREU?

Either way, one will get asked a lot if they're having a stroke.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Fanrastic Worlds

What's that Scoobs? </Shaggy>

 

[Timothy_Q]

People complained heavily about Shanghai Disneyland being barren, spread out, and lacking on open but the concept demonstrates what appears to be 5 rides and 2 shows.

Let’s see, from information we already know, plus what the art is showing us.

-Mario Kart
-Yoshi Omnimover
-DK Coaster
-Monsters E ticket
-Beasts E ticket
-Dueling Coaster
-Berk family coaster
-Berk boat ride
-Berk E ticket

That’s 9 rides already.
More than what DHS has today.

And an educated guess says there will probably be smaller rides for Beasts and Monsters to accompany their E tickets

 

[ChrisFL]

and it seems like we will get more slow family dark rides finally

 

[seascape]

That a very specialized hotel only serving a small number. Also it won’t have its own entrance, it will have transportation to the park.

I guess you never heard of Disneyland, which has the Grand Californian with direct access to California Adventure for years. While I agree the hotel looks great, I do have questions about the parking. It looks like the hotel parking is in the fallout zone from the fireworks. If they have a nightly fire works show that could cause problems for parked cars and those driving on the road to the north. I am not sure the roads name but its a public road and the lawyers may have a problem with those fireworks causing accidents.

 

[jt04]

Just a thought. What appears to be massive show buildings doesn't necessarily mean a single attraction. These could be covered lands like WoL's new concept. A convenient concept for a humid and rainy environment.

 

[No Name]

Not sure how appealing people will find three theme parks that have no difference in theme. Good luck to Universal, and when numbers fall, I hope they learn the right lessons.

14000 jobs at a minimum of $15 per hour. Seems like a labor war might be underway with Disney.

Last year Disney agreed to raise wages to $15 an hour by 2021, so this sounds more like Universal catching up. And I don’t think this will prompt any further action by Disney. Am I missing something?

 

[SplashJacket]

That’s 9 rides already.
More than what DHS has today.

Even still, the park lacks coherency. Every land deadends. As for DHS, never said it's a good park, I'd place it just ahead of Hong Kong Disneyland. It's a catastrophe. Star Wars land will boost it, but even still the park requires far greater improvement. Having an opening day park with the intent of building it up in the future is fine, but I am primarily complaining about the overall design. It is inefficient and clunky.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Let’s see, from information we already know, plus what the art is showing us.

-Mario Kart
-Yoshi Omnimover
-DK Coaster
-Monsters E ticket
-Beasts E ticket
-Dueling Coaster
-Berk family coaster
-Berk boat ride
-Berk E ticket

That’s 9 rides already.
More than what DHS has today.

And an educated guess says there will probably be smaller rides for Beasts and Monsters to accompany their E tickets

Beasts is more likely Ministry of Magic.

I would suspect that three-five years from now, DHS will have two more rides.