The Looming Concerns of Epic Universe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In the vibrant landscape of Orlando's theme park scene, Epic Universe emerged as a colossal contender, casting a shadow of both excitement and concern over its established peers, Disney World and Universal Orlando. The unveiling of Super Nintendo World added fuel to the anticipation, igniting a frenzy of speculation about Epic Universe's potential to reshape the industry. Within the halls of Disney World, where dreams were spun into reality, executives and imagineers alike pondered the implications of this new rival. Would Epic Universe draw away their loyal guests, enticed by the promise of uncharted adventures? The magic of Walt Disney World seemed to shimmer with a renewed fervor, as if gearing up for a battle of enchantments.
On the other side of town, Universal Studios Orlando grappled with a different dilemma. Known for its adrenaline-pumping rides and blockbuster experiences, Universal faced the challenge of maintaining its allure in the face of Epic Universe's grand entrance. The stakes were high as Universal Studios Florida strategized ways to captivate audiences amidst the buzz of their upcoming competitor. Meanwhile, at Epic Universe itself, the hum of construction and innovation echoed through the air. Each new ride and themed land promised a glimpse into a realm of unparalleled imagination. As updates about Epic Universe's progress circulated, the industry buzzed with anticipation, wondering if this new park would redefine the standards of immersive entertainment. As the countdown to Epic Universe's opening drew closer, the theme park landscape braced for a seismic shift. The looming concerns were not just about competition but about the evolution of an entire industry, where innovation and creativity collided in a quest to capture the hearts and imaginations of guests worldwide. But what if things don't go as planned?
Sources:
Disney's Hollywood Studios Wait Times Data: www.thrill-dat...
Disney, Challenged Elsewhere, Plans to Spend $60 Billion on Parks and Cruises: www.nytimes.co...
Theme Park Attendance: en.wikipedia.o...
Video Credit:
Epic Universe Construction: • Epic Universe Construc...
Universal Epic Universe - How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk: • Universal Epic Univers...
Universal Epic Universe - SUPER NINTENDO WORLD: • Universal Epic Univers...
Disneyland Candlelight Crowd Madness: • Disneyland Candlelight...
The Magic Kingdom Parade - Rainy Day Cavalcade: • The Magic Kingdom Para...
Untrainable - How to Train a Dragon STAGE SHOW - Universal Studios Beijing: • [4K] Untrainable - How...
Yoshi's adventure ride at Universal Studios Japan Super Nintendo World: • 【4K60P】USJ ヨッシー・アドベンチャ...
Introducing Universal Epic Universe: • Introducing Universal ...
How does the Harry Potter Ride work?: • How does the Harry Pot...
Curse of the Werewolf spinning coaster testing at Universal Epic Universe: • Incredible footage of ...
Europa Park Theme Park Montage: • Europa-Park | 4K Montage
How to Join the Virtual Queue at Walt Disney World: • How to Join the Virtua...
TRON Lightcycle Run Roller Coaster Walt Disney World: • TRON Lightcycle Run Ro...
10 hour wait for new Harry Potter ride: • 10 hour wait for new H...
Universal Epic Universe Celestial Park Animated Fly-Through: • Universal Epic Univers...
Rise Of The Resistance POV Full Ride & Pre Shows Disneyland: • [JUNE 2023] Rise Of Th...
Disney Hollywood Studios Theme Park Tour: • Disney’s Hollywood Stu...
Universal CityWalk Orlando Florida 2024: • Universal CityWalk Orl...
Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind Epcot Disney World: • Guardians of the Galax...
Virtual Tour of Walt Disney World Resort: • Virtual Tour of Walt D...
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Universal Orlando: • FRONT ROW Hagrid's Mag...
Beauty and the Beast Disney World Disney's Hollywood Studios: • Beauty and the Beast D...
Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure POV WIZARDING WORLD: • FRONT ROW Hagrid's Mag...
Twitter: / attractionidea
Everyone planning to go to the grand opening, or even within the first 6 months of opening, should expect long lines, huge crowds, and some technical hiccups in the process. That's the price to pay for getting to be "the first" ones to experience the first big new theme park in a generation. They are the guinea pigs, the data collectors, the trial-and-error folks. Props to them, as their sacrifice makes the park experience better for the longevity of the park. As much as bragging rights are fun, you certainly won't find me at a new park on the first day.
Based on the hiccups of Hagrids, I would expect quite a few hiccups as that ride was terrible for breakdowns when it first opened.
I want to be there on opening day and would absolutely pay up for express passes or whatever. I plan to visit USJ later this year and in that sense I could potentially skip the Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe or leave it for last if I have time at the end of the day.
@@AppleGaming4Real That's because that ride was absolutely not ready to be opened but it was opened anyways for different reasons. They needed another 2-3 months of testing before it should have opened and then it would have been a much smoother opening, just like VelociCoaster was. VelociCoaster was an absolute amazing opening with near zero issues.
@@cyclicmusings2661 wow must be nice to be rich
And that is a sacrifice... I am willing to make
I work at Universal call-center here in Orlando right next to where epic is. It’s still astound me. How many normal people call in with very little theme park knowledge and want to talk about epic with me. I think it’s because most families do research on TH-cam and TikTok before they start buying things and they see epic and they start to build hype for itis a double bladed sword. Universal is really suffering right now because people are withholding their vacations until next summer when epic opens.
When are tickets going on sale? Will they have a 4 park annual pass that includes studios, islands of adventure, volcano bay, and epic? Plz say it’ll also have express.
@@johnjohnson9915 I don’t know anything and even if I did, my full name is on my TH-cam so that seems like a bad idea, but I will tell you I think it would probably be better to not have Express at opening. Express passes are certainly useful for the people who can afford them however it does cause lines to be longer on average for everyone. Best case scenario is no Express for the first year or two, but like I said, I don’t have a lot of insight into how that’s gonna work. defunctland has a really excellent video on Fastpass systems that is worth giving a watch.
People, this is not Universal s first time at the rodeo.....I was there when the Studios was the only pank, with Nickelodeon Studios alongside...... everything went wrong that first year, from Kongfrontation, Earthquake and JAWS wasn't working....it was crowded, and crazy, and they did suffer from their "Big Three" not being able to take people, but they picked themselves up and fixed all the problems (well, not so much with JAWS-that took a few years), and the next year Universal was able to bounce back(also, having Back To The Future didn't hurt)...so, I have faith in them with Epic whatever happens, it will work itself out....
It's also why Island has a preview from March 27 until May 29 -- to test operations with guests. And IOA opened flawlessly (not counting the marketing fiasco)
I think it will be a great park, but it will take while to be it’s perfect self
Yup, they can analyze all they want. But they will never be able to predict everything before guests actually enter the park.
Man I wouldnt mind just spending hours looking at all the details in the parks! Why Im planning a 4 day trip to go to the OG parks and 2 days in the new one. But in 2026
Evryone should know by now that not everything in Epic Universe will be at 100% but it doesn't mean that it will not be an amazing Orlando, FL theme park
I think you are correct about Epic having virtual queues. I believe during the first year, they will require virtual queues to enter each land as well as virtual queues for each major attraction.
I thought someone mentioned that they'd just ticket each land separately. Then they could stop selling tickets when each land reaches capacity to avoid overcrowding.
@@tarazieminek1947 That plan was abandoned very shortly into planning
As long as Super Nintedo Land is good, I'm a happy camper.
Same
And hopefully Nintendo will be too busy to sue people
Agreed it’s the only land in the park that I actually care about.
@@Mario87456username checks out lmao. I completely agree
Supposedly the Donkey Kong ride is having ALOT of issues. I just hope Japan can find all of the issues so Epic’s can open up without too much downtime….
I believe they’ve already stated there won’t be any annual pass access to epic the first year or two and it’ll be scaled up openings
Thats not possible. People would cancel their passes, and Universal does not want that. At best they may have a limit on AP admissions per day.
Epic Universe is going to be a nail in the coffin for Disney once it opens. I've seen construction on one of the coasters and buildings for celestial park. I'm very hyped for it
Edit: ight, when I meant (a nail in a coffin for Disney) I didn’t mean that universal is gonna kill Disney, I meant as like universal is doing good type of thing.
look man i think this theme park will definitely even out the competition for universal but to kill disney? have you heard what a disney adult is? disney unfortunately cannot even be humbled
Ya I agree, it won’t kill Disney. But when Disney inevitably kills itself, universal will already be established and it will be that much easier to take over Orlando
@@samplautz5586 Disney isn't going to kill itself?? Do you know how hard it would be to do anything with 4 parks, 30 resorts, Disney Springs etc. The park are consistently making BANK. If Disney has a money problem, they could just drop a new Figment popcorn bucket and keep themselves afloat. Universal is closer to closing than Disney will probably ever be.
Disney has done so much dumb shit but people still flock to it so I doubt Disney will kill itself anytime soon
Disney is not going anywhere
Please stop 😒
Hagrid's runs 10 trains pretty often according to the ride operators I talked to two weeks ago. Also it is without a doubt top 2 in Universal Studios, I don't appreciate this Hagrid's slander.
My biggest concern personally is the confusion with the identity of their third harry potter world. I don't mind it being about the Ministry of Magic, but I do care the rest of the world is designed after the Paris section of Fantastic Beasts and they realized way too late it was stupid to invest in on the bleh trilogy in any aspect
I’m not saying this in an attacking sort of way, but just asking your opinion. What other things could they have done instead? I’ve watched the movies once, and I’m not sure what other prominent locations they could have done, but I’m sure there are ones and I’m just not thinking about it enough
Even more bizzare is the area and the show are 1920s Paris and the ride is 1990s London (Guess thats why there's a time turner over the portal)
@@richardperhai8292 you want to be more confused? The current rumor is that after epic universe opens, they will expand the new HP area by building a new place to dine. It will be themed to the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Apparently you will travel there by Floo Powder.
I can only imagine new guests to the resort: “So you’re telling me to eat at the Great Hall, i don’t go to Hogwarts castle? Instead I have to go to a different park 2 miles down the road, and I access it from a land themed to Paris?”
@@samplautz5586 According to Alicia that has now been scrapped
I know for a fact that I am planning a universal trip either later this year or early next year because ain’t no way I’m stepping foot in that goddamn park until the epic universe opening day crowds die down
Honestly the best time to go to Islands of Adventure might be when this park opens. Everyone will be too distracted by the new park to bother with the old ones for a bit. Honestly I’m avoiding epic universe for at least a year. The waits will be insane!! Though I’m hopeful that the way the park is so spread out will helps dispel any major crowd crush.
I wouldn't be surprised if the other reason Universal pushed Epic Universe's opening from 2023 to 2025 is because they want to make sure that all of those concerns you've listed won't happen at opening day or at least not happen to such a large degree. If that's the case then they're really being smart about it because they know that they've changed theme park history with The Wizard World of Harry Potter and they don't want to lose that title thus they're not taking any chances with Epic Universe. It's not like with how Disney took and from the looks of it still takes it's position in theme park history for granted for years which basically got them taken down a peg by Universal with the Harry Potter land in the first place and from the looks of it hasn't learned from it which we'll likely see history repeat itself next year in a bigger level.
It's why despite the very valid concerns you've brought out I'm not too worried about Epic Universe since Universal themselves have proven to learn from their mistakes such as not relying on screens so much on their rides and apply them to their new rides and lands. I'd be more worried if either Epic Universe wasn't delayed to be given more time to really work or if Disney themselves were in charge of it given their recent track record with their parks in the USA.
No way they would voluntarily push the date 2 years that’s not how capital planning works. They’re better off launching imperfectly especially into a an already hyped date and begin to recover some of those capital expenses they’ve made by creating the new park. You gotta remember, this is a publicly traded company. And either way, there’s no way to 100% know what kinks need to be worked out until you run into them on day-to-day operations. The wait times is probably the biggest concern, but as was proven by For ideen Journey, Gringotts, and Hagrids,people will put up with the wait for the experience. When these rides opened Day 1, the queue went to City Walk and beyond.
It was due to work stoppage because of COVID, nothing else.
One of the execs the other days said it's planned to open BEFORE the summer of 2025 which means open day has possibly been pushed to earlier, not later.
@@richardperhai8292I think the comment was talking about when they pushed the original opening date which was summer 2023 all the way to 2025.
@@graffiti.777 Which was because of the pause in construction due to Covid. Between that and ramping back up (and material delays) it got pushed to 2025
I like that you’re being realistic, it’s also shocked me to see how many people are praising a park that hasn’t opened yet THIS much. All theme parks have problems when they open, I def won’t be going there the first year of opening. I’ll probably just go to WDW again, even if I miss out on some really cool stuff. Maybe there will be less crowds bc everyone’s at Epic Universe lol. (… probably not though)
Thank you for being realistic about this... I'm as excited for it as anybody, but I'm so tired of people using literal concept art as proof this is gonna be THE BEST PARK EVER!! Like bro, they're ALL the best ever when they're in the concept art stage! We have to reserve most of our judgement for when it actually opens and, possibly, a bit after.
I happened to go on opening week of Harid’s ride and not only where the wait times long but also the ride would become completely inoperable multiple times a day for hours
Disney MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom were both considered half-day parks by many folks at opening... and still get that label by many folks even today after they've upped their attraction content. The issue there was that folks could park hop on Disney property. Same situation with Disney's California Adventure. I think much of the issue at play with Universal will simply be creating and maintaining an efficient, speedy, and scaled-up transport between EU and the other two parks. Will be interesting to see!
One of my biggest concerns is that there is not enough to do in Celestial Park. This is a massive area that could really help with crowding in portal lands. Feels like a missed opportunity for a show of some kind or something.
I think Celestial Park is going to have plenty to do. Admittedly, there are only two rides, but if you look at the restaurants, snack / drink spots, merch stores for the lands, the big fountain and the various water features - there will be plenty there to eat up some of the crowds
@gregorycerven3484 For as big as it is, it has one real shopping location and 4 options to eat. The rides for sure will take up some capacity, but it still feels like it's lacking something. Although I do understand the concept of keeping the "park" in "theme park".
Still very excited to see this open
It seems to me that the thing to do in Celestial Park is “stroll”.
Hmm . . . maybe a couple of walk-through attractions.
I was impressed at how quickly this new park was built, but seeing the previews I can understand why--not that many rides. I notice that when they compare # of rides, they don't compare it to magic kingdom.
The Nintendo Universal Hollywood rollout showed how bad wood of mouth can spread. I had many friends hyping me to go but I told them they would be disappointed. They all came back agreeing with me.
It will have problems like most other parks when they first open, but I doubt it will be as drastic as you talk about here. I'm sure Universal will open the park in stages with cast members, VIPs, APHs, and then public soft openings. I'm sure they won't oversell the park to the point that they can't keep up with capacity when the park's fully functional. I have a feeling this park will always be busy for years to come, so they will be constructing those expansion pads very soon after opening. Thinking 5-10 years down the road, they can expand to the other side of new city walk and build a small 4th gate to alleviate crowds from Epic.
After watching, I'm surprised you didn't mention one other factor. Employees and the unions. If no one knows, Disney costume character cast members had recently voted to make a new union called Magic United. In Universal Studios Hollywood, the costume department is looking to unionize as well. Now you're wondering what that has to do with Epic Universe. Well its because unlike Disney World in Florida that does have unions and employees that can choose to join, Universal Studios Florida doesnt have unions. In fact, theyve done everything to stop any unionizing at all. This is further developed partially thanks to playing politics to gain a special entertainment district when Disney was in danger of losing theirs. Funny how the big two get it but Legoland, Busch gardens and other parks dont have this as the governor wanted a "more fair playing field." But anyway, Universal studios has had issues with threatening to fire employees to even discuss unions. Another issue is how theit hr department is. I had an insider tell me their peronsal grievances with how the hr departmnet is at the psrks. And how when unibersal annlunced a pay raise last year to appeal for future hires, it wasnt mentioned that they would cut their hours. But then they would later force employees to work those cut hours with no overtime pay. I dunno if that happens at Disney or other parks but it sounds like bullshit to me.
I’m excited though my only concern is universals monster land which does not use the classic monster designs which is quite disappointing.
They can't use the actors faces as they don't have the rights - hence the change
Im going to be living in Orlando during its opening year which is a double edged sword for me since I will get new experiences to see and experience, but the traffic and capacity in the city in general will be horid since everyone will be coming to this park
They have worked with Mack rides before: For example, space fantasy at Universal Japan and Jurassic flyers at Universal Beijing.
Oh yeah day one could be rough for sure. But I’d say universal has learned its lesson in the past. I think we can bet on them having a system perfected for how they are going to run this park on opening day, and it’s going to be something far different than what we have seen before.
If Universal did a VQ, could they do it like the way they have it at Volcano Bay? I think they nailed it there when it comes to VQ.
They are more than likely to introduce a reservation system. Universal started asking a lot of questions related to reservations back in 2021 on their email surveys I've taken 3 of them so far.
Unfortunately they will probably introduce some steep pricing too. But not as bad as Disney for park hopping.
With Universal testinf over a year out shows they have learned their lesson from opening say nightmares like Universal Studios and IOA.
I think with any major operation the size of epic universe it’s going to be growing pains throughout the entire complex. It’s going to take a few years to stabilize all facets
Anything that takes money away from disney is OK with me!!! Expect the worst and hope for the best!!! Hopefully phase 2 will fix any problems!!! Remember, disneyland had a rough opening too!!!
no annual pass for this park. is the rumor. if they pull that greedy move, it will be a disaster. they are also under staffed.
I am certain Universal's will have some sort of crowd control in allowing only a certain amount of people into the park. Hubby and I will go December next year - cannot wait!!!
You’re probably right about all of these and yet I am unbothered. 😂 I know it’ll be packed and rides will go down a lot, especially in the first few years. It’s all part of the experience and to be expected. I’m just unbelievably excited for a brand new theme park and I have complete faith in Universal.
Honestly might be worth having a guest limit on the park till things die down. Problem with this being it will greatly extend the length of time people will have to wait before getting to even go to the park.
When Epic opens it will be a great time to go to the other two parks that's for sure.
4:08 to be fair Hollywood Studios really is a park that clean of evolved overtime. Nothing was really purpose built to handle crowds, except maybe galaxy edge. but universal has the advantage of being able to purposely build an anticipation of the crowds, where is Hollywood Studios did not.
I think the Mario kart ride will have a slow line if I compare it to the California version.. But not everyone will go on the rollercoasters..
so I think other than day 1, the lines will become shorter than one thinks..
I went on Velasacoaster and Hagrids back when they were still extremely new, and we had enough time to do them multiple times.. plus going to the other park. (No express pass)
The true lines will involve merch and food.. especially if a certain restaurant becomes very popular (or they run out of opening day merch.. though I was able to snag an opening day merch months after some attractions open so it depends 😅)
Imagine this park during MegaCon weekend...
Not too bothered about the Mack coasters. Thorpe park just got their first Mack, and it’s had pretty major issues and Mack have been really good at sorting it out, considering it’s the biggest coaster they’ve ever built. Mack knows what they’re doing.
From my understanding the Epic Universe portals are being treated as separate lands meaning your ticket will only be good for the Central Hub and 2 portals Nintendo+HTTYD or Dark Universe+Potter/Ministry of Magic
That’s not how it’ll work
@@tylerm770 I’m just telling you what I’ve been hearing
The thing that makes me optimistic is that this isn’t one ride or a few rides that are new. EVERYTHING IS NEW 11 rides new shows new stores new restaurants new everything. That’s what makes me optimistic that wait times won’t be to nuts
I’m surprised you never mentioned parking or transportation to the park. It’s small but plays such a huge role, just imagine how bad both the traffic and the amount of funneling they would need to accommodate in order to actually get people into the park sure some are willing to wait in line for hours but what about in there car trying to get in for hours
I have noticed a lot of EU is just plain buildings with some light ornaments attached. Mostly in Celestial Park.
Also, have not seen anything about entertainment or pricing.
Not all of the lands have been announced in full yet, and we have seen some entertainment news in terms of meet and greets and the stage show in Isle of Berk! They'll likely wait until closer to the park's launch to announce pricing.
If it's like the other Universal parks in Orlando then pricing will fluctuate based on demand
We live in Maine and plan on visiting Universal during Halloween in 2025. We are so excited for Epic Universe and for the celebration of Halloween throughout the Universal Park!
If there’s one thing I have learned by participating at every Halloween Horror Nights for the last 6 years it’s that Universal Studios Orlando DOES NOT care about capacity
I would avoid the opening crowds. Especially the first days tend to be chaotic.
While true, there is only one grand opening. Going in those first days is a privilege and the energy will be insane.
I'd rather go to a technical rehearsal where they will definitely control the crowds. Sure things may not work but you would actually be in the park before the grand opening.
Heres hoping that for the big rides they know will have massive weights they use something similar to the taputapu system used at volcano bay
Keeps a 2hr wait time and means money being spent on shops or on other rides while they wait keeping up park happiness
If it is declared that a recession is happening and lets be real it really looks like it is. People are saying we are in a silent recession now. Then yes, that could hurt attendance as people can't afford to go to the park.
Last trip to Universal we had express, but still waited 30-60 minutes IN EXPRESS for a couple rides like Velocicoaster and Gringotts, with 3 hr lines in standby. That was a random "slow week" in February. I wanted to enjoy it, but the crowd/capacity ratio was just not there. And Epic Universe isn't even open yet lol.
I don't even want to imagine the situation in a massively hyped park with just a few rides that are almost all new and innovative... I'm sure most of the rides and lands will be amazing, but if the situation feels like our experience this year I am in no rush to visit...
I’m more considered with the smell from the neighboring water treatment facility. Anyone who has driven down Sand Lake Road, you know what I’m talking about. 🤣
They are in the business of themed parks, nobody does it better than them.
Im praying that epic universe is gonna be good i will believe in universe in my heart and soul i won't let that happened
talking about opening day, I'm telling people to try the March/ May after it opens just to let the crouds die down and opening (lets be honest) quarter jitters be fixed. Within the last few years, it's been a flip of a coin weather or not Unoversal is able to pull off an opening between Hagrids (which apparently was a misjudge by higherups), VeliCoaster, and Wizirding World London
4:54 I almost forgot about the "C-ticket that eats guests" category filler of Yoshi
What is the 10th ride at Hollywood studios? I thought there was only 9
They should add a lot more stuff to Epic Universe since the park still doesn't open till next year.
They’ve got a ton of expansions planned.
Would it be a good idea to cap capacity on opening day?
Will the rides be plus sized friendly? Universal is know for having rides designed for fit smaller guests.
Epic Universe is supposed to offer a la carte entry into individual parts of the park for guests. Paying for each themed area individually so you aren't paying to see the entire park area is going to be a serious winner for families where time is a major vacationing factor. That has never been done anywhere in this industry. Dark Universe will be my go to and skipping the rest is fine by me. Too old for the others or not interested in the themes of the other parts of the Epic Universe.
i got my Premier pass ready for this!!! heres hoping there are AP previews at the start!!
I really wanna plan a trip to Florida to get here and revisit a bunch of other fantastic parks but Imma wait for 2026 so they can hopefully sort out some of the issues the opening year is bound to have. Also I was thinking of initially probably only needing one day but now that I’m doing more research I’m thinking 2 days might be the way to go.
I aint going opening day bc of how much chaos it will be but im sitll going the same year
No shit the first year you will have long wait times lol. It’s a brand new Theme park with top tier theming and rides. I am planning on going February 2026. Park will be open for about 3-6 months and February is always a slow time for theme parks and nice weather. Will go for a week trip and plan on hitting the parks during the week for less wait times. Long term epic universe will have even more rides as they have a lot of room for expansion and if they do improve Islands of Adventure and Universal with Pokemon world, legend of zelda … the crowds will be more spread out through the 3 parks
Universal know what they are doing, what they want to do and what they are going to do. That’s a big difference with Walt Disney company right know, who don’t.
I am a fan of mack rides but Voltron and hyperia both had issues at launch currently hyperia is closed which is not a good sign for a new ride and some trains on Voltron are rough
I love the outside the box content!
People aren’t talking about the huge lack of dark rides. So many similar looking family intamin type coasters, few shows
There’s one intamin coaster in the park, and that’s the how to train your dragon coaster
There are 3 coasters and 4 dark rides.
@@richardperhai8292 There are actually 5 rollercoasters (if both sides of Stardust Racers are counted individually) and three darkrides.
I swear cedar point/fair just want to play 3rd fiddle forever. Choosing zamperla for top thrill 2 and it immediately going down indefinitely is just pure poetic justice for making terrible decisions based on price alone
They should just limit ticket sales to have some what of control for the first couple months
I don't think they are in danger RIGHT NOW. Things seem to be fine for them.
Things have changed in 20 years. I’m sure they have it planned out.
Since when did universals virtual queue work like that?
The last time I went on Hagrid's I believe in 2021 they had a system where you had to check throughout the day and I got pretty lucky and was able to get a time pretty quickly. Then we waited in line for probably 30 minutes
I don’t feed in to fear based decision making. I base my decisions on facts and historical outcomes.
History tells me that visiting an amusement park or attraction within the first year of installation and/ or opening will cause you to wait in long lines and deal with operational failures in real time.
For this reason, I’m delaying booking my trip to EU until June 2026 at the earliest. And I might delay it all together until they introduce express pass for Helios Grand Hotel guests. My plan has always been to stay at HGH and go to EU with express pass. If that isn’t offered anytime soon, then I won’t be visiting any time soon.
Even at Disney, I don’t visit without staying onsite and or purchasing Genie+ and using VQ. If Universal only opens EU with standby lines without a reservation system or skip the line access then they will not be getting my out of state money and they can continue to cater to locals.
I’m not flying to Orlando to stand in lines in 100degree heat. I have always been willing to pay to skip the lines, and in order for Universal to recoup their investment they need to ensure guests willing to pay for a VIP experience get it.
Do you have kids? If not, why not just schedule your visit for when school is in session and/or fall or winter? That’s what I’m planning to do.
it's prob gonna have a paris syndrome type situation tbh
Us locals are excited but at the same time not looking forward to all that traffic 😮!!!!!
"What could go wrong?" you ask....well they could completely fuck up and still do ten times better than disney any day!
I don’t wanna go anymore.
Kong’s capacity is going to be horrible!
Expected attendance is 8-9 million for Epic universe. Park is expected to take away 1 million attendance from Disney World 😊
When this park is open the other universal parks are looking ugly
I think ppl are hyping this park way too hard to the point where I think ppl are gonna get disappointed. I remember when a couple coaster enthusiasts were hyping Velocicoaster so hard that they were very underwhelmed when it opened.
I agree on pretty much everything you said BUT i think epic will be fine they have things in place like interactive things to do in each land also performers are gonna be around celestial park plus the fountain show...virtual lines amd express are very likely for the E ticket attractions but i dont see wait time exceeding over 2.5 hours plus grand opening will have reservations required
I think Disney has such a huge backlash going on right now that people are excited to hype epic universe as a means of clowning on Disney
I kind of wonder if its just because people want Disney to lay down more money for parks and the bigger Epic Universe is the more money Disney will spend.
@@hadeeesDisney parks in the US are sadly going backwards with no sign of it getting better in the next 10 years …as for Universal in the next 10 years they will have expanded to a new land at Epic Universe(rumored Lord of the Rings land)…updated lands in Universal Studios and IOA
@@GirthQuake416Universal Kids will also be open in Texas and the HHN attraction will be open in Las Vegas too
Which is ridiculous, I want both company’s to succeed so I have more of a variety of experiences to go and do. Having both company’s competing is the ultimate W for theme park fans
@@GirthQuake416 you are making me wonder how there isn't a Lord of the rings theme park, or at least a theme park land, already
Another concern I was thinking about was how much of a bottleneck the portals to the lands will be.With everyone trying to get into the same entrance and taking photos and whatnot I can definitely see that being a problem.
Are there issues in Japan with nintendo world? They're using the same warp tunnel approach aren't they?
I think theme park stop said there’s also paths to either side of the portals (I think primarily intended for exit)
W pfp
I brought this up a few months ago in the comments of somebody’s video(there are a million theme park channels narrated by white guys i couldn’t tell you which one) and the person mentioned there would be some other at least exit, & I assume there will be portals in places where lands meet but I’m still not convinced it won’t be a major issue for the first few years and ESPECIALLY in case of emergency.
I don’t think people are aware of the scale of the portals. The cameras do not do it justice. They are definitely big enough, and if they need to they probably have alternative entrances just in case for opening day.
I think the issue is going to be with individual land capacities. Virtual lines just to get into HP, Nintendo, and Dark Universe are likely.
Don't sleep on How to train your dragon.. the ride system is Intamin so if it comes even close to matching the feeling of Hagrids then it will be the busiest family coaster in the park.
Well at least their VL system is better than Disneys
I believe Universal was testing VL queues at Hagrid's for these very types of situations. However I think the way Universal does VL's is wayyy better than what Disney does. Universal releases times throughout the day depending on crowd levels and attraction downtimes rather than pretty much all at once at 7am. You just have to keep trying to get a VL queue with Unviersal's and you'll generally have pretty good luck getting a locked in time.
@@supremefan the problem with hagirds is that it is one of the most complicated roller coasters ever made, if not the number 1 most complicated. The how to train your dragon coaster only has 2 launches and is similar to basically everything that Intamin builds. It’s nothing new that they haven’t done 30 times before. Plus it’s already testing, over a year before the park opens. Hagrids is insanely complicated, plus it was rushed. That’s why it was so unreliable
@@samplautz5586 It being less complicated just means it will be able to have a higher capacity. I still think in the long run it will be more popular then the others due to how fun the actual ride will likely be compared to the others which are mostly theming. I don't imagine the DK coaster or Werewolf coasters will actually be good.
I think Epic will draw more people to Universal properties making it a destination for an entire vacation. Having another HP area will help tie all the parks together. Long lines for sure but people will be willing to wait. As long as they have the technology working it will be great. Having the coasters already working and testing a year out is a great sign.
You also need to consider that many of the lands in Epic Universe are rumored to have interactive elements that should add to "capacity." We know that a significant draw of Super Mario World will be the power-up band mini games culminating in the Bowser Jr. boss battle.
These are very real concerns and I’m glad you addressed them. I feel like the best option for universal is to a) train their ride ops to be ontop of their game for the opening months and or b) sell limited tickets for the first few months the park is open
I hope the launch of Epic Universe goes well!
It will
so far all the promotional materials and marketing has looked great -- where I'm worried is if universal scraps the whole "stay at one of our hotels, get unlimited fast pass" policy
They're contractually obligated to Loews to offer Express at a minimum of 3 hotels. (Loews operated the hotels)
No one is making videos like this. Great work!
To be fair, this guy can be quite the negative Nancy, so that's why nobody is making videos like this 😂
When I went to the opening of Universal Studios Beijing, it was amazing. On the first day, they limited the number of guests, so all the attractions had low wait times and everything went smoothly. On the second day, it was like night and day. Huge wait times and slightly overcrowded, but was still amazing and just as enjoyable due to the exciting atmosphere! I imagine the buzz within Epic Universe in its opening year will be enough for most theme park fans.
Didn't UBR open during COVID though? So it had very limited capacity per the government. EU will not be like this.
@@ducktails1695 a little bit, but as I said, the second day was crazy busy. But, you're right EU wont be like it.
also belive epic is also opening with a reservation system to limit the guests at the start as well to see how much can be handled at once
@@ChouhouinNeko I doubt it. Nobody likes a reservation system and you can do the same thing by just limiting ticket sales. If they only want 15,000 people in the park they they'll just sell 15,000 tickets and then stop selling tickets. A reservation system is worthless.
There will be issues at the beginning because Universal will have no analytics on it so while they can project and anticipate, until everything goes live they won't have any hard data to adjust. How long are lines, needs for restroom use, food services, etc. Once they start getting that data then they can make adjustments.
Talking about innovation. I think park designers need to increase re-rideability of dark rides by inventing ways to make slight alterations when folks get bored with them. Either holiday overlays or new characters to bring back jaded guests. It's sad to see Cat in the Hat with a 5 minute wait now. It's a great ride, but just doesn't surprise anymore. Even Skull Island which I love is losing re-ride-abilty for me.
Just like with everything if you go in the first 6 month expect long waits and multiple downtime's.That is just normal for new attractions.
As a theme park fan in the UK my concern is that if Epic Universe doesn't go ahead Universal's interest in a UK park would fizzle out and honestly that would suck. I'm probably not going to be able to afford to go all the way to Epic Universe either so I really hope that a park of the Universal quality does come to the UK. As much as I love Alton Towers and other merlin parks I feel like the competition from Universal would actually serve to have larger additions to their parks. Great video by the way, I love the content and I'm really happy someone addresses the concerns of this new park instead of continuing to keep hyping it up to a ridiculous degree. That being said I really hope this park is a success and I hope sooner rather than later I am able to experience it.
Yea y’all need something in that boring as country
@@kaydod3190fr destabilizing the cod population gets kinda old after a while
Universal seems pretty committed to building a park in the UK though right? They have the land already
I just wonder about how timeless the How to Train Your Dragon IP will be. I like the movies, I just wonder how relevant they will stay in the coming years.
And before anyone mentions Dark Universe- those characters are icons of media in general. Everyone and their grandmother knows who Frankenstein and Dracula are
Also Dark Universe helps fulfil the need for a "spooky" area that a lot of theme parks tend to have, perfect as the focus for Halloween-themed events as well. I like the original HtTYD enough that I'm at least open to the idea. I suppose it depends on how much Universal intends to continue to invest in the franchise. Disney has tried to bury Song of the South, for example, but that didn't stop people from loving Splash Mountain all the same, and people are still upset to see the original theming go. It also helps provide another very "kid-friendly" area of the park.
Considering how popular dragons are in general, I suspect How to Train Your Dragon will be more popular and have more staying power than most people expect. Each of the movies made half a billion dollars at the box office, which is quite impressive when you account that this was done prior to the high inflation we are experiencing today. Not to mention the kids show spinoff on Netflix and the book series that was extremely popular in its own right.
There are also other IPs that are based around dragons that may fuel the success of HtTYD. Wings of Fire is one such book series that is very popular with young audiences.
Not only are dragons popular but Vikings are also popular. I think there will be a good deal of people who will be excited just to play at being a viking in that area.
I understand the concern, but I personally wouldn’t be too concerned about the longevity. Httyd is not only a very popular brand as is, but in general is a hit with both young and older demographics. it seems like Universal is investing in newfound interest for the series through the live action remake that will release around roughly the same time that this park will open. Seems more strategic than convenient, but I don’t believe this will be an issue imo.
The ip itself may not stay popular forever but the general theme of Dragons in general is timeless.
And they can always reboot the ip in a few years…. Not that they should…
I dont see it as a problem at all, Dragons are always a bankable IP, the movies are legitimately great. Peter Pan is a classic, but it isn’t the modern kids’ go to anymore, still Peter Pan is one of Magic Kingdoms most sought after rides (I dont understand why). I think a the aesthetic of a whole park that is viking/dragon themed w/references to genuinely great movies will be a hit with kids for decades.
The major potential impact on Epic Universe: Orlando weather! So many of their attractions will be impacted when storms come through the area. Hopefully they consider an indoor coaster for their next attraction.
I can only think of 4 enclosed rides.
That’s exactly what I was thinking while watching too! One bad storm and your 11 rides drop down drastically with all of the outdoor coasters.
No different than IOA currently. Perhaps they didn't want a park full of big boxes that also take up a lot more room overall.
@@Matt_mill3rI think it will drop down to six rides during stormy weather but that's not including the indoor shows in the park.
Florida only has consistent lighting one month out of the year. We get daily rain for around 4 months and the rest of the year is California weather
Epic Universe has A LOT to to through, but let's hope this har opening would go SOLID!