Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Clive]

I trust James, he's number Wan in my book.

Whatever he can come up with has to be better than what Dark Universe had planned for Gil-Man.

 

[HHN Maddux]

Whatever he can come up with has to be better than what Dark Universe had planned for Gil-Man.

Now I'm morbidly curious...

 

[simon]

I'm really looking forward for the theater expansion next to the Atlantic restaurant.

If I'm being honest, Buck Show and Paris Show capacity was quite limited than expected, and some of people weren't made to inside of theater even though they waited in line due to one-floor seating capacity instead of a multi-floor seating option that Beijing's majestic theater has. But once they build a scale of a 3 floor MAIN theater as California Adventure's Hyperion or Universal's Beijing Majestic Theater, it will definitely improve the park's capacity and lack of current offerings issue. Currently, Epic desperately needs indoor attractions due to the weather as well.

Also, I believe that theme parks just can't be all about rides. To be a modern world-class theme park, there needs to be a diverse and balanced offering as unique food experiences, interactions, kinetic factors, shows, unexpected entertainment options. And that's one of the factors that Epic Universe is typically doing better than other theme parks already.

Imagine this. You paid 160 dollars for just to be at the theme park to prioritize riding the attraction. But experiencing 160 bucks worth of Broadway-level scale show unexpectedly in a theme park would make quite of impression and improve guest satisfaction drastically. Making guests feel like it's worth of buck to visit with this main show alone, giving audiences different E ticket options than waiting in excessively long lines for E ticket attractions (One of the biggest complaints Epic has these days)

If they complete their main show theater(more than a 1500 seats) on the expansion pad and put new shows like USJ's Wicked, CA's Aladdin, Or utilize Universal's original IP on a big scale. It will be a huge factor of revisitability for Epic and put Celestial Park on another level for a main hub offering.

I mean, look at those theaters. It would be awesome to have this scale of show offering in Epic!
And I would be pretty disappointed if they build a typical event soundstage instead of this.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I'm really looking forward for the theater expansion next to the Atlantic restaurant.

If I'm being honest, Buck Show and Paris Show capacity was quite limited than expected, and some of people weren't made to inside of theater even though they waited in line due to one-floor seating capacity instead of a multi-floor seating option that Beijing's majestic theater has. But once they build a scale of a 3 floor MAIN theater as California Adventure's Hyperion or Universal's Beijing Majestic Theater, it will definitely improve the park's capacity and lack of current offerings issue. Currently, Epic desperately needs indoor attractions due to the weather as well.

Also, I believe that theme parks just can't be all about rides. To be a modern world-class theme park, there needs to be a diverse and balanced offering as unique food experiences, interactions, kinetic factors, shows, unexpected entertainment options. And that's one of the factors that Epic Universe is typically doing better than other theme parks already.

Imagine this. You paid 160 dollars for just to be at the theme park to prioritize riding the attraction. But experiencing 160 bucks worth of Broadway-level scale show unexpectedly in a theme park would make quite of impression and improve guest satisfaction drastically. Making guests feel like it's worth of buck to visit with this main show alone, giving audiences different E ticket options than waiting in excessively long lines for E ticket attractions (One of the biggest complaints Epic has these days)

If they complete their main show theater(more than a 1500 seats) on the expansion pad and put new shows like USJ's Wicked, CA's Aladdin, Or utilize Universal's original IP on a big scale. It will be a huge factor of revisitability for Epic and put Celestial Park on another level for a main hub offering.

I mean, look at those theaters. It would be awesome to have this scale of show offering in Epic!
And I would be pretty disappointed if they build a typical event soundstage instead of this.
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Removing Aladdin from DCA is arguably the worst attraction removal in theme park history (up there with original Imagination) Easily the best stage show in any theme park ever.

I think Untrainable is a solid show, but I do wish for longer 30-45 minute productions in Orlando. The parks certainly need it, but like you mentioned, require large theaters to justify longer runtimes. I don't agree entirely with the idea of the standard guest having low attentions spans, resulting in shows being shrunk down to less than 20 minutes. If the show is great, people will pay attention.

 

[simon]

Removing Aladdin from DCA is arguably the worst attraction removal in theme park history (up there with original Imagination) Easily the best stage show in any theme park ever.

I think Untrainable is a solid show, but I do wish for longer 30-45 minute productions in Orlando. The parks certainly need it, but like you mentioned, require large theaters to justify longer runtimes. I don't agree entirely with the idea of the standard guest having low attentions spans, resulting in shows being shrunk down to less than 20 minutes. If the show is great, people will pay attention.

Exactly, showtime for Aladdin was 45 min.

 

[OrlLover]

Removing Aladdin from DCA is arguably the worst attraction removal in theme park history (up there with original Imagination) Easily the best stage show in any theme park ever.

I think Untrainable is a solid show, but I do wish for longer 30-45 minute productions in Orlando. The parks certainly need it, but like you mentioned, require large theaters to justify longer runtimes. I don't agree entirely with the idea of the standard guest having low attentions spans, resulting in shows being shrunk down to less than 20 minutes. If the show is great, people will pay attention.

40 minutes is pushing it in a theme park setting nowadays in my opinion.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

40 minutes is pushing it in a theme park setting nowadays in my opinion.

Not every theme park show needs to be 40-45 minutes, but I'd like 1 or 2 at the resort. With the right concept, a 45 minute show will be popular. If we do end up getting Wicked at the parks in a form of a stage show, I can't imagine a 18-min show will do the IP justice.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Imagine this. You paid 160 dollars for just to be at the theme park to prioritize riding the attraction. But experiencing 160 bucks worth of Broadway-level scale show unexpectedly in a theme park would make quite of impression and improve guest satisfaction drastically. Making guests feel like it's worth of buck to visit with this main show alone, giving audiences different E ticket options than waiting in excessively long lines for E ticket attractions (One of the biggest complaints Epic has these days)

I think it's a cool idea that runs into some major issues when put into practice.

• The expansion soundstage is roughly 40k sq ft while the Hyperion is 58k, that's nearly 50% bigger. 40k is still 2x the size of a USF SS so it's not counting out a show here, I just don't think a huge venue is in the cards which causes issues with capacity.
• These shows require a huge amount of operational staffing. We're talking staff inside and outside the theater plus those needed for actually running the show.
• Orlando's market is poor for getting acting talent. Look, I love Robyn but how many people will willing to relocate to central Orlando for slim acting gigs?
• So we have a 2000 guest theater, so where do they GO? That's a massive queue for folks. And don't tell me they won't line up before hand, they did for Hyperion!
• Disney has been cutting down their staged shows because folks walk out on long shows (anything over 20 minutes or so). Hell, folks were jumping out of UoE! I believe that longer shows at theme parks just aren't doable right now as guests reject them.

The closest thing the domestics park came to Broadway in the parks is The Power of Blast! from Epcot/DCA. (FWIW I loved that show)

But if you're going to do it then let's aim for the sky: Maybe Happy Ending permanent install at Epic Universe. Hwaboon is now a Celestian.

Exactly, showtime for Aladdin was 45 min.

I went to DCA several times when Aladdin was in the Hyperion and never saw it. Why? It would only run on weekends or seasonally during the week. So even if the show is shorter the staffing needed to cover it causes the issues.

 

[OrlLover]

Orlando's market is poor for getting acting talent. Look, I love Robyn but how many people will willing to relocate to central Orlando for slim acting gigs?

It’s Florida not Nebraska.

People literally move here just to be closer to the Disney parks.

 

[Legacy]

It’s Florida not Nebraska.

People literally move here just to be closer to the Disney parks.

There’s a difference between lifestylers who move to Orlando to go to Disney more frequently and performers looking for work. Acting in Orlando is no performer’s dream. Orlando is, frankly, unlikely to be a top three location for aspiring actors (New York, LA, and probably Atlanta/Chicago).

Orlando is viewed as a hopeful stepping stone gig but often a not good enough consolation prize.

 

[GAcoaster]

The other issue with Universal’s entertainment is that it’s non-Equity. It can make a difference in the caliber of performers who choose to or can perform for them.