Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[queenmetroid]

Disneyland: fiat few months were not getting the projected figures leading to a temporary cash flow WDW: Opened with pretty much no Tomorrowland and half of Fantasyland unfinished. EPCOT: Every attraction broke down opening day, including a serious malfunction on Spaceship Earth that almost led to serious injuries. Universe of Energy took a year to work reliably, while Imagination never worked as intended USF: Everyone knows this disaster. AK: Complaints about the storyline in the safari led to rapid changes

IOA opened relatively ok. The Disney-MGM Studios also, but thats because the majority of attractions (Stunt show, star tours, part of the tour) were not yet finished.

This is not an attack on you personally, but none of these situations are comparable. Disneyland was 70 years ago and essentially invented the theme park. Walt Disney World wasn't much longer after that. The others are at least three decades old. I get that opening theme parks is hard, but Universal has the benefit of running parks for more than 30 years, and plenty of modern parks to study (including one of their own, albeit in a different cultural context). Saying that "theme parks have always had issues" just unfairly glosses over that someone could legitimately (and easily) have an awful day on a once in a potentially lifetime vacation. This isn't like a movie where you can go back to your local theater; this is a top-billed destination park that people travel to and pay high prices to get into, and it was an even worse value before they added the park hopper. Normal people aren't going to know the difference between a one year old park and a ten year old park because they aren't advertised any differently, and that feels unfair that you could walk in and have a chance to never experience two rides in a park where advertising makes zero mention of that fact.

This park is completely indefensible at this point. I haven't talked much about my own personal experience with Epic Universe on this forum, but it's very far from where it needs to be, and I wish people would stop rewarding this mediocrity with their money. Unfortunately, my criticism of Universal here is as harsh as it needs to be. They need to do better.

 

[GAcoaster]

I wonder how many Annual Pass Holders they've lost. Starting two weeks ago, they're again offering three extra free months if you renew.....plus 3 free months for new AP's. That's the type of offer usually made when stuff gets iffy, like right after covid and when attendance was dropping before Epic was going to open. I had to call last week to renew since the online site was glitching every day I tried online. When I 'called' to renew they were doing a big time hard sell trying to get me to add the soon closing Volcano Bay to my AP, and then trying to get me to book a vacation in March (which I had already booked). The salesman (Anthony) was very polite though and I always give credit to a salesperson for making a good effort to upsell. That's good business. That's a good sales rep.

But did any of us ever think they'd be offering free months to AP's a year after softs. I think that says a lot.

I would say that's as much our current economy/uncertainty as it is a case of alienated passholders though. Everyone is offering deals to try and meet attendance goals right now. Many people are weary about spending money right now.

While Epic is still having issues, they have upped their numbers for daily guests, so they must have some confidence in things improving. Yes there's still more downtime than anyone would like to see, but it has improved over the course of nearly a year now.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I don't think closing F&B locations early in the day was in the books. ' would think that UOR wants to recreate the late in the day/dinner attendance increase from APs/locals.

Closing some of your large and best theme F&B locations like Mead Hall and Das Stakehaus early can't be a favorable business condition.

Outside of improved uptime, very little will change until a new attraction is added. This is why I was so adamant before Epic's opening about the lack of significant ride capacity.


The question is what happens when UOR loses money from not selling Volcano Bay tickets for half a year? What revenue stream replaces that?

 

[Brian G.]

The question is what happens when UOR loses money from not selling Volcano Bay tickets for half a year? What revenue stream replaces that?

A good HHN season and some strong, new Holiday stuff would help a lot. Plus, Volcano Bay is closing during a time of year when it’s not really "water park season" anyway.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

A good HHN season and some strong, new Holiday stuff would help a lot. Plus, Volcano Bay is closing during a time of year when it’s not really "water park season" anyway.

Agree, HHN likely makes just as much (or more) as any water park

What I think will be interesting is the impact from the loss of selling 3-park passes with VB. Maybe it's an insignificant amount of passholders who have it. Maybe pushing additional AP sales (with the current discounts) to offset the loss of 3 park passes will help.


I also forgot that Universal Kids will be online by then, so that should more than offset any lost revenue for the UDX division.

 

[Mad Dog]

I've been AP for 12 years or so and they always do this. I actually need a spreadsheet to sort it out, because only one party only needs the right one to get hotel discounts, merch discounts, etc. Everyone else can downgrade. We're all on different schedules now because of these promotions. I'm okay with that though!

I love the free months. But I was going to renew anyway since Epic has never been my major objective for attending Universal, it was only going to be the icing on the cake. I absolutely love the 'entire feel' of the North Campus, that's why I go. Yes, I've also been an AP passholder for 13 of the past 15 years. My renewal has always been Feb. and I've never received the free three months until now, though it was offered a couple of times for 'new' AP's. But, while they've offered the free three months a few times before, as I previously mentioned, let's be real, I doubt anyone would have thought they'd have to do this offer at this time to keep AP numbers acceptable. Both IOA and USF parks are highly dependent on AP attendance, so they would suffer if the numbers drop. With International/Canadian tourism to Orlando being down, they really need those local guests. And all those guests who had the misfortune to attend Epic on huge breakdown days, which have not really declined much according to daily breakdown time lists on the TP apps, or the summer heavy rains, are going to be hard to get back. And the capacity, besides breakdowns, continues to be problematic. Not only the park being under build attraction wise, but most of the principle rides are not coming close to their theoretical capacity numbers. Some of it is tech, like the breakdowns, but some is operations. Especially troubling is the clones are huge operation shortfalls. That's really troubling.

Note to @UniversalRBLX: They were pushing hard trying to sell the VB add on to the AP pass last week, so contrary to what they were doing in the Fall of 2025, they are actively trying to sell the add on at this point in time. Of course once VB shuts down, they'll need to pause a bit. Like you, I wonder what the number of VB AP's actually are. It might not be a huge dollar number.

As @Brian G. speculated , perhaps some new Holiday stuff. They are back to an early start with the 2026 Holiday Season after a few Thanksgiving week starts. Maybe that's a signal for new stuff. Holidays are great, but they could use some entertainment refreshment. And they did lose Mannheim Steamroller to health concerns, though that was only a few weekends, but still a big draw.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

When I worked at the park the 3-month free deal was an annual promotion in conjunction with Mardi Gras. When I moved back to Orlando from Chicago they ran it as well (post-COVID when times were good). I’m not saying Epic’s restrictions aren’t hurting AP sales, but I think this specific promotion happens every year regardless.

 

[SeventyOne]

I don't think closing F&B locations early in the day was in the books. ' would think that UOR wants to recreate the late in the day/dinner attendance increase from APs/locals.

Closing some of your large and best theme F&B locations like Mead Hall and Das Stakehaus early can't be a favorable business condition.

Outside of improved uptime, very little will change until a new attraction is added. This is why I was so adamant before Epic's opening about the lack of significant ride capacity.

Whether deliberate or subconscious, EU was built for APs. Highly themed restaurants, gift shops, shows and the "vibes" in Celestial Park were clearly meant to replace B and C-tickets. But the guests who appreciate that are APs. Day guests have that wait in the line, ride the ride, exit thru the gift shop mentality Eisner/Iger Disney foisted upon them.

Financially impossible, but in a fantastical world where EU is an AP-only park, it's the highest rated in Orlando, not the lowest.

As @Brian G. speculated , perhaps some new Holiday stuff. They are back to an early start with the 2026 Holiday Season after a few Thanksgiving week starts. Maybe that's a signal for new stuff. Holidays are great, but they could use some entertainment refreshment. And they did lose Mannheim Steamroller to health concerns, though that was only a few weekends, but still a big draw.

No doubt stale, but given that they wouldn't pay to update the Mardi Gras parade -- couldn't even bother to make sure the old floats were up to code before opening night -- I think they'll view huge lines for Grinch and a tired parade/Blues Brothers show as good enough. Much as they own Halloween, they'll always be #3 for Christmas anyway, short of acquiring the Rankin-Bass IPs and going all in on them ... maybe.

Easiest thing they could do for APs would be to bring back a Summer concert series with a decent, diverse line-up.

 

[Frogki]

Actually that’s the problem they can’t add passholders or adjust prices because the park is broken. Attractions across the board are not meeting uptime and the number of attractions is strained beyond comprehension due to the downtime that’s well beyond the “break in” period at this point.

Also every single park has opening day, week, month issues. Many of you are not old enough to remember the disaster that was Universal Studios Orlando’s opening lol.

The issue at hand is that we’re quickly approaching a year post commissioning on many of these attractions and it’s very obvious Universal has stretched its already thin Maitenance staff even thinner. They’ll fix it, but it’s gonna take time and this is going to be a massive learning experience that unfortunately is costing the company a ton of money and bad press for a subpar experience for a large number of guests.

Speaking purely based on the comments of you and others experience (as I have yet to experience Epic), this is the kind of thing that causes a ton of people to believe that Disney does things better. It may not be a fair assessment but it sets Universal back in the sense that, for many years, there has been a large segment of folks who believe it is second best to Disney. They were narrowing that gap - but anyone who believed that before Epic, and who has had some of the subpar experiences at Epic, will be convinced that this remains a truth regardless of when and how Universal recovers from these issues. And that's a shame, because I actually heard someone say the opposite of Epic in earlier days of it's opening - that Universal said for years they could do better than Disney, and Epic seemed to show that they could beyond just Potter. And given the level of detail and theming, I agree with the sentiment in terms of overall finesse within the lands - but that only gets you so far, and operational issues will mar the most beautiful park because most guests will remember whether they got to do what they wanted long before any thematic detailing.

 

[Mad Dog]

Speaking purely based on the comments of you and others experience (as I have yet to experience Epic), this is the kind of thing that causes a ton of people to believe that Disney does things better. It may not be a fair assessment but it sets Universal back in the sense that, for many years, there has been a large segment of folks who believe it is second best to Disney. They were narrowing that gap - but anyone who believed that before Epic, and who has had some of the subpar experiences at Epic, will be convinced that this remains a truth regardless of when and how Universal recovers from these issues. And that's a shame, because I actually heard someone say the opposite of Epic in earlier days of it's opening - that Universal said for years they could do better than Disney, and Epic seemed to show that they could beyond just Potter. And given the level of detail and theming, I agree with the sentiment in terms of overall finesse within the lands - but that only gets you so far, and operational issues will mar the most beautiful park because most guests will remember whether they got to do what they wanted long before any thematic detailing.

Yeah, it's sad. The park 'could' be really good. It actually is on some days, if you are lucky having a low (in the high teens) crowd size and a low break down day. But it can also be very bad. Operations are just an overall mess, with constant break downs and significant less than theoretical operating capacity. If you want to spring an extra $300 to $400 for an Express Pass, you can have a very enjoyable day. But no park should be so reliant on someone having to spend soooo much for one day in any theme park. ....Universal is probably happy with their Express Pass sales since they're probably much higher than they would be if the attractions were better run, operations wise.

Just guessing, but a lot of the park's issues could probably be fixed with better executive management and an increase in qualified maintenance teams. But long term, they do need more high capacity attractions if they're to meet eventual capacity of 35,000 to 40,000 plus visitors daily. The guessed at new ride in Potter Paris will be a good first step, but that's 2 or 3 years away. Epic needs more in the interim, stuff like parades and outdoor live entertainment that attracts a good sized crowd.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Speaking purely based on the comments of you and others experience (as I have yet to experience Epic), this is the kind of thing that causes a ton of people to believe that Disney does things better. It may not be a fair assessment but it sets Universal back in the sense that, for many years, there has been a large segment of folks who believe it is second best to Disney. They were narrowing that gap - but anyone who believed that before Epic, and who has had some of the subpar experiences at Epic, will be convinced that this remains a truth regardless of when and how Universal recovers from these issues. And that's a shame, because I actually heard someone say the opposite of Epic in earlier days of it's opening - that Universal said for years they could do better than Disney, and Epic seemed to show that they could beyond just Potter. And given the level of detail and theming, I agree with the sentiment in terms of overall finesse within the lands - but that only gets you so far, and operational issues will mar the most beautiful park because most guests will remember whether they got to do what they wanted long before any thematic detailing.

This was my biggest “issue” (for lack of a better word) with Epic when I went during previews (which, for all intents and purposes, went really smoothly for me). It’s very evident that they threw a ton of money at making this park beautiful…but that’s only part of the equation. The park is missing *something* in between all the beautiful facades and technology that’s present everywhere. It comes off as the Internet’s idea of what the perfect theme park is, while discounting that the Internet isn’t actually out experiencing or building these parks. It’s the Galaxy’s Edge issue but expanded to a whole park.

 

[Mad Dog]

This was my biggest “issue” (for lack of a better word) with Epic when I went during previews (which, for all intents and purposes, went really smoothly for me). It’s very evident that they threw a ton of money at making this park beautiful…but that’s only part of the equation. The park is missing *something* in between all the beautiful facades and technology that’s present everywhere. It comes off as the Internet’s idea of what the perfect theme park is, while discounting that the Internet isn’t actually out experiencing or building these parks. It’s the Galaxy’s Edge issue but expanded to a whole park.

Interesting thoughts.....Epic certainly has a different 'feel' than any other park I've been in. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know yet. Epic kind of 'feels' like 5 different parks to me. While it has the Universe story to combine everything, I'm not sure that attempted unifying actually works. But Epic definitely has a beautiful and pleasing look to the lands. At this point in time, Potter & Celestial feels a bit like GESWL to me. A real lot of space occupied with not a whole lot to experience. Paris, while much larger than Diagon, doesn't pack the Diagon wallop. Too many facades with nothing there. A new ride will help a lot. Monsters, Nintendo and Berk lands works pretty well though. But, if there were 16 well running, decent capacity, attractions, at this point in time, we would probably be singing Epic's praises. Unfortunately, there aren't that many (12), and what's there is under performing capacity and operationally wise.

 

[queenmetroid]

The park is missing *something* in between all the beautiful facades and technology that’s present everywhere. It comes off as the Internet’s idea of what the perfect theme park is, while discounting that the Internet isn’t actually out experiencing or building these parks. It’s the Galaxy’s Edge issue but expanded to a whole park.

This very much encapsulates my thoughts as well. Epic Universe feels closer to Animal Kingdom or DHS (and to a lesser extent, Tokyo DisneySea) rather than Disneyland. Great window dressing, but lacking core substance. The Internet has this tendency to scream about sightlines and immersion as though they are the most important things, and it largely comes off as elitist and tiresome. Epic is a beautiful park, sure, but it's hollow, and it doesn't live up to the hype in terms of rides and at the end of the day that is far more important.

But, if there were 16 well running, decent capacity, attractions, at this point in time, we would probably be singing Epic's praises. Unfortunately, there aren't that many (12), and what's there is under performing capacity and operationally wise.

I agree with everything you say here. For me, a theme park needs to almost have too much to do on its own merits (and not due to crowding). It needs to have enough where you feel like you cannot see everything in a day to preserve the magic and you want to go back and see more (comfortable FOMO, if you will). Epic is a one-two punch of too small plus not enough attractions. I felt like when I missed out on something, there wasn't an equivalent thing to do, and with a ticket that is that expensive, that's a bad feeling. It's made worse if you've been to Universal Studios Hollywood; you've essentially seen a whole land.

I don't hate the park and parts of it are so close to greatness, but it desperately needs additional capacity and operational stability.