Epic Universe Ticketing Info, Advice, & Speculation

[boomerthom]

I’d think a possible good starting point for AP access would be admission after 4pm, maybe with reservations required. Last time I was at Epic the park was next to dead after that time, low wait times, restaurants were near empty, etc. Potentially have blockout dates for busier times, idk. Unrestricted access (or all day admission with no blockout dates) seems like a bad idea currently, and they’d have to limit it so much with capacity and reservations that I can’t really see it being a good experience.

 

[Mad Dog]

That boat at the north campus is such a HUGE difference maker. It essentially turns the complex into a resort. Universal needs to figure out how to extend that feeling to Epic, and I have no idea how they do that. It’s probably something they should have dealt with before the park opened.

I recall thinking aloud on these threads, when Epic was first planned, that I was probably going to have that distance from the Universal resort feeling. I hoped I would be wrong, but unfortunately that's the scenario I feel.

Like the date who over estimates her personality and looks, Universal seems enamored by those glowing 'creative professional' reviews, which are well deserved. But, the park operationally falls very short and regular guests aren't all fooled by the looks. It could be a very good day, or a very bad day depending on the operations that day and/or weather.

Universal has painted itself into a corner. Lots of AP use could help, but the capacity concerns won't allow it. Universal is going to AP price this sky high for limited access, no doubt. A plan will take off some of the AP heat but that will probably just be a smokescreen. @SeventyOne really pulls back the drape that could work for all, not just AP's. But the only way that works operationally is if we revisit an old concept that most of us rejected during the early planning stages. Namely, open Epic Celestial land to everyone after say 5:00 PM. A regular ticket would be required for the other four portal lands and the two Celestial rides. The plus is that a lot of North Campus guests, and Orlando residents would probably hop over, filling the bars and restaurants in Celestial. Hell, I don't know if this is operationally feasible, but I don't see anything else that works.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

I recall thinking aloud on these threads, when Epic was first planned, that I was probably going to have that distance from the Universal resort feeling. I hoped I would be wrong, but unfortunately that's the scenario I feel.

Like the date who over estimates her personality and looks, Universal seems enamored by those glowing 'creative professional' reviews, which are well deserved. But, the park operationally falls very short and regular guests aren't all fooled by the looks. It could be a very good day, or a very bad day depending on the operations that day and/or weather.

Universal has painted itself into a corner. Lots of AP use could help, but the capacity concerns won't allow it. Universal is going to AP price this sky high for limited access, no doubt. A plan will take off some of the AP heat but that will probably just be a smokescreen. @SeventyOne really pulls back the drape that could work for all, not just AP's. But the only way that works operationally is if we revisit an old concept that most of us rejected during the early planning stages. Namely, open Epic Celestial land to everyone after say 5:00 PM. A regular ticket would be required for the other four portal lands and the two Celestial rides. The plus is that a lot of North Campus guests, and Orlando residents would probably hop over, filling the bars and restaurants in Celestial. Hell, I don't know if this is operationally feasible, but I don't see anything else that works.

As we near our Orlando trip in mid April, we are still debating on an Epic Universe day. Roughly $600+ for three of us is a big chunk of change when park operations are such a risk. My wife is a massive fun of the EU food scene and could honestly care less about the rides.

Surprisingly, as I reflect on our EU days over the last year, I feel like SNW was the big miss here. Too small, one set of bathrooms (WTF), DKMM operations, Mario Kart just being good, instead of groundbreaking. Yoshi is OK. Maybe when the expansion pad opens, it'll be better, but I can't picture how that will alleviate the feeling of claustrophobia if it's another small portal from DK to whatever is next (Luigi, Zelda, etc.)

 

[Mad Dog]

Sitting in the AP area for a couple of the Mardi Gras parades, while waiting, we got to talk to a lot of AP holders about Epic. Most of them used their ticket discount in the summer, and the locals attended the soft openings too. Generally they loved Epic during the softs since crowds were light and they got to ride a lot they said. The ones who went in the summer all said that they'd never go in the summer again. Just sample anecdotes, but enlightening nonetheless.

As we near our Orlando trip in mid April, we are still debating on an Epic Universe day. Roughly $600+ for three of us is a big chunk of change when park operations are such a risk. My wife is a massive fun of the EU food scene and could honestly care less about the rides.

Surprisingly, as I reflect on our EU days over the last year, I feel like SNW was the big miss here. Too small, one set of bathrooms (WTF), DKMM operations, Mario Kart just being good, instead of groundbreaking. Yoshi is OK. Maybe when the expansion pad opens, it'll be better, but I can't picture how that will alleviate the feeling of claustrophobia if it's another small portal from DK to whatever is next (Luigi, Zelda, etc.)

I actually liked Nintendo, though it is indeed claustrophobic, and I'm no Nintendo game boy. The best ride, DK Minetrain has a severe capacity shortfall. The park looks great but that capacity shortfall is a real killer. The cost is very tough for what you get. First day was fine since the curiosity factor kicked in. Second day there were major operational issues, so we really felt the second day wasn't needed, especially in lieu of costs. We had good weather and my non Holiday week Sunday formula worked great. We didn't have to stand in long lines, so I was able to experience the park in its best clothes. But, even under those almost ideal conditions, the park felt incomplete. Having already experienced the curiosity factor it is sure hard to spend $200 per person to go back. We're fairly well off financially, but I still don't like to overpay. The attractions aren't real repeatable, there's too many coasters, and there's only one drop dead great attraction, Monsters.

I don't think Universal anticipated it would be like this. I'd guess their original AP plans were to perhaps increase the three park pass to something like a 30% increase and maybe expand the blackout days to all Holiday weeks. But somewhere along the executive path line, they greatly overestimated the capacity, didn't expect such long lasting maintenance issues, and made a big mistake with too high a percentage of outdoor attractions.

It is what it is, and the weight will fall on AP holders, who deserve better, but there's no short term easy way out of the capacity mess. I'm guessing an AP 3 park pass that will be priced super high with very limited access. Universal really has no other choice under the circumstances.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I believe before Epic UoR would price AP's such that an AP became the better value if one was going to the parks for more than 5 days so the 5 day park to park price was a good indicator of where AP pricing would start (I think the VB add on was something like a little less than two days at VB).

I believe this year they introduced a 6 and 7 days park to park (includes Epic/IoA/US) and it is currently offered at the same price as a five day park to park. I sort of wonder if they will come up w/ a price for the 7 day park to park and then use that as the starting point for an AP.

I imagine they have lots of options as the park was built with the infrastructure to take tickets at each portal. So they could certainly play w/ a concept of access to Celestial w/o access to all the portals.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm sure they will reach a point in the future where the curiosity of the new park wanes and all those who've already experienced Epic for a day, or two, or three will balk at paying $200 for a one day ticket. Of course, there will still be those who haven't been to Epic, but overall demand might take a hit if there's no/few AP's in the attendance mix. I think Universal Orlando relies on AP's more than WDW does. Right now, Universal is probably making a ton of money off of the very expensive Express Pass sales, but that number will surely drop as the newness wears off. The question though, is how far in the future this stuff starts happening. Universal is in a tough spot on this AP decision. Their signals are that it will be priced high initially, but that could bite them in the butt. They had a similar problem when they opened Potter at USH, and management butchered it. Epic is a much bigger problem of course, but they can learn a lesson from what happened at USH and the chaotic responses/changes that followed it.

 

[JonsMovies]

Given how restrictive all the ticketing is, it seems the best route right now is to just buy a 7 day pass and pretend you are an AP with access to all 3 parks for a week.

 

[Mad Dog]

Given how restrictive all the ticketing is, it seems the best route right now is to just buy a 7 day pass and pretend you are an AP with access to all 3 parks for a week.

Yeah. That's what I was saying above about my long term strategy if I got to the point I wanted to go to Epic a lot. And just drop my AP for a while.