Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[UniversalRBLX]

UOR is three parks now so their budget needs to be spread around more evenly. The money spent on flats could be used instead for something at USF or IOA.

Exactly my point.

Building flat rides is not gonna really solve the issues the park is having. It’s a temporary fix at best.

Why should Uni invest their funds into building those when they can instead focus all their resources on actual expansions.

Flat rides are not the singular solution, but they would certainly help provide capacity relief and visual kinetics. Celestial Park is beautiful, but a few areas could benefit from kinetic energy.

With that said, I think Epic should prioritize high-capacity indoor experiences and weather relief programs (additional shade structures, etc.)

It’s miserable walking the park rn

 

[Clive]

Flat rides are not the singular solution, but they would certainly help provide capacity relief and visual kinetics. Celestial Park is beautiful, but a few areas could benefit from kinetic energy.

With that said, I think Epic should prioritize high-capacity indoor experiences and weather relief programs (additional shade structures, etc.)

It’s miserable walking the park rn

Singular solution is the key phrase here. The folks advocating for a quick push for flat rides in 2027 are not saying that should be the only expansion for now. We're saying it really ought to be an addition to the current plans, as the park needs help yesterday.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

Yeah, I mean y'all are right that we don't have to care about Comcast's budget. It's good to demand more from corporations. I'm just honestly very excited about the new additions to Epic, and that outweighs any concerns I have over what they're not building. A new potter ride seemed inevitable, but I figured the 3rd DU attraction would remain forum-fodder for at least fifteen years, so I'm giddy.

I'd love if the Big Two would learn from their regional park brethren and start plopping flat rides into any available space. It just doesn't seem like they build them anymore unless they're a part of a new land build out (like Kang & Kodos in Springfield or this new carousel in Tropical Americas).

But look... y'all aren't wrong. The person who suggested the flying pagoda was cooking. I didn't even ride that at Efteling but just seeing it float along in the distance left a mark on me.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

They’re charging hundreds of dollars to attend these parks. Their budget is not my problem lmao.

I don't think money is the issue, at some point you have to decide what amount of total resources are applied to various projets. Is it worth it to have the x amount UC on a flat ride or x+y on a much more ambitious project? Obviously we don't have the answeres here because we're not working in UC but just to say "yeah they can just put some flats up!" kinda ignores what the reality of the situation.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

the park opened a year ago, of course they don’t have concrete plans to fix things as they just built the damn thing from the ground up. I’m not saying the issues people raise here shouldn’t be addressed but dayyumm do people sound spoiled complaining smallest of fixes to a 1 year old park aren’t done yet. I sometimes can’t believe it.

 

[Clive]

I don't think money is the issue, at some point you have to decide what amount of total resources are applied to various projets. Is it worth it to have the x amount UC on a flat ride or x+y on a much more ambitious project? Obviously we don't have the answeres here because we're not working in UC but just to say "yeah they can just put some flats up!" kinda ignores what the reality of the situation.

This is fair, but if I'm seeing the problems Epic is empirically facing, my first move is to try to get additional capacity up as fast as humanly possible while accelerating development and deployment of larger, weatherproofed additions.

But we're also acting like Islands of Adventure didn't also throw up two flats (Flying Unicorn isn't exactly a flat, but you get the idea) the year after opening. The flipside is Islands didn't get another significant build until Potter, arguably.

If it's one or the other, I too would prefer we get the more substantive attractions later than short-term relief now... but Universal is in a very different place than they were 25+ years ago. There's just going to be a lot of continuing pain until 2028, and that's disheartening.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Luckily, Universal is about to open a new park with an assortment of flat rides they can duplicate if they want to (and find reliable to run).

the park opened a year ago, of course they don’t have concrete plans to fix things as they just built the damn thing from the ground up. I’m not saying the issues people raise here shouldn’t be addressed but dayyumm do people sound spoiled complaining smallest of fixes to a 1 year old park aren’t done yet. I sometimes can’t believe it.

The park opened with serious issues, and they will be addressed over time, but I can't fault people for having concerns with some choices within the park. The park is fantastic, but there's always going to be things to plus up and improve. It's what we fans just do, we want the best because we know what their best looks like.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

This is fair, but if I'm seeing the problems Epic is empirically facing, my first move is to try to get additional capacity up as fast as humanly possible while accelerating development and deployment of larger, weatherproofed additions.

But we're also acting like Islands of Adventure didn't also throw up two flats (Flying Unicorn isn't exactly a flat, but you get the idea) the year after opening. The flipside is Islands didn't get another significant build until Potter, arguably.

If it's one or the other, I too would prefer we get the more substantive attractions later than short-term relief now... but Universal is in a very different place than they were 25+ years ago. There's just going to be a lot of continuing pain until 2028, and that's disheartening.

I think the "get additional capacity up as fast as humanly possible" was them getting everything up to design capacity and adding more show times to get capacity higher, and you answered your own questions with the rest of the post.

I think they could have rushed flats or a VillainCon clone to replace the quick service location or something but then it's very possible we see delayed major additions to the park. Is it worth the additona 600 guests an hour for a flat ride ASAP to delay a major ride with a capacity of 1200-1600 guests an hour?

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I understand the idea of throwing a few flats in just to boost capacity. But people already say over half the park closes when it rains.. so these rides would just add to the amount of closed attractions during bad weather.

(I'm sure there are some covered flat rides, but yeah)

 

[DOOMBOT]

Flat rides would help, but I'm also just kinda bummed that it's seeming entirely possible that it'll take nearly 3 years after opening day for the Potter Broom coaster or Gillman boat ride to be built and finally relieve some of the strain - especially since both of those have clearly been in consideration for a remarkably long time. I understand wanting to wait until the park is built to commit to an expansion project, but we've been talking about these ideas since well before Epic Previews, if not during early construction nearly half a decade ago, and ground still hasn't broken on either one.

I understand that it has only been a year since opening day, and I have never expected a new ride at Epic to be open already. But new builds do take time and the longer we go without active development, the longer the park has to wait for much needed support. It's entirely understandable, but also, a situation that I find increasingly unfortunate.

 

[Jake S]

My take is that these companies should stop underbuilding these massive theme parks. Then we wouldn’t have to talk about the logistics and tradeoffs of rushed expansion plans.

A boy can dream!

 

[Tacky3663]

I don't think the attraction would be a retelling of The Bride of Frankenstein. Dark Universe is set within modern day, with all the Universal Classic Monsters stories being canonical legends that occurred within the past of this world. Dr. Pretorius is shown to be long dead, and The Bride watches over Victoria's Monster in somewhat of an "older sister" role.

If there's going to be a ride centered around The Bride, it's probably going to be an original story, something kind of like...

If you ask me. A Mack Stryker for Bride of Frankenstein would be absolutely amazing