Universal's Epic Universe Construction Thread

[tielo]

Alicia said in her latest video that it's expected that the hub will double as a Citywalk like of area after 6pm like I predicted when this tread started. Very excited for that.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Alicia said in her latest video that it's expected that the hub will double as a Citywalk like of area after 6pm like I predicted when this tread started. Very excited for that.

We still have two years before your victory lap, sir.

 

[kingcooger]

Alicia said in her latest video that it's expected that the hub will double as a Citywalk like of area after 6pm like I predicted when this tread started. Very excited for that.

The logistics of this fascinate me.

Especially when it comes to the nightly fountain show spectacular. Imagine being a paying day guest who gets a less than stellar view while someone who didn’t pay just stakes out a bunch of spots for themselves and their friends.

 

[BayAreaBubba]

The logistics of this fascinate me.

Especially when it comes to the nightly fountain show spectacular. Imagine being a paying day guest who gets a less than stellar view while someone who didn’t pay just stakes out a bunch of spots for themselves and their friends.

It’s a big venue, I can see them saving a sizable section for theme park guests. Fantasmic & WOC at DLR require a virtual queue to enter the viewing areas (and before that a fastpass).

 

[Magic-Man]

The logistics of this fascinate me.

Especially when it comes to the nightly fountain show spectacular. Imagine being a paying day guest who gets a less than stellar view while someone who didn’t pay just stakes out a bunch of spots for themselves and their friends.

They had plenty of other stuff to do all day. I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

It's an operations nightmare waiting to happen... and how exactly do you market "Come to our brand-new theme park for free after 6PM, but you can't go on any rides, and there's only a cheap pizza/theme park burger place to eat at!"

Maybe I could see it work as an onsite hotel perk.

 

[Alicia]

and there's only a cheap pizza/theme park burger place to eat at!"

Three full service restaurants with bars, plus additional bars, but street food vendors, a party atmosphere, and nightly fireworks. Plus, later, an entertainment flex space. It’s not just a cheap pizza/burger place to eat.

It may very well end up offering Universal’s fanciest restaurants, and perhaps that’ll be draw enough, the same way I’ve gone to Hard Rock or Portofino just for a nice meal. But we shall see.

 

[Mad Dog]

Three full service restaurants with bars, plus additional bars, but street food vendors, a party atmosphere, and nightly fireworks. Plus, later, an entertainment flex space. It’s not just a cheap pizza/burger place to eat.

It may very well end up offering Universal’s fanciest restaurants, and perhaps that’ll be draw enough, the same way I’ve gone to Hard Rock or Portofino just for a nice meal. But we shall see.

Yes. Most often we'll eat dinner at CityWalk or one of the other hotel resorts. The food and value are better there, and it's convenient.

 

[Andysol]

Three full service restaurants with bars, plus additional bars, but street food vendors, a party atmosphere, and nightly fireworks. Plus, later, an entertainment flex space. It’s not just a cheap pizza/burger place to eat.

It may very well end up offering Universal’s fanciest restaurants, and perhaps that’ll be draw enough, the same way I’ve gone to Hard Rock or Portofino just for a nice meal. But we shall see.

Right- but even still- 3 TS doesn’t sound nearly enough to sustain the park goers + non ticket holders.
Those are the only TS in the entire park.

I’m all for them attempting it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a colossal failure too. And they certainly shouldn’t start with that being the plan.
Maybe after a year once they get their feet under them?

This just sounds like putting the cart before the horse.

 

[Jwhee]

Could be a cool hangout spot, but if it opens to the public at 6 it’ll probably have to keep current CityWalk hours to make it worth their time. 6-midnight or 6-1am would be ideal

Not sure how admission to hub attractions would work, maybe scan your ticket at the attraction entrance? Will be fun to see how it plays out.

 

[fryoj]

yeah, I'm in the skeptical camp on this. They need to prioritize the ticketed guests. Both for restaurant reservations and for fireworks viewing. Which means every portal, ride, restaurant, and fireworks seat will have to be staffed to check for tickets to accomplish that. Not saying they can't pull it off. I just see the logistical problems of it.

 

[Doug A.]

I’m curious what made them revive this plan even if it’s not the same as the original rumors.

 

[Tomfoolery]

I’m curious what made them revive this plan even if it’s not the same as the original rumors.

Rumors are just rumors

 

[quinnmac000]

It's an operations nightmare waiting to happen... and how exactly do you market "Come to our brand-new theme park for free after 6PM, but you can't go on any rides, and there's only a cheap pizza/theme park burger place to eat at!"

Maybe I could see it work as an onsite hotel perk.

You are oversimplifying the hub....Think of it like going to a city park that has restaurants with the park area.

I'm sure they are going to have live entertainment and more in the spaces around the area giving it streetmosphere and I wouldn't be surprised if they kept the carousel running as the only attraction people can ride without a park ticket after 6 pm.

For people who work nearby in Dr Phillips area etc, i can see the hub becoming a hang out spot especially if they do bring free parking after 6pm which they drink at the Oak and Star Tavern and just hang out and talk in an area with better vibes than icon park or pointe orlando.

Additionally, Universal needed a place where guests who are residing on that side of the area can go that isn't far for dinner...this is the best option for that. They still have three new hotels full of guests they need to support for evening entertainment and busing them to citywalk isn't the best option financially or timewise.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Hopefully the fact that they're confident enough to keep the hub open after 6 means they believe the hub is enough of a draw for people to come make a visit.

I'm not a native of the area so I'm not sure who Universal is expecting the after-hours patrons to be, besides people who are already at the park or at the hotels. Would it be convention-goers and people coming from other I-Drive areas? If so, what would transport look like from those areas to Epic? And is this enough of a draw beyond the opening timeframe that people at Universal North would feel compelled to trek to Universal South just to eat or partake of the entertainment, or does their patronage not really matter since the capacity of the after-park offerings are sized only for a smaller audience of park and hotel guests?

Also, if the park is successful, how does future expansion play out? Does the Epic Universe hub become a contiguous sub-section of a future Citywalk South expansion? Would it be separate from a future Citywalk South expansion? Or maybe Universal maximizes their available space by making the hubs of Park 3 and 4 a contiguous space that can be navigated like Citywalk, with entrance to each of the lands determined by your park ticket? And if that's the case, would there be buffer zones between the two parks for daytime shopping and dining?

I'm probably overthinking this (you could have a Citywalk and just open the classy hub restaurants at 6), but I'm very curious to see how this plays out.

 

[Eckert]

I really hate the open hub concept. It's not like the park is gonna be starving for visitors when it opens. Also, why make guests have to keep scanning into each land throughout the day?

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I really hate the open hub concept. It's not like the park is gonna be starving for visitors when it opens. Also, why make guests have to keep scanning into each land throughout the day?

I don't think people scan into the lands, I think they just close the lands at 6 and let outside visitors come in at 6. If somebody buys out a land, then you would be screened if you're a member of that party.

 

[Ken96]

I’m being a super nerd here, but since May, I’ve been imagining what it will be like to open up the app park hours and see EU. Let’s pretend it’s a random day in July 2025. I modeled this directly from the app. This is my blue sky project that has been living in the notes section of my phone. Enjoy and don’t judge my speculation too harshly


Universal Islands of Adventure
Early Park Admission 8:00 AM
Open Today 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Universal Studios Florida
Early Park Admission Not Available
Open Today 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Universal Epic Universe
Early Park Admission 8:00 AM
Open Today 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM
Celestial Park 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Universal Volcano Bay
Open Today 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Early Park Admission 8:00 AM
Universal CityWalk
8:00 AM to 12:00 AM

In my scenario, the hub is “semi-open”.
The hub would open to all ticketed guests at 8:00 AM, but only guests with valid early park admission will be able to access select lands and attractions during the first hour.
Then from 6PM-11:00 PM any guest can enter Celestial Park for free, but the lands and hub attractions will be open only to ticketed guests. Celestial Park will function as a second City Walk for the resort.


***Bonus speculation***
Early Park Admission
Available Attractions:

• Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge
• Donkey Kong Mine-cart Madness
• Yoshi’s Adventure
• Starfall Racers
• Harry Potter and the Battle for the Ministry of Magic
• Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

Please understand that I just randomly guessed what they could open for EPA. I figured all of Nintendo would be a good bet, since the land is compact and it will likely be the most crowded. And the current parks tout early admission to the Wizarding World in all of the marketing. Lastly, I just didn’t want to leave out monsters or the pretty coaster. HTTYD can just open with the rest of the park not everything needs EPA lol

 

[Alicia]

I don't think people scan into the lands, I think they just close the lands at 6 and let outside visitors come in at 6. If somebody buys out a land, then you would be screened if you're a member of that party.

If the lands are still open, facial recognition at portals will keep out the non-paying guests. The old open hub plans would still apply, just not all day according to this rumor.

 

[quinnmac000]

I also want to point out Universal isn't the first park to do the park being open to guests who are unable to do attractions.

There are a few non US based theme parks for example that allow park entry prior to people being allowed to do things in the park (ex before 4pm and after 4am ticket. with a before 4 ticket where you are able to ride things before 4pm but after 4pm you can stay in the park but the attractions are not open for you and switched for the after 4pm...and those parks and those park guests have no issues there). Those parks do well by adding a discount and people still spend money in the parks because they enjoy the ambiance and the food aspects.