Universal's Epic Universe General News & Discussion

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

A new nighttime show for the summer would be an excellent draw during the warmer months!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I wonder if they'll enhance the current show, give it a proper name, and call it "new" or if they'll actually do a full new show. Guess we'll see.

 

[Clive]

I wonder if they'll enhance the current show, give it a proper name, and call it "new" or if they'll actually do a full new show. Guess we'll see.

I was about to say, the current show is wildly underrated, IMO. Not going to say no to enhancements, though!

 

[Grabnar]

I was about to say, the current show is wildly underrated, IMO. Not going to say no to enhancements, though!

Tbf they don't really advertise it at all, it's not in the app and it's not listed anywhere (or wasn't when I was there in previews or when I was there in August). You just kinda need to know it exists ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Brian G.]

Tbf they don't really advertise it at all, it's not in the app and it's not listed anywhere (or wasn't when I was there in previews or when I was there in August). You just kinda need to know it exists ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's definitely advertised on the Wait Time Boards around the park, but that's about the only spot I've seen it.

 

[Clive]

It's definitely advertised on the Wait Time Boards around the park, but that's about the only spot I've seen it.

It'll show up under "entertainment" on the app, but I get the sense many guests don't realize you have to do that to see all attractions. Our waiter at The Atlantic was explaining that Epic had several staged performances to the surprised table next to us - even had them open up the app to show them how to toggle the settings.

 

[Grabnar]

It'll show up under "entertainment" on the app, but I get the sense many guests don't realize you have to do that to see all attractions. Our waiter at The Atlantic was explaining that Epic had several staged performances to the surprised table next to us - even had them open up the app to show them how to toggle the settings.

I'm chalking this up to bad app design because I still do not see it on mine even toggling for entertainment on either list or map mode.

 

[Clive]

I'm chalking this up to bad app design because I still do not see it on mine even toggling for entertainment on either list or map mode.View attachment 28439

Huh. I'm sure I saw it on the app, because I remember being surprised to see it... but I could be fabricating a memory.

 

[UNIrd]

I saw a TikTok that showed that Epic Universe currently has a 2.3 out of 5 average rating on TripAdvisor which is pretty terrible. I checked it out for myself and it's true, currently based on 664 reviews.

The overwhelming majority of reviews are negative which is pretty mind-boggling considering I've been lucky to have 3 top-notch experiences in the park. Almost all of them mention the park's lack of capacity, which to be honest is not typically a word I hear casual theme park visitors say.

Do we think this thing is being review-bombed or are people really having such a bad time there?

(By comparison, IOA has a 4.6 and USF has a 4.3 out of 5 rating).

 

[Jake S]

I think it’s complicated. No, I don’t think the park is being review bombed any more than Volcano Bay was review bombed. There are plenty of guests frustrated with their experience.

But keep in mind who leaves reviews on Trip Advisor in general and who leaves them on a new theme park in specific. That’s under 1,000 reviews, which is not a lot for a major theme park.

I think Epic is the worst of the non-SeaWorld parks in Orlando, and frankly I don’t think it’s that close. But obviously a) your mileage may vary b) the park is only half a year old and c) you can’t currently go to the park in the same bundled way you can go to the existing parks. That à la carte method certainly changes how critical someone is of their experience; or at least, I’m sure it affected my opinion.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I warned about Epic Universe's lack of capacity years ago when I started to forecast wait-times. Thankfully there's projects being fast tracked to alleviate the park.

Epic Universe is a creative success, everyone I speak to and even the worst Universal haters (Tom *******) admit its a creative spectacular. But operationally the park bombed unfortunately. Downtime is 100% expected... but when you are quoting a 2-hour wait for Ministry of Magic's express line... good lord.

I think debuting a nighttime show with pyro and special effects sooner than later is needed. It's not a ride attraction, but it's a major component of why people love going to theme parks and is an easy box to "check off" when trying to count how many things you experienced in a day.