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.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

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).

VB also go review bombed. IOA and USF were created before TA. Yes I'm suggesting Disney fans are Big Mad online.

 

[belloq87]

If it were just "Disney fans" trolling, Universal wouldn't be in a hurry to alleviate capacity issues. It's not only "Disney fans" who get miffed when they're stuck in repeated multi-hour lines, or face repeated downtime on rides. I'm sure Universal has internal metrics we're not privy to which indicate there are some real dissatisfaction areas (operational or otherwise).

 

[mccgavin]

I would not attribute Epic's review ratings to "trolls", but I also don't believe they are really a fully accurate measure of Epic's public perception (or any theme park for that matter). As a general rule for any public rating system, people are a lot more willing to go out of their way to post about a negative experience than a positive one. While Epic does have a lot of strengths, one of the biggest issues it has been having is downtime for major rides.

What I suspect is that a lot of these reviews are being written while a ride is experiencing a "Delay", and frustrated guests are stuck waiting in the queue for an extended period of time. When you're stuck in line like that, someone might see writing a negative review as a way of "getting back" at Universal, regardless of whether the rest of their day went smoothly. Obviously, downtime is still an issue that is pertinent to be addressed, but it is also likely skewing some of the review scores we are seeing.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I would not attribute Epic's review ratings to "trolls", but I also don't believe they are really a fully accurate measure of Epic's public perception (or any theme park for that matter). As a general rule for any public rating system, people are a lot more willing to go out of their way to post about a negative experience than a positive one. While Epic does have a lot of strengths, one of the biggest issues it has been having is downtime for major rides.

What I suspect is that a lot of these reviews are being written while a ride is experiencing a "Delay", and frustrated guests are stuck waiting in the queue for an extended period of time. When you're stuck in line like that, someone might see writing a negative review as a way of "getting back" at Universal, regardless of whether the rest of their day went smoothly. Obviously, downtime is still an issue that is pertinent to be addressed, but it is also likely skewing some of the review scores we are seeing.

Fair, and I should clarify that I don’t think all bad reviews are fake. But the aggregate score of an online site isn’t always the best indicator of satisfaction (see review bombing video games).

 

[Stitch_101]

If it were just "Disney fans" trolling, Universal wouldn't be in a hurry to alleviate capacity issues. It's not only "Disney fans" who get miffed when they're stuck in repeated multi-hour lines, or face repeated downtime on rides. I'm sure Universal has internal metrics we're not privy to which indicate there are some real dissatisfaction areas (operational or otherwise).

To be fair, multiple things can be true at once. Epic has capacity issues, yes. But there is review bombing from a section of Disney fans upset that Universal built another park. Check out some Facebook Disney groups to see my point. That's toxic fans for you.