The Looming Concerns of Epic Universe

Everyone planning to go to the grand opening, or even within the first 6 months of opening, should expect long lines, huge crowds, and some technical hiccups in the process. That's the price to pay for getting to be "the first" ones to experience the first big new theme park in a generation. They are the guinea pigs, the data collectors, the trial-and-error folks. Props to them, as their sacrifice makes the park experience better for the longevity of the park. As much as bragging rights are fun, you certainly won't find me at a new park on the first day.

I think Disney has such a huge backlash going on right now that people are excited to hype epic universe as a means of clowning on Disney

Another concern I was thinking about was how much of a bottleneck the portals to the lands will be.With everyone trying to get into the same entrance and taking photos and whatnot I can definitely see that being a problem.

I think it will be a great park, but it will take while to be it’s perfect self

People, this is not Universal s first time at the rodeo.....I was there when the Studios was the only pank, with Nickelodeon Studios alongside...... everything went wrong that first year, from Kongfrontation, Earthquake and JAWS wasn't working....it was crowded, and crazy, and they did suffer from their "Big Three" not being able to take people, but they picked themselves up and fixed all the problems (well, not so much with JAWS-that took a few years), and the next year Universal was able to bounce back(also, having Back To The Future didn't hurt)...so, I have faith in them with Epic whatever happens, it will work itself out....

I think the issue is going to be with individual land capacities. Virtual lines just to get into HP, Nintendo, and Dark Universe are likely.

I work at Universal call-center here in Orlando right next to where epic is. It’s still astound me. How many normal people call in with very little theme park knowledge and want to talk about epic with me. I think it’s because most families do research on YouTube and TikTok before they start buying things and they see epic and they start to build hype for itis a double bladed sword. Universal is really suffering right now because people are withholding their vacations until next summer when epic opens.

I think Epic will draw more people to Universal properties making it a destination for an entire vacation. Having another HP area will help tie all the parks together. Long lines for sure but people will be willing to wait. As long as they have the technology working it will be great. Having the coasters already working and testing a year out is a great sign.

I'd rather endure vast crowds in a brand new park filled with IPs I actually like than do the same in an old, aging park filled with annoying IPs run by a company that wants to price me out and replace me with rich, vapid influencers.

You also need to consider that many of the lands in Epic Universe are rumored to have interactive elements that should add to "capacity." We know that a significant draw of Super Mario World will be the power-up band mini games culminating in the Bowser Jr. boss battle.

I hope the launch of Epic Universe goes well!

No one is making videos like this. Great work!

Wait times in the opening year will be interesting, as the park itself will have a capacity ceiling and the crowds can only spread out so much. Rides like Starfall Racers, Mario Kart and Donkey Kong will absolutely devour crowds with their capacity potential, not to mention the other rides that haven’t been announced. We won’t see any 10-hour waits but we’ll see a lot of 1-2 hour waits throughout the park early on in its lifespan, depending on how many people they let into the park

so far all the promotional materials and marketing has looked great -- where I'm worried is if universal scraps the whole "stay at one of our hotels, get unlimited fast pass" policy

These are very real concerns and I’m glad you addressed them. I feel like the best option for universal is to a) train their ride ops to be ontop of their game for the opening months and or b) sell limited tickets for the first few months the park is open

As long as Super Nintedo Land is good, I'm a happy camper.

When I went to the opening of Universal Studios Beijing, it was amazing. On the first day, they limited the number of guests, so all the attractions had low wait times and everything went smoothly. On the second day, it was like night and day. Huge wait times and slightly overcrowded, but was still amazing and just as enjoyable due to the exciting atmosphere! I imagine the buzz within Epic Universe in its opening year will be enough for most theme park fans.

Epic Universe is going to be a nail in the coffin for Disney once it opens. I've seen construction on one of the coasters and buildings for celestial park. I'm very hyped for it Edit: ight, when I meant (a nail in a coffin for Disney) I didn’t mean that universal is gonna kill Disney, I meant as like universal is doing good type of thing.

Man I wouldnt mind just spending hours looking at all the details in the parks! Why Im planning a 4 day trip to go to the OG parks and 2 days in the new one. But in 2026

I think you are correct about Epic having virtual queues. I believe during the first year, they will require virtual queues to enter each land as well as virtual queues for each major attraction.