Universal Orlando announces Universal's Epic Universe

They’ve done an amazing job of hiding Mario land in plain sight on the left. If the Yoshi model hadn’t leaked I would have missed it. Take this rendering as an attempt to hide more than to disclose.

fantastic beasts looks to be in the upper right, beyond that I’m at a loss.

I am guessing there's some sort of Dreamworks land.

I am still curious how they will handle the transportation between the resorts. I am assuming there will just be a bus route but I am hoping for something special.

eightdotthree said:

I am assuming there will just be a bus route but I am hoping for something special.

Air conditioned gondolas.

What's the timing on this? I've read a couple of articles and yet to see anything on when this is expected to open.

Universal is not sharing a timeline right now. But considering that only basic land clearing has been done and I'm pretty sure not even undergrounds have been installed I expect a few years, could be 4-5.

It's not a very good announcement. There's no meat to it all, just "we're gonna have another gate." Everyone knew that months ago.

Yeah, you think they'd at least give a general idea that there will be Potter/Nintendo/Lampy the Lamppost areas, and a most basic timeframe "mid-2020s" or something like that.

This was the worst non-announcement ever. Even basic details would be nice.

Soooooo ....Duelling Dragons (or some variation thereof) is apparently making a comeback. hmmmm

Anyone think that name is very much 'in the now' and won't age particularly well?

People stopped saying epic ages ago. The question for me has enough time passed that it's just a normal word which doesn't invoke nostalgia of memes from the early 2010s?

I think Rad Universe is a better name.

Or Groovy Universe. Or The Cat’s Pajama’s Universe. Or The Bee’s Knees Universe.

Rick_UK said:

Anyone think that name is very much 'in the now' and won't age particularly well?

The same can be said about (almost) everything Universal has ever done.

Regarding the announcement itself, Universal had absolutely no incentive to publicly announce specifics at this point. Why give their guests a reason to delay their trip so they can ride Yoshi in a few years?

You can't sustain maximum excitement over a period of years. You need to build up the hype by gradually revealing details over time to reach a crescendo for the opening when people can actually visit. Had they revealed all their cards in August 2019, it would be old news before anyone has a chance to buy a ticket. If they are smart (and I'm not saying they are), the excitement level will grow as more details come to light in the coming months and years.

Anyone think that name is very much 'in the now' and won't age particularly well?

People stopped saying epic ages ago.

I am so confused.

RCMAC said:

I think Rad Universe is a better name.

Or Groovy Universe. Or The Cat’s Pajama’s Universe. Or The Bee’s Knees Universe.

I think using today's vernacular: Universal af

The purported Dragons land is HUGE. Its full scope has been cropped out of most images. The family coaster wraps around the whole thing and there are two additional show buildings and a Splash Battle type boat ride as well. I also think I see a faint Huss Frisbee to the left of the family coaster station.

The dueling coaster is not in the Dragons land, it is accessed near the space dome. Here's a crazy thought: Since they're deliberately concealing some of the themes (like the fake european facades in what is obviously Fantastic Beasts' New York) what if the space dome is really the Jurassic World visitors center and the coaster is dinosaur themed? You heard it here first.

To me, the announcement was, "We are building a new theme park, like the media reported last year. Here's what we are going to name it, and here's the logo."

I suppose all the licenses weren't set in stone yet, and that's why we didn't get an "epic" announcement. That could also be the reason why the artwork is so generic.

Full-blown gates don't get built very often, particularly not by a Serious Operator. Leave it to enthusiasts to bitch about the next layer of publicity.

I don't think anyone is bitching about anything. No one is saying, "This is gonna suck, I'm not interested."