Universal Orlando's new Epic Universe theme park could be open officially by Memorial Day weekend next year, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Citing sources within the company, the newspaper reported that the new theme park could be open fully as early as Memorial Day weekend. (That's May 24-26, 2025.) And that tickets could be going on sale within the next month.
Here's a little journalism insider perspective to help you judge this news. It's unlikely that anyone from inside the company would be leaking this news to a publication such as the WSJ without approval to do so. Traditionally, only very high level executives would be talking to the a publication like the Journal - they don't mess around with underlings unless it's something scandalous or juicier than a theme park opening date.
Sure, that's juicy to us, but not to the average Wall Street Journal reader, who more likely just cares about how this news will drive Comcast's stock price.
So I believe this story, also since it fits with the information that I have been hearing that Universal is aiming to have the park open in the first half of the year. Telling a Memorial Day weekend date to the WSJ does effectively lock Universal into opening by then, however, as the company would not want to be seen as being "late" with the park if it opens after then. (Again, stock price.)
Now the words "fully open" also carry some weight here. I suspect that means an official opening by the end of Q2, with a soft or limited opening possible before the end of May. Universal has been testing multiple rides at the park for months, and I've seen internal photos (can't share, sorry!) that suggest that work is in the final stages on many major attractions. So a soft open in early- to mid-spring does not seem out of the range of possibility.
The other big story here is the tickets. Universal has focus-tested a wide range of ticket options for Epic Universe. Those options include making it available only via a multi-day ticket including the other Universal Orlando theme parks: Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Tested options also include ticket packages with variable pricing depending upon the number of lands within the park you wish to visit.
For a description of what is coming to Epic Universe, please visit our Universal Epic Universe page, which links much of our past coverage of the theme park's reveals.
And for assistance in planning an Epic Universe visit once tickets become available, please contact our partner for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.
Finally, to keep up to date with more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
You must be registered and logged in to submit a comment.
