Universal Orlando sets opening date for Epic Universe

Has there been any announcements or discussion about park reservations? It seems pretty obvious that the park will reach capacity every day in the first month or two ... or six. :o)

Is this pricing dispelling the per portal fee or is there more to come on that?

@puckpilgrim - I think during the design and development process for Epic Universe that the thought of charging individual admissions to each of the portals was discussed as a potential concept. However, from everything that I've read and seen regarding the new park, guests will pay a singular price to enter Epic Universe. What is unclear is whether Universal will offer admission upcharges for guests who want to expedite their entry into individual portals - it is expected that you may need to make reservations (or stand in a queue) to enter each of the portals, so the ability to skip those lines would be a distinct advantage that may be necessary to see the entire park in a single day.

That is why I would probably recommend guests hold off on buying tickets (or making reservations at the Helios Grand, who's guests I believe will not have to make individual portal reservations as an extra perk) until further information about how the park will be operated is released. Of course, if you absolutely need to visit Epic during its opening week, you might want to secure your spot now, but as with any new attraction, land, or park, it makes far more sense for guests to allow for things to settle in before making serious (and potentially costly) travel plans. There's something to be said for being at "Opening Day", but is it really worth spending thousands of dollars for an experience that has a good chance of being suboptimal because of newness?

So we're set on a date and it's going to be interesting seeing Disney counter.

@MikeW - Haven't we already seen Disney's "counter" to Epic Universe, which is more or less getting out of the way in 2025? They're closing BTMRR for the whole year, Dinoland USA forever, and have nothing to market aside from the new Little Mermaid show, TestTrack 3.0 (if that is even ready for next year), and parades/fireworks shows for 2025. The only other "counter" Disney could make would be to accelerate projects they've already announced (Monsters Coaster in DHS, Carsland in MK, Villains Land in MK, and Tropical Americas in DAK), which won't deliver anything before 2026 at the earliest (and more likely 2027 - this is Disney we're talking about here). I guess Disney could announce more closures/renovations, but that would be even further deterioration of the WDW experience.

@Mike W.: What we have not seen is Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure's counters.

FYI - It's also been announced that UO Passholders will be given the opportunity to purchase single-day tickets for Epic Universe starting on October 24, 2024. As part of that announcement, Universal indicated that single day tickets for Epic Universe would also be released to the GP at some point, but when that is, how much they cost, and what limitations will exist on those tickets is unknown. So, all those folks criticizing the multi-day ticket strategy for Epic Universe might want to rethink their stance. I will also reiterate the need for patience here, and while everyone is understandably excited for this brand new park (the first new full-size major theme park in the US since Hard Rock Park opened in 2008), it's probably worth it to wait until all of the information and details about Epic Universe are officially released before committing thousands of dollars for a theme park vacation, unless of course you were already planning (and have invested money in) a trip to Orlando next summer, or absolutely MUST visit Epic Universe on Day 1.

Also, as part of the supplemental announcement about single-day tickets, Universal indicated the potential for soft-opening opportunities for UO APs and other groups (assuming media, partners, team members, etc...) ahead of the May 22, 2025 opening date. So yes, it sounds like Universal is going to put everything through its paces as expected for a project of this size/scope.

Russell, I love reading your posts / rebuttals. Grounded in reality and fact based objective takes on just about anything. Bravo, sir.

The YouTube vloggers will be fist-fighting over day one tickets. He or She who uploads the first POV, rules the world.

"The YouTube vloggers will be fist-fighting over day one tickets. He or She who uploads the first POV, rules the world."

Agree 100%

Can you imagine having a single day ticket that first week, but no hotel booking (looking to drive to park) ..... !!

I wonder if you'd evet get there ... LOL

I'll try and get mine for midweek Sept/Oct. I'll see how it goes on the 24th ??

I figured Disney is going for "long game," have Epic UNiverse get big opening buzz then add stuff on. Just striking compared to 1999 when IOA opened and Disney had Test Track, Rock n Roller Coaster, Pooh, Buzz Lightyear and DAK Asia going at same time to counter it.

I think Epic just gives people that go to Universal more reasons to visit again. I dont think Universal people really ever become Disney people and vice versa. I bet Disney Weddings to Universal Weddings is 100 to 1 if not more and i wouldnt be surprised by 1000 to 1. Thats a locked in family for decades.

Disney has enough and what they have is bolstered by nostalgia. Where Disney will refurb thunder mountain and test track Universal will just junk King Kong, Jaws, and Twister. With zero insight into logisitics, Diagon Alley should have gone where Fear Factor is and that pointless train between IOA should have been scrapped. There should be a Waterworld show on the lagoon and Back to the future should have gotten a refurb and better screen (4K ultra high def remaster or something).

These commutes from park to park are going to be a nightmare with park hopping from Epic to Universal Studios is going to be like an hour with that wait at security plus marathon walk to the front gate. All 3 parks in a day... ha

@puckpilgrim - I think you're right that there are Disney folks and Universal folks, but there is a pretty sizeable group of people who fall in the middle. I've seen and heard plenty of comments from visitors that want to know which WDW park Harry Potter is in, and where can they ride the Millennium Falcon at IOA. I think it's completely valid to consider in a year where Universal is opening a brand new theme park in Orlando in the same year when WDW is offering no major new additions while closing BTMRR and Dinoland, are the folks who don't currently have loyalty to either resort persuaded to become Universal fans.

Park to park times to and from Epic to the legacy parks is irrelevant, because the expectation is that guests WILL NOT be able to hop into Epic from the other parks. Plus, while bus routes between Epic and CityWalk will run across public surface streets, I anticipate those trips won't take more than 20 minutes, which is about what it takes to get from DAK to DHS. It's definitely a concern, but I don't see it as a nightmare situation or something most guests should worry about. If park hopping to all three parks in a single day is a deal-breaker, then I'm not sure how WDW offers any better situation. Yes, I've personally hopped to all 4 WDW parks in a single day, but that was a very different time and a very rare situation when parks had both Early and Late Magic Hours and we ended up spending 20 consecutive hours hopping around wDW. I don't think that is feasible anymore, and unless you have some sort of death wish, trying to hop to more than 2 parks in a single day you're being overly ambitious.

Your criticisms of the legacy Universal parks certainly have some merit, but are very "Monday Morning QB"(really Saturday Morning QB given the time that has passed since those changes have been made). One's junk is another's treasure, so you're entitled to your opinion on the quality of the Universal attractions. However, the prevailing opinion is that Hogwart's Express in a great attraction, and one of the most unique park hopping mechanisms ever created. There are plenty of things Disney has changed over the years that we can look back on and say were mistakes with one they're getting ready to embark upon that is borderline blasphemous. Theme parks grow and evolve, and whether an attraction is removed, replaced, or reskinned is based on a specific set of conditions that existed at that time. IF you want to go back and litigate past changes, we can certainly debate those, but that's probably better served through another thread, not here.

Well said. Security check points and the distance from those checkpoints to each IOA and US gate is huge. Are we there yet?

People ordering big macs from burger king doesnt strike me as the kind of person that has the income to even consider either park. So someone existing doesnt make that an actual consumer demographic.

Those of us that are likely going to make up the majority early attendance people are those of us who mainline these parks and arent therefor the ambiance (which i think the Universal of now has zero of... outside of halloween horror nights). We park hop 4 parks + a waterpark in a day. We go to Busch for an Iron Gwazi debut and leave in time to catch the Price is Right at 11am. Yeah, ill travel to Disney to ride Tron and Guardians and thats it because why not these parks have been a part of the park goers life forever and new experiences sprinkled in with the old is enough.

I only bring up old stuff about Universal beause it is so so hard for me to spend money at Universal because i think of where the park should be. Maybe i dont have forgiveness for Universal. I have no problem with Sea Worlds trajectory and Busch Gardens remains it's little niche that i cant be mad at. But Universal, they have truly spent some much effort chasing the next thing that im looking at minions instead of hitchcock and jimmy fallon instead of twister. Refurbs on that stuff could and would be amazing. So im slightly bitter and a new park is not going get me over that when the old rides with a little spice could have stood the test of time. If the open a new portal it should be called Universal Classic and offer 3 or 4 rides that used to exist. (Jaws, Earthquake, King Kong, and Twister)

If I were to Monday Morning Quarterback I am still of the mind that Kabletown would have been better off retheming and reimagining Marvel Superhero Island to Dark Universe, Toon Lagoon to Island of Berk, swapping out the Simpsons and Kid Zone for Super Mario Land and expanding Diagon Alley to include the Ministry of Magic. As good as Epic Universe looks I still wonder if adding another destination theme park to a saturated market was a good idea.

I will be staying at Stella Nova during that hotel's opening week and hopefully much of the construction on the park, and especially the access road, will be completed by that time.

I gotta say, so far Comcast is playing the game masterfully. I am hearing the Helios Grand is booking rooms (minimum four nights) for $290 per night. That's a bargain and enticing. If they throw in (or maintain) resort guest benefits, that rate (along with the multi-day ticket requirement), and walk-in access to the new park will not only fill the hotel, but will keep guests at the Comcast parks -- even the old ones.

Kinda brilliant.

@TH - Totally agree, and I've seen numerous comments about the surprising affordability of the Helios Grand, almost to the point where some are inquiring
"what's the catch". Those rates (and the rates for the Stella Nova and Terra Lune, which are on par with Endless Summer) really shocked me - they're even a tick cheaper than Royal Pacific - but it is a tad concerning that the hotel description does not include the Unlimited Universal Express perk included at the other Signature Resorts (RP, HRH, and PB). I also expected Grand Helios guests to get some type of perk beyond an exclusive park entrance (unlimited portal access and/or extended access to Celestial Park), which may be announced later but perhaps explains why the rates are so affordable.

Obviously being separated from the main UO resort, primarily CityWalk, is a big drawback here, so it's possible that Universal understands the inability to walk (or take a short boat ride) to CityWalk decreases the appeal of the Helios Grand.

If Grand Helios isn't offering a perk like Unlimited Express, there is no way they can can charge the $500+ a night like the Hard Rock, Portofino, or Royal Pacific.

I don't think Epic Universe will have a skip the line perk in place for a long long time, to be honest. I honestly thought Helios would follow the the "premier" hotel / perk model.

Zarex, i really like that plan for changing the lands. However, I think the third/4th gate makes sense. Universal does have a niche for compelling rides being extremely current in properties and incorporation into their parks. The Helios pricing is great and i will consider this propery once i can get tickets for only Epic Universe for like a 2 or 3 day stint. Room service from locations within the park? Fireworks synced to a tv in the room, neat. Hopefully once Epic is open they can keep some of the construction crew and get to Universal Studios and maybe create a permanent Halloween Horror Nights land that stays open late with world class escape rooms, plussed haunted houses, and a carnival atmosphere 365.

@NB - I didn't expect Epic Universe to have any sort of Universal Express product at least for the first year (though I have seen park photos from various sources that have shown queues with multiple lines - presumably standard, single rider, and Express), but did expect guests at the Grand Helios to have Unlimited Universal Express at IOA and USF like the other Signature resorts.

Russell, I think it will be even longer before you see "Epic Express" lines or whatever name they will give it, but they do future proof each ride queue by giving them three lines when designing them.

The Hulk coaster is the only one that differs from the rest with regard to Express. There is still a dedicated line, but they blend you in before the loading platform, and make it so you can't get in front row.

Lots of dirty looks from the people who have been waiting an hour plus.

Good luck getting across I-4 past Lakeland to get to the park. The traffic will be EPIC.