Universal releases official photos from inside Epic Universe

I legit had to do a double take on that picture of the Frankenstein Castle. I thought the cobblestone esplanade was a moat at first.

Universal is throwing down the gauntlet.... holy cow.

Oh man, I thought it was a moat too! Now, I'm a little bummed that it's not. These are all gorgeous designs obviously, but I'm also not seeing a lot of shaded areas. Hopefully that's just these photos and there will be some foliage in real life.Regardless, these are soem of the best themed lands we've seen in decades.

A moat would have been great. These do look amazing.

Everything does look great. The faux stairs for sacre couer is going to trip people up all the time. Shade may be an issue but they want to keep you in their shops.

It makes sense to me that they weight for the installation of a few trees as they learn the habits of their viewers. Certain areas could be boom or bust. I think most will gravitate toward celestial park for shade.

I do think having a beginning to end sightline from the portal to helios makes the park feel small. I usually prefer reveals and discovery ... of course im a liar since ive been consuming every morsel of news. I will definitely not watch POVs... repeats mantra

Dark Universe looks Awesome...........!

The title of this post should instead be, "Universal says, Look at our Weenies!!"

@Russell LOL.

Dark Universe looks simply awe-inspiring. It doesn't look like a theme park- it looks like a still from a really expensive movie.

And the scale of the Parisian buildings in the Wizarding World is so impressive. Much larger and more realistic than Epcot's version of Paris.

Paris and the Harry Potter connection is news to like 99.9% of the population. Also Epcot has crafted other countries around the entire lagoon. You're comparing apples to an orchard of apples. And youre chery picking? Seems like a boutique version (read as small and unimpressive but detailed).

I’m actually excited to see more of Celestial Park. The concept art initially made this look like a tantalizing blend of cosmic Jules Verne fantasy combined with organic European gardenscapes. My favorite way to assess placemaking is to experience how it feels to walk through and place and also how it feels to remain static and take it all in. Does it flow? And yet, does it simmer with potential energy and/ or come alive with kinetic energy whilst just sitting there? My gut tells me yes. And I’m excited for it.

I'm really hoping that epic is their "open til midnight" park. If they're smart this park will stay open to midnight and they can funnel in people from the other 2 (or 3) theme parks and have their nightime spectacular here. Will it be wordclass enough to have the portals shut down at 12am. And around 1215am as people are leaving the portals an announcer comes over the hushed crowd. The lights synchronize and the the nighttime spectacular starts. Me with a butterbeer-beer in my hand.... and 10,000 of my closets friends for a nightime show with Cirque Du Soleil quality shows , drones, and fireworks.. (i doubt it this late). Maybe.. i doubt it. Park likely closes as 7pm and we never get a glimpse of this nightime potential.

‘ If they're smart this park will stay open to midnight and they can funnel in people from the other 2 (or 3) theme parks and have their nightime spectacular here.’

I’m still scratching my head how Universal intends to transport guests from one side of the resort to the other - especially for a specific event like a night time spectacular only held at Epic?

Sounds like a logistical/I-4/International Drive nightmare.

The only possible solution I see is a monorail or gondola style transportation that will bypass the heavily congested roads - but I haven’t heard either of these even being considered?

Well there is dedicated buslines. Again, if they are smart, future developments are incentivized by the city. You get your surface level light rail (elevated where it makes sense) and extend from Universal to Epic to Sea World and Disney Springs. The cities are agnostic on this front. Take some pressure off of existing infrastructure and plan for the future. I am suprised that we got a dedicated bus lane which means there is an active dialogue and not Universal hoping they can force the city's hand.

Ultimately i think Celestial park isnt long for this world. It is too generic and large and absent of actual rides. I think we get a retheming before we get a new land. Place Holder Coaster #1 and #2 at the actual edge of the land. All these sitelines are great for pitching your park and being world first. Lets get serious, they are competing with 10 other full-day park destinations + the random advertised on i4 parkamajig. They have to come correct and be the orlando cedar point.

The transport from the existing resort to Epic will, in my opinion being a local, be the single biggest nightmare of this new park.

As I've said before, the dedicated bus lanes do not start until after Carrier. They start just before the new Kirkman road extension. These lanes are in use now.

The buses leave the parking garage at UOR, then turn left onto Universal. From there they go over I4 and turn left onto I-drive. At Kirkman they turn right, and travel towards Epic, past Carrier and only then do they get into the dedicated bus lanes.

Can you even start to imagine what that journey will be like once the park opens !!!

Also, the biggest complaint I've heard from TM's is .... very few and far between shady spots to hide from the sun. We wait and see ....

I think it’s going to take five or more years for the Celestial Park trees to provide much needed shade. Volcano Bay was similar when it first opened the foliage was not impressive. Now it’s like a tropical lush garden.

I Spy Express signs. Wonder if the unlimited perk for certain hotel guests applies here (probably not).