Before Universal Epic Universe's press preview yesterday, fans heard reports that Universal had cut area entertainment in the park. Based on feedback during team previews, Universal canceled planned entertainment in Celestial Park.
Some fans online took this as Universal cutting Epic's budget before fans even had the chance to see the park. Having walked through Epic Universe yesterday, I can report that plenty of area entertainment remains available in the park, including live musical performances.
Let me share a couple of examples.
First, in Dark Universe's Village of Darkmoor, fans might find a violinist with a warning of the dangers that await in this monstrous land.
I am pleased to report that this performer displays much better form than the violinist depicted in Universal's concept art. [For new readers who might not know, our sister website is Violinist.com, so we go hard with anything violin-related we find in theme parks.]
Darkmoor's fiddler (and I saw two during my different walks through the land) sets up the action of the Monsters Unchained - The Frankenstein Experiment ride with her spiel, which is accented with gothic-sounding violin riffs. There's a touch of audience interaction here, too - probably more if there's a bigger crowd watching.
This is exactly the sort of narrative-building work that great street entertainment should provide in a theme park. Sure, many people walk past, on their way to the listed attractions in the land. But for those who wish to soak in the full emotional experience of visiting Darkmoor, this is exactly the detail that helps elevate that.
By the way, anytime you put together violins and monsters, I think of Frau Blücher in "Young Frankenstein," which sent me down a research rabbit hole. That was a 20th Century Fox movie, not Universal, which means that Young Frankenstein is now owned by... Disney? Talk about horror.
Across the park in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, I happened upon a trio pushing a box adorned with musical instruments. So, obviously, I had to follow them to the base of this Montmartre-inspired land's Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
What a delightful 12-minute show! You can appreciate this as a band playing music to entertain visitors in a crowded park, but this show goes an extra step. The repertoire helps reinforce the time and place of the land, while also incorporating a magical creature to remind you that we are enjoying all this within the Wizarding World.
Epic Universe works because it offers more than a collection of headline attractions. Area entertainment such as these examples help animate a park, bringing it to life for more guests. That said, as with any creative work, some attempts at such performances hit while others do not. Making a choice after previews whether to continue with a specific production is part of the hard work of producing live entertainment.
With these two examples, I hope that Universal chooses to continue to invest in these productions. They are exactly the type of enhancements that a park designed to be among the world's best ought to offer.
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The Live shows are fantastic.
I wonder how this can be accomplished when it is July or August, I feel like those folks are going to Melt.
Just to add to this post after my reply on the Spoilers post, I'm so pleased to also see evidence of the live musical performances, and agree that Universal have really continued to foreground music and sound as important parts of their attractions - they were similarly foregrounded in all the promotional material to date!
Interestingly from what I've seen so far the music comes partly from Williams but also from Nick Hooper's music for Half Blood Prince and Order of the Phoenix, as well as James Newton Howard's Fantastic Beasts music (there may well be music from Patrick Doyle or Alexandre Desplat dotted around, I just haven't heard it yet!)
Love watching the jazz trio/quartet performance, which is really fascinating in that includes some jazz standards, plus also an arrangement of a James Newton Howard FB theme (the Witches Theme which becomes a major one for the franchise), as well as the Blind Pig song by Emmi (sung by a goblin in FB1), and also an arrangement of a big band tune called Hot Liquorice by Dick Walters - this is the tune played by Prof Lupin in his Defence Against the Dark Arts class where Harry and his classmates face a Boggart in Prisoner of Azkaban. They've obviously done a dive to look for all jazz in the (existing) wizarding world, but it's been done with care (and great arrangements!)
I focused on the music with this post, but I also want to point out that the Potter land includes several walkaround wizard characters who interact with guests, as well. And Berk has dragons interacting with guests throughout that land, as well. So Universal really has gone hard with street atmosphere entertainment at Epic.
One thing I'll point out that I think Epic excels at [in this preview period at least] is seamlessly blending music between environments. Some of the other Orlando Parks fall into the sound bleed trap, which makes it hard to feel immersed -- and is often simply unpleasant: try experiencing the Beacons of Magic Epcot light show & related music when "You're Welcome" is playing over the area speakers and a DJ is thumping dance beats from CommuniCore Hall Plaza.
From what I could tell, the "overworld" music in Celestial Park will match the musical themes of nearest portal. For example, if you're near the Nintendo portal, you'll hear slight orchestral renditions of Nintendo themes. Pretty cool!
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I have read a lot about the music of Epic, and it's clear that Universal Creative understand the need to integrate familiar melodies with new original music to create ambiance throughout the park. Also, while they have been rumors of some entertainment cutbacks during early TM previews, the recent media weekend has shown that there is plenty of "streetmosphere" remaining, though I do think UC will eventually add some performers back to Celestial Park when they get a feel for how guests tour Epic.
One of the most interesting aspects of Epic's music is that Danny Elfman composed much of the background music in Dark Universe, and one of the hottest early souvenirs is a vinyl of the land's music. It would have been nice if they could have similarly gotten John Williams to expand the music of the Wizarding World, but it sounds like UC has done a great job of utilizing his iconic melodies while still making the Ministry of Magic feel unique.
Some outlets have been presenting the music of Celestial Park, and from what I've heard, it's a clever mix of music from the various portals with a decidedly timeless spin of synths and otherworldly sounds. As others have said, it feels very much like what EPCOT sounded like 20-30 years ago while still setting the proper tone and still feeling modern.
I also think it's interesting how many of Epic's attractions utilize on-board or other prominent music. More and more coasters and dark rides have been leveraging modern technology to install speakers and sound systems onto ride vehicles, but it's clear that UC was laser focused to make sure every ride system they chose would be designed with the ability to bring music and sound effects on board to help connect riders to the experience through sounds and music. While Disney probably started this trend with the Doom-buggy speakers on Haunted Mansion, it was really Hard Rock Park that most widely employed on-ride speakers and soundtracks on virtually every ride in the park, including Led Zeppelin: The Ride, which was one of the first coasters to use a 24V sound system that allowed "Whole Lotta Love" to be heard over the sound of screaming guests and the trademarked B&M roar (though designers of that coaster had the supports and track filled with sand to muffle the roar like was done on Talon). It's amazing how on-board sound and overall park sound design has evolved just over the past 10 years, and UC seems to have leveraged this to max throughout Epic Universe.