Universal Creative has built one of the world's best theme parks with its new Universal Epic Universe. Located on the new south campus of the Universal Orlando Resort, Epic Universe brings together four single-IP-themed lands surrounding a whimsical central plaza.
Those four single-IP lands offer visual masterclasses in themed placemaking and storytelling. Each truly is an epic, as promised in the park's name. They tell grand stories of heroes - not just from their source IP, but also by enabling us to play the role of a hero navigating each land.
It is in that central plaza, Celestial Park, however, where we find Epic Universe's weakness. In my review of the park following its press preview, I wrote this about Celestial Park:
"Universal has created a liminal space filled with neo-Byzantine architecture, accented with art nouveau and a dash of traveling carnival. It’s a mix of styles designed to evoke a past yearning for its future. As such, it declares, 'we are in the middle of a story here.'"
And that's the problem. It's just the middle of the story, lacking the beginning and end that makes tales emotionally accessible and then satisfying. Celestial Park could be described cynically as "Intermission - The Land."
The best storytellers, like the best teachers, meet their audience where they are. Disney's castle parks greet visitors with some form of Main Street U.S.A. - an idyllic, nostalgic American downtown. Disney California Adventure updated that with Buena Vista Street, an early 20th century version of the same concept. Disney's Hollywood Studios provides a stylized version of a mid-20th century Hollywood, California. Universal Studios Florida does the same.
By offering a familiar frame of reference (e.g. "once upon a time" or "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"), a storyteller acknowledges the audience and invites them into whatever time or space the story will inhabit. That makes the audience comfortable with the transition they are about to take and builds trust in the storyteller.
Epic Universe instead hits us in the face with the Chronos, an elaborately decorated tower. It's delightful, but hardly familiar. Instead of providing a familiar or recognizable setting to begin this adventure, the Chronos and Celestial Park demand that visitors meet Epic Universe on its own, undefined terms.
Unlike the other four lands in Epic Universe, Celestial Park is not based upon any previously established IP that might be familiar to park visitors. Yet Universal Creative has created a backstory for the land. Designers often creative backstories for attractions and locations that they do not communicate directly to visitors. Developing a backstory for a location can help designers to create a space that feels coherent. If a proposed element in a space does not fit with or advance the backstory, that's a sign it might not be a good fit for the space.
So Universal does not need to communicate its backstory for Celestial Park. The land offers a distinct vibe that complements the park's other four lands while remaining distinct from each. Given the disparity in themes and settings for the four IP lands, that's an impressive accomplishment by itself.
And yet... the name of the park is not "Vibe Universe." It's Epic Universe. The novelty of the Chronos and Celestial Park beg visitors to ask: What is the story here? Where is this place, and how did it come to be? And why are we here? Universal promised epics in this park, so of course some visitors are going to wonder about the story behind the land at the heart of the park - the one space in Epic Universe that is built on a story than no one outside of Universal knows.
Universal team members have explained that the Chronos is a machine that gathers the cosmic energy needed to open the portals to the four IP lands. The Chronos also opened a gathering space for people around the universe who are waiting to enter the portals - Celestial Park. The story also goes on to explain that, before the development of portal technology, people used comets to travel around the universe, but that was unreliable. Still, there remain two comets in Celestial Park for visitors to ride as amusements - the Stardust Racers roller coasters.
Uh... okay. So, who built the Chronos? Who developed portal technology? Is there an epic tale behind Epic, or is this all simplistic justification for some cool iconography and architecture that Universal Creative designers wanted to build in Epic Universe's hub?
If so, what a missed opportunity. Universal Creative developed a compelling original narrative for its Dark Universe land. I have no doubt that UC designers have the ability to craft an engaging story for Celestial Park, as well. The trick is, how to communicate that? With Dark Universe, Universal offered the advantage of a cast of familiar class monsters upon which to build an original story, allowing Universal to add original characters as needed. Yet the only existing IP representation in Celestial Park is the flux capacitor at the rear of the Stardust Racers coaster trains. That's an Easter egg, not a narrative building block.
None of this would be an issue in almost any other theme park in the world. Put the handsome design of Celestial Park in any Six Flags or United Parks location, and we all would be thrilled with the upgrade. But Epic's four other lands are good enough that they put Epic in the conversation about the world's best theme park. At that level, every detail matters. Every missed opportunity opens space for another park to claim the "world's best" title.
I suspect that most Epic Universe visitors will be satisfied with the vibe that Celestial Park offers. If there are to be complaints about the land, they likely will focus on its lack of shade rather than lack of coherent story. This is a space seemingly designed to be enjoyed in the last moments of golden hour through the cooling twilight and dusk. Unfortunately, for most of the time that the land is open, it will be braising in Central Florida's heat and humidity.
Celestial Park is hardly the only problem at Epic Universe right now. Uptime and capacity challenge most theme parks in their first days, and Epic has struggled with that on some of its attractions during its preview period. The space around the park is lacking at the moment, as well. When Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, it also was yet another theme park marooned within a sea of asphalt parking. When Universal built the adjacent Islands of Adventure, it transformed those boring parking lots into what is now a lush, walkable environment, complemented by waterways and abundant shopping and dining locations.
Perhaps a similar transformation awaits this new south campus. Further development of the south campus provides Universal an opportunity to create the familiar starting point and narrative framing that the Chronos and Celestial Park now lack. At the very least, foliage should grow up around the park's perimeter, hiding the massive, blank show buildings now on display for all park visitors to see.
Again, Epic is an amazing theme park, filled with attractions that I rank among the world's best. Yet those successes create higher standards against which everything else in the park will be judged. Expansion pads sit between several of the existing lands at Epic Universe. As Universal works to expand and improve this already impressive theme park in the years ahead, I hope that Universal leadership will look inward to better develop Celestial Park and the story at the heart of Epic Universe, as well.
To keep up to date with more travel and theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
i think that celestial park is similar in purpose to the other thing universal is known for, their hotels. celestial park is built similar to a hotel, relaxing and pleasing for the guests without all the hassle. it was built to make traveling enjoyable through the lands, but with lore that the average guest doesn't know, it would ultimately be confusing, like there is a piece missing in the puzzle. also what do you mean by SNW being a nightmare, or is that sarcasm?
Well, I'd have to go to find out, but everyone says there are zero shaded areas. The cost and crowds are what will keep me away for a long time.
Location ..... Squeezed between Sand Lake, Universal, Lockheed Martin and a water reclamation facility.
What could possibly go wrong ??
Wasn't the live entertainment that was cut supposed to help fulfill the story of Celestial Park? Since no one has seen it, I guess we'll never know if these "citizens" were a puzzle piece. Live performers are a great way to tell a story.
If people are complaining about the lack of shade in early April, it is going to be a real problem when the actual heat/humidity arrive.
I have been working at EPIC since July of last year and I have had such a fun time reading so many goofy comments that were wrong knowing the real truth. If I had a Nickle for every time someone mentioned the water treatment facility!! MAKORIDER... haven't smelled it once! Not even in August!
The-man25... don't go. The park is a masterpiece but not perfect. If it's not your cup of tea it's ok. But I will tell you this... you complain of creativity? even though it's Harry Potter, these streets of 1920's Paris are more Paris than Epcot's France pavilion ever was or will be. And oh the hundreds of little details down to the hand painted tiles in the restaurant! Everyone who has been to Europe remarks how real it feels.
NB creative... this is a better value per dollar than any park in Central Florida and crowds will not be an issue. (I can't say why yet). The best part of EPIC is you don't, nor ever will, feel like you are standing shoulder to shoulder except maybe queue lines.
I had the opportunity to see the live entertainment in Celestial Park and it wasn't very good. Especially compared to the live entertainment in the Worlds which is so top notch I don't even have a favorite or as performer I don't like. It needed to be reworked. It's not the performers fault but what they were given to work with. I'm positive it will come back even better.
EPIC Universe is similar to what you know of theme parks but yet so different. .. I took my family who knew almost zero because of my NDA's, who are also not Theme Park Lovers (they only go once a year with me at Christmas Time), and they were blown away and wanted to know when we were going again. I lost count how many times their jaws were open.
And what's scary... It's still not working at 100%. Few have seen, or heard, what happens when the sun goes down....
I will say it seems Celestial Park was designed to be experienced at night. Epic's big potential problem will be its operating hours. If it follow's in the footsteps of USF & IOA, which normally close around 7pm-8pm [n.b. Today, a Friday, they both close at 6pm!!!], guests won't have the opportunity to see it at night!
That's a shame because, like Hagrid's or Velocicoaster, Epic seems like an incredible nighttime experience.
I wonder if Universal would ever consider a later opening time to enable a later closing time, such as opening at 10am or 11am and closing at 10pm?
Another problem will be the Florida weather. Over half the attractions will close during severe weather. The only ones operating will be Ministry, Monsters, the Carousel, and Mario Kart. All of Berk's rides will close. That won't be great for capacity. The lack of shade in Celestial Park also means less coverage for guests trying to avoid the rain.
I'm going to have to disagree a bit with Robert here. I don't necessarily think that a theme park land has to tell a story, but it does need to set the scene and create an ambiance. Robert mentions some of the Disney park entrances, and I see a lot of similarities of place setting/replication without any specific stories being told. Main Street USA draws guests into the not so recent past of "Anytown USA" when life was simple and hospitality and neighborly gestures were rampant. Even if you've never been to a traditional American "Main Street", every visitor to a Disney Castle park has some familiarity with the style, motifs, and expectations. Yes, there may be smaller stories going on here driven by individual characters like the vehicles, street performers, and CMs, but there's no overarching story here or anything guests need to bring to the table. It's simply a step back in time where guests can bring their own stories and experiences, particularly those relationships between older and younger guests, or just sit back and soak up the sights and sounds of a simpler time. You see a lot of the same motifs at DCA, DHS, and to a similar degree IOA, which swaps the "USA" part of the land with Mediterranean Fantasy. In each example, the conceit is the same and doesn't relay any specific story as much as create an ambiance and whetting of the appetite for what guests will experience as they progress deeper into the park.
For Epic, I think Universal took the bold approach of going completely fantastical with their main entry land, drawing mostly from Greek and Roman mythology and the architectural inspirations from those cultures instead of patterning the land around a specific place guests would instantly recognize. The other risk Universal took with Celestial Park is that they made it very large, and not just a gateway to each of a portals, as guests are required to come back to Celestial Park as a "reset" before going to another portal. Celestial Park is essentially an interstitial place that exists between the real world and the individual lands visited through the portals. Universal has been pretty clear in their messaging (their TV ads are very deliberate), and from what I have seen from the in-park images and videos, UC has executed that vision pretty well utilizing music, sound, lights, images, and forms (including an escalator) to create that transportation feeling from the in-between land of Celestial Park and the portals. Additionally, the Celestial Park theme extends into the Helios Grand, and the park as a whole utilizes the hotel as the park's "Weenie" for normal park guests, while the Chronos would be the "Weenie" for Helios guests. It's an interesting flip of the script here, which in a way idolizes the attainment of wealth and status instead of either an unpopulated castle, huge theater symbolizing the dreams and stories of humankind, or massive ball/tree representing the entire world's population/species and history. Helios may have been built by some superior being/God, but is inhabited and visited by the rank and file so they can look down upon the creation that is Celestial Park and the individual lands that exist through the portals. Now, the park's other "Weenie" is pretty clear, as much as the arches entering Universal Studios or the IOA Lighthouse. It is a clear symbolic representation of the park and its overall convention that guests are walking through portals to enter each of the themed worlds, not experiencing worlds through Hollywood sets/soundstages or island-hopping between various lands around a mighty sea/ocean. The convention is furthered by the inscription on the Chronos "Beyond this gate find gardens green and epic worlds to fill your dreams". That establishes Celestial Park as a grand garden/park for guests to traverse on their way to those epic worlds that exist beyond the individual portals. I'm not sure what stories need to be told here, but I do think Universal has left enough breadcrumbs for guests to build their own or for them to eventually create stories if deemed necessary at a later time. I think the idea that Celestial Park exists as a place for guests to dwell upon the moon, stars, other celestial bodies, and the "Gods" is pretty clearly articulated. There are plenty of literal representations of this with Pizza "Moon", Stardust Racers, and the statue of Apollo, but the overall look of Celestial Park has a pretty familiar look to typical representations of the Garden of Eden, Tower of Babel, Mount Olympus, and other historical representations of Gods' dwellings. I also think Universal has intentionally left Celestial Park a bit vague so guests can bring their own stories and expectations into the space, which is deliberately oversized to give guests that feeling of space and relaxation that has been missing from so many current theme parks, and will likely be experienced within each of the portals. The lack of shade is a clear issue right now, but pretty expected in a brand new park as gardeners will need to slowly develop the needed shade and lush atmosphere needed for the Florida climate. I think leaving the space free of structures and other hard shading elements may initially be regretted, but patience should be paid off in spades as a lush garden should slowly take shape and offer a superior look and feel in a few years' time. How Celestial Park came to be seems as irrelevant to me as to why Main Street USA became the portal to the lands of fantasy, adventure, frontier, and tomorrow.
Another more literal interpretation of Main Street USA is that you're entering the world of the "Creator", which in the case of MK and DL is Walt Disney himself. While Main Street USA presents the imagination and creativity of a single person (and his dedicated team of Immagineers), Celestial Park presents the unlimited creativity and imagination of something more than human, and the promise of more to come. Now, I think there is a potential of Celestial Park being more off-putting since it somewhat diminishes/downplays the human experience, where as Main Street USA elevates and supercharges people's role in the world. Like all art and architecture,. everything is up to interpretation, but in the end, I don't think an entry/central land/portal needs to tell stories, merely set the scene and ambiance for the stories and characters that will be experienced in the lands beyond.
I think the biggest problem facing Kabletown is whether or not the increased attendance for the Universal Orlando Resort will justify the massive $7B investment. Epic looks worthy of the name and I am planning a trip down early next year. But the turmoil in the US economy, the softening of travel to the US, the oversupply of destination parks in the Orlando market and the possibility of the Mouse making aggressive counter moves in pricing and development are serious threats. Despite all we've seen, I am still of the mind that Universal would have been better served adding Ministry of Magic and Nintendo to Studios, and retheming Cartoon Lagoon and Lost Continent to Isle of Berk and Dark Universe, respectively.
Rockabilly ... I don't travel along Sand Lake as much as I used too, but once in a while the Sulphur release can still be an overpowering smell.
Supposedly Universal were going to pay for this to be eliminated, and it obviously hasn't been ... yet.
A lot's going to depend on wind direction as well, but we'll see.
Although that is a relative minor distraction compared to the inevitable traffic chaos that will surely ensue.
Very well written thoughts by Robert here. I for one find the theme to the entrance plaza interesting but I have yet to see it in person but the photos of it and concept have me intrigued. The only negative part I see is the extreme lack of shade (as Robert has mentioned several times already). Once this area's vegetation grows more, I think that will improve upon this space.
Anyways... I'm extremely excited to visit Epic Universe soon.
Good talk here to show how important the opening area to a park can be. One thing hitting me on Disneyland 2023 trip is how it really feels different entering the main gates of Main Street vs the monorail to Tomorrowland. And Studios still that boulevard making you feel like old Hollywood. It's a great start to the trip.
I actually like the idea they tried something a bit more original than another IP. For me, I don't need a fancy story to enter IOA, just walk past the lighthouse and a bit better than walking through all the stores of City Walk. It looks impressive so might have to be there for full experience.
I do agree a worry is the lack of cover for both heat and rain, which is going to be a factor later in the year.
@Zarex - I think you're right, but I also think Universal has plans in the works to address all those areas you're talking about. I do think there is some concern about a saturated marketplace in Orlando and the potential decline in tourism because of forecast economic conditions, but it's believed that the wheels for resort-wide improvements were in motion long before the current administration came to power. I'm sure based on the current financial outlook, some things will get pared back, but based on Universal's recent statements, Epic is not the end of work in Orlando, and that the new attraction replacing RRR is likely just the start of major improvements at the legacy parks.
I think Celestial Park looks beautiful and I'm glad it looks different. I personally love the architecture but I can totally see the shade being an issue in the first few years.
What's funny is Robert gave the perfect reason why Celestial park could use a dark ride based on the storyline of that world. Imagine a ride that explains the beginnings of the portals in the queue. Then on the ride you have to run through different portals to escape something. You could jump from Jurassic Park to anything else that's not currently in Epic. The possibilities of a ride like that are endless! :)
Guests of Universal Helios Grand Hotel will enjoy a dedicated entrance to Epic Universe.
So, I am wondering if there will be a free for overnight parking at Helios Hotel. If you have a rental car in the Other hotels at Universal – There is a fee.
@Brian Emery -- There is absolutely no chance that parking at Helios will be free for guests.
For guests overnight parking ....
$36 for self parking
$45 for valet parking
For non guests day parking ....
$125 self
$128 valet
All are before tax
Lack of shade > Lack of story.
Park guests will certainly notice the abundant lack of shade. Few guests will notice - or even care about - the lack of story.
Robert, excellent article. And Russell, I really enjoyed your comments as well. I love that we have a non-IP land to even discuss. Kudos to Universal for taking the risk, even if there's more work to do.
For me, I'm excited to visit Celestial Park because it looks like a World's Fair from the last half of the 19th century or first half of the 20th century. I do think it will get much better as the trees grow in, there's a big difference between walking beneath a canopy of grand leafy trees versus exposed to the blazing sun. So hopefully the trees grow fast!
Maybe the story of the land will come across in the evening show. But a dark ride would be fantastic. Knott's Bear-Y Tales was so amazing (the original) and I can imagine something similar in Celestial Park, but with suspended Peter Pan's Flight-like hot air balloon vehicles.
The fact that Universal was willing to dedicate so much real estate to non-revenue generating park space is a huge plus to me, when those spaces have been shrinking in Disney parks for decades. That tells me that guest experience is at the forefront of Universals priorities, which is what made Disney the standard of theme parks. From what I've seen this may be the best theme park in the US, but I don't think it will take the crown from Disney Sea.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
My biggest problem with this park is that its all IP lands which is way overdone to the point where this trend is ruining Orlando. The first HP area and Avatar were cool, but now a trip consists of "what IP are we going to see today" over and over and over and over every single day. A friend of mine invited me to an Epic Universe preview and I told him nah i'd feel bad taking a spot from someone that actually wants to go...just nothing about this park looks remotely interesting to me. The Celestial Park area, the hub that's not IP, looked interesting in the renderings but looks kind of lame in pictures/videos. That Super Nintendo area looks like the worst place on earth. Total dystopian nightmare.
You used to be able to go to places like Epcot and DAK and the parks were interesting, they were creative, they were different. Not anymore, they have basically been made into the same thing as every other park with IP takeover. I'm just over it. It's played out. IMO at this point an entire theme park full of IP lands is the last thing we needed in this town. Please give us better public transportation, renovate the airport/build a new airport on the west side of town, improve our theme parks with ideas that are creative. Literally anything but this.