Epic Universe will see Universal Parks & Resorts expand upon its already impressive East Coast footprint, with the brand new theme park set to serve as the company’s fourth gate in the sunshine state.
Currently tracking a 2025 opening, Epic Universe is sailing through its development. As construction continues, theme park fans are watching closely, hoping to learn more about this mysterious new park whose progress has been kept tightly under wraps thus far.
Early concept art for Epic Universe teases an all-new kind of experience for guests and promises a host of new themed lands and entertainment offerings.
So far, only one of these lands has been officially confirmed after it was recently dubbed “the worst kept secret in history” by Universal Parks & Resorts Chairman and CEO Mark Woodbury.
Super Nintendo World will officially make its way over to Universal’s Epic Universe following an incredibly successful opening in Universal Hollywood recently. Rumored to be joining Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe are lands themed to both Universal Classic Monsters and How To Train Your Dragon, although neither has been officially confirmed.
Aside from the fact that Epic Universe will debut as what appears to be Universal’s most exciting project to date, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Universal’s fourth gate will stand out from its sister parks in another MAJOR way…
Epic Universe will debut as Universal Orlando’s most innovative addition to its theme park lineup yet and all eyes are on just how it will push the envelope with regard to the company’s established standard of world-class entertainment.
With announcements being drip-fed to eager fans, last year’s UBS Investors Conference saw NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell offer one particularly surprising reveal about just how Epic Universe will differ from the likes of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
Shell revealed that Epic Universe will be “built so that you can come into one land and not the whole park,” sparking immediate confusion about how this would work on such a wide scale. Many were also left with questions surrounding how this would impact ticket purchasing, as well as annual passes.
More recently, rumours have begun to circulate that Universal may also be looking to utilize a park reservation system for Epic Universe after Screamscape revealed that recent surveys had sought to garner park-goers' thoughts on this controversial theme park addition.
While details, naturally, are not known at this point - a park reservation system would likely require guests to pre-book their theme park entry in advance, the same process that Walt Disney World currently operates under.
Whether Universal actually opts to utilize this system when Epic Universe opens in 2025 remains to be seen, although at this time there is little else to suggest that this will be the case.
However, the fact that Universal are testing the waters to see whether a park reservation system would be a viable or even welcomed option for Epic Universe, is enough to signal that Universal are looking to operate under an entirely new entry system when the park opens in 2025.
Despite there being no calls for change with regard to Universal’s current park operations, it’s understandable that Epic Universe may want the innovation of their park to reach as far as their entry turnstiles, and a unique entry system may just be the way to do just that.
Considering the anticipation that already surrounds Epic Universe, it’s also likely that these provisions could be put in place in order to help crowd-control.
While it’s too early to speculate further, Epic Universe is already proving unique in more ways than one. It’s likely that park fans will be a lot less mystified by Universal’s intentions as more details become available, particularly as we now edge closer to Epic Universe’s opening.
For now, however, these potential changes to your typical theme park entry system undoubtedly hint that Epic Universal could be near-on unrecognizable from its counterpart up the I-4 when it opens its gate to guests in 2025.
Comments
We are really looking forward to this addition to Universal, Florida. I for one hope they do not add the requirement to reserve what park you will be going into in advance, even though I understand the crowd control theory.