Universal Nights at Epic Universe

[Clive]

I think there's a lot of potential value here. I do think it's overpriced, and I see the frustration in wishing they'd just keep the park open another hour or two.

My concern/curiosity is what happens when Ministry and/or Donkey Kong and/or Monsters can't stay online during these limited hours. Furthermore, will running these rides even longer make them more unreliable?

 

[ReelJustice]

Precisely! My best friend is not a theme park person and hates crowds, but will only go to Universal during OI meetups. He would undoubtedly be interested in this for his first Epic visit.

Or like, I could go to DAK, and then instead of hopping to another WDW park, I could just do the Epic after hours.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

My concern/curiosity is what happens when Ministry and/or Donkey Kong and/or Monsters can't stay online during these limited hours. Furthermore, will running these rides even longer make them more unreliable?

I rode Rise of the Resistence during DHS After Hours during the half hour it was up. Things happen. Disney did some guest recovery but we did the rest of the rides.

 

[Legacy]

If this was a week earlier, I’d absolutely be there.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

We could get into a long discussion about multinational corporations and their ruthless pursuit of the bottom line, but isn't it obvious why the park doesn't "just stay open later?" They have hourly attendance data, and they know their staffing expenses.

They don't think it's worth staying open late for day guests, but it might be worth it if they can open up another revenue stream.

I wish tickets were half price and the park was open 24/7. That would be very convenient! But that's not the world we're living in, so I might give this a shot.

 

[kristenabelle]

Literally switching from UOR to WDW on the 16th debating if I should get a full day Epic ticket on the 15th (was my og plan) or drive back for this on the 17th instead

 

[Clive]

I rode Rise of the Resistence during DHS After Hours during the half hour it was up. Things happen. Disney did some guest recovery but we did the rest of the rides.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's maybe a little premature to be offering these events if they can't more reliably maintain uptime. I have the exact same concern about OI's forthcoming offering.

Then again, perhaps they have data that tells them they can manage sufficient uptime with some degree of confidence. Or, more realistically, park ops is being told to make it work, come what may.

 

[Mad Dog]

Universal Epic Ops Daily Mantra...'Let the Buyer Beware'...and/or....'Check the weather report before you buy your ticket'

 

[fryoj]

My thoughts are, this may very well have sold a trip down for us. We were going to do the November $450 OI buyout, but couldn't get the tickets that sold out in 3 minutes. We've never been to Epic, so a limited attendance event for our first time is a huge sell. Now we can go to HHN Friday, sleep in Saturday and head to Epic in the evening. Them "just being open later" would mean for the same weekend, paying $200 a person for longer lines. We wouldn't go in the morning anyway, so that's not something I'd plan a trip around.

 

[RegLind]

Are these prices (source link) still up to date to compare to Disney After Hours? $175-$199 for Magic Kingdom, $155-$179 for Epcot, and $155-$189 for DHS.

That would put this Epic thing on the upper end of these prices, but it's still in the same range.

 

[Brian G.]

Are these prices (source link) still up to date to compare to Disney After Hours? $175-$199 for Magic Kingdom, $155-$179 for Epcot, and $155-$189 for DHS.

That would put this Epic thing on the upper end of these prices, but it's still in the same range.

Yes, they're up to date.

 

[Myah1220]

Maybe it is expensive on the surface and I'm NGL I was skeptical about the Universal Nights thing until a friend of mine invited me to Volcano Bay Nights recently and I don't think I'd ever go back (to that particular park) on a regular day pass. It was so much nicer going when it's not blazing hot out and having to wade (literally) through larger crowds. Now it's a little different with a full fledged theme park v. a water park but I think some of that still stands true in this case. I completely understand if it's your first time going wanting to make a whole day open-close of it but if you've already been and want a way to hit up your favorites and it not be too crowded/hot out, this is worth the value. The lower capacity alone really does make it worth the price of admission IMO.

 

[SeventyOne]

Last comparison... My Mickeys Halloween party tickets in August cost me $129.00 .
Gets me in at 4 pm, park closes to day guests at 6 and goes till midnight. No food or drink though but a ton of attractions open..Im guessing bigger crowds though..

No comparison in crowds (if there is, UOR screwed up royally). Also not everything open for MNSSHP, and you do get food of a sort (candy).

I agree with the earlier post, OI is the comp here.

 

[Grabnar]

Maybe it is expensive on the surface and I'm NGL I was skeptical about the Universal Nights thing until a friend of mine invited me to Volcano Bay Nights recently and I don't think I'd ever go back (to that particular park) on a regular day pass. It was so much nicer going when it's not blazing hot out and having to wade (literally) through larger crowds. Now it's a little different with a full fledged theme park v. a water park but I think some of that still stands true in this case. I completely understand if it's your first time going wanting to make a whole day open-close of it but if you've already been and want a way to hit up your favorites and it not be too crowded/hot out, this is worth the value. The lower capacity alone really does make it worth the price of admission IMO.

VBN was the best time I've had at a water park period.

 

[Myah1220]

VBN was the best time I've had at a water park period.

SAME! I had low expectations and was very, very pleasantly surprised!

 

[srbmarc]

Last comparison... My Mickeys Halloween party tickets in August cost me $129.00 .
Gets me in at 4 pm, park closes to day guests at 6 and goes till midnight. No food or drink though but a ton of attractions open..Im guessing bigger crowds though..

But you can also get up to your body weight in free candy.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Are these prices (source link) still up to date to compare to Disney After Hours? $175-$199 for Magic Kingdom, $155-$179 for Epcot, and $155-$189 for DHS.

That would put this Epic thing on the upper end of these prices, but it's still in the same range.

Most of the Disney ones are on the upper end of the pricing, and Disney hasn’t announced pricing for events after September so they might go up.