Celestial Park (Epic Universe)

[GAcoaster]

Lots of work on the restaurant. This will be a prime spot for viewing the fountain show:



The fountain looks really impressively large, with lots of viewing space:

 

[Disneyson1]

Two things:

People are going to be desperate to go into the "giant castle" at the end of the street. I wonder if there will be any exploration near the hotel to satiate people who don't have access. I also wonder if there will be any sort of in-Celestial-Park explanation of the building. I understand it's "where Celestial and Terrestrial converge", but I wonder if there will be projection mapping/incorporation of some story. And will the story be "this is where Celestial Explorers go day drinking and sleep" or "this is where Celestial Explorers store their great collection of maps and discover the constellations" etc. etc. Like, what would an atmosphere character in the park call it?

I'm sure it's been well designed out, but the prospect of an obviously gigantic fountain show centered right in front of the hotel makes me nervous. Like... if the show will have screens or encourage guests to all sit on one side facing the hotel as a backdrop. I have a very bad sense of depth, so I'm having trouble figuring out what the capacity might be. How big is this compared to the Cinderella Forecourt stage? Or, say, the Fantasmic! Amphitheatre?

 

[GA-MBIT]

Well, technically right now the most iconic "giant castle at the end of the street"; that tall blue one at Magic Kingdom, isn't open to guests either. You have to walk around it to get anywhere.

I think Helios being blocked from day guests will probably end up okay.

 

[GAcoaster]

The cascading waterfalls/cataracts taking shape with an "island" in the middle:





Preparing for the sculpture at the top:



Looking forward to seeing the tower rise now:

 

[GAcoaster]

Rockwork coming together around Starfall:





The comet icon taking shape:

 

[Rhian]

The statue near the entrance to the park is going in an area dug out deeper than the immediate area. It looks like it might be a waterfall going inwards towards the statue?



The real question is if I only have one penny, which pond would give me the most luck to toss it in? lol

People are going to be desperate to go into the "giant castle" at the end of the street. I wonder if there will be any exploration near the hotel to satiate people who don't have access.

I think the point is to create that "we have to say there next time!" feeling. This area's gone through a few conceptual revisions. Even in the announcement video the physical model and the concept art differ at a couple of points. None except the first concept piece appears to get you super close.

This is in the official announcement video (apparent hotel guest archway at yellow arrow, circular walk area at purple):



Same area on the actual model:



This was from the much earlier concept art:



It looks like it started out a busier area but eventually they opted for a lush, quiet spot but you won't get to put your face on the window. We'll have to see what the final product looks like since they went through a few changes.

I'm glad they went with that decision as I think the area around HP's entrance will give maximum Central Park vibes; in that case I can appreciate the portal design a little more.

 

[Nico]

The statue near the entrance to the park is going in an area dug out deeper than the immediate area. It looks like it might be a waterfall going inwards towards the statue?

View attachment 20585

Looks like CP is bookended by twin statues.

 

[Rhian]

I noticed the second one when making that image and it didn't show up in the older artwork. Interestingly it doesn't appear on the model—there's something there but it doesn't look like what's in the artwork (I wonder how long ago that was made?). Could be artistic flare but the gold and silver coloring is reminiscent of sun and moon (call it a wild guess in theming haha).

It's really neat to see the different ideas they played with in each of these pieces.

 

[PenguinCowboy]

I noticed the second one when making that image and it didn't show up in the older artwork. Interestingly it doesn't appear on the model—there's something there but it doesn't look like what's in the artwork (I wonder how long ago that was made?). Could be artistic flare but the gold and silver coloring is reminiscent of sun and moon (call it a wild guess in theming haha).

It's really neat to see the different ideas they played with in each of these pieces.

Well, the one end is the Goddess Luna, moon, and the opposite end is the Grand Helios, sun, so it makes sense

 

[OrlandoGuy]

As busy as the park could be at times you don't want the lobby flooded easily with a bunch of non-staying guests for safety and logistical issues.

Do we really think THAT many people are going to want to take time out of their day to just sit in the hotel lobby, though? I think the percentage of folks who aren’t focused on maximizing their time on rides is small enough that there really won’t need to be THAT big a barrier to enter from the park.

 

[GAcoaster]

The statue near the entrance to the park is going in an area dug out deeper than the immediate area. It looks like it might be a waterfall going inwards towards the statue?

View attachment 20583

I may be wrong, but I kind of assume the semi-circular area in front of the statue will basically be the "spring" where all the water flows from, like those things under Hulk where water comes up and spills over the sides. Essentially the headwaters of Celestial Park, with a match at the other end in front of Helios.

 

[GAcoaster]

Do we really think THAT many people are going to want to take time out of their day to just sit in the hotel lobby, though? I think the percentage of folks who aren’t focused on maximizing their time on rides is small enough that there really won’t need to be THAT big a barrier to enter from the park.

Have you seen the people that camp out in the Poly, Grand, and Contemporary at Disney? And they have to take a real chunk out of their day to leave the park to get there, not just wander up a few steps. This is a top of the line hotel, not a cooling station for Passholders and locals.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Have you seen the people that camp out in the Poly, Grand, and Contemporary at Disney? And they have to take a real chunk out of their day to leave the park to get there, not just wander up a few steps. This is a top of the line hotel, not a cooling station for Passholders and locals.

1. Those hotels have been around for 50 years and have established themselves as part of the “Disney World experience.” This will be a nice hotel, yes, but not a legendary part of a Universal park vacation.

2. You can’t quantify what percentage of those people are there actually just lounging vs visiting with dining reservations (which, again, Universal will not turn away). In fact, now that I think about it, you can’t even quantify how many are guests vs. visitors just by looking at the lobby. My gut is saying this whole “issue” is based on anecdotal info that skews very far one specific niche way if you’re an avid theme park fan.

 

[GAcoaster]

I can definitively tell you there are MANY people who are simply looky-loos and passholders (and others) who do nothing but hang out in the Disney resorts and are quite obnoxious about it. Disney puts up with it (to a point) and has made that choice. That's why their "deluxe" resorts on the monorail line are not the real high end resorts they claim to be and people who want that level of lodging stay at the Four Seasons or one of the other better resorts.

EVERYTHING I've heard about Helios is this will be truly high end and they will do all they can to keep non-guests and other riff raff out. They're spending too much on this to make it a hangout.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

I can definitively tell you there are MANY people who are simply looky-loos and passholders (and others) who do nothing but hang out in the Disney resorts and are quite obnoxious about it. Disney puts up with it (to a point) and has made that choice. That's why their "deluxe" resorts on the monorail line are not the real high end resorts they claim to be and people who want that level of lodging stay at the Four Seasons or one of the other better resorts.

EVERYTHING I've heard about Helios is this will be truly high end and they will do all they can to keep non-guests and other riff raff out. They're spending too much on this to make it a hangout.

Okay, but have you ever stayed at a Four Seasons? They all (among those I’ve stayed at) allow the very thing you’re saying Helios is too good for.

I very well may be wrong on this whole thing, I just don’t see it being a big deal beyond maybe the first few weeks of operation.

 

[jarmor]

Honestly, how can you keep someone out? I have seen too many videos on social media where that has gone wrong on so many levels. I think they can only keep people of room key entry areas and that may still be difficult to some degree.

 

[Brian G.]

Do we really think THAT many people are going to want to take time out of their day to just sit in the hotel lobby, though? I think the percentage of folks who aren’t focused on maximizing their time on rides is small enough that there really won’t need to be THAT big a barrier to enter from the park.

1 riff-raff is too many! /s

 

[Mad Dog]

1 riff-raff is too many! /s

Does that mean Bob Iger and Bob Chapek are barred?

 

[Della]

Honestly, how can you keep someone out? I have seen too many videos on social media where that has gone wrong on so many levels. I think they can only keep people of room key entry areas and that may still be difficult to some degree.

The Disneyland Hotel just reopened at Disneyland Paris after a 4 year closure (covid and then huge renovation) and I watched a vlog, and only people with hotel reservations are allowed in the lobby. The cast members politely engage you in conversation at the door and ask if you have a reservation. I think the same thing will happen with Helios as otherwise plenty of people will want to pop in for a look.

 

[Clive]

The Disneyland Hotel just reopened at Disneyland Paris after a 4 year closure (covid and then huge renovation) and I watched a vlog, and only people with hotel reservations are allowed in the lobby. The cast members politely engage you in conversation at the door and ask if you have a reservation. I think the same thing will happen with Helios as otherwise plenty of people will want to pop in for a look.

I came here to point this out - how the Disneyland Hotel in Paris plays out will be something to watch. I could see Universal going for a similar approach with Helios, at least at first.