Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Frank Drackman]

Yes but not the big ones, few like 5-6 small crane was in motion and there was some construction people there as well. I saw in top of berk playground area and I wish I took a foto of it.

I wasn’t much interested since we all know that permit has been filled in specifically on that site and it will start construction soon.

Also I heard this from many staff as well so my prioritize went up a head than this topic.

I saw it on dec 18 2025 around afternoon exactly

thanks for answering! I think I have a different understanding of the word 'crane' and that was throwing me off.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

35.5 acres is is roughly 1/4 the size of Disney-MGM Studios when it opened. Cabana Bay is roughly the same size as this plot of land.

Staging though.

 

[simon]

thanks for answering! I think I have a different understanding of the word 'crane' and that was throwing me off.

No worries, It was excavator crane I think not the tall ones you see in f&f

 

[Magistra]

Hi yes, that’s me! I study arch in los angeles and a pass member in ush, went Orlando for a little break

My one of hobby after finishing lecture is visiting work sites, convention, prof’s studio and talk with staff & peoples passionately who are related to my study and future profession.

Thats why I’ve been doing the same thing in ush directly since I’m preparing to apply in creative intern.

I visit pretty frequently since my uni is close to there and sometimes when I spot them in park and if they don’t mind discussing with me, I get to talk with them. Thats how I’ve been getting informations.

About the potter expansion, yes permit actually has been filled in a while ago and when you see bioreconstruct’s pics, you can already see lots of cranes has been arranged in that site and when I was there, I also saw those in motion as well.

As I always say, I can keep this info all by myself yet I choose to share in this forum since you guys are highly interested in this topic and I hope these info I can share can be helpful for our discussion.

So again, please take it as grain of salt and you don’t have to believe it. Time will tell.

But personally, I wouldn’t worry about the Dark Universe not getting an expansion anytime soon.

I'm relieved/excited to hear a Wizarding World expansion is coming soon. I've been going to the parks one or twice a year and staying on-site with friends & my adult kids ever since Hogsmeade opened but haven't been since Epic opened, partly because we're holding off until a visit to Epic seems worth it.

We're Potter fans but also love the look of the Isle of Berk and Dark Universe lands but can't convince ourselves to go (we all live in Texas) until reviews improve and the wait time for Battle at the Ministry isn't routinely 2 to 3 hours. I think expanding the Wizarding World in Epic sooner rather than later would help alleviate our fears about being stuck in queues for hours on end, rides closing down or breaking down, and generally having a miserable time.

Epic desperately needs some reliable, high-capacity, family friendly indoor rides. I was thinking something like Arthur the Ride at Europa Park (but completely indoors) themed to Newt's magical creature suitcase, would fit the bill. But the plot they're developing looks like they're aiming towards something quite a bit bigger. Maybe an indoor Quidditch World Cup type ride? Whatever it is, it needs to be better at handling crowds than BatM.

Anyway, thanks for the encouraging news.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm relieved/excited to hear a Wizarding World expansion is coming soon. I've been going to the parks one or twice a year and staying on-site with friends & my adult kids ever since Hogsmeade opened but haven't been since Epic opened, partly because we're holding off until a visit to Epic seems worth it.

We're Potter fans but also love the look of the Isle of Berk and Dark Universe lands but can't convince ourselves to go (we all live in Texas) until reviews improve and the wait time for Battle at the Ministry isn't routinely 2 to 3 hours. I think expanding the Wizarding World in Epic sooner rather than later would help alleviate our fears about being stuck in queues for hours on end, rides closing down or breaking down, and generally having a miserable time.

Epic desperately needs some reliable, high-capacity, family friendly indoor rides. I was thinking something like Arthur the Ride at Europa Park (but completely indoors) themed to Newt's magical creature suitcase, would fit the bill. But the plot they're developing looks like they're aiming towards something quite a bit bigger. Maybe an indoor Quidditch World Cup type ride? Whatever it is, it needs to be better at handling crowds than BatM.

Anyway, thanks for the encouraging news.

Plus Ministry is so unreliable due to downtime....and downtime has seemed to get worse the past few weeks. Many days lately have
had anywhere from 25% to 38% downtime....which of course leads to really long lines, even in the evenings.

 

[DrStarlander]

I was thinking something like Arthur the Ride at Europa Park (but completely indoors) themed to Newt's magical creature suitcase, would fit the bill.

The Arthur ride at Europa Park is such a great dark ride/coaster hybrid system. Story-telling with a few exhilaration moments. I know Universal used this system in Beijing but without the dark ride aspect -- sounds like a miss. But that Minimoys Kingdom at Europa Park, which has this attraction and even more in an immersive indoor land, packs a lot of punch for under 80k sq. ft. A great demonstration of creativity, ambition, and talent.

 

[tommyhawkins]

I'm relieved/excited to hear a Wizarding World expansion is coming soon. I've been going to the parks one or twice a year and staying on-site with friends & my adult kids ever since Hogsmeade opened but haven't been since Epic opened, partly because we're holding off until a visit to Epic seems worth it.

We're Potter fans but also love the look of the Isle of Berk and Dark Universe lands but can't convince ourselves to go (we all live in Texas) until reviews improve and the wait time for Battle at the Ministry isn't routinely 2 to 3 hours. I think expanding the Wizarding World in Epic sooner rather than later would help alleviate our fears about being stuck in queues for hours on end, rides closing down or breaking down, and generally having a miserable time.

Epic desperately needs some reliable, high-capacity, family friendly indoor rides. I was thinking something like Arthur the Ride at Europa Park (but completely indoors) themed to Newt's magical creature suitcase, would fit the bill. But the plot they're developing looks like they're aiming towards something quite a bit bigger. Maybe an indoor Quidditch World Cup type ride? Whatever it is, it needs to be better at handling crowds than BatM.

Anyway, thanks for the encouraging news.

Mack powered that Arthur uses certainly would be one solid option for the quidditch ride for the broomstick ride rumours, and other tid bits of info I've heard.


I don't think it will be suspended/inverted at all...I think it's a logistical nightmare for myriad reasons with what they want to make.

Also there's other places a mack powered could go

 

[SkiBum]

Mack powered that Arthur uses certainly would be one solid option for the quidditch ride for the broomstick ride rumours, and other tid bits of info I've heard.


I don't think it will be suspended/inverted at all...I think it's a logistical nightmare for myriad reasons with what they want to make.

Also there's other places a mack powered could go

The only problem with a Mack powered coaster (in my opinion) is that the throughput isn't great, particularly for what Epic needs. I think that Arthur has a capacity between 1,100 and 1,500. Plus, I would hope that they would do a better job than the powered inverted coaster in Universal Beijing.

 

[Magic-Man]

Mack powered that Arthur uses certainly would be one solid option for the quidditch ride for the broomstick ride rumours, and other tid bits of info I've heard.


I don't think it will be suspended/inverted at all...I think it's a logistical nightmare for myriad reasons with what they want to make.

Also there's other places a mack powered could go

I hope it's not the Arthur system for one reason only: it's yet another coaster in a park that's dominated by them. I want to see more unique experiences here. The park is missing a large scale boat ride and a family dark ride with no/low height requirement. Zelda or Creature will get the boat ride, so the family ride makes the most sense here.

 

[simon]

Mack powered that Arthur uses certainly would be one solid option for the quidditch ride for the broomstick ride rumours, and other tid bits of info I've heard.


I don't think it will be suspended/inverted at all...I think it's a logistical nightmare for myriad reasons with what they want to make.

Also there's other places a mack powered could go

I was thinking about the new vekoma’s flying coaster type like F.L.Y. It can have moving conveyor belt loading platform just like forbidden journey without tilting in flying position at station. This feature makes very great for capacity, very simple dispatch than regular flying inverted. Also, this ride type contain different flying sensation, lsm airtime than other manufacture. Which can be suitable for this type of ride.

With 5 vehicles, it could cycle 1800 peoples per hour

 

[tommyhawkins]

I was thinking about the new vekoma’s flying coaster type like F.L.Y. It can have moving conveyor belt loading platform just like forbidden journey without tilting in flying position at station. This feature makes very great for capacity, very simple dispatch than regular flying inverted. Also, this ride type contain different flying sensation, lsm airtime than other manufacture. Which can be suitable for this type of ride.

With 5 vehicles, it could cycle 1800 peoples per hour

Vekoma Thrill Glider would do the broomstick job better.

My point is there are number of logistical reasons why any suspended coaster with this likely concept is impractical. Some of which I can't discuss, but the obvious one is looking at the caging that had to go up for Werewolf coaster, to get the capacity you're talking about they would have to run several trains on a single track at once. Even with metal detectors they would require screening when track could interact

 

[DrStarlander]

I hope it's not the Arthur system for one reason only: it's yet another coaster in a park that's dominated by them. I want to see more unique experiences here. The park is missing a large scale boat ride and a family dark ride with no/low height requirement. Zelda or Creature will get the boat ride, so the family ride makes the most sense here.

The Arthur coaster is more dark-ride than coaster in my opinion. I think it hits 19 mph with the kind of exhilaration you get on the Pirates of the Caribbean or RotR drops. I thought it was a lot of fun, like Peter Pan's flight super-sized.

 

[Magistra]

I hope it's not the Arthur system for one reason only: it's yet another coaster in a park that's dominated by them. I want to see more unique experiences here. The park is missing a large scale boat ride and a family dark ride with no/low height requirement. Zelda or Creature will get the boat ride, so the family ride makes the most sense here.

Arthur is a family ride. Children under 6 and under 100 cm (about 3 ft 3) just have to ride with a parent. But I agree that more coasters are not needed. I'm not a huge coaster fan personally, but Arthur looks almost more like a kuka arm in its smoothness, slower speed, and the way it is paused at certain scenes. I haven't ridden it personally, though, so I'll defer to those who have.

 

[HHN Maddux]

Alicia mentions it in her new video, but the new restaurants at the front have had their 'opening 2026' signs removed, and supposedly there's been zero interior work done?

 

[Clive]

Alicia mentions it in her new video, but the new restaurants at the front have had their 'opening 2026' signs removed, and supposedly there's been zero interior work done?

Maybe they realized they have plenty of restaurants, and they should use that real estate for an attraction, instead? A man can dream...

 

[Jake S]

That wouldn’t shock me. At present, restaurant capacity isn’t remotely the biggest issue to be addressed.

Edit: Lmao yes, what @Clive said.

 

[tommyhawkins]

The only problem with a Mack powered coaster (in my opinion) is that the throughput isn't great, particularly for what Epic needs. I think that Arthur has a capacity between 1,100 and 1,500. Plus, I would hope that they would do a better job than the powered inverted coaster in Universal Beijing.

Chinese regulation killed that ride in Beijing. capacity wouldn't be an issue for what's rumoured if that system was picked (and not going to the other Park). It's just worth considering other systems other than suspended for this park

Alicia mentions it in her new video, but the new restaurants at the front have had their 'opening 2026' signs removed, and supposedly there's been zero interior work done?

Low ride capacity>>>>Low park capacity>>>no additional F&B needed, yet



Also a more general point, if you think Epic has enough coasters and don't want them to build more, you may be disappointed

 

[Mad Dog]

Universal probably never expected that ride reliability would be this poor so long past opening. Evidently, they need
to maintain those low daily capacity ceilings a lot longer, thus no need for any more restaurants. There's a big difference
between 15,000 to 25,000 daily in Epic as opposed to the 35,000 -40,000 ceiling they expected to have , probably at this
point in time.....I could easily envision executive management changes within the next year if capacity doesn't improve by
some means. There's no way Epic is getting close to internal projected (before opening) attendance/revenue numbers.

 

[HHN Maddux]

Chinese regulation killed that ride in Beijing. capacity wouldn't be an issue for what's rumoured if that system was picked (and not going to the other Park). It's just worth considering other systems other than suspended for this park

Low ride capacity>>>>Low park capacity>>>no additional F&B needed, yet



Also a more general point, if you think Epic has enough coasters and don't want them to build more, you may be disappointed

I'm scared to ask what you mean by that.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

At present, restaurant capacity isn’t remotely the biggest issue to be addressed.

Are we sure about that? I've stood in lines waiting to get into Meteor at like 2pm before.