Universal's Epic Universe Wish List & Speculation

[Parkscope Joe]

If you stand back and look at it, the lands are very similar to what IOA had in terms of attractions & food/bev. I don't think SLOP gets added and I bet Illumination appears in the hub.

 

[belloq87]

Again... I don't know why things always have to come back around to comparing against Disney (especially as I already said I think most of the parks in Orlando -- that means at Disney and Universal, too -- need more rides).

And I don't know why there needs to be so much pushback against something completely non-controversial like "I'd kind of like it if there were going to be more rides."

I'm gonna be pedantic and say that unless the Hub coasters are exact copies of each other, it's 11 rides. :tease:

Dueling Dragons only counted as one ride on the park map, didn't it? Genuinely asking, I don't completely recall.

A lot of qualitative studies across both resorts have determined the average guest is satisfied with ~7 to 8 experiences (not even necessarily rides) per day.

That may well be, but we're not average guests, are we?

 

[JungleSkip]

Again... I don't know why things always have to come back around to comparing against Disney (especially as I already said I think most of the parks in Orlando -- that means at Disney and Universal, too -- need more rides).

And I don't know why there needs to be so much pushback against something completely non-controversial like "I'd kind of like it if there were going to be more rides."

Everyone would like more rides.

Modern theme parks (IE nearly anything that opened after 1980) rarely open with more than a dozen.

Things get compared to Disney because they're the direct competition and right next door.

Dueling Dragons only counted as one ride on the park map, didn't it? Genuinely asking, I don't completely recall.

It was only one, but I don't really care what the map says. If it's 2 different coasters, it's 2 different rides.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Dueling Dragons counted for one attraction per B&M as it shared a lift hill, just as Space Mountain, Matterhorn, or Primevil Whirl counts as one attraction. But if you're a super coaster nerd like us, it's two.

 

[Alicia]

Again... I don't know why things always have to come back around to comparing against Disney (especially as I already said I think most of the parks in Orlando -- that means at Disney and Universal, too -- need more rides).

And I don't know why there needs to be so much pushback against something completely non-controversial like "I'd kind of like it if there were going to be more rides."


Dueling Dragons only counted as one ride on the park map, didn't it? Genuinely asking, I don't completely recall.


That may well be, but we're not average guests, are we?

Well of course we all want more rides! Everyone wants more rides.

 

[JungleSkip]

Dueling Dragons counted for one attraction per B&M as it shared a lift hill, just as Space Mountain, Matterhorn, or Primevil Whirl counts as one attraction. But if you're a super coaster nerd like us, it's two.

Eh, but all those other rides have identical tracks, no? I forget if Matterhorn has any differences between sides. Fire and Ice were 2 distinct designs.

 

[quinnmac000]

People are fine with 7-8 attractions a day but there is a reason why DL and Magic Kingdom remain the top tier of theme parks and that is due to the diversity and sheer amount of attractions in a small area.

The only way around it is with an amazing environment in which you enjoy to relax and chill which tokyo disneyseas has.

 

[OrlLover]

Also Disney has much more to offer than just rides but full on experiences that round out the day. People look at Six Flags or Cedar Fair and say look at how many things they can open so fast and that’s because it’s typical amusement park attractions.

Not groundbreaking dark rides or high budget immersive shows. I feel the same about Universal as well especially early USF. It seemed all about the various offerings.

I want more rides at all the parks in Orlando but I know it takes time to develop and build them. Half of the rides at DCA are literally carnival quality at least with Epic it will be balanced.

 

[belloq87]

Things get compared to Disney because they're the direct competition and right next door.

Yes, but it often seems to carry the implication of inoculating Universal. “Well, Disney does the same thing and nobody ever mentions it about them, so stop talking about it for Universal.”

That may not be the intent, but that’s how it almost always appears in the context of whatever discussion in which it arises.

Dueling Dragons counted for one attraction per B&M as it shared a lift hill, just as Space Mountain, Matterhorn, or Primevil Whirl counts as one attraction. But if you're a super coaster nerd like us, it's two.

I think we’ve long established that I’m not, so I’ll continue to consider it one attraction for my purposes!

People are fine with 7-8 attractions a day but there is a reason why DL and Magic Kingdom remain the top tier of theme parks and that is due to the diversity and sheer amount of attractions in a small area.

The only way around it is with an amazing environment in which you enjoy to relax and chill which tokyo disneyseas has.

Even DisneySea is addressing a lower ride count by adding, like, three D/E-tickets at once with the Fantasy Springs expansion.

 

[JungleSkip]

Even DisneySea is addressing a lower ride count by adding, like, three D/E-tickets at once with the Fantasy Springs expansion.

I don't think TDS's ride count is bad at all. Before Fantasy Springs they're at 20 rides. And basically every land has a major show. TDS has done a good job overall of expanding on a lower (15) opening ride count, though 3 of them are transport rides, and 4 more were kiddy flat rides. Adding stuff like Raging Spirits (which sucks, but it was a major addition), Tower of Terror, Aladdin's Carpets, TSMM, Soarin', and now Fantasy Springs over the years has been a decent haul for an already good park. I'd hope Comcast is more aggressive than that with EU, but it wouldn't be the worst park to emulate an expansion strategy off of.

 

[Scott W.]

Everyone would like more rides.

Modern theme parks (IE nearly anything that opened after 1980) rarely open with more than a dozen.

Things get compared to Disney because they're the direct competition and right next door.



It was only one, but I don't really care what the map says. If it's 2 different coasters, it's 2 different rides.

In the mock up I did for the hub coaster, one of them had an extra inversion near the end but that was guess work on my end. Besides that and one of the coasters going over the station, they're virtually the same coaster.

 

[Nico]

Yes, but it often seems to carry the implication of inoculating Universal. “Well, Disney does the same thing and nobody ever mentions it about them, so stop talking about it for Universal.”

That may not be the intent, but that’s how it almost always appears in the context of whatever discussion in which it arises.


I think we’ve long established that I’m not, so I’ll continue to consider it one attraction for my purposes!


Even DisneySea is addressing a lower ride count by adding, like, three D/E-tickets at once with the Fantasy Springs expansion.

See I don’t see read the comparisons as negatives. They are simply the facts. Personally, I would love Epic to become Universal’s Magic Kingdom. That would leave Islands and Studios as complimentary like DHS, Epcot, and AK. To do that, Universal needs to start at a higher number of attractions than those parks. Then have an expansion plan that continues to grow capacity and build draw. What size crowd draws a crowd?

Magic Kingdom has a wow factor from size alone. That gives the general park goer the perception that it’s high quality and top tier. Then there’s the sheer fact that it takes more than one day for most families to complete - adding more days to a guest’s vacation. Things like Genie+ are a response to the parks’s maturation, guest feedback on wait times, and maybe…just maybe…a bit of corporate greed. But when you’re the industry leader, you can justify that. That’s a good problem to have, and I’d like Universal to get there.

I fully believe “Disney shaming” is due to an underlying belief that they are great at what they do - probably the best at what they do. I would like them to do better than what they currently are. As a wise man once said, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Islands of Adventure opened with 10 rides, including a carousel and a spinner for Seuss.

And just because this is what we think we know now, doesn’t mean this is everything the park will open with. Still years of speculation maps to come!

11 if you count Dragons as one.

 

[shiekra38]

DAK is 20 years old and only has 8 rides
DHS is 30 years old and only has 9.
EPCT is 40 years old and only has 11, including Guardians.

Plus this park is more interesting than all three of those

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Plus this park is more interesting than all three of those

Could be, though I think the two newer WDW parks are the best ones right now.

 

[Alicia]

11 if you count Dragons as one.

Took me forever to realize what I missed. I didn’t count Pteranodon Flyers, probably cause I can’t ride it lol

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Personally, I would love Epic to become Universal’s Magic Kingdom.

Even if you count MK topping out at attractions in the 90s, that'll still be 20 years worth of additions. MK opened with 10 rides, 7 shows, and one walk through.

 

[Palutena]

I mean, of course, I will always want and won't ever say no to more rides. But even being a more enthusiast fan , posting on a site like this and all, I can say already a lot of thoughts on things like ride counts are gonna go out the window when I'm actually there, and with other factors like shows (both theater and street ones), dining, etc to account for. I also can appreciate this park not being overly built out day one, it has time over the years to grow, get feedback and to have more reasons to come back to it. The actual factor , if any, to be concerned about and it has been discussed before is just how diverse the offerings are gonna be or not, though so far from what has been rumored or confirmed it's sounding pretty well on that front.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Not worried about ride counts, but I am worried about the overall capacity of Donkey Kong & the 2 Sky Flys. Even with dueling sky fly's the capacity is still atrocious.

 

[OrlLover]

I don't think TDS's ride count is bad at all. Before Fantasy Springs they're at 20 rides. And basically every land has a major show. TDS has done a good job overall of expanding on a lower (15) opening ride count, though 3 of them are transport rides, and 4 more were kiddy flat rides. Adding stuff like Raging Spirits (which sucks, but it was a major addition), Tower of Terror, Aladdin's Carpets, TSMM, Soarin', and now Fantasy Springs over the years has been a decent haul for an already good park. I'd hope Comcast is more aggressive than that with EU, but it wouldn't be the worst park to emulate an expansion strategy off of.

Universal as of late has much better record of adding as well as replacing closed attractions than Disney. So I don’t think we have anything to worry about on the expansion front.