100 days of Epic Universe: Rave reviews, long waits, speculation

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Orlando is marking the 100th day of the Epic Universe era. Universal Orlando’s new theme park, which debuted May 22, burst onto the scene during a very hot summer with positive reviews for its detailed design and elaborate attractions.

But international sociopolitical issues clouded the blue skies, and operational delays tempered the happy talk for some visitors, experts say.

“There’s stuff that you can control, and there’s stuff that you can’t control,” said Len Testa, owner of Touring Plans, a vacation-planning site.

“I think in the overall context of what we’re seeing in leisure travel around the United States, Epic did as good as it could possibly do,” he said. “Las Vegas would take Epic’s numbers right now.”

Those who go to Epic have upbeat responses, Testa said. Its restaurants are well-regarded and, according to surveys, the rides are rated higher than the ones at sister park Universal Studios Florida, he said.

“We can tell from our app that people seem to be spending more time in Epic than the other Universal parks,” Testa said. “So, those are all good signs. It means that the stuff that they built is resonating with fans.”

Epic Universe, as seen from the Helios Grand Hotel, features well-received rides and restaurants and good marks for its many details across five themed lands, surveys say. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

The park’s escapist nature appeals to Jake Cruz, a Universal annual passholder who lives in Orlando.

“Just walking around the park, you feel immersed. It feels like you’re in an entirely different world,” said Cruz, who has been to Epic four times and plans a fifth outing in the coming weeks.

“I kind of regret not going to opening day because I heard how amazing it was,” he said. “It feels like this historical moment.”

The waiting game

Criticisms from early Epic adapters focus on weak ride reliability — downtime that spurred extended wait times — and the sun of the Sunshine State, which prompts calls for more shade and additional indoor attractions.

“The wait times have not been phenomenal, and the weather has not been phenomenal,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme-park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida.

Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, a complicated simulator ride in Epic’s installment of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, has been on the down-and-delayed list multiple days. Visitors can wait hours to get on board. Cruz said he arrived at 5 a.m. one day and went to the Potter ride as the park opened, only to have it be down for the day. (He had better luck with Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment ride, which went down after he rode.)

The vast quest for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry ride impresses Epic Universe visitors, although some have had extended waits in the area. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

For a while, Universal used a virtual queue system for Battle at the Ministry, allowing guests to do Epic things besides wait. But it also created frustration for shut-out visitors. The virtual queue is gone now, and the attraction has been added to the Express Pass lineup along with Mine-Cart Madness, a roller coaster in Epic’s Super Nintendo World.

“I’m really confident that their industrial engineers know what’s going on and know how to solve a lot of these problems. It’s just a matter now of doing the analysis like, you know, bringing Express Pass to Ministry, into Mine-Cart Madness,” Testa said.

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“It’s not just flipping a switch. You have to do studies that say, yeah, if we turn this on, the standby wait time is going to go from here to here. And we’re going to get this much revenue for it, but the dissatisfaction is going to drop by this much,” he said. “There’s complex analysis that happens for a lot of these decisions.”

Crowd control

Company officials have said they are proud of the performance of the new park.

“Epic is already driving higher per-cap spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando Resort, with strong food and merchandise sales and minimal impact on attendance at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure,” Michael Cavanagh, president of parent company Comcast Corp., told market analysts after quarterly earnings were released in July. The period covered about six weeks of Epic’s operation.

“Our near-term focus is on expanding rides throughout to reduce early attendance constraints,” Cavanagh said.

Orlando’s theme parks do not release attendance figures or capacity levels.

“I think they’ve definitely been controlling capacity, but they have now released a lot more tickets,” said Baker, who has been in the theme park eight times.

One method for crowd maintenance: Epic Universe admission has not been included in Universal Orlando annual passholder plans, which cover Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and, for some levels, Volcano Bay water park.

Prices for a one-day ticket to Epic vary by date, ranging between $154 and $194. Annual passholder rates for a day at Epic are from $127 to $169.

“I do hope that they add it to the annual pass, and presumably it’ll come out with a pretty hefty raise in [pass] prices,” Baker said.

First-day guests at Universal Epic Universe pose in front of the portal at the theme park's entrance. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)

Epic Universe was announced in 2019 and constructed about 2.5 miles southeast of Universal Orlando’s first two parks, on the opposite side of Interstate 4, crossing International Drive. Universal runs shuttle buses between the parks and its 11 hotels, including three new resorts adjacent to Epic. An extension of Kirkman Road from Carrier Drive to the Epic site, plus an elevated traffic circle with dedicated bus lanes, are meant to ease traffic woes.

“Our traffic has increased, but it hasn’t been insane or anything,” said Baker, whose office is near Epic.

Looking for the lift

Foot traffic has not yet surged in the I-Drive area, said Thom Kerr, owner of Icebar Orlando, which has operated as a hotspot with ice carvings on International Drive since 2008.

“In general, we have not seen the lift on International Drive that I think most of us expected to see. And, you know, we’re all trying to figure out what’s happening there,” Kerr said.

His business took advantage of its proximity to Epic, offering free or reduced entry to customers with an Epic ticket. It also rolled out a themed drink menu.

“We thought it would be a great match,” Kerr said. “If you’ve been out in a hot theme park all day, you know, ice bar — cool concept.”

He said advance reservations are holding steady with 2024 levels, but foot traffic lags. The numbers haven’t been bad, just flat, he said.

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I-Drive, Orlando and many U.S. destinations are coping with attendance hurdles, including jitters about the economy and international travelers reacting to possible political developments with tariffs and immigration.

The number of visitors traveling from Canada to the U.S. by airline dropped 22% in June, according to Travel and Tour World, a tourism website. That was the sixth consecutive month of decline. Hotel occupancy in the Orlando market was up 0.9% for June and 0.4% for July, according to STR. Revenue increased 6.6% and 6.1%, respectively.

“The Canadian market is still there. It’s not as strong as it used to be,” said Brian Wayne, general manager of WonderWorks Orlando, a longstanding I-Drive attraction. “I-Drive feels a little slower.” He said he has noticed discounted rooms at hotels and ticket deals at theme parks.

The ‘new norm’?

Central Florida’s tourism industry continued fresh offerings this summer, including two new stage shows at Walt Disney World plus a nighttime parade at Magic Kingdom. SeaWorld Orlando introduced Expedition Odyssey, an Arctic-themed flying-theater attraction, and Sea Life Aquarium Florida opened at Legoland Florida Resort in Winter Haven.

A not-so-slammed summer may be the “new norm,” Wayne said, as visitors explore Orlando throughout the year. The weather may be a factor, he said, as well as attractive draws in autumn, including the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and major Halloween-themed events at Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and beyond.

And the market is experiencing a let-down after the post-pandemic surge, when visitors flocked to Florida, Wayne said.

“With international travel opening up so much now, I think that there’s so many more options,” he said.

Kerr maintains belief in the Epic effect, and thinks the new park is a strong draw.

“Anytime there’s a new attraction or draw, it’s competition, and new things are good for everybody,” he said. “We’re one of the top destinations in the world. … It’s just we’re having a little hiccup of a year.”

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A ripple effect is still expected by Baker, who notes the tourism industry often wades through economic slumps and crises such as 9-11 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I still think we’re going to come out strong, and we always do,” she said.

In the meantime, Testa theorizes that Universal will work on Epic’s operations … and expansion.

“They need more rides, especially when it rains or the weather’s bad, and they need more ride reliability,” he said. “Those are growing pains that are kind of expected to happen.”

It’s a pattern that experts saw with the arrivals of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Universal’s Islands of Adventure decades ago. Even Magic Kingdom debuted without a completed Tomorrowland.

“There’s always something that comes, like, a year or two later that sort of fills out or rounds out the park,” Testa said.

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