What Universal’s New “Epic Universe” Should Feature
Ahead of an August 1 press conference at Universal Orlando Resort, the theme park group announced that the date would bring about the biggest theme park news of the entire year. Of course, they followed through on this promise by announcing the first new theme park between Universal and Walt Disney World in Orlando since 1999.
A few weeks before I was born in 1998, Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened. In Orlando, Disney has not opened any theme parks or water parks since then. In 1999, Universal Orlando opened Islands of Adventure and have only opened one water park since then. So basically, Thursday’s announcement of Universal’s third theme park (or “fourth gate”), Epic Universe, was the first news I’ve had like that in my conscious lifetime.
And yet, they left it very vague. We got a short description about what the park will provide (adventures and journeys and stories and all the key buzzwords like that) and we got some concept art. We didn’t get any opening dates or ride/land announcements. Just a picture to speculate on.
Presumably, Universal left things vague because they still want to have news they can capitalize on once Disney inevitably announces news for their parks at the upcoming D23 Expo. But for now, the conversation belongs to Universal.
The rumor mill currently tells us that Epic Universe is slated to open in 2023, but we will see if that comes to fruition. Additionally, the rumors tell us that, from left to right in that concept art, will be a Nintendo land, a classic Universal monsters land, an on-site hotel, a Fantastic Beasts land, a Star Trek roller coaster, an area themed around either How to Train Your Dragon, a mishmash of Dreamworks and Illumination properties, or a Jurassic World park (the fans are divided on this point), all culminating in a CityWalk-esque hub of shopping, dining, and entertainment.
Let’s say, for the sake of this argument, that Universal is not going to double down on Jurassic by opening a World near their current Park. Therefore, we’ll go with the rumor that the bottom right will feature multiple animated franchise properties.
If Universal isn’t going to tell us what will go in each land, then what should go in each land? I’m no Imagineer, but these are just some ideas that I thought would be cool.
The area themed around Dreamworks and Illumination films
This area would mostly be centered around children’s activities and I could see them going a plethora of different directions with the land. Both Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem and Shrek 4D are attractions that could easily be relocated out of Universal Studios and into this new area. The Grinch could theoretically have a presence outside of Seuss Landing, too. But let’s say that Universal considers themselves all set on Despicable Me and Shrek and Grinch attractions (meet and greets notwithstanding). What other properties could they mine for a presence in this area?
- A Sing sing along show. Illumination had a massive success with 2016’s Sing and there is a sequel on the way for 2021. With the popularity of Disney’s sing along show for Frozen (and one for Beauty and the Beast on the way to Epcot) in Hollywood Studios, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Universal try to create their own people-eater for kids.
- The Secret Life of Pets ride. Aside from the Minions, Pets is probably the most successful thing to come out of Illumination. There is already a new ride based on the film coming to Universal Studios Hollywood. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a clone of this attraction arrive in Orlando, too.
- How to Train Your Dragon coaster. This roller coaster would obviously be for kids. It might be seen as too similar to Flight of the Hippogriff, but Universal is all about mining intellectual property for their attractions, rather than developing their own ideas (think like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Haunted Mansion). It’s a formula that’s worked for them so far. Hell, even the Rip Ride Rock It is pretty much based off of music. So I would not be surprised to see Universal double down on kids’ coasters named for fantastical creatures.
- A restaurant for Kung Fu Panda. As it is, there might be too many attractions here already. I can see Universal wanting to capitalize on franchises like Kung Fu Panda, The Boss Baby, and Captain Underpants. But they just might not fit into the equation beyond meet and greets. If the area felt like having some eateries involved, Kung Fu Panda is the IP that makes the most sense.
Wishful Thinking: Those are all predictions that I would feel confident making about this area. But I have to say, Penguins of Madagascar is a genuinely funny movie and I hope Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico are given something to do in this park.
The rumored Star Trek roller coaster
Star Trek is one of those anomaly properties that is constantly bouncing around the worlds of creativity. It seems like exactly the sort of Simpsons-esque mega-franchise that Universal would love to take a chance on in their parks since no one else will. If the rumors are true that the roller coaster track in the concept art belongs to Trek, then it could be a quick answer to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, even without devoting an entire land to the story.
An area themed for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
My dad and I were joking about if they could ever pull off a theme park for Game of Thrones. The subject matter is probably too dark, but various aspects of it (Meereen, Drogon, the Wall, Daario Naharis, the Twins, Braavos) would actually be sort of cool? Regardless, it’s not happening and Universal is about to triple down on the Harry Potter franchise, even if I’d be more interested in seeing Rory McCann in the parks than I am in Eddie Redmayne. I’m sure they wish the spin-off prequel series was more successful, but there’s still a lot you can do with it.
- The Ministry of Magic. If Universal is not willing to fully commit to the potential of the Beasts series of films bombing, then the Ministry of Magic would be a great middle ground, as it is featured in both the Beasts films and the original Harry Potter story. There are so many unexplored alcoves in the Ministry that it would be a perfect chance for Universal to flesh it out with more than just an attraction inside of it. Let us explore the Ministry and walk around! Have some stores and restaurants inside of it! Go all in! Make it a mega-building! Is it possible? I don’t know!
- New York, Paris, or London, circa 1920. Of course, an entire themed land cannot just be one building. And the current rumor is that the surrounding area will be themed after one of the three cities listed above during the 1920s. This definitely points towards a renewed emphasis on the Beasts films, but they do still feature characters like Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, and Minerva McGonagall. This would also be a cool throwback to the way Universal used to recreate cities of yore.
The hotel and the hub
The things we know the least about at Epic Universe are the hotel and the hub because I’m pretty sure none of the rumors ahead of the announcement ever picked up on that aspect of it. If they do pan out, it will make for a theme park hub we’ve never experienced before. Imagine a hotel on the actual site of a theme park? Insanity! The Contemporary is the only thing that ever dared to come close to such a thing.
But what if this one was Harry Potter themed? It’s right near the supposed Ministry of Magic, after all. Hotels for Potter have been found in Oregon and in London, but why not Orlando? It could be the perfect answer to Disney’s upcoming Star Wars hotel and with a presumed entrance leading into the back of the hotel for people who are not going to the park, it could match that immersive experience of “being in the story.”
The concept art does more closely resemble something you would see in Las Vegas rather than Hogwarts, but concept art can always evolve.
As for the CityWalk, Vol. 2 of it all, I honestly have no idea. They could go with outside restaurants and entertainment venues like half of Disney Springs does. Or everything could be completely originally themed like the park. We have not seen anything quite like this before so it’s all uncharted territory in that department.
The area themed to the classic Universal monsters
From what I can remember, Universal’s classic oeuvre of monsters/horror movies consists of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, the Mummy, and the Phantom of the Opera. With Brendan Fraser’s rendition of Mummy already well-suited to Studios and the planned “Dark Universe” all but dead, it seems like Universal really will be retreating to the 1930s — 1950s era for this land.
- Dracula’s castle and roller coaster. With this land, I think it would be best for Universal to commit to giving the areas the same theme they would for a devoted Halloween Horror Nights get-up. The meta nature of the movies is found in the Studios with the cafe and horror makeup show. They should not supplant those into Epic Universe. Instead, make an entirely immersive land. This should begin with the centerpiece being Dracula’s castle a la Belle’s in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom. If the rumors are true, his castle will also come with a roller coaster. If done right, it sounds dope as hell.
- A water ride for the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I’m not sure how feasible this is, but every great theme park has to have some element of a water ride. Maybe a specific section devoted to Creature could inspire some of the fans who have felt moribund ever since Jaws departed Studios.
- Go all out with an attraction like no other. For a while, Disney has been touting their Rise of the Resistance attraction as the ride to end all rides. We don’t know too much about it, except for the fact that there will be nothing to compare its immersion, thrills, and quality to in the history of theme park attractions. This is Universal’s chance to do the same. Don’t follow in the footsteps of Resistance, though. Universal should instead take their team of expert creators into a back room and just hash out an experience like no other. I don’t know what that would be, necessarily, but between Frankenstein’s castle, the Wolf Man’s forest, and more, there is a chance to make this expansive and sprawling, rather than just devoted to one monster.
The area themed to the video games of Nintendo
I know Universal will probably want to incorporate experiences with Nintendo characters from popular games like Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda, and Sonic the Hedgehog, but as someone who does not know a single thing about any of those games, I can only really talk about what would be cool to see them do with the Super Mario property.
- Mushroom Kingdom and Donkey Kong Country. Much of the rumored concept art has focused around these two lands, leaving Delfino Plaza and Luigi’s Mansion as unlikely candidates to be recreated. Hell, if the galaxy is unlikely then those older properties sure would be, too. But these are two popular lands in the games and would be so cool to see how they can make them into reality and how they could orchestrate the transitions between the two.
- A Pandora-esque restaurant. Again, they should not try to be copying Disney, but this is the best comparison I could think of to what I imagine a restaurant in Mario land would be like. The food can be accessible to everyone, but give it a fantastical twist that only a fictional land like this could provide. Birdo’s eggs? Fry them up! I’m just saying.
- Mario Kart attraction. I know this land would not just have one attraction. I mean, there will probably be more than two Mario attractions at that. (A Sonic roller coaster seems likely.) But this is all I can think about. It gets me so hyped. Universal has toyed with the idea of a virtual reality attraction and I think this is the chance for that. Make it a lengthy attraction and make it seem like you’re actually steering the kart. (Obviously, this is where VR comes in because if you actually were in control, it would seem like a simple step above a go kart track.) Take us to Peach Beach. Take us to Rainbow Road for the grand finale! God, this could be so incredible if they nail it.
So what do you think about all of this? What sort of restaurants and rides would you like to see Universal embrace? I think this park has a chance to be something really special with the kind of technology and imagination we have now, which can be spread to an entire theme park. Something special is on the way, for sure.
