Yep, dozens of visitors still end up at this blog! Huzzah.
I am a bit late on this update, but if you compare the Top 10 articles of 2023 to this year, you will see something interesting. It appears this site is slowly attracting Silver Dollar City visitors. This makes me happy, since this is a park I knew basically nothing about. I had visited one time as a teenager in 1984, then finally got back in 2024. Since it is just a “short” 6-hour drive down the road, I am now kicking myself for not making the trip sooner. It is far more affordable than most of the other theme parks I have visited.
Anywho, here is the list of the Top 10 most-viewed from 2024.
”It seems like only yesterday” that SeaWorld Orlando became the first park out there to break the $50 admission price. Today, we’d “kill” for a chance to buy tickets at that low, low price.
But, theme parks are still cheap — compared to basically any other expense you have on the same trip.
In Orlando, you can still find “dirt cheap” hotels, but if you are visiting Disneyland in California, finding a hotel below $100/night near the park is rare (if it even exists at all in 2025). Thus, buying a five day pass to a big theme park is usually cheaper per-day (admission cost) than spending all those nights in a hotel.
And the hotel likely doesn’t have a single rollercoaster or stage show.
The high cost of these vacations is still from things like lodging and food. Food is especially annoying. I can get a cup of coffee down the road at Douglas Cafe in Des Moines for under three bucks. I can buy two strong margaritas for ten bucks down the road at a local bar. At a theme park, a good mixed drink is more than $16 (maybe more in 2025).
I believe it is easy to spend more on food and drinks inside a theme park in a day than the admission costs.
Yet, we seem to focus on the high cost of theme park tickets.
As rumored, Herschend has purchased the Palace Entertainment assets from Parques Reunidos. Herschend runs Silver Dollar City and Dollywood, among other places. Here is their website:
If you would have told me, even ten years ago, that I would be an annual passholder that goes to Universal Orlando Resort instead of Walt Disney WOrld, I would never have believed you. Yet, here we are…
The game is/was Disney’s to lose. Many DisneyFans such as myself have been beaten down so much by vacation spreadsheeting, daily scheduling and price increases (as well as long lines, because whatever Disney does, we seem to roll with it and line up for it) that we have started looking for more relaxing “high energy” theme park vacations.
And believe me, hanging out at Universal Studios Florida during Mardi Gras enjoying food booths, the parade and tons of street entertainment turns out to be a very relaxing way to spend vacation dollars. (Sadly, we are missing Mardi Gras this year due to lack of budget for such a trip.)
My point is: I am clearly on the pro-Universal Orlando Resort side these days.
Three Theme Parks!
Universal takes alot of flack from theme park fans for stating that it has three “theme parks.” Sure, Volcano Bay may be organized like a theme park with themed areas and decorations, but to most of us, it is a water park — not a theme park. Water parks can be as themed as you want, but if I am wearing a swimsuit and going underwater, I do not consider that a theme park. Do you?
If you do, then Walt Disney World used to have seven theme parks, I guess, since it had Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, as well as three water parks.
Now, with the upcoming opening of Epic Universe, I suppose Universal will be saying it has four theme parks.
But I digress…
Immersion!
There is a new extended promo video for Epic Universal. It is very well done:
About the only thing I would have changed is the scene with the kid on the Mario Kart ride. That makes it look like you go somewhere and put on a VR helmet, rather than being an actual physical ride where you get on a vehicle that moves through sets.
Then there is this…
The worlds of Epic Universe are:
Dark Universe – an immersive area of spooky structures and Frankenstein’s castle. All the preview footage looks amazing. This looks like it has the level of detail the Harry Potter areas have.
Isle of Berk – this land is based on a computer animated movie, so the “look” is more cartoonish. It looks like it will be far more immersive than Toon Lagoon (with all the flat comic book images) and Marvel Superhero Island (with all the flat graphic novel images). I do not think anyone will feel like they are “in” a cartoon, but certainly will be immersed in the imagery of the cartoon.
Super Nintendo World – much like Isle of Berk, this one will have videogame-ish imagery. You won’t feel like you are in a “real” place, but you will be surrounded by live action versions of things you have only seen on your Nintendo on TV.
Ministry of Magic – if the previous two Harry Potter areas are any indication of the quality of this land, this will also be a fully immersive area where — if it were not for the trash cans and other clues — you might feel like are in a part of Paris of the time period the film is set.
….and I count four immersive worlds. Because the fifth area is apparently:
Celestrial Park – the entrance area of the park, with restaurants and shopping, and a water fountain show. There will also be a carousel and roller coaster.
But how immersive does this land look? Does it make you feel like you are in another world? If this had been built as an expansion to the existing Citywalk, would it fit in there? I suspect it would, though the entire area will have a consistent look of colors and decorations.
But I do not find anything about it, via promo videos or construction footage that makes me consider it anywhere near the same category of a Harry Potter land.
I get marketing. But sometimes it feels like marketing may just set people up to be disappointed. Imagine the Disney folks who hear that Universal has “three theme parks” so they give it a try only to find it has two, plus a fancy swimming park.
Does referring to Celestial Park in the same category of “immersive worlds” as Ministry of Magic work for you?
As I mentioned in my previous post, I feel that Universal could have blown people away by having the entrance area be on-par with something like the Harry Potter areas — or at least something as well detailed and unique as Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure.
Perhaps it is intentional. You walk through Citywalk and then go into Epic Citywalk and then … get transported to a truly unique world through a portal.
Much like the generation before mine has a different perspective, those of us that have been experiencing the evolution of theme parks (in my case, since the early 1970s) have a different perspective than “the kids today” on what the future looks like.
We are now just months from the opening of Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Orlando. Like you, I have some thoughts — possibly predictions — based on a lifetime of theme park experience and observation. This, of course, does not make them any more than guesses, but it is still fun to write about. 🙂 I encourage you to do the same. If you can type (or dictate), you can have a blog. Consider starting one and sharing your thoughts, too!
Epic Universal “predictions”
The entrance area is not a theme park. The park’s “Main Street” is Constellation Park. This area has a style, but not really a theme (there is a different between theming and decorating). To me, it looks like it will be Epic CityWalk … just with a carousel and roller coaster added. It will be the least interesting first impression of the three Universal parks there. I would have expected them to try to outdo the immersive Port of Entry over at Islands of Adventure. Or, better yet, something as immersive as the existing Harry Potter lands. Imagine stepping into that versus “hey, there’s a pizza place, and there’s a bar, and we can get seafood there.”
Admission sold separately. There are four concierge booths — one outside each of the lands. Parks don’t build things unless they need to (restrooms) or if they make money (snack bars, gift shops, restaurants). The parks “need” First Aid, but you won’t find a first aid office in each land of the existing parks. If you trip and have a bleeding knee in Marvel Superhero Island, you have to waddle your way over to Lost Continent to get a bandage. This makes me think there are plans to use them for income, such as as ticket booths for each land. You could pay to get in to the main CityWalk area of the park, then pay to enter specific lands. (Now that Epic CityWalk makes even more sense, doesn’t it?) Indeed, years ago there was speculation this is why they were designing the parks like this — disconnected lands, one entrance and exit. However, opening like that might not make sense to anyone who has ever been to any other large theme park in America. Thus, we get a “normal” theme park experience — for now. I predict that could change, especially if the park does not meet expectations. They might end up having one “low” price to enter the park, and then you could pay to get in to the land(s) you really want. (Think of all the Harry Potter fans that are dying to see the new Potter area, but have zero interest in How To Train Your Dragon.) Disney has nothing like this.
2025 visits will be special. While Disney continues to spiral (even with huge lines and sold out $75 popcorn buckets), Universal is going “full steam ahead.” But are they? Entertainment has been cut at the existing parks. Street characters removed. Events scaled back. You can find broken effects and rides that have needed updating for years. “They are just using the money for Epic.” But, without committing to keeping things looking good and running good, the same will likely happen to Epic. Early visitors will see the park shiny and new, then paint will fade in the Florida sun and possibly not get repainted for a decade. Menu items that do not prove popular will be removed (I suspect the “blood” on the meals in Dark Universal may not last). Ride effects may prove troublesome and break and not be repaired, or just be shut off (Yeti, anyone? Indiana Jones “collapsing” ceiling and “three tunnels” effects, etc.). The same might happen with street characters, stage shows and other entertainment. It is therefore very important to see this park as soon as you can.
Later visits will be special. Things will break down. Things will not work. Going early will not give the “full” effect of the park. Visiting months later, or next year, will likely provide a more full experience. This is problematic for me. Initially I wanted to be there in the masses for the first public day, just to say “I was there”. I skipped the opening of Animal Kingdom, showing up later in the year, and missed out on the “boat ride” that was shut down quickly. I learned from this. When Disney’s California Adventure opened, I scheduled a trip 10 days after opening. I avoided the crowds (which never appeared) and hoped the park would be running a bit smoother a week in. This worked out well and I still managed to see the bee bodies that were only there my first day in the park then removed (to never return) later in that week. Had I waited much longer, I would be like most folks who never knew they existed.
And so on…
Islands of Adventure was supposed to be the park that would outdo Disney, but it did not really do much. As a lifelong Disney fan, I visited Universal the year before IoA opened and explored the preview center, and then returned on opening year to see it. That park opened at the end of May, and I visited six months after that. Our single day in the park, starting at “rope drop”, had us ride everything within a few hours (and that does not count the first hour where we walked around the entire park and most things were down, or had not started running yet). It was not an epic experience — so let’s hope Universal has learned alot about park operations in the past 26 years.
And pay no attention to the downtime Hagrids and many other new rides have had when they first opened. I would be shocked if we didn’t see extensive downtime on the Dark Universe and Harry Potter rides during initial weeks (or even months) of operation.
Set your expectations properly, get out there as soon as you can, and plan to return 6 months or a year later — and then we’ll know how epic Epic Universe is.
And, well, if I just happen to get a good deal on a flight, I may end up in the opening days/weeks crowds just to say “I was there.”
It should be an epic experience unlike anything we’ve seen before. Warts and all.
