Welcome back to the Epic Universal Podcast. with Eric Hersey. I'm entertainment writer, Jim Hill, and this is the podcast where we cover the latest universal news, rumors, and history. And as I mentioned, I'm joined by my cohort. Eric Hersey, who is just back. from the epic universe. Again, I have to tell you, I am so jazzed and a little jealous, but jazzed that you guys actually got to do this. Yeah, I think that...
It's pretty funny jumping into fandom maybe a year and a half ago. And now it's like we're opening a theme park and I managed to be down there at the time that they're doing it. And we managed to get. the tickets and, uh, that is a joyous occasion for me. I, I, I like it is happy, dumb luck. But I'm happy to share our trip.
Today with you and everyone else out there, I feel like maybe I don't know the most about Universal, but I can definitely say I've stepped foot in Epic Universe and have plenty to talk about. That is so cool. And before we get started here, though, I did want to acknowledge that... On an earlier edition of this podcast, I was a whiny baby man who complained that, you know, all of these influences and that sort of thing got invited.
to the early early previews of epic universe and i i didn't make the list and i whined about it and then last week The very sweet people at Universal invited me to the grand opening of the park. And it was a lovely moment, an absolutely lovely moment, Eric, until I looked at the date, which was the 19th. through the 22nd of May. And it's like, oh no, because on the 20th, my lovely bride, Nancy,
is scheduled for a medical procedure. And it's one of these things where I literally can't go, you know, because that's what a responsible spouse does. And I reached out to the folks at Universal. I explained the situation. They were very kind. And let me transfer my invite. to a nice gentleman, one, Len Testa, and hopefully he will share his experience. But it's like...
It was a lovely 30 seconds there, Eric. It was. Listen, you forwarded that to me. I was standing down in the parks and you forwarded it. I was like, this is great. Like, yes, Jim, yes. And you're like, Dave. It is what it is, but I'm happy that you're on the list. I think it was either they heard the whiny baby man.
Or it was just a late invite. That's all. It took a long time to get through the email. There we go. And again, it's the old, it's an honor to be nominated. Okay. You gotta be gracious. Okay. All right, anyway, we have actual information about the Epic Universe, so we need to get to that now. But before we do... we need to acknowledge our sponsor here. And that, of course, is Be Our Guest Vacations.
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So, all right, we have some news before we get to you describing your time in the park. So let's hop to it, Eric. Right. Well, the first news, when we were going down, we weren't really short. So we're annual pass holders now, obviously, and that's how we kind of got the pass.
But there were questions on like what kind of perks you would have. So I just feel for everybody else out there that possibly could be trying to get tickets during this preview period, it would be at least worth noting that they are indeed giving. Their benefits are still there. They're not 100% all there, but for the most part, from a dining and shopping discount, we can speak to that. Premier is still getting 15% and Preferred is getting 10%.
And that is at most restaurants and snack stands and everything in Epic Universe. We can attest to that. parking perks, which I originally heard And read on the facts that the first time you don't get it, like you had to pay for parking the first time and then you would get, you know, the perk. But no, we went immediately in there and we did not have to pay. So it's free self-parking for preferred. Premiere can actually get free Prime or Valet, 50% off Valet, and then Power gets 50% off regular.
I also want to mention that 10% off Darkmore Monster Makeup Experience. 10% off VIP tours, discounts on the freestyle machines. And they have some really cool freestyle machines. But note here, early park admission and express pass after four still do not apply. So all you annual pass holders that are trying to go down there, get that. You still will get your perks. I thought that was worth noting because that was a question I had when we went and we found out firsthand.
Now it's up on the internet. Okay. Okay. Now, I have to say this. This next bit of news you're sharing... I get where Universal is coming from, but at the same time, this is kind of amusing. I found it very amusing. So just be aware that there's a wonderful monster makeup experience.
And we just mentioned you get 10% off if you want to do that as a pass holder. So this monster makeup experience, we've talked in the past. I think I was like, yeah, I'll make, I'll get miles to be a wolf man, this, that. But if you're an adult. And you go through this transformation. You are not drinking alcohol. They are not serving you alcohol, Jim.
So what do you think? Well, no, I get it. I sincerely get it. If somebody, I mean, you have your monster makeup experience and then you want an adult beverage and you walk up to the stand and they have to look at your ID and... You know, this isn't a photo of a gill man. I am so sorry if the gentleman who actually is on this idea ever shows up.
He can have his swamp juice, but I'm sorry, pal, move along. I mean, I get it. I truly do. But on the other hand, you know, you know, there are people who are going to do this and find out way too late and then. just run to the bathroom and wash off a hundred dollars worth of vampire makeup. Cause like it's four o'clock. I need a beer. I thought the same. I thought it was just super funny. It's like a Gilman actually walks in and he, he wants to get a drink. Yeah.
No luck. Let me see your idea. So if you want this to work, Get the, you know, you go to your local DMV with the makeup on. Oh, there we go. That in and of itself, you know, by the way, somewhere out there, there's a social influence that went, oh, I'm doing that. All right. Just be sure to mention us in the video when you post.
That speaking of, I do want to tell you really funny that we were watching a walk around because spoiler free, like I'm, I'm okay to watch the shows now. And miles was tickled pink. Cause we, there was. The influencers were out. It was day one. youtubers were out and we watched a real quick thing and you see miles and and uh
grandma walking by in this YouTuber's video. And Miles went berserk. That's so cool for Miles. Shout out to Random Land and Justin Scarred. We met him. Lovely guy in the park, but... Miles walked by in his video and we were watching it last night and went crazy. Yes, YouTubers, go ahead and do that. Internet famous. I love that. Oh, excuse me. YouTube famous. My mistake. That's it. That's it.
But hey, the next story kind of talks a little bit about, we're moving coasts, but it talks about cosplay. And it also, and this is where I also heard, same situation. You're not getting alcohol if you decide to paint your face. Did you see what they're allowing over at Universal at FanFest? And more importantly, what are you dressing up as, Jim? I don't know. Now, just to be clear about the cosplay guidelines.
All right, so full and partial face coverings are restricted because, again, it's an ID situation. Also, no costume weapons. And that's kind of interesting because it's like, okay. So we're going to have Star Trek at this thing. And is a phaser a weapon? Right. What's the definition here? It says it has to be soft, lightweight, and clearly non-functional. Okay. And no atmospheric effects of smoker balloons or oversized costumes.
And also your costume has to be ride safe. You don't want, when you're sitting next to the person on the tram, them getting skewered by your land. And again, we're back to the alcohol thing. And that's an interesting designation. Full vertical. paint i i'm sorry so if i have horizontal face paint i think it's just the full face right like so i guess maybe if you wanted to do i guess a batman or something like half the face maybe i'm guessing it's like a full covering which is weird terminology
I would just say full face paint, but hey, let them say vertical. I guess you could have maybe face paint under the eyes. Okay. But that said, in fact, we're now moving into your bride's territory. It's a show she and I do together. Again, I Want That Too, our merch show. because FanFest is going to have its own themed merch. And we were just talking about Star Trek.
And there you can, they're going to sell Starfleet jackets. You're going to have triple shoulder plaids. But this one, this one absolutely kills me, Eric. The seti eel earrings. Do you remember Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan, when the... The little thing. Lots of people are going to be mad at me, Jim. I've never seen any Star Trek. I've seen the most recent with Chris Pine years ago. I can't remember much about it. And maybe a couple of the early, early ones.
You guys were talking about the Wrath of Khan, I think maybe on Lucasfilm or maybe on fine tuning. And I was like, I'm like, you know, I really should watch this. I've heard lots of good things. So add it to the list. It's actually a good film. I'm not going to lie. There are. star trek movies where again they use them to break prisoners at guantanamo i mean especially star trek the motion picture oh god
It's the worst. But no, Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan is a good movie. So what is up with these earrings? What are they? In the movie, they actually show these eels that go into your – and again, you've got to see this with a full audience because you hear – an entire audience lose its mind you see an eel slip into somebody's ear and it then allows them to be mind controlled
And so the fact that somebody in merch was like, oh, yeah, we have to do these as earrings. It's like, oh, pal, you are a sick individual. And I'll take two. Right. Right. Deep cut there. I think the next one I would go after, Back to the Future, they got Marty's vest, rainbow hat, license plate, anniversary collectibles. I'm all for it. I mean, I have to admit that the whole Courthouse Square experience, the thing they're talking up there sounds amazing.
And then, you know, we also we have some Dungeons and Dragons stuff, a Paladin hoodie, a bag of holding. There's a really bad high school joke in there somewhere, and I'm not doing it. And then we jump to one piece, and we have Luffy and Chopper themed apparel and accessories. I've got to check with Al. It seems like there's still...
like they're still kind of not giving you much information, Jim. They're playing it really, really tight to the chest. They don't want you to know anything because that could be a lot of stuff. Absolutely. And then, of course, we have our Harry Potter collector one or time turner. Popcorn bucket. I want to know how that works. And then a pygmy puff, a niffler. These are plush. And then, interesting, Super Nintendo World, which already has...
Well, you know this now from having done Epic Universe. I do. I mean, they have an amazing retail program, but here they're going to have a colorful Yoshi apparel, bags, home goods, and stationery. It's going to be interesting to see what people carry out of this thing. But we kind of breezed over the dungeons and dragons stuff. What do you make of this?
this photo of what one will encounter. Well, the Xanathar is, I thought you would appreciate this for multiple words. And I know we mentioned it early on, you know, way back when we started talking about it. But they are basically allowing you and they kind of gave a first look. So I grabbed a picture here. So I would venture go out there and look at this. Like we mentioned before, it does look like a combination of Mike Wazowski and his girlfriend. It's like this one eyeball. Okay.
So, but it is a legendary D&D in what the beholder is what they call it. Now, granted, my brother is a big D&D guy. He actually had me... I started playing with him last year for the first time. I made him play fantasy football. I had to play D&D. It was a nice even trade. We both lasted about a couple of seconds.
So, but this is, it's actually like a Jim Henson creature shop. So it's a fully articulated larger than life animatronic, which I thought it was just going to be a straight up puppet. But look how, like, it is going to be an experience, Jim. So I thought you would appreciate this. And I think everybody else out there that like appreciates animatronics, this thing is something to be seen. And I'm glad that. It seems like they're taking this fan fast.
Pretty serious to have a new animatronic that maybe is only limited time. I think that's a big deal. It's not just a puppet. It's just not a character meet and greet. Like I thought it was going to be like a figment dream binder kind of deal where, you know, the arm is rested underneath, but really.
that that whole you know magic but it looks like it's animatronic yeah and i don't know if you saw any of the the number of folks got invited to a press preview out west uh weeks ago and they walk them through the under construction or still under construction uh star trek sets which actually If you've ever seen any of the footage from Star Trek The Experience, the thing they had out in Vegas, it's like...
It looks like it's that level. It's that quality. And it's just sort of like, okay, good on them that, you know, they put the time in and the money. And more to the point. We've talked previously about that survey that Universal Orlando did. They seem to be kicking the tires of aversion. of this event. I wonder if the eyeball guy, they'll fly him back and forth. And more to the point, will he ride in coach?
Right. How does it? Yeah. So I thought it was worth everybody go out there, seek that and maybe they'll have some video online. It would be cool to see. But when you go out there, Jim, you're going to have to tell me what you think and if this is worth. springing to make it go happen. But I think it's one of those things where, yes, a lot of this is kind of being dwarfed by the epic news. It is, it is. But there is a lot to be excited still.
in all these other regions and like something like a dnd and a star trek and A lot of the and back to the future. All this is still something to pretty much be excited. So the West Coast. But, hey, come join us on the East Coast because I'll tell you, Epic was pretty sweet. Now, speaking of which, folks, we're going to take a quick break here. But when we get back, Eric's going to share his – again, there for the first annual passholder preview day.
at Universal Orlando's brand new theme park. But before we do that, this. And we're back. So, all right. Now, before we get started about the Hersey family adventure inside of Orlando's brand new theme park, Eric has some information to share that provides some context. for uh epic universe and uh what do you have to share with the class eric well i think i mean i think we're all excited as theme park fans of a new park but it's been what 20 some years that since one's been built
So there's a lot of fact and figure and there's a lot of people not in the theme park community talking about this. So there were some facts that were thrown out there that I just thought would be worth mentioning that this is a big deal, not just for nerds like myself and you for that love. theme parks, but even CNBC commented that this park is expected to generate 2 billion. an economic impact for Florida in its first year.
That's insane. I think – so there was a CEO of Visit Orlando noted that the domino effect of economic benefits for the region kind of – played to that. And then a director of UCF's Institute of Economic Forecasting said that the investment led to $11 billion in economic activity nationwide. So that's construction, operations, hiring. That was 65,000 jobs. 94,000 jobs impacted nationally. And I thought this was cool is that it's expected to create more than 17,000 jobs in its first year.
And I think the rumor investment was $7 billion, although that's not officially confirmed. So there's a lot. That is beyond just cool coasters and stuff. So if you're Central Florida or nationwide or whatever, healthy for the theme parks. Well, and it's interesting. That's the interesting you use the word health.
Because, you know, we've been talking over on Disney Dish about the impact of the terrorists and the number of, you know, for example, the fall off in Canadians who are willing to come into the States and the folks flying over from the UK. And I was flat out talking with somebody who works in tourism in Central Florida, and they just basically said, Thank God for Epic Universe opening when it's opening because
Imagine what it would be like in Orlando right now if there weren't this amazing new park opening as a carrot. And more to the point, the people who'd paid in advance for vacation packages. to be there first and have bragging rights you know imagine what this summer would be like not only at universal but up the road at disney If there wasn't something big, shiny, and new that people had to see in Orlando. And right now, the folks in Orlando are just like, okay, we're just hoping that...
By the late summer, early fall, all of this tariffs nonsense will be in the rear view that whatever trade deal. are being negotiated will then be on the table and things will hopefully begin to return to normal international and you know and again people come flying in from parts of north america outside of the state But no, there's lots of people. Thank you, NBCUniversal, for spending the $7 billion because we can't imagine what this year would be like without it.
Yeah. I mean, I guess your closest call would be what DCA was built in 2011 or 2001. I'm sorry. So like there's the crisis there. So if, if there wasn't, I don't know, we'll, we'll, but I will tell you the 7 billion well spent. Um, I do want to say that like we, as we talk about this, I want to give you guys props because on the trip. Back or down, either way, one of those, I gladly listened to the Disney dish that you and Jim Shul and Len put together.
I was cool with some audio spoilers. I wasn't going to watch any video. But if you guys are listening to us now and you didn't listen to Disney Dish, Len... was able to see the park early, wasn't able to take pictures and talk about it for a while, but you guys went over in the latest Disney dish a couple weeks ago.
thorough so i'm not going to repeat a lot of what len said i'll give my opinions and stuff but i do thorough look at epic please listen to that podcast not that i don't think you guys are already listening to disney dish but if you haven't listened to disney dish okay um what are you guys doing go over there and listen okay now before we get started here uh eric and i were pre-gaming and I wanted, especially at the top of this, you had some very interesting things.
to say about this park before we do the deep dive and start talking about individual lands and rides and that sort of thing. Let's start with that. What did you actually think? Well, Jim, I will tell you this. I have a very unique situation that I cannot imagine a lot of the current listeners probably are in the similar boat.
Because, mind you, I've been going to theme parks since 2014 regularly, diehard Disney fan, going two, three, four times a year with all types of – every type of age group you can imagine. And during that entire tenure, I did not step foot in a brand new theme park from 2014 until July of last year when I finally stepped foot in a universal.
So I had a lot of knowledge about theme park history and themed entertainment, but I managed to not step foot. So when I first went to Universal proper and then Islands of Adventure in July. I had a lot of that newness feeling and excitement that many people are now feeling for the first time in Central Florida that they haven't had for 25.
So I think a lot of us are very, very excited about something new, something exciting, an entire theme park with all immersive 2025 technology where I can tell you like. I felt that way in July when I stepped into something like Islands of Adventure. So I don't think like. I do believe Epic is one of the best theme parks I've been part of. But I also do think it's the one theme park I've been part of that has all of the modern technology and all of the modern thing. I will tell you, I think...
Islands of Adventure is a quality, immersive, great theme park, but just has older IP and is probably not designed as well in terms of a hub and spoke. And it doesn't have as many A-list or E-ticket attractions. loved epic but i do think right now a lot of us are really a lot of the fan community is probably really really excited because it's something new oh true oh true and maybe not like the the it is a fantastic theme park but i don't think it's like the
It's not overtaking the greatest thing of all time. Okay. Nope. If that makes sense. All right. No, no, no. I do appreciate that. Providing some context. It lives up to the hype. You know, a lot of that hype is actually based on the newness and let's be honest, more up to date IP. But all right, so let's get to it then. So of the lands in the park, what do you think was the most immersive?
So we all know I was most excited about Dark Universe. And I think that lives up to the hype. I really do. We went there first, but I really do. Super Nintendo World, I think, has been a sleeper for a lot of people because it is kind of like a repeat of two other parks.
But to step into a Super Nintendo world for the first time ever, it was by far everything it lived up to be and more so. It was so darn immersive. And there is a difference here because like you're going up a portal. From what I understand, that's not necessarily the case. in Hollywood. And when you step out of like Peach's castle, you are the sound.
is so the sound immersive immersion and you feel like you just stepped into a video game from a sound standpoint and a visual because you get this lovely second story look and everything that your eyes can see is this land i don't think i've ever been in a more immersive land
And of course, as a Nintendo kid, you know, like someone who's played Mario entire life, I did not think I would geek out as much as I did there. And so I think that it might not be as... talked about because it's it is kind of a clone of another land and other people has done it if you have not done a mario land you are going to be super impressed and i thought that was
So, so, I mean, you've seen it, right? I have. I've seen the— What was your thoughts the first time you walked in? Did you have similar feelings? Well, now, see, the difference is what you're describing here is different than the physical setup in Hollywood. In fact— I'm going to be fascinated. And it's July when you and the family are headed out west.
right? August, July, around that, yeah. Yeah, I'm going to be fascinated when you come off of the Starrcade and, you know, walk past Jurassic World and finally enter. Hollywood's version of a Super Nintendo World, just to get a sense of how does that work for you? Because you actually come through the tunnel and you're down at ground level. And this is all surrounding you rather than what you describe here.
the second-story wide-angle view. It's a different way to enter the land and more to the point. The other thing worth noting here is no Yoshi ride, no Donkey Kong ride, not yet. And so it's... a smaller version of the buffet, I guess is the polite way of putting it. Right.
No, it was brilliant. It was really, Jim, I think that is the sleeper that you don't hear as many people talking about, but it's worth every penny. And I do think it's the number, it'll be the one that changes. Like that's the one we sent to our neighbors that are Disney fans that will make them come.
It is still – it's the attraction that Miles had the most fun in and is just a – I think it is a needle mover where I don't think people that aren't necessarily into monsters or in the themed entertainment will care about Dark Universe. everybody will care about, hey, I would like to go meet Mario. Like, or, oh, there's a Mario Land. I'd like to see that. I think that will be a huge factor. Okay. Okay. Duly noted. All right.
So moving on now to, let's talk about your favorite ride experiences. We're working a punch list here. What's the, oh, you got to do that. Well, it's no surprise that Monsters Unchained is... the one that I'll talk and I think we're going to talk a little bit more because I did get to experience that and I would like to give you guys an opportunity to
to go a little bit deeper into what that attraction's like. But I will tell you the sleeper hit for me, the surprise hit, I really liked Hiccup's Wing Gliders, which is a, like, it's a coaster. Like, I would anticipate it kind of like a Slinky Dog Dash, but... A little bit more intense, a little bit faster, I would say, a couple launches. It has a nice little story moment in it, but I didn't anticipate that I would like that so much.
And it was the whole family could do it almost. Mind you, not necessarily grandma, but Miles could do it and everybody else could do it. And we wanted to do it over and over. We had short wait lines. Spoiler alert, it was preview day. They didn't necessarily fill the parks. But that is one that I would absolutely do every single time, and I think that's one.
that probably not a lot of people are going to talk about because everyone will talk about Monsters Unchained and Battle of the Ministry, but Hiccup's Wing Gliders was really, really cool little code. Now, speaking of what you just mentioned, the ride in the Harry Potter Land, Ministry of Magic, and Battle of the Ministry, which...
we have been following very closely. So... live up to expectations or yeah yeah i could see why people would say this is the best ride they've ever been on i i literally could see that i i compare it more to like a rise of the resistance that it is Multi-leveled and layered in terms of how you do things. The one thing I will say is for those who get screen fatigue, which you certainly do at Universal Studios proper, there's a lot of screen fatigue.
These screens are the real deal. You could get nauseous, but you don't, right? And it is a beautiful blend of animatronic. screens, enough motion. Sometimes you're like, I know I'm moving, but am I going anywhere? The ride vehicle is wonderful. The storyline was easy to follow. lots of items. And I think we could talk a little bit more about that if we need to in terms of step-by-step kind of thing.
But yeah, I think it lived up to the hype. And was it my favorite? Well, I'm more of a Monsters guy. But I certainly said, hey, I think this was the best out of the three Harry Potter. type attractions of the different lands wow that's high praise uh so we have our our top three here but There were other rides in the park that I think you indicated.
Fun, but not necessarily world beaters. I was really excited about Mind Cart Madness. It's a fun little ride. It's a little bit more jerky than I thought. I love the music playing. I thought it was cool. Uh, you know, I didn't necessarily feel like I was jumping anything. It felt like it was a regular coaster. So even from looking from a standpoint when you jump the tracks and so forth. So I thought that was fun, but I think it'll determine.
which we've, you know, you guys discussed at length, there's going to be some problematic issues with the load. I will tell you the difference between when it is continuously moving now, where it was reported earlier, it stopped. So I think the track does move now and it doesn't stop to load. So hopefully that'll help some of the...
issues with getting people on and on, but I could see this being a ride. Like if it's two hours, I'm not going to wait for it. It's cute and fun, but it's not worth it, uh, from a two hour standpoint, but I would wait 30 minutes, 45 minutes. But I just feel like that ride is always going to be. And Curse of the Werewolf is fun, but it's kind of short. So once again, I would wait a half an hour, maybe 45 minutes, but it's a little shorter than...
The whatever the ending finale for us wasn't necessarily working. So I'll give it another pass to say, hey, does that add up? You know, is the animatronic or whatever at the end was supposed. Didn't necessarily work, and this was a technical rehearsal, so there's no complaints out of me. No, no, no, no. Get that. Get that. Okay, so we've talked about rides. Now let's move to the best non-ride experience. so so of all the stuff you saw at epic universe what
What impressed you there? Well, I'm happy, Jim, that we talked about how to train your dragon last year, because if we didn't do a show and do some research, I probably would never watch it. I probably would not have connected to this land as much as I did. But the Isle of Burke is amazing. It is the...
And I think my wife said it's the most Disney like it's it outdoes Disney when it comes to feeling like like a. an immersive land that is everything's alive and there are things everywhere like the dragons were great we got to meet toothless and we got to meet hiccup uh we got to see astrid we the the roughneck and tough neck
they're walking around they are super amusing there are dragons everywhere there are movement everywhere it was in the stage show we got to manage that and that was a jaw dropper uh so i think that whole land was a 10 out of 10 And if you watch the film, then you're emotionally attached. So like meeting the toothless matters more, right? Meeting a hiccup and realizing, hey, this guy sounds exactly like a hiccup and has the same mannerisms. Like you just.
The walk around Vikings. It's so great. So great. No, I have to admit, I've. You know, I've been good, except when it comes to the Isle of Bern. From the moment I saw the little, what is it, Dart? And, you know, I forget the other iRobot dog. masquerading as a drag and it's like okay all bets are off just show me video ah god yeah it was very difficult not spending a lot of money in there i mean and granted
We ran, like we were allowed in the park from 11 to nine. It's, you don't, that's not enough time to do everything. So like, I would have loved to be able to slow down and be a little bit more immersive and like, just take a lot of stuff in. But we were like, all right, got to do this. Got to do that. It was a very. I'd call it a touring plans ask day. We're like, we're looking for optimization so we can do as much as we can. Um, this will be a wonderful park to go. And like.
portal and land just to explore. Okay. And a lot bigger than I thought it was too. I think this is the biggest land in terms of size. Yeah, that's my understanding. It's twice the size of any other land in the park. But again, remember, part of that is the water feed. Face it, the Isle of Bird. You need a C, so to speak. All right. So let's. just kind of jump to the big question here.
Epic Universe, heavily, heavily hyped. I can't turn on USA Network here or NBC without seeing, you know, and what I love about these. This is the ad campaign that learned from the Island Adventure ad campaign, which was very clever, but you had no idea what you were looking at. Whereas with this, the ad campaign that was built for this part, they show you the portals and more to the point, every ad ends with somebody who's just...
experienced a lens, stepping back through the portal to their friends and family, you have to come see this, which is a brilliant message to come see our brand new park. But that said, you were talking about Modern Park, got the sort of tech. you know you expect in 2025 so let's ask The obvious question, game changer or not? Well, let me come out of the portal and I will say, Jim, you must come see this. Like it is a, it is a, it is certainly.
a theme park that you need to see. I would say everybody should, if you had to pick. theme park you would want to go there right i don't necessarily say i can't say you know It's so much better than Islands of Adventure in terms of attractions and this and that because I think everything has its little moment.
I appreciate the hub and spoke approach. It was so much easier to navigate, to get to the lands and jump back and forth. I think going and learning from the years of what works and what doesn't, I think a hub and spoke approach is a great design. I think that is huge. There are so many attractions that you would consider e-ticket or that are worth an hour or longer wait. And I imagine there will be hour-longer waits.
And I think, once again, I think this is just your first modern theme park that has used the technology that has been slowly coming out in different lands. It's a combination of like, hey, you take something that they did great in Pandora or they did something great at, you know, in Galaxy's Edge or Harry Potter. And they kind of put it all in one theme park. So I think it.
a a wonderful theme park but i don't think it is essentially going to be like all right everybody else shut down own people are going to go to epic right okay i think i think it's going to be a park i mean I asked my kids today, I said, all right, rank your theme parks of all the ones you've ever been to. And Epic scored a lot higher than others, but there were a couple others that still kind of beat it out because you can't.
It's not a rite of passage right now to go to Epic, but it is a rite of passage for some to go other parks, right? No, this is true. So I think you're still going to compete there, but the beauty is if you give me two days to go in Orlando, I'm going to pick one park that has a castle, and I'm going to pick this park that has a Frankenstein castle.
Wow. Wow. All right. If somebody's listening in PR at Universal, remember to use that quote. Never mind Cinderella Castle. Have you been to Frankenstein Castle? That's great. That's great. Now, speaking of Frankenstein Castle, when we get back from this break. we're going to talk about the ride that's inside of that building in Dark Universe. And there will be spoilers, so just warning you up front. But before that, there's this.
And we're back. And again, want to stress right at the top here, there will be spoilers for Monsters Unchained. which, again, I've just been hearing from friends in themed entertainment who've experienced this thing, Eric, and they just talk about what they love about this particular attraction. from an attractions mechanic.
point of view it's just sort of there is so much misdirection there's so much great use of of props and animatronics and projections that you as you go through this thing you never entirely know what you're looking at when Yeah, Jim, I wouldn't consider it busy, but I would gladly just be like, one more loop, keep me on it. The fun thing is it is a wild ride.
But it is – you're on a kooka arm, right? It's a little less – and there's less restrictions in terms of visibility where like when you're on Forbidden Journey, it has like a roof almost. Like you are very visible. But I was really scared that it was going to turn me upside down, flip me back and stuff.
I don't think this is as wild as some would think. And I also don't think there's as many jump scares as one would think. But there's so much going on on this attraction. You're not going to catch it all in one trip. You might as well be like, and things come. Quickly, they go quickly, and it's just amazing how fast these animatronics have to reset because there's a vehicle right next to them.
you wow but okay it is it is super impressive but that's not like the only thing like the entire queue in the frankenstein manor and i get to witness the i witnessed outside at night frankenstein manor at night and the bolts of lightning that hit this darn building, supposedly, and it dims the lights through the entire land when the energy surges.
genius okay i mean if there's anything that i say is game changing and love like this land is genius and i didn't get to explore as much as i wanted to uh but i did watch a lot of people online explore so i'm like oh i can't wait to go see this thing or this thing but The overall queue, you honestly go through, Jim, the whole manner, and there is a lot for those that are into.
A lot of hidden Easter eggs and a lot of references that I didn't necessarily get because I haven't watched a lot of that. But they have pictures and they have little references and they have – you go through the laboratory and you see like the original. Frankenstein monster like made as Karloff like his like there's so much there that
You don't mind waiting. And we waited 60 minutes. We rope dropped this bad boy. And we, so I got to stand in every single queue for a long period of time and take pictures of a lot of stuff. But there is, and each room has like a specific. monster you know the story is victoria is catching these and so forth so there's like a wolfman room and it shows videos and has traps and then there's a the frankenstein room which is the laboratory that you know
Was it Harry? I can't remember the – whatever the original Frankenstein doctor. OK. And then there's also – and there's the vampires where they're doing experiments on a bat and then there's a mummy could come. So lots of cool cool things that you and throughout the entire thing, there's pulsing lights and energy surges. So.
Just standing in the queue, if you're not into these types of rides and can't, just walk through the queue. You'll be impressed. It is super immersive and impressed. Not a detail left untouched. Okay. Okay. All right. So, you know, you've made your way through the queue. And of course, it's... It's time now to begin the pre-show. So who do we encounter in the pre-show? Well, I think this is one of the better pre-shows. This is like the spiel of life.
almost how the ride vehicle is going to work. They have Igor do it. He takes off a mask, and it is a pretty, you know, a nice CG version of Igor, and he's funny. And this Igor in this land is a funny, charismatic, but he basically gives you the whole reason why you're doing things. And it almost tells you like if you're sick or like this is the vehicle you have. And they actually have a miniature vehicle.
to show you how it's going to work. So you know, if there's a chicken exit, you know where to leave there. But wonderful little pre-show, and I think it's clever how they actually had the character build the story as opposed to a... cast members saying, hey, if you're heart-prone or whatever their normal spiel is. Okay, but these days, face it, what's interesting about a pre-show is it's also a hold area.
And these days, typically, well, I mean, if you look at something like Rise of, or Millennium Falcon, Smugglers Run, you actually get two pre-shows. You get held inside of the Millennium Falcon. They do something similar here or... Right. The second pre-show is even better. The second pre-show is almost the best darn thing. I would say make it to this. If anybody else is scared, this is when you meet Victoria, and she is an animatronic.
She, it's different. Like, and I'm granted I'm in the back and I can't tell if there's like a face projection as well with the animatronic, but she looks great. Uh, but the, the, when you actually see the newest version of the monster who is huge, absolutely huge comes out, but.
dare I say the best animatronic I've ever seen. Right. It was just beautiful. And they give you the spiel and they tell you what's happening. And I think, you know, you get the Dracula experience where like he comes and crashes the party and then they kind of send you off into the next room. And this is where you kind of.
do uh they do their lockers are really cool they all face scan and i had to do it multiple times and it worked every single time so like my fear is like you know it's not gonna work But this is where you have to put in your bag and then you essentially go through another little queue before you actually get to the ride experience, which is I would deem it's it.
Uh, if you've been on a moving platform for like Cali river rapids or probably even Popeye's for that matter, you ever seen those raft rides that are kind of like moving and pushing? I would compare that, but with forbidden journey kind of deal. Like how that's how you would get on. And it doesn't move, it doesn't stop and you jump on and they get you in it. And it's a fairly, but that's how you start with the traction and it gets you moving.
Okay. And then you're off to the races. Okay. So what is the right experience for Monsters Unchained? Firstly, I want to tell you, it felt... long enough to be worth a wait. Like, you know, you know, when you wait an hour, you're like, how long is it going to be? And I know I get off Tron and I'm disappointed most of the time because I'm like, oh, it was really quick and I just waited 75 minutes. This was, I waited an hour.
Now, granted, everything was new and I was really taking every, but this, I mean, I would venture to say this is at least seven to 10 minutes. It felt like, I mean, I haven't really timed it, but it seemed really long and there was just a nonstop. Hey.
monsters are loose and it was a lot of misdirection and this and that and you really couldn't tell there were animatronics and there were screens there were animatronics up and down, like my favorite that you see right off the get-go, Quasimodo's in a giant belt.
for a split second. And then you get Phantom of the Opera playing and you don't see his face, but then he turns his face and you're like, oh my goodness, it's grotesque. And then as soon as you get done seeing that, you look down and it points you down and there's the creature of the Black Lagoon, right?
And then, so you kind of get introduced to all these and there's a moment where the Wolfman's on top of you and swiping down. And then he goes over to the next, uh, scene and he's swiping over you from the left. It is just, and then you have Victoria going through and she's shooting these like, uh. Dracula's Brides, and you really couldn't tell sometimes if it's a screen, and it was a beautiful mixture of screen and animatronics.
And for what we saw, I really only think there was one that wasn't working. So I imagine that there, like I could imagine this being a really difficult ride to have it 100% flawless because there were so many animatronics. So many in each scene, but... If they at least have, I mean, you know, there are a lot of, you know, what B modes where.
Maybe it's just like they take them down and then you have like a screen showing them. I don't know what, but they had to think of that and forecast it. But we were very lucky. We didn't have to deal with that much. It was a... wonderful experience in which my daughter closed her eyes the entire time. Oh, poor Lainey. Okay, but I have to say here, when you described the moment where the Wolfman is on top of your car and seemed to be swiping down at you.
Eric, that's a gag that the Imagineers wanted to do. for Phantom Manor at Euro Disney back in 1992. In fact, there's this amazing board. of the it was literally going to be the finale of the attraction where you know how in the moment where you see the hitchhiking ghost The idea was that you're about to get off the ride. Your car turns toward that set of mirrors and you see first. In the first mirror, the Phantom climbs on your car. It literally puts a hand on the edge of it.
The second thing, you know, he begins to reach down into your car and the final mirror is him about to grab you and then you go into the office. So the fact that here we are, what is it? Oh my God, this is... 30 plus years later. and a gag that disney couldn't figure out to do universal is done but with the wolf man oh my god it was it was great and and i know one thing i will mention on this it was not as scary as one would
think like i expected there to be a ton of jump scares there really wasn't my daughter that's what my daughter was terrified they mentioned in the queue at some point in time don't let anything touch you so she thought for the entire ride something was going to touch her so but i will tell you like it is
like if you have somebody that's a little squirmish or whatever, as what we have right now, there was nothing that came out of you and made you like worried that you were going to get grabbed. I mean, they do a great illusion of it, but I think it's a. It's the right mixture. I was telling somebody, I'm scared to death of Halloween Horror Nights because I don't like jump scares, but this is my kind of horror. Okay, so more intense.
rather than horror-horror. Yeah, that's kind of where my thought is. Okay, okay. And... That said, given the motion of the ride vehicle and that sort of thing, there are some folks who get a little irpy. Is motion sickness a concern with this one? Listen, Lauren typically gets sick on a lot.
these rides and i don't think she necessarily came off as saying oh i'm i'm absolutely sick so i think they i think you could right if maybe it went for a couple more minutes and a couple more screens but i like i said these screens are very good it's not a It's not a Simpsons or Back to the Future or kind of like where you're like, oh, that was very...
screen so i would say you're you you're better off on this ride than most others so if you get a little squirmish that it's still a possibility but i i i didn't and sometimes i do get a little squirmish okay okay and not to give anything away but Oh, like the finale kind of happens. I mean, like, I think it. The thing is, I was so immersed with like seeing things like I'm not necessarily sure exactly what the storyline is, but I think it just ends in giant chaos. Like I don't it's.
victoria and dracula and i'm like i don't really know who won who didn't so we won't spoil 100 you're gonna have to ride it yourself you tell me what the ending was because i was too busy looking at all the cool animatronics that works i know that sounds spectacular but Again, we mentioned earlier in the show that the attraction we've been following with intent. This preoccupation, of course, is Harry Potter and the battle at the ministry.
And Len on the Disney dish talked about the spectacular queue. Yeah. So, well, let's talk a little bit about that. Well, I would say, listen, Len does a really, really good job explaining the immersion and how much... was done you do walk through this like i will give you the the metro flu uh operation and how you enter the portal was really cool um and i think
and it sounds to me like len went through the queue multiple times now i only went through the queue once and i did have to wait a decent amount we did get a virtual queue so we managed to get that so it was maybe 45 minute wait so i got to wait in several areas but it is as as grand and as huge as everybody has said it is you would be like, you were mad to do this. So like, I wouldn't doubt if 3.5 billion of that money was put into this riding queue. But I will tell you it is, it is.
It's one of the things you go back and you tell people, like how crazy they were to make something like this because it is unnecessary. Oh boy. It is. It's worth talking about. So, but you kind of go through, listen to, listen to lens over on the Disney dish for that. I mean, let's talk a little bit about how this ride actually goes through.
Because I was able to witness it. And I still know that not everybody in the park is getting it. Because it is on a virtual queue. Which says something about reliability. It says something about guest satisfaction. Of how long you wait and need to get pushed. We didn't have any issues. I didn't see a noticeable thing down on this ride while we were riding. Okay. Okay. All right. And now. Let's start with the ride vehicle.
which again, those folks who've seen, I want to say, Deathly Hallows 2 saw this. this elevator in motion in that film. this is kind of a different setup from what we saw there, right? Yeah, I think who was, I was in a line and I was kind of asking somebody because they did a little bit more digging than I did. Obviously I was spoiler free and they were like, well, it's like,
picture, uh, tower terror. Uh, that's how it's set up. So you almost sit in a stage like that, but they were like, but the ride is more like Spider-Man. So I'm like, all right. And that's pretty accurate. Like it literally is like a spider-man kind of immersion uh in transformer style but it feels like you're sitting in a tower terror which had me on edge because i don't like drop rides at all i don't like that sensation
Uh, but they managed not to really do that to you. Like there are moments where the screen makes you feel like you're going up and they slightly drop you in a sense, but like you, you know, it was just a simple lap band or like, uh, uh, you know, a seatbelt.
So it wasn't anything like you knew you weren't going to be tossed around too much. But I believe it's still on a kooka arm, right? I mean, does that sound right? Again, I've been trying deliberately not to learn too much about the ride vehicle so I can – experience it you know cold but but anyway all right so uh
But all right, smooth and multiple layers story like Rise of the Resistance, correct? Yeah, yeah. Like it is very much in a lot of things Rise of the Resistance because there are super, there are moments. I mean, the whole story is that you're going to go see what Umbridge is on trial. And there is a lot. You essentially do screens. And if you're familiar with the movies and Ministry of Magic.
you know, you go through the elevators. So there's screens that make you go feel like you're going up and you really can't tell if you're actually moving. It is that good. Like I would have said, yeah, I'm definitely going up. several stories and then when you go down you feel like i'm definitely going down and those are all screen based but then you immediately move over to different screens where
It's funny, Lauren was like, that's a real person, right? That's how good the animatronic of the Death Eater was. She's like, that's an actor, right? And I'm like, no, that is an amazing animatronic. And you kind of see that through the whole process. is amazing screen technology that doesn't necessarily get you a little queasy. I think towards the end, this one's a little bit more queasy than Monsters, but it is a perfect blend.
And you really can't tell. You really do feel like you're moving up and down in different stories throughout the entire. I would have told you that we started on a top floor and by the end we were on a bottom floor. And I don't think we did. Like I'm almost convinced like this. apparatus makes you really do feel like you're going up and down stories of, of the building and you, and you don't like, you're probably just going in a circle, you know, circle or whatever. So, um,
There are, you know, you get to see animatronics of the Death Eaters. I think you get to see Harry. Hermione all like in some type of animatronic form and I'm very curious on how they how this was all filmed because I mean they're in they look of the age So I'm very curious at how they get this footage and how they got them to do all this. I think in the long run, we need to.
figure that out okay um but the whole process to kind of skip through and i don't necessarily go room by room by room i will tell you there were a couple things that were really cool is when they get to the department of magical creatures now i have not seen these films yet ran out of time okay but there is a oropent that's a giant rhino yes yes it is okay is that right yep and and in the first fantastic base film we saw that thing loose in central park
So, ah, well, guess what, Jim? And I know I hate to spoil this for you, but for all those that there was a warning you included. They don't just give you the screen-based. You turn a corner and you see that bad boy as an animatronic. Oh, wow. Okay. So, I mean, that is – That is the awe moment of like, holy crap, like, what are they doing here? And then, I mean, so the entire ride was...
I mean, it was a lot of scenes. Once again, it was a longer ride. It was like, I wouldn't have felt bad to wait an hour for this. And I would wait. And like I told you guys earlier, I think it's the best out of the three, you know, when it comes. or forbidden, I think this is the one that I'd be like, absolutely going to wait. It was so seamless and such great technology.
A good story, too, you could follow. You understood what was going on. You might not know the time, whatever they call it, like what that's all about, but you understood she's trying to escape, and there's chaos that ensues. Okay. Okay. Okay, so we get our finale, and what's our end experience here?
Well, I mean, you essentially, you know, spoiler alert, she's taken away to Azkaban. So you end up in the courtroom, which is really cool. And that's where there are actually the animatronics that do a really good job of displaying her. And, you know, sometimes... When you do humans that we actually know of animatronics, it's kind of tough. It is, it is. And I thought this was really impressive for what it was. You know, like you were like, yeah, that is about as close representative.
uh, as possible. So, you know, at the end of the day, you, you end, they take you off the set and you exit the Metro flu, like on the opposite side, same kind of concept. You go through green mist, boom, you're outside, uh, and, and you're back in. france okay uh but again uh this is different from uh what we were just talking about with monsters unchained because it sounds like You learn a lot as you make your way through. the queue, but there's not a pre-show per se, right?
No. Well, the funny thing is when you get in there, there's that giant hall and they kind of send you over to the queue and you just kind of have to go through the queue. There's a lot of rooms and there is a giant banner that is kind of explaining what's happening to Dolores.
Kind of like, hey, but when you go through the queue, it's telling you most. And then there's a wonderful room with Higgledy, which is the house elf that kind of explains stuff. But for the most part, you're not getting a pre-show. per se, you could hang out in that lobby, I think as long as you want. But as you go through the queue, they're kind of telling a lot.
story and or why you're on the queue and attraction. It's like, hey, this is what's happening. I think maybe the three of them tell you, hey, we're going to go to this trial. So it's... It's not like you get a pre-show, like I said, in the other one. There's no pre-shows. It's pretty much a giant queue, a couple standing areas, and they get you in there, and you're ready to go. All right. Well, no, I appreciate you popping the hood on at least these two.
attractions at epic universe but uh also want to point out that if you want to learn more about this park and by the way hear another voice talking about this so your lovely bride lauren uh we're going to be doing a Patreon bonus episode. Is that correct? Yeah, I think, I mean, you know, Trip reports are a – there's a lot of people like trip reports. You want to know exactly what I ate and what fork I used and how many points I got on the Mario. I'm probably not going to be that detailed.
But I do think it is worth mentioning. We've been there, and having Lauren's perspective, my perspective, But not only that, we were there with a grandma. We were there with what you would call an elementary school. I'm there with a teen and a preteen or whatever, a tweener or whatever you call a 14-year-old these days. So we have a lot of opinions. So, like, I feel like, hey.
Why don't we throw it over on Patreon and anybody that wants to hear us rant or talk a little bit more about it, we can go more detailed land by land and talk a little bit more. Well, all right. Looking forward to recording that one. For now, hopefully this will be a fun appetizer, so to speak. And face it, the show is called the Epic Universal Podcast. We will undoubtedly be talking more about this part.
And the other stuff that Universal is up to. But for now, I guess we should be closing up shop. So, Eric, where can the nice folks find you till we post our next episode of the Epic Universal Podcast? Well, if you were following me this week, you saw a lot of the cool pictures that I was sharing from Epic. So you can follow me over at Eric Hersey on Instagram and X. I also will.
too. What about you, Jim? As always, you can follow me over on X and Instagram as Jim Hill Media and over on Facebook as Jim Hill Media News. All right. That's going to wrap it up for today, folks. Thanks so much for listening. And stick around to find out what's coming up this month over on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network.
thanks for listening to today's episode and if you like what you heard head on over to apple podcast and give us a review this really helps get the word out about our show We also have some other shows on the network. that you might like. Each week, we drop a brand new Disney dish with Luntesta for animation and movie news. please listen to Fine Tuning with Drew Taylor. By the way, you can also check out Drew's other podcast.
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