The long suspected but highly anticipated announcement has finally been made! Universal will open a third theme park (Sorry, Volcano Bay, you’re not a theme park) along with new hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment venues, near the Orange County Convention Center on International Drive. Universal won’t be announcing any opening dates or attraction details today, but it’s incredibly exciting to know we will be welcoming another major theme park soon. Orlando has not seen a completely new theme park since Islands of Adventure opened in May 1999, over twenty years ago.
As far as logistics are concerned, transportation might be a little inconvenient for tourists staying at the main property. It will take at least 12 minutes to get to the new park from the existing hotels and attractions. Universal said they are pushing for the new train from South Florida to have a stop at the Orange County Convention Center, and this would certainly ease the transportation burden. Additionally, Universal Orlando has contributed a significant investment into the Kirkman Road Project that will ease road transportation between the two properties. Otherwise, it’s certainly not unheard of to spend a few minutes driving or taking transportation between theme parks – even on the same day. BUT one of the things that currently distinguishes Universal from Disney is the ease of park hopping and transportation between attractions. On the other hand, if the scale depicted in the below map is accurate, the footprint of the Epic Universe complex will rival the current size of the main property. Meaning that guests will be able to choose their home base and still enjoy the convenience of closely located hotel and food options.
Even though no details were mentioned, Universal did release the below concept art for the new entertainment complex. We may not know much about this new park, but there does seem to be a roller coaster and large theater depicted in the art. Rumored, but not confirmed, theme park “lands” have included Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, How to Train Your Dragon, Universal Monsters (my personal hope and dream), and Nintendo. When asked to speak about the lands and attractions, Universal Parks & Resorts CEO, Tom Williams replied, “I would love to ’cause it would blow you away…” He did reveal that Epic Universe’s construction would leave room for future development at the site.
Universal also said they would be releasing “epic reveals” as park development and construction progresses. We can be encouraged by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ promise to “streamline” the building process by allowing onsite permitting at the Orange County Convention Center. No matter when it opens, I am thrilled that Orlando will be adding another major theme park to its already exciting landscape!
