Epic Universe has just opened and exposed a flaw in theme park planning that shows how Disney manages to find an attraction balance much better!
Right now, everyone in the theme park fandom is buzzing on the opening of Universal's Epic Universe in Orlando. It's the first major theme park opening by either company in the U.S. since Disney's California Adventure in 2001 and fueling the Disney-Universal war.
So far, reviews are positive for the park, which has experienced some of the typical opening-week hiccups but has overall provided a fine experience for guests. Epic Universe seems to have a good mix of rides based on How I Met Your Dragon, Nintendo World, the Universal Monsters and Harry Potter.
The rides are getting raves, such as a new Harry Potter Battle at the Ministry, Mario and Donkey Kong coasters, and more. However, there is a growing complaint among guests that, as of now, Epic Universe has less than a dozen major attractions to ride.
Granted, this is just the opening month for the park and obviously Universal has plans for more rides in the future. They're counting on the experience of a new theme park to pull guests in, and so far, that can work. Yet it also exposes a flaw of Universal that Disney has long had an advantage on.
Disney paved the way for attraction parity
Go to any Disney park and every area has a major E-ticket ride. Space Mountain, Pirates, the Haunted Mansion, Rise of the Resistance, etc. True, there have been times when a park can open with limited rides, such as Animal Kingdom, with Disney working quickly to fill those gaps with more.
However, these areas also show something that Disney latched onto faster than other theme parks. You need to have a balance in these areas with one massive ride but a few others to offset that and provide a balance for guests.
This goes back to when Disneyland first opened with the old "ticket system" that divided the attractions up. That gave guests the opportunity to choose between the bigger rides and smaller ones and that's continued for Disney today.
Look at California Adventure's Cars Land. Radiator Springs Racer is the most popular ride in the park, with packed lines as soon as the ropes drop. The wait times are massive and everyone flocks there first.
However, the area also boasts Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, two smaller attractions geared more toward younger guests. That is a good way for kids to kill time when waiting for a Lighting Lane appointment for Radiator Racers and allows Disney to ease the pressure off the wait times for Radiator Springs. Ditto for how Toy Story Mania has the Midway area and some "kiddie" attractions to use.
This works for other areas of Disney parks. Tomorrowland has Space Mountain and Astro Orbiters with the submarine in Disneyland and the Speedway/Autopia or WDW's Peoplemover. Fantasyland in every Disney park mixes big attractions with smaller ones that have faster lines.
It's been a constant for Disney in every park they've built, capturing this balance of not just massive, expensive, and exciting rides but the smaller attractions that guests can enjoy. And as with so many things, Disney set a standard that would soon become a tradition across the theme park world.
Why attraction balance is needed for theme parks
The plethora of Six Flags, Knott's, and Busch Gardens-style parks demonstrates how theme park owners have learned from Disney. Every one has the huge roller coasters and fancy rides yet the same types of dark rides, boat rides and classic carnival bits such as bumper cars or others to allow guests extra fun while waiting for a crack at the bigger stuff.
Universal themselves seemed to understand that when they opened Islands of Adventure in 1999. They were very careful, ensuring that each "Island" had at least one monster attraction with others around it. See Jurassic Park having the boat ride along with Pedatron Flyers or the AA stegosaurus to visit. Universal has worked it more with the Harry Potter sections.
Yet with Epic Universe, Universal seems to have forgotten that lesson. It's as if they want to make a splash with just the immense thrill rides and forgot that there should be smaller stuff to help guests feel welcome. That's especially true when those big rides break down (which is already happening), and suddenly, the visitors realize there's not much else to do in this area but look at the scenery.
For all the problems Disney had with opening California Adventure in 2001, at least they made sure the E-ticket rides had some companion attractions. They've improved that since to keep up the history of ensuring a balance of the must-ride stuff with the smaller rides, which can provide as much fun.
Epic Universe is barely a month old, so of course, there's going to be growing pains, and plans for more attractions are in the works. However, if it wants to live up to its name, Universal has to follow Disney's long-time example in how a theme park can't just be thrill rides or cutting-edge attractions but sweating the small stuff ensures a great visit for anyone.
Which park do you think will come out on top?