Universal Cuts Epic Universe Entertainment Before Official Opening
Universal Orlando is rumored to have made major entertainment cutbacks at Epic Universe nearly two months before the new theme park has even opened to the general public. It’s being widely reported that all of the characters and live musical performers previously part of the atmospheric entertainment package have been cut from Celestial Park, the hub of the new theme park.
As we’ve previously reported, Epic Universe is currently in the midst of Team Member Friends & Family previews. These have been extended a number of times, and are now slated to run through April 16, 2022. This is essentially an opportunity for Universal Orlando to scale up operations on the brand new theme park, rather than having a trial by fire situation on day one.
This is especially important with getting the headliner attractions to hit their efficiency targets, and also iron out any issues and address any problems that could lead to reliability or downtime woes. Walt Disney World fans are likely well-versed in this, as most attractions have done extensive previews in the last few years, which proved hugely beneficial for TRON Lightcycle Run (figuring out seating) and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (improving dispatch to ensure an efficient opening). Having more previews and opportunities for test & adjust probably would’ve benefited Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (as it did at Disneyland).
One of the less-discussed elements of technical rehearsals revolves around entertainment. During previews of Epic Universe, Team Members and their guests have been able to enjoy character meet & greets, shows, roaming entertainment and other atmospheric acts. However, the entertainment in Celestial Park has reportedly abruptly ended. Recent attendees of the previews have lamented the loss of these acts in Celestial Park, and several of the former performers themselves have shared on social media that they were let go by Universal.
The exact scale and scope of the cutbacks is unknown, but at this point, it appears to only impact the entertainment slate in Celestial Park. Again, this is the park’s central hub, which contains the various portals into other lands. It’s like a more lush version of Main Street in Magic Kingdom or World Celebration at EPCOT. Universal has described Celestial Park as putting the ‘park’ in theme park.
For its part, Universal never promoted the specific entertainment acts in Celestial Park–just that it would be one of the highlights. During a recent appearance on the “Discover Universal” Podcast, Kathrynn Digenova, senior show producer for Epic Universe’s entertainment, revealed that Celestial Park would have many new characters who will interact with guests and advance the storytelling. She explained that Celestial Park would bring storytelling into this area of the park via “lived-in Celestial type characters.”
She shared that Hemisphere Stage is a wonderful entertainment venue within Celestial Park. On that stage, Epic Universe will have travelers who have been through the portals. “They’ve brought the sights and sounds of those portals back with them and they’ve come together to create a ‘musical moment’ using those sights and talking about what they’ve seen and experienced,” Digenova shared. “They’ve seen how dragons fly, and monsters, and more.”
Hemisphere Stage and the travelers in Celestial Park aim to tell the story of why the portals are in Epic Universe, and why they’ve opened. The Chronos is in alignment, and alive with energy. One of the characters is collecting sound to create energy with guests, which will be an interactive experience with guests that allow them to participate in creating energy for Celestial Park.
Basically, Celestial Park will serve to offer lore and backstory for Epic Universe, tying the whole park together and offering a cohesive layer of backstory for the disparate portals. Digenova explained that the land and its entertainment will offer context of the “why” of the land, “like why do we have Pizza Moon?” (One of the restaurants in Celestial Park.)
Digenova revealed all of this before the reported cuts to entertainment in Celestial Park. It’s unclear what, if anything, has survived. Team Member reports on social media are conflicting, some stating that all performers have been let go by Universal, with others suggesting there are still some atmospheric acts and Celestial characters.
Our Commentary
We are big proponents of live entertainment, and strongly believe atmospheric acts are what help give theme parks a sense of place and make them feel truly inhabited. This is hardly a bold or brave statement among theme park fans, but we think reducing entertainment is ill-advised. We’ve written versions of this same editorial countless times, but this is the first time it’s been directed at Universal.
I’ll just give you the CliffNotes version this time. Theme parks are more than the sum of their parts. It’s the little moments, the ambiance, the live musicians, the way everything just feels alive that, cumulatively, defines a visit even if you don’t actively notice at the time. Guests may not be able to put their finger on exactly what resonated or made them feel happy at any given moment, but it’s all of this, in its totality.
First-timers who fall in love with the parks and become lifelong fans are not doing so because they view the parks simply as a collection of rides. Live entertainment and the little “unnecessary” things are part of what makes the parks feel lived-in, and those acts you might walk past seep into your mind and do move the ‘guest satisfaction’ needle. They aren’t actually unnecessary. It’s the exact opposite–they’re the heart and soul of the parks.
Okay, boilerplate thoughts on live entertainment out of the way, I have to admit that I’m torn about this particular development with regard to Epic Universe. This is a brand new theme park, and there are countless possible explanations for Universal cutting this entertainment. I don’t think it’s fair to immediately jump to the worst ones.
Epic Universe is a brand new theme park that’s taking a big swing. As with all new expansions, there’s stuff that ends up being cut from the original plans. The park is already well over its original budget due to inflation and how the world has changed since it was first announced. To some extent, it’s impressive that COVID didn’t derail it even more–but I’m sure we’ll learn about attractions or features thereof left on the chopping block in the years to come.
Walt Disney World fans know this all too well, as we have countless coffee table books featuring concept art for unbuilt attractions, lands, etc. A great and pertinent example that still stings is the roaming droids and atmospheric acts in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. As we now know, those were lost to a combo of budget cuts and Disney wanting to put stuff behind the paywall of Starcruiser.
It’s possible the Celestial Park cuts are a straightforward case of budgets and cost-reductions, which would make them worthy of criticism. It’s also possible that the entertainment sounded better on paper or in a pitch meeting than it did in-park. Maybe guests were giving the entertainment low marks during previews or ignoring it entirely.
The whole point of previews is to iterate and improve, and maybe these acts just didn’t work or resonate with guests. Some of what we’ve heard from previews suggests this is the case. One anecdote reminded me of Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration in Tomorrowland, a show so atrocious that it was put out of its misery after only a month of performances at Walt Disney World almost two decades ago. (That’s why the stage exists in Tomorrowland.)
At the same time, I’m not uncritically accepting of these excuses. If the Celestial Park entertainment wasn’t working, it would behoove Universal to make changes as opposed to abandoning it entirely. It’s too late in the game to scrap these acts, develop new concepts, cast, train, rehearse, and debut them all before opening day of Epic Universe. That several performers have reported being let go by Universal is concerning, as it’s impossible to replace them by May 22, 2025.
The optimal approach would be tweaking the entertainment to make it as serviceable as possible, and using that as a stopgap while developing new replacement entertainment. Even if guests wouldn’t give it high marks, it beats the potential alternatives. Unless Universal is going to put the cost-savings towards something else that will somehow help soak up crowds, something is better than nothing. In the absence of actual performers, it’s possible that “something” will end up being regular Team Members with hula hoops and lawn games.
To that point, my big concern here is that Universal has deemed the entertainment superfluous because it’s being under-utilized during previews and is scoring poorly. But it should go without saying that previews aren’t the same as actual operations. We’d estimate that, conservatively, Epic Universe is operating right now at less than half of its summer capacity–perhaps closer to 20%. Right now, guests might bypass entertainment when rides have manageable wait times.
Fast forward to late May or June when wait times are much higher, and atmospheric acts might provide valuable counterprogramming. This is doubly true if attractions are experiencing downtime, or if Ministry of Magic is using a virtual queue and guests are lingering in common spaces. Enjoying entertainment beats loitering in counter service restaurant seating areas.
This lack of crowd-absorbing atmospheric entertainment has been a problem with the new Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea, and it’s an ongoing issue for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I could easily see Epic Universe suffering from the same, especially as that park seems to be heavy on headliners and light on everything else.
This is my biggest fear with Epic Universe. I’m pleased with the rather robust opening day ride roster, but that’s only part of the equation. And if the worthwhile rides all have triple-digit wait times (or multiple break down) and there’s insufficient, easily accessible counter-programming, the park is going to be difficult to experience and it’ll feel like there isn’t enough to do–even if it takes multiple days to do every major ride.
Ultimately, my hope is that this is much ado about nothing. That Universal Orlando has cut Celestial Park entertainment because it’s not working and isn’t fixable, and they’ve made the decision to reallocate that budget rather than throwing good money after bad. That it’s not a cutback, but instead a shifting of the same resources to something better that helps round out the day and absorb crowds/add capacity.
My concern is that early Epic Universe bookings are softer than expected, and Universal is trying to “trim the fat” and make cutbacks they feel most guests won’t notice. Even though this type of thing is common with new additions, it’s unusual at this stage–and could signal more to come if attendance ends up being soft in July and August. And even if attendance is softer than expected, this park is likely to feel busy for the reasons discussed above. Disney’s Hollywood Studios once again comes to mind–a park that’s bad at absorbing crowds and can buckle under pressure, especially when multiple headliners go down.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Universal Orlando cutting entertainment in Celestial Park before Epic Universe even officially opens? Think this is more likely a matter of budget cuts due to soft demand, the acts in question not working, or perhaps a combination of the two? Hoping the money is reallocated towards better entertainment in the hub or elsewhere in the park? What do you think the reaction would be if Walt Disney World did this–cutting entertainment in a park it had yet to even open? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below.
I’ve said it before in the comments here (recently) but… I think Epic Universe will be seen as one of the biggest opportunities Disney let slip away. It’s looking like Comcast/Universal’s strengths *and weaknesses* are going to be on full display with Epic Universe. Disney couldn’t buy (or build) a better chance for differentiation. Disney had this time to showcase what makes Disney Parks truly without equal; what Universal has never proven itself particularly adept at, and a real weakness of its catalog of IP. For everything extraordinary Epic Universe will be, it won’t compare to the best of Disney World’s imaginative, inventive, and inspired themed entertainment, environments, and atmosphere.
The Starlight Parade is a sample of what could have been, and even on its own, suggests the extent to which Disney is capable of outclassing Universal parks, if only leadership had the necessary commitment to that vision.
What motivated me to leave this comment, beyond the post itself, are the (National) ads I’ve seen for Epic Universe, which have been surprisingly underwhelming at best, and I’m tempted to say just plain bad. I’ve seen enough of Epic Universe to expect that it will be pretty spectacular, but that is in spite of the advertising, which reminds me most of commercials I’ve seen before for a regional Renaissance Faire.
Ultimately maybe that’s what this is in the history of Walt Disney World, a clear expression, free of the ambiguity that comes from the corporate tendency to always tell people what they want to hear, that Disney simply isn’t the creative force it once was, and isn’t capable of identifying and capturing the same sense of wonder, and capitalizing on the inherent value of it all in ways that resonate with fans and visitors.
Hopefully these cuts are them trying to figure out what is or is not working, and are not cuts forced from above by Comcast. With all the changes in their core businesses (i.e. cord-cutting and the spin-off of their cable networks) I can definitely see them getting skittish about spending. Disney certainly isn’t the only media company prone to bizarre financial decisions.
I almost feel bad for Comcast; they are opening what seems to be a tremendous theme park in what is probably the worst environment for tourism possible. But, considering they’ve basically destroyed by favorite sports team since they took sole ownership in 2016 (made the playoffs only twice in nine years), I won’t be shedding many tears.
Recently reading article about their 1day at EPIC. They focused on the rides only, simply getting from one to the next. How can you possibly enjoy all the entertainment, stroll thru the shops, enjoy a full-service restaurant, take time to look around at the beautiful surroundings in ONE DAY? I can understand why the entertainment suffered.
Without any additional information or connections / insight into what is happening in testing, I see this in a different way. The storyline as described sounds both weak and unnecessarily complex. It’s very difficult to balance backstory and setting against the distractions of a park, particularly one that’s entirely new to 99% of the visitors. Random, unknown characters inhabiting a world that needs to be explained by these same characters can be more distracting than engaging. If the guest doesn’t see the point and purpose of an interactive moment within the first seconds, most won’t wait for a narrative. I suggest they pulled all entertainment in one swoop to regroup the storytelling aspect, or abandon it completely and focus on in-world (lands) stories.
From the post: “It’s also possible that the entertainment sounded better on paper or in a pitch meeting than it did in-park. Maybe guests were giving the entertainment low marks during previews or ignoring it entirely. The whole point of previews is to iterate and improve, and maybe these acts just didn’t work or resonate with guests. Some of what we’ve heard from previews suggests this is the case.”
That’s to say that I don’t necessarily disagree with you, and also think you’ve explained it really well.
However, letting go of entertainers is a net-negative as there is not sufficient time to regroup via developing new entertainment and hiring new performers. Best case here would’ve been retooling the shows/acts to make them work as well as possible, while developing replacements.
Excellent points, I’m hoping they’re not making too many impulsive decisions based on cast or other test previews as (in my personal experience) employees tend to be less impressed or excited about something due to repeated exposure during the years- or months-long development process. I’m also hoping they choose to do more entertainment at the original parks to help gin up more enthusiasm in general.
We’ve only been to Universal twice and Disney dozens of times so a little biased but on our last visit to the existing Universal parks they feel to lack themeing and cohesion like you get from the Disney parks – they just seem like disconnected parts to a whole. What that cut would be the thing that would seem to connect the new parks lands together. That’s a shame for those who go more for the atmosphere than the rides. Speaking of which, I still miss the roaming characters on Sunset Boulevard at Hollywood Studios that did semi- stand up comedy acts but interacting with the guests. We have fond memories of those interactions and I wish they would bring those guys back!
This strikes me as the same sort of reasoning behind Disney getting rid of the Rivers of America: someone thinks “utilization,” measured in terms of the number of riders on a ride or occupied chairs in an auditorium, is the only measure of whether something in a theme park is contributing. Someone at Universal, coming from the same school of thought, saw visitors walking past the entertainment and concluded it wasn’t being “used.”
Maybe in this case Universal’s decision makers are actually correct, and did take the imponderables into account. But my suspicion is they didn’t: it’s too easy a mistake to make when studying operations reports in an office; that other kind of value can’t be measured in any simple hard-data kind of way.
Maybe the entertainment is creating crowd bottlenecks they didn’t anticipate?
While that would be a valid concern, everything I’ve heard suggests it’s the exact opposite–no one is watching it.
I suspect they are anticipating a major softening of consumer confidence and this must have looked like the easiest cut to make. At least they managed to get everything built before “liberation day” – the bigger worry is how Disney may downsize their plans amid runaway inflation, labor shortages, and declining international travel to the US.
Headliner attractions drive people to theme parks. Entertainment and atmosphere are what provide the magic and delight that keep them coming back.
I would agree with the theory that Universal is having trouble selling early bookings and prioritizing everything around getting people there — you can’t sell return visits to guests who never come in the first place.
“Headliner attractions drive people to theme parks. Entertainment and atmosphere are what provide the magic and delight that keep them coming back.”
100% agree.
But it’s also probably fair to say that a great park with memorable rides and low crowds will also convince people to come back.
I want to find this great park with memorable rides and low crowds of which you speak!
Teasing, of course, but I think the rub with modern theme parks, particularly in the US, is that if they’re any good they usually FEEL super crowded.
It’s probably a fallacy to say at some certain time during the 70s/80s/90s/2000s Disney and other theme parks were “uncrowded” (that would be the phenomenon of rosy retrospection) but I think objectively there were far fewer days when peak crowds were in effect, and there were off-seasons you could take advantage of if you could get off of school/work. I can’t think of a park described as “feeling uncrowded” in the US, whereas the reported crowd levels at HK Disneyland and other international theme parks (Disney or no) do seem like blissful dreams.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of “feels-like” crowd levels are in store for Epic Universe guests. Either way, I can’t imagine cutting all of this entertainment will possibly make things feel BETTER.
I’m the minority here. Our family doesn’t ride much at Universal due to age, health restrictions, and phobias. We definitely aren’t the thrill-seeking bunch. So, we only go for the experience. This is why I dislike Universal as a whole and generally stick with the mouse, but was optimistic of their ‘immersive lands’ with Epic. We are taking 2 newbies who may ride more, but our party of 16 will be hugely disappointed if shows and entertainment is cut further, and will bolster our decision not to return. We make 1-3 trips annually to Orlando as DVC owners, and this year doing split stay with Universal due to Epic’s opening. I guess we’ll see if this is a one-and-done for us. We spend an (unacceptable) enormous amount of money while on vacations in the parks each year and albeit a small percentage, that’s still a loss for them if folks like us aren’t considered more.
New park. It’s possible that they’re recognizing that many folks will simply pass by atmosphere entertainment and, instead, walk around and explore the new lands and rides. That’s what I’m going to do. I can catch the atmosphere entertainment further down the road. Initially, the big stars are the lands and the rides. I’m not worried about atmosphere entertainment at this point. There’s a ton of other new stuff to see and explore. And lines to stand in. And food to eat. And drinks to consume. I can’t wait!!
I get what you’re saying and acknowledged that in the article, but I truly hope they’re not making this call on the basis of previews with major capacity-constraints. Guest behavior when headliners have <30 minute waits is not the same as it is when headliners have >100 minute waits. Hopefully they understand this–I’m sure they do.
In that case, I’d also assume they have reason to believe wait times won’t be bad in June and beyond…