The yet-to-be-constructed Epic Universe for Universal Studios' park in Orlando, Florida has been put on hold indefinitely. It was originally scheduled to open in 2023. This information was revealed during Comcast's Second Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call (the parent company of Universal).
The reason construction has been halted is because of the global pandemic. Universal has experienced major revenue losses in recent times and customers won't be visiting. Super Nintendo World is part of the Epic Universe in Florida, so it means the construction of this area has now also been indefinitely delayed. Via wesh.com:
In April, Universal announced Epic Universe would be delayed. Then, on Thursday, top executives with Universal's parent company Comcast said the project was on hold indefinitely. "We are continually adjusting our cost base and capital, including pausing development of our Epic Universe project in Florida, for example, until the future becomes more certain,” Jeff Shell said.
This follows on from Universal Studios postponing the grand opening of Super Nintendo World in Japan earlier this year.
[source wesh.com, via nintendowire.com]
Comments 50
2023 seemed a bit optimistic to be done with covid anyways at this point, especially in Florida.
I think Super “Nintendo” World is a misnomer. It’s all Mario.
At this rate I’ll probably be taking my own kids there😂. I’m guessing 2025 prolly.
Park will be closed before it's finished.
@FredsBodyDouble At this rate, Florida will be closed before 2023.
They REALLY need to fix the buttons on his overalls...
That's a huge bummer. I live in south FL and make trips to Disney all the time. Mario World was finally going to give me a reason to also get a annual pass to Universal.
ill be in Osaka in summer 2021 so fingers crossed!
Disappointing, but honestly expected.
Well, makes sense though.
@nessisonett maybe Florida Man can save the day
Well, this year can't get any worse so all of this bad news just bounces right off.
Theme parks are gonna be long gone before this will even be considered again.
Too bad too. Looked amazing.
Just happy I was able to visit California’s Universal last year before this all went down. I can’t even imagine how you’d ever run a theme park considering all the preventative measures you’d be expected to do... and the liability insurance you’d need... the bogus suits alone would financially drain you.
@Slowdive The economics behind the delay are mildly more complex than that.
I'm not a target audience for theme parks, though. I haven't been to one in decades. More of a county fair guy.
Not surprising at all. Alot of companies are getting hit hard financially during this pandemic.
At its current tragectory, Florida will become the setting of Fallout 6 by the time Super Nintendo World Orlando is allowed to open.
@thesilverbrick Yeah, exactly. I was hoping for Zelda, Metroid, and Star Fox attractions and/or rides, but it looks like everything is Mario-related.
That would be as if everything in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World was only Mickey Mouse-related. Obviously, it's not; I've been there, but still, you get my point.
Probably because of the impact of Covid-19
Reads the full article
Never mind.
What a scare lol.I'm going to Japan late next year. I really wanna go to the Park.
@kepsux The vaccine is right around the corner. That should drop the numbers significantly.
@KingBowser Technically, you're still right. They got almost no money this year because of quarantine.
@AstroTheGamosian
Good thing SNW will be opening just a few months late at Universal Japan. Have a good time in Japan!
@EchoNemesis
Walt Disney World's parks are around 500+ acres and SNW is going to be around 10 acres. Universal Japan and Hollywood are significantly landlocked and SNW is already pretty tiny compared to the Wizarding World or Cars Land.
Best chance for other Nintendo IPs Florida and that seemed to be the plan with Pokemon and Zelda being future expansions. But I'm sure the focus is now getting the Mario portion into one of the existing two parks before Nintendo's contact expires with universal.
Can't say that I blame them. Just not a good time for it all. Personally, I'm surprised that it wasn't adjusted for the American market to be more about shopping and food and a wider net of IP's that could accommodate larger crowds with accessible rides.
Not being coy about the food thing, either. I want to go to a Kirby Café so badly.
@Joeynator3000 good eyes!
They should have called it, mushroom kingdom, or mario world.
The margins on theme parks are razor thin. Huge revenue but huge operational expense. Many won't survive 1 year plus of lost revenue, let alone build or expand.
I don't think I will ever want to go there. There was so much potential, Like there could have at least been a Zelda, Or a Kirby ride. But it's all mario.
I get why people are upset with the lack of other Nintendo franchises, but just be glad Nintendo is at least getting a theme park in general.
Saying that it’s delayed indefinitely is really misleading. If you read the quote, all it says is that it’s delayed, and that construction is on hold indefinitely.
Oh well, there's always Disney and Star Wars.
Does anyone know if Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood has been delayed?
That seems to be the only one that hasn't been delayed (yet).
Super glad we are still keeping our borders closed to the US. Canada doesn't need that *****.
@Slowdive I am healthy and had it extremely badly, so everyone should be careful.
@ACNHislit
Rumor right now is that USH's construction will be temporarily stalled so that the money can be moved into getting SNW into one of the parks in Florida (likely as a replacement to Kidz Zone in the main park).
If they're successful the Super Nintendo World in Florida would open at the same time that Epic Universe was going to originally.
Makes sense what with everything going on.
Lol I love how the park isn't even constructed yet and people are complaining that it's too much Mario and not enough other franchises. Yes, two of the first three areas of the park to be revealed are Mario related but look at the size of the lot they're constructing on vs. the sections that have been revealed. There's plenty of space for other franchises.
https://orlandoparkstop.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/dev-plan-904.jpg
@Jokerwolf Oh that sucks! Sorry to hear it
@Tempestryke Ya I was lucky, I got to the point where I was coughing up blood and could hardly breathe but I didn't have to get hospitalized thankfully. It took about seven weeks total to fully get over it.
@Jokerwolf Holy cow! That is frightening! I hope you made or will make a full recovery.
@Toy_Link
Okay, thanks for the info. 👍
So, will SNW be the same size as it was going to be inside of Epic Universe, or will it be smaller? 🤔
@Tempestryke I seem to be 100% now but the lungs took a bit to kick back in to normal.
@ACNHislit
The Donkey Kong miniland might become an expansion instead of opening along with it. But otherwise the Mario part should be the same size.
@Toy_Link
Okay, thanks for the info. 👍
So, it's just the construction of Epic Universe that's being paused, not any other construction at Universal Studios in the US? 🤔
@ACNHislit
Yep only Epic Universe is the only victim so far, for example the Jurassic Park roller coaster at Islands of Adventures still will open in 2021.
@Toy_Link
Okay, thanks for the info. 👍
Is the reason that Epic Universe is delayed, and not other attractions, is because it's a Big New Area, while the other attractions are just new attractions? 🤔
Sorry that I'm asking so many questions. 🤔😬
I'm just trying to figure what's going on with Universal Studios, regarding SNW. 🤔
@ACNHislit
Yep, Epic Universe would be a multi-billion dollar park (that even in a good economy could take a few years to recoup costs), while something like SNW or the JP coaster are much cheaper to build and should only improve attendance to the existing 2 parks.
@Toy_Link
Okay, thanks for the info. 👍
That makes sense. 👍
@thesilverbrick No it's not. They're building a Donkey Kong attraction as well.
@Donkey-Kong-Fan Yeah, and Donkey Kong and Mario debuted in the same game and are part of the same canonical universe. I would like to see other Nintendo IPs represented outside of the Mario universe, like Zelda, Kirby and Metroid.
@thesilverbrick
Pikmin was teased...
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