ORLANDO, Fla. – Significant progress is being made toward the completion of Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park, Epic Universe.
During Monday’s UBS Global TMT Conference, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said construction on the new theme park is on track for a 2025 opening.
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“I don’t think we’ve set the exact date that we’re going to open, but we will have an impact in 2025,” Shell said. “We’re now in what they call, ‘going vertical.’ I was down there a couple of weeks ago and everything’s coming out of the ground. So all the infrastructure is in, and a lot of the steel is in.”
Epic Universe will feature a new theme park, an entertainment center, hotel, shops, restaurants and more and will be located on a 750-acre site that nearly doubles Universal’s total acreage in Central Florida. It will located south of Sand Lake Road and east of Universal Boulevard, not far from the bustling Orange County Convention Center.
See construction video below.
“It’s also very interesting that park is close to the convention center. So, sort of an interesting experiment for us,” Shell pointed out. “Results are going to be interesting to see as the convention business comes back. The park is built so that you can come into one land, and not the whole park, and are we going to get nighttime convention business which is a kind of an interesting experiment for us.”
During the call on Monday, Shell pointed out that 2025 will be the perfect year to open the new theme park. He pointed to hotel booking trends and the recent opening of Orlando International Airport’s new Terminal C.
Comcast, Universal’s parent company, has kept the details surrounding Epic Universe under wraps. Leaders however have said that when Epic opens it will include the highly-anticipated Super Nintendo Land. The immersive world will put guests into the video game and will include rides, shops and interactive experiences.
NBC Universal has already opened the video game land at its Japan park, and is planning to open a land at Universal Studios Hollywood this spring.
As Universal continues work on Epic Universe, Shell said demand for Universal’s domestic theme parks remain strong.
Universal said the work on Epic Universe will result in hundreds of jobs within the resort and thousands of jobs across Central Florida when complete.
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