Latest news with #KarenIrwin
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Universal's Epic Universe ‘Changes Everything' And Is Already Planning More Attractions
"This fourth gate changes everything for Universal Orlando," explains Karen Irwin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Universal Orlando Resort. Less than 24 hours later, the new multibillion-dollar theme park Epic Universe officially opened its gates to guests. Eight years in the making but announced in 2019, Epic Universe spans 110 acres and features five themed areas: Celestial Park, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon—Isle of Berk, Super Nintendo World, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—Ministry of Magic. It's the first theme park to be added to the company's Florida portfolio since Islands of Adventure in 2019. "The future is super bright," enthuses the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Destinations & Experiences, Mark Woodbury. "This is truly a momentous occasion for us and a significant milestone in a continuum of our development. When I speak about a continuum, this is the first step in an epic future." "There's a lot of room for expansion and we're already thinking about how that plays out. It's the same on the north end of the campus," he reveals, referring to legacy property Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. "There are new attractions coming, new intellectual property coming, and that's all part of our philosophy to grow our business by expanding our existing footprint." The entire footprint of the land in which Epic Universe sits, a stone's throw from the Orlando Convention Center, is 750 acres. The idea for Epic Universe started when execs looked at how to grow the Orlando business, which also includes the Volcano Bay water park, and realized that the key was another park to make the Universal resort a full week vacation and "the destination of choice for people for their full Orlando trip." "When we decided to do that, we asked the consumer, 'What will take you to swing to make Orlando your destination?' And they told us," Woodbury recalls. "We love your intellectual property, technology, immersive storytelling, and thrilling attractions, so give us more of what you do best, and we'll give you more of our time.' Epic Universe is the result of that." Then, he explains, it was a process of "compiling the best intellectual properties we could think of." A great example is How to Train Your Dragon. Woodbury continues, "With a new movie coming out in a couple of weeks, that gives you a sense of how things work within our company. We have the third installation of Harry Potter in the resort, so if you're a Harry Potter fan, you have to see all three parks, which speaks to the week vacation. Universal Monsters is completely reimagined. We were able to take those characters, reinvent them for the next generation, and put them behind some stunning technology. Then, of course, there's Super Nintendo World, our fantastic partnership with that powerful brand. You put all that together and have the most technologically advanced park we've ever built. I can say that with some confidence because I have built six of them for the company." That technology extends beyond the groundbreaking rides and attractions such as Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, the crown jewels in an offering that also includes exhilarating highlights Donkey Kong: Mine-Cart Madness, Stardust Racers, and Hiccup's Wing Gliders. "The technology starts when people first engage with their vacation planning cycle on an entirely new e-commerce platform that streamlines the purchasing process and the selection process for tailoring and customizing your vacation," Woodbury confirms. "It follows all the way through with facial recognition technology that streamlines and takes all the friction out of the entry process. You can pair your ticket with your face and walk right through the entry gate. Historically, you had to stop, buy a ticket, stand in line, and go to the turnstile, but now you've come straight in. That technology is going to enable all kinds of operational benefits going forward." Irwin adds, "We have absolute experts in this, and not only are they experts in what they do, but they're also very passionate about what we do. We think very much about what we want people to feel when they come to Universal Orlando Resort. We want you not to have to think about what you're doing but to put away your phone and feel what we're doing here. I think what you're going to find when you lean into that experience is that we offer this opportunity for people to come together with people that they love and care about, connect and be together, and have those moments and those experiences that honestly, they will remember for a lifetime." Epic Universe, which officially opened on Thursday, May 22, 2025, also significantly boosts Orlando's employment prospects. Along with the theme park itself, the development adds three Loews hotels to the resort: Stella Nova, Terra Luna, and the Helios Grand Hotel. These add 2,000 rooms to the portfolio, for a total of 11,000 across all their lodging properties. "What that means is that at any given time, there are 25,000 to 30,000 guests on our sites at our resorts, 24/7," Irwin enthuses. "I'm proud of the economic impact of this project. We hired 1000s of people to operate the resort. The economic impact is felt beyond this region, but in Orlando alone, there will be billions of dollars of economic growth in this area. We are lucky to have brilliant and talented team members who operate, build, and design everything. I'm proud of the work that's happened here. If you think about what it takes to run a resort like Universal Orlando, it's like running a small city." Ahead of the gates officially opening following a period of soft opening and media previews, Epic Universe welcomed a galaxy of stars made up of industry figures and celebrities, including Gerard Butler from Universal and DreamWorks' new live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon, James and Oliver Phelps and Warwick Davis from the Harry Potter films, Nintendo's Representative Director and Fellow, Shigeru Miyamoto, and seven-time Academy Award winner and legendary makeup artist Rick Baker.
Travel Weekly
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Epic Universe: A new era for Universal Orlando Resort
ORLANDO -- Universal Orlando Resort is abuzz with one word: Epic. Executives, media and theme park enthusiasts converged on Central Florida for the May 22 opening of Universal Epic Universe, the third theme park at Universal's Orlando campus, and several days' worth of preopening previews and activities. "We are so excited to welcome you today -- dare I say, emotional — to Universal Epic Universe," said Brian Robinson, executive vice president and chief creative officer of Universal Creative, during a media event. "This park is a game-changer, folks, and the most technologically innovative park we have ever built." Karen Irwin, president and COO of Universal Orlando Resort, said that Epic "changes everything" for Universal's Florida property. "It truly transforms Universal Orlando Resort into more than a full week's vacation destination," she told media during a reception. "And I think you're going to love it." Epic Universe is home to five themed worlds, including Dark Universe; How to Train Your Dragon -- Isle of Berk; Super Nintendo World; and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Ministry of Magic. The Atrium of the British Ministry of Magic in the queue of Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, a ride in Epic Universe. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada And the one world that isn't based on intellectual property is the one that centers them all: Celestial Park. Guests enter Celestial through the Chronos Tower, Epic's main portal. It's a dynamic structure that hints at astronomical and mythological elements, a theme that follows throughout Celestial. The backbone of Epic Universe, Celestial welcomes guests at the park's entrance as well as toward the back, through the 500-room Universal Helios Grand Hotel, which has its own dedicated park entrance. Celestial was purposely designed with plenty of greenery and water features, Robinson said. "This is the world that put the 'park' back in 'theme park' -- lush gardens, dancing fountains, serene locations," he said. It is also home to several dining locations, wet-play area Astronomica, the Constellation Carousel and Stardust Racers, a dual-launch coaster with tracks measuring 5,000 feet. The coaster rockets riders up to 133 feet in the air as fast as 62 mph. Fyre Drill is a water ride in How to Train Your Dragon -- Isle of Berk, one of the five worlds in Epic Universe. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesida Adam Rivest, vice president of creative management at Universal Creative, spent the past eight years working on Celestial as one of its producers. "When we approached this project, we wanted to look at something that would be a differentiator for this park," Rivest said. "We looked to the great European gardens and how those have always been a place where people can come together and share experiences and relax and kind of decompress from their week and their days. We felt like that's what Celestial Park wanted to be." The park boasts not only a high thrill in Stardust Racers but also gardens and waterways, spaces where guests can decompress after Epic's other thrills, Rivest said. "I tell everybody to make sure that you take the time to actually experience the space," he said. "Don't live through a camera. Don't live through your phone. Put it away, talk with the people you're with. Use Celestial Park as what it was designed for: a place to connect."
CNBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Universal leans into theme parks with multibillion dollar Epic Universe, even as economic uncertainty looms
ORLANDO, Florida — With the grand opening of Epic Universe on Thursday, Comcast is positioning its Universal Studios Orlando Resort as a destination, not a pit stop. For years, Universal's Florida-based resort has played second fiddle to rival Disney. While it boasted three theme parks — Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure and water park Volcano Bay — and a handful of hotels, it wasn't viewed as a destination. "This fourth gate changes everything," said Karen Irwin, president of Universal Orlando Resort. "It not only cements us as more than a full week destination vacation, but it also adds three hotels to the resort." Epic Universe opens at a time of economic uncertainty in the U.S., as President Donald Trump has instituted a wide range of ever-changing tariffs that have stoked fears about a global trade war, sent the stock market on its own roller coaster ride and has threatened to tip the American economy into a recession. The U.S. has already seen a slump in air travel, particularly from international travelers. While those guests are small subset of overall visitors to central Florida, they often spend a longer period of time staying at hotels and visiting theme parks and spend more money on food and merchandise. "When there's consumer uncertainty, the parks tend to feel it," Jason Armstrong, chief financial officer at Comcast, said during a MoffettNathanson conference last week. "They tend to snap back really quickly, but they do tend to feel that." "On parks, whether it's current attendance trends or bookings — which, bookings aren't a perfect window, but they are the window you have — there's nothing that's showing up in the bookings trends so far that would indicate any pressure," he added. "That's true in Orlando. It's true internationally." Those who are most budget-conscious may have already been priced out of the theme park market, Craig Moffett, co-founder and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, told CNBC. "There was a time when visiting a theme park was a mass market vacation," he said. "It's arguably too expensive for that to be the case anymore. The tickets alone can run a family a thousand dollars or more for a multiday visit, and that's before hotels and meals. Perhaps that's why we're not seeing as much economic sensitivity as we might have expected." In spite of these economic headwinds, Epic Universe is expected to draw in millions of visitors, bolster theme park revenue for Universal, as well as Disney just down the highway, and bring billions of dollars to the local economy. It's also the start of a new era of theme park development for the company. It took nearly a decade for Comcast to bring Epic Universe to life. From buying up land its previous administration had sold off, to Covid-related construction delays, this 750-acre development is the first new theme park to open in Orlando in 25 years. Epic Universe, first announced in 2019, represents the largest single investment Comcast has ever made in its theme parks business and in Florida overall, CEO Brian Roberts said at the time. That figure is rumored to be around $7 billion, though the exact amount is unclear. The park features five themed worlds: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Celestial Park and Dark Universe. Comcast's investment in Epic Universe is part of a wider push to grow its theme park and experiences business. The company already has plans to open a year-round Hollywood Horror Nights themed experience in Las Vegas later this year, a kid-friendly park in Frisco, Texas, in 2026, and a U.K.-based park in 2031. "Comcast is leaning into the theme park segment for a simple reason: It's working," Moffett said. "Growth is good and returns on investment are attractive, and the theme parks pay all kinds of strategic dividends by deepening customers' relationships with their favorite Universal characters." While theme parks are a smaller revenue driver than Comcast's media division, the division is profitable and has significant potential for growth. In 2024, theme parks accounted for a little less than 20% of Comcast's overall revenue, but about 44% of its adjusted EBITDA. For comparison, Disney's experiences division, which includes parks, represented 37% of the company's revenue in fiscal 2024, smaller than its entertainment business, but accounted for nearly 60% of its net income. Universal's theme park investment and expansion come as Disney has pledged to spend $60 billion over a decade to improve, innovate and expand its amusement locations. New developments, whether they be parks, lands or rides, spark healthy competition between the companies to create more compelling and innovative attractions to lure in guests. "This is the first new theme park in Orlando in a quarter century, and those 25 years have seen breathtaking technological advances," Moffett said. "For that reason alone, it's a big deal." The company has received 161 patents for its innovations at Epic Universe, including new animated effects, ride designs and robotics. Across the new park, there are trackless ride systems, augmented reality and high-resolution projections. In total, the Universal Destinations and Experience division holds 3,300 patents globally. Major innovations can be seen in rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment in the Dark Universe portal and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry at the newest Wizarding World land that transports guests from 1920s Paris to the 1990s British Ministry of Magic. It is also apparent in new entertainment shows like "The Untrainable Dragon" with the How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk portal, where an animatronic Toothless, with a wingspan of nearly 27 feet, soars over the audience. "This is a truly momentous occasion for us, and just a significant milestone in that continuum of our development," said Mark Woodbury, CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences. "The future is super bright. … There's a lot of room for expansion. We're already thinking about how that plays out. New attractions coming, new intellectual property coming, all part of our philosophy to grow our business by expanding our existing footprint." Woodbury noted that there is plenty of space on the Epic Universe campus to bring other worlds into the fold. The company has plenty of intellectual properties to tap into, including existing theme park brands like Jurassic Park and Minions as well as untapped franchises like "Wicked." Where Universal executives also see strength is with its partner brands. Across its domestic and international theme parks, the company has brought to life lands and attractions based on IP from other studios like Harry Potter, Nintendo and Transformers. "There's no creator out there that wouldn't like to see their their IP delivered to the world in a way like you see in these parks," said Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast. "It actually enhances the IP for further use of the creator." Universal's theme park expansions also broaden its appeal to more age segments with the How to Train Your Dragon and Super Nintendo worlds. "In the past, Disney really had the under 10-years-old segment more or less to themselves," Moffett said. "Universal catered to tweens. The new Epic Universe park brings whole worlds to life for younger children." More parks, more merchandise, more food options and more guests to cater to open up more opportunities for Universal to generate revenue, not just in Florida, but globally. The company has selected franchise IP that is not only beloved, but evergreen, Comcast executives said. It has also updated characters and stories, like its classic monsters, for a modern age. "We've soft opened for a while, and that gives you a lens into sort of what people are going to do in the parks," Armstrong said. "And exit surveys have been great. The reviews of it have been terrific."
Travel Weekly
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel Weekly
Epic Universe's opening day approaches
ORLANDO -- Universal Epic Universe "changes everything," said Karen Irwin, president and COO of Universal Orlando Resort. "It truly transforms Universal Orlando Resort into more than a full week's vacation destination," Irwin said on April 19 during a media reception at the Universal Helios Grand Hotel. "And I think you're going to love it." Universal Orlando on Thursday, May 22 will hold the grand opening of Epic Universe, its highly anticipated new park that features five worlds: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon -- Isle of Berk, Dark Universe and Celestial Park. Epic Universe is Universal's first new domestic park since Universal Islands of Adventure opened in 1999. Disney last opened a U.S. park in 2001, Disney California Adventure. Its last in Florida was Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998. The statue of Apollo facing Epic Universe, as seen from the Universal Helios Grand Hotel's Flora Taverna restaurant. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada A nighttime opening celebration is set for Wednesday, May 21 from 6 to 10 p.m. Eastern time. The nighttime celebration and a celebratory moment Thursday morning will be livestreamed at Mark Woodbury, chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences, called Epic "unlike anything you will experience." "When you go out there, what you're going to see and feel and taste and experience is the culmination of a 10-year journey and is a clear reflection of the incredible creativity, and the technical prowess, and the operational excellence of our entire team at Universal Destinations and Experiences, together with the Loews company to make this all happen and to happen in a seamless way," Woodbury said. A room in the How to Train Your Dragon Kids' Suites at the Universal Helios Grand Hotel. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada Epic Universe's home hotel Loews Hotels co-owns and operates a number of hotels at Universal Orlando, including the Helios Grand. It was from that hotel lobby that executives spoke to media during a reception, with Epic Universe the backdrop to their remarks. The Universal Helios Grand Hotel's entrance to Epic Universe. Photo Credit: Jamie Biesiada The Helios Grand sits adjacent to Epic Universe toward the back of the park, with Celestial Park sitting between the main entrance and the hotel. There is a park entrance from the hotel. Of the hotel's 500 rooms, about half feature views of Epic Universe. In addition to standard rooms, it has several family suites with children's rooms themed to the "How to Train Your Dragon" franchise. "Our team at Loews Hotels has been very busy," said Alex Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels. "In the last three and a half months, we've opened three hotels on this campus, bringing us to 11,000 rooms." In addition to the Helios Grand, Loews and Universal have opened two other hotels near Epic Universe: the Universal Stella Nova and Universal Terra Luna. Loews and Universal have been working together for 30 years, noted Jonathan Tisch, executive chairman of Loews. "Through this partnership, we've been able to do something very special: Offer an experience that is unique in the theme parks, matched by remarkable time in the hotel," he said.
