Common Orlando is releasing tickets, trip packages, and resort reservations for Epic Universe and Helios Grand Lodge beginning subsequent week. They’ve additionally shared crowd management particulars and different data through an FAQ, which is smart, as followers have a lot of questions concerning the product launch.
We’ve been across the block a couple of instances with product launches or ‘drop days’ over the past 15 years. Extra importantly, we’ve attended many opening days–together with the newest main theme park to have a traditional grand opening (Common Beijing doesn’t rely) in addition to a blockbuster $2 billion park enlargement.
With that in thoughts, the primary half of this put up shares official particulars for Epic Universe’s gross sales beginning dates launched by Common Orlando. The second half shares our previous ‘trial by fireplace’ experiences with this kind of stuff, and what we’re anticipating consequently. Our intention is that it helps you set expectations and put together when you’re planning on attending Common’s Epic Universe early on in its opening season, or shall be making an attempt to guide Helios Grand Lodge anytime in 2025 or 2026…
Beginning subsequent week, company can start planning a 2025 trip to Common Orlando to expertise your complete vacation spot as the primary part of ticket merchandise and packages that embody entry to Common Epic Universe will go on sale. Particular merchandise launching on this first part embody:
- A wide range of multi-day tickets and trip packages that embody three, 4 or 5 days of admission to Common’s theme parks – together with someday admission to Epic Universe. These merchandise will go on sale on Tuesday, October 22.
- Reservations for Common Helios Grand Lodge will open on Tuesday, October 22 for stays starting Might 22, 2025.
- Annual Passholders have the unique alternative to buy single-day tickets to Common Epic Universe earlier than they go on sale to most people. Passholders can make the most of this precedence alternative starting Thursday, October 24.
Through the first part of Epic Universe ticket and package deal gross sales that begins on October 22, the next multi-day admission choices shall be accessible:
- 3-Day Ticket: take pleasure in two days of entry to Common Studios Florida and Common Islands of Journey, plus one separate day admission to Common Epic Universe
- 4-Day Ticket: Three days at Common Studios Florida and Islands of Journey, plus one separate day at Epic Universe
- 5-Day Ticket: 4 days at USF and IoA, plus someday at Epic Universe
- For every of the above, company even have the choice so as to add entry to Common Volcano Bay
Create Your Personal Trip Bundle: Company can save as much as $200 by bundling a 2-night or longer keep at a Common lodge with one of many multi-day ticket choices above. Company can obtain the utmost financial savings of $200 with a 7-night trip package deal that features:
- 5-day ticket that features 4 days of entry to Common Studios Florida, Islands of Journey, and Volcano Bay, plus a separate day admission to Common Epic Universe
- 7-night lodge lodging at one in every of Common Orlando’s 11 resort lodges
- Early Park Admission for the parks as much as one hour earlier than the park opens
2025 Explorer Ticket inclusive of a Single Day at Common Epic Universe (Solely accessible within the U.Ok. and Latin America) – Out there for visits in 2025, company can benefit from the thrills of Common Studios Florida, Common Islands of Journey and Common Volcano Bay for 14 days, plus get entry to the all-new Common Epic Universe theme park for someday throughout their ticket validity window.
All Parks Ticket (Solely accessible within the U.Ok.) – Out there for visits starting January 1, 2026, the All Parks Ticket offers company the last word flexibility – permitting them to go to all 4 Common Orlando theme parks for 14 days. This ticket additionally consists of park-to-park entry – that means company can go to a number of theme parks, together with Common Epic Universe, on the identical day or any day they’d like throughout their ticket validity window.
Extra particulars about Common Epic Universe shall be launched within the months forward. Further tickets together with single-day tickets for most people, extra multi-day ticket choices, Florida resident tickets, Categorical Cross, and many others., shall be accessible at a later date earlier than the park opens.
Right here’s the FAQ about Epic Universe ticket gross sales that Common Orlando has launched:
Q: Is there a one or two-day choice for company wanting to go to Common Epic Universe?
A: Throughout this preliminary part of Common Epic Universe-inclusive tickets, we’re solely providing multi-day tickets for 3-Days or longer that embody one-day admission to Common Epic Universe. Further ticket varieties shall be launched at a later date earlier than the park opens.
Q: Are there Florida Resident discounted tickets accessible for Common Epic Universe?
A: Whereas this preliminary part of Common Epic Universe-inclusive tickets launch doesn’t embody Florida Resident discounted tickets, we are going to provide Florida Resident ticket choices and extra product choices for Epic Universe at a later date.
Q: Do company must specify the date that they’re visiting Common Epic Universe when buying a multi-day ticket for 3-days or longer?
A: No, when buying the present multi-day ticket choices that embody one-day admission to Common Epic Universe, you’ll not must specify the date that you simply plan to go to Epic Universe. You’ll solely want to point the primary date that you desire to your general ticket to be legitimate, and it is possible for you to to go to any of the parks starting on that date.
Q: Are company assured to have the ability to go to Common Epic Universe with their ticket?
A: We plan to handle attendance at Common Epic Universe to make sure we’re offering the absolute best expertise for our company. As a part of this course of, ticket stock and capability shall be managed to permit every visitor who purchases an Epic Universe-inclusive ticket to go to the park for someday through the course of the validity window of their ticket.
Q: Can company purchase a ticket to go to Common Epic Universe for greater than someday of their go to?
A: Throughout this preliminary part of Common Epic Universe-inclusive tickets, company are solely in a position to buy multi-day tickets for 3-Days or longer that embody one-day admission to Common Epic Universe. Further product choices — together with single-day and two-day tickets for Common Epic Universe — shall be launched at a later date earlier than the park opens.
Q: Do all Common Orlando tickets embody Common Epic Universe?
A: Throughout this preliminary part, all three-, four- and five-day tickets bought for visits on or after the grand opening date of Common Epic Universe will embody one-day entry to the brand new theme park. One-day and two-day tickets presently don’t embody entry to Common Epic Universe however are nonetheless accessible for buy for company who want to take pleasure in our present theme parks.
Q: Are there Categorical Cross merchandise accessible for Common Epic Universe?
A: Categorical Passes for Common Epic Universe shall be launched at a later date earlier than the park opens. Extra particulars shall be introduced nearer to the launch of those merchandise.
Q: Are there VIP Excursions accessible for Common Epic Universe?
A: VIP Tour experiences that embody Common Epic Universe shall be launched at a later date earlier than the park opens.
Q: Are there My Common Photograph merchandise accessible for Common Epic Universe?
A: My Common Photograph merchandise that embody Common Epic Universe shall be launched at a later date earlier than the park opens.
Q: Will Early Park Admission be supplied at Common Epic Universe?
A: Sure, Early Park Admission for Common lodge company will develop to incorporate Common Epic Universe from the park’s Grand Opening date onward. Legitimate theme park admission is required and choose sights are included.
Q: Do I would like a park admission ticket to enter Celestial Park?
A: Sure, Celestial Park is without doubt one of the 5 imaginative worlds of Common Epic Universe. Company will have the ability to discover Celestial Park as a part of their admission to Common Epic Universe.
Q: Will there be transportation accessible between Common Epic Universe and Common Studios Florida/Common Islands of Journey/Common Volcano Bay/Common CityWalk?
A: Sure, company will have the ability to make the most of complimentary shuttle bus transportation to enterprise between Common Epic Universe and Common’s present theme parks and CityWalk.
The large unanswered query is what time will Epic Universe tickets, trip packages, and resort reservations begin on October 22, 2024?
That is Common’s official (non-)response to that query: “We shouldn’t have any data. We advocate staying tuned to our web site and social media channels for its launch on October 22, 2024.” Very useful.
In asking round, we’ve discovered that Common has been tight-lipped about what time gross sales will begin. Whereas it’s doable they’ll announce one thing later at the moment, our guess is that that is purposeful. Common in all probability doesn’t need to reveal the time (or gained’t accomplish that till final minute) with a view to cut back pressure on their servers.
This could enable Common to start out gross sales at some random time when visitors is decrease, corresponding to 4:37 a.m. Jap. (I pulled that out of skinny air–that isn’t when it’ll be, until by comfortable accident.) Walt Disney World does this on a regular basis when dropping reductions, for the very same cause.
We’re nonetheless hoping for an announcement later at the moment, and can replace this accordingly if/when there’s one. If not, we’ll be checking at midnight (which I assume will not be when gross sales begin because it’s powerful from a staffing perspective), after which once more beginning round 4:30 a.m. That’s in all probability too early, however I’d somewhat err on the aspect of warning. A extra moderately time can be round 7 a.m., until they announce one thing even later. These are all simply guesses, although.
Our Previous Park Opening Experiences & Recommendation
We’ve attended loads of opening days for brand new sights, lands and leisure at Common and Disney theme parks around the globe. Nevertheless, solely two are sufficiently giant scale and comparatively latest sufficient to supply any precedential worth for Epic Universe: Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea and the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland.
Unsurprisingly, reserving lodges and buying packages for each openings was extraordinarily aggressive. It was far simpler for Shanghai Disneyland, and after a couple of irritating hours on-line when bookings went dwell, we ended up with a number of resort reservations and tickets. All issues thought of, it was easy and easy.
The important thing distinction with Shanghai Disneyland’s grand opening was that it was in a model new market with few followers. Nobody had been across the block with Disney debuts earlier than, so we had a bonus in that we, usually talking, knew how these items labored and the hassle that might be wanted. Touring to China additionally introduced extra of a barrier to entry, actually and figuratively, for American followers than Japan, Paris, and even Hong Kong. Level being, it wasn’t that aggressive.
Fantasy Springs is newer and related. That new land is comparable in that it had a phased launch of park tickets, resort reservations, and trip packages. It’s additionally related in that it added a brand new in-park lodge to the combination, which parallels Helios Grand in a couple of methods. And despite the fact that it’s not a completely new park, it’s a $2 billion enlargement.
Most significantly, nobody–nobody–is extra passionate or educated than Japanese Disney followers. They’re like Swifties who’re additionally diehard Chiefs followers who’ve been sorted into Slytherin who’re additionally Trekkies who’ve owned each Nintendo system because the Famicom. Suffice to say, making an attempt to guide opening evening resort reservations and trip packages was extremely irritating.
We wasted hours upon hours in digital queues over the course of some weeks. We repeatedly got here up empty with the preliminary releases. Because it was a phased strategy like Epic Universe, we additionally discovered ourselves spot-checking reservation availability as different followers who did have success cancelled their packages and launched them again into the wild. Finally, after nicely over a dozen hours of taking part in this recreation, we efficiently scored a trip package deal–at our third alternative for a lodge. And this was after “buying and selling up” repeatedly.
I’m moving into with the mentality that reserving Epic Universe packages and lodge reservations shall be just like this. I don’t suppose it may presumably be worse, so if it seems to be considerably higher, that’ll be a welcome aid. Regardless that Epic Universe does function two of the fandoms talked about above, I don’t suppose they care that a lot about theme park lands. I additionally don’t suppose Common followers come anyplace close to Japanese Disney followers on the depth scale.
Some Common followers could be inclined to dismiss this expertise, noting that each Disney launch appears to be a cluster whereas Common doesn’t appear to have that downside. Issues usually go smoother. However Fantasy Springs additionally wasn’t Disney–it’s OLC, an organization additionally identified for issues going smoother. A number of months after opening, the reserving course of for Fantasy Springs nonetheless will not be easy. You’ll be able to go to the web reservations web page at any ole time, and there may be nonetheless a digital queue to enter!
To make sure, there are issues that totally different corporations can do to streamline the reserving course of, however ultimately, it’s a numbers recreation. If 10x the variety of persons are making an attempt to guide one thing as that factor has the capability to accommodate, it’s going to be a tedious and time-consuming course of that ends in extra folks developing empty than having success.
At the least relating to the opening weekend–and maybe longer–that’s what we’d anticipate with Epic Universe resort reservations and packages. How lengthy it’ll final is anybody’s guess.
Mine is that, if Common’s Helios Grand Lodge is actually as low-cost because the since-removed beginning value confirmed, that’s going to be troublesome to guide for everything of 2025. Perhaps even 2026. Fantasy Springs Lodge remains to be extraordinarily aggressive for all dates which have been launched into 2025, and that lodge is each costly and underwhelming.
Throughout reserving, my guess is that Common followers and vacationers will rapidly notice that Helios Grand Lodge isn’t an choice, and pivot to backup lodges. I’d anticipate the legacy Signature Assortment lodges–those that embody Limitless Categorical Cross on the preexisting two gates–to additionally refill quick. That is what occurred with Miracosta and TDL Lodge through the Fantasy Springs product launch.
This may seem to be fairly the about-face given our hypothesis that Epic Universe may really be much less crowded in Summer time 2025 than October by means of December 2025. In my opinion, each issues may be true directly. That there’s large demand for the primary wave of resort reservations and ticket packages–however that general crowds shall be manageable.
The primary cause for that is that, even at 100% occupancy, Helios Grand Lodge and the opposite Signatures are a drop within the bucket as in comparison with Epic Universe park capability. These lodges may all be tremendous troublesome to guide and the park might be uncrowded. That’s completely throughout the realm of chance.
As with Walt Disney World, much more company come from off-site than on-site, and it’s actually the previous that’s make-or-break relating to crowds. It’s going to be locals, Annual Passholders, and even out-of-state vacationers with plans to do a Central Florida trip “sooner or later” within the subsequent 12 months–amongst different demos–which can be all outcome-determinative in crowds. Purchasers of packages are going to be a small slice of Common’s general attendance.
The second is that, as famous within the above FAQ, Common Orlando goes to be managing attendance and controlling crowds. Curiously, they’re doing this with out requiring park reservations for the preliminary wave of multi-day tickets. This strongly alerts that they’ve going to realize this–a minimum of for the opening week or so–by limiting ticket stock far beneath Epic Universe’s general capability.
For what it’s price, that isn’t Common’s solely choice. That above-referenced FAQ reply says the next: “ticket stock and capability shall be managed to permit every visitor who purchases an Epic Universe-inclusive ticket to go to the park for someday through the course of the validity window of their ticket.”
Observe that this doesn’t say company who purchase an Epic Universe-inclusive ticket will have the ability to go to on the day of their alternative. It says “through the course of the validity window.” So it’s completely doable that Epic Universe will hit capability on sure days and inform even these ticket holders to return again a distinct day. We’d hope that wouldn’t be the case, but it surely’s actually doable. Common’s language leaves that door open.
The choice to that, and what we’d anticipate to occur, is that Common Orlando will set accessible ticket stock to this point beneath complete park capability for opening weekend/week that they’re assured they gained’t hit the cap–and even come near it. That they’ll deploy dynamic ticket gross sales for subsequent days, releasing extra stock as operations permits.
We anticipate this to occur as a result of it’s kind of what occurred with Shanghai Disneyland’s grand opening and the debut of Fantasy Springs at Tokyo DisneySea. Each of the official opening days had been the least busy that we’ve skilled in these respective locations. Within the case of the latter, delicate openings had been considerably worse than opening day.
We had been later instructed that Disney set the capability cap for Shanghai Disneyland’s opening day extraordinarily low to make sure a easy and optimistic expertise, and step by step scaled up from there. That tracks with our firsthand experiences. Given wait instances and the dearth of crowds, it’s patently apparent the identical factor occurred with Fantasy Springs.
Domestically, one other good instance is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland. The digital queue to register for previews was an absolute madhouse, one other irritating expertise with multi-hour waits. The crowds for the precise preview days, nevertheless, had been nonexistent. Simply one other illustration of how pressure on the web techniques doesn’t inform the total story, or actually, something.
Clearly Common is a distinct firm, however the incentives are the identical. The upside of a frictionless launch with optimistic phrase of mouth and with out adverse headlines far outweighs the downsides. Which is a part of why buying packages might be extraordinarily aggressive and troublesome–as a result of on prime of sky-high demand, provide might be artificially constrained.
That is all a long-winded manner of claiming you must have your recreation face on and be prepared for an intense buy course of when packages and resort reservations go dwell on October 22, 2024. If I’m fallacious and it’s inexplicably straightforward–improbable. You misplaced nothing besides the time it took you to learn this.
If I’m proper, you ready and hopefully positioned your self for fulfillment, which is able to prevent frustration, disappointment, and many others.
So far as making ready goes, my robust suggestion can be to arrange contingency plans. It is advisable have a number of choices for resorts and, presumably, dates. The sooner you propose on going, the extra acceptable options it’s essential have at your fingertips. It is advisable be able to pivot immediately, so speak to your loved ones now and decide your prime three resorts and/or backup journey dates. (Higher but, you’re the household journey planner and have full autonomy since everybody else is clueless, wherein case you simply must mentally put together for this.)
In all probability, that is in all probability most mandatory for these eager to guide Helios Grand Lodge. Ticket packages that embody opening weekend of Epic Universe will go quick and be a problem, however my intestine is that Helios Grand Lodge goes to be manner worse.
Aggressive not only for opening weekend–however indefinitely. Particularly if it’s inside $100 per evening of that $293 beginning value. (Personally, I feel charges round $500/evening are extra seemingly for a lot of the launch season–so that you additionally have to be ready for big variances in pricing.)
It’s a easy numbers recreation–lots of people are seemingly going to be making an attempt to guide Helios Grand Lodge, and it’s low-capacity relative to that. Lots of people will even be trying to attain the ticket packages–particularly for opening weekend–however these are comparatively excessive capability.
Regardless, my intestine can be that opening weekend for Epic Universe sells out with the packages–earlier than it even will get to AP gross sales on October 24. However that might be fallacious, as the massive wildcard is simply how low Common will cap attendance. If there are, someway, nonetheless opening day tickets left as of Oct. 24, they’re promoting out instantly. In the event that they make it to most people gross sales date for single day tickets, I’ll be shocked.
Lastly, a plug. If you happen to’re stressed and overwhelmed simply studying this, or when you have restricted expertise with Common or Disney product launch days, we’d extremely advocate having the professionals do it for you. Request a quote from Be Our Visitor Holidays, a no-fee Common Most popular Journey Company.
They’ll wait within the digital queue or on maintain through the phone so that you don’t need to. Once more, I’d anticipate waits on-line or through the telephone as soon as Epic Universe packages go dwell and the entire course of to be very aggressive. If you happen to do use a journey agent, you continue to want contingency plans as talked about above. There are going to be lots of people making an attempt for opening evening at Helios Grand Lodge, and my guess is that it’ll be tougher to get into than MIT. So give them choices, too.
And it ought to go with out saying, however if you wish to use a journey agent, the time to submit a quote request is NOW–earlier than October 22, 2024. Don’t wait till tickets & packages go dwell, notice you’re overwhelmed, and scramble. They’ll have already got energetic shoppers they’re aiding on launch day.
Want journey planning suggestions and complete recommendation in your go to to Central Florida? Make sure that to learn our Common Orlando Planning Information for every thing about Islands of Journey and Common Studios Florida. Additionally take a look at our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Information for every thing about these parks, resorts, eating places, and a lot extra. For normal updates, information & rumors, a heads up when reductions are launched, and way more, join our FREE e-mail publication!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you anticipate Epic Universe packages and resort reservations to be aggressive, straightforward, or someplace in between? Ideas on crowd management through the preliminary grand opening weekend? Predictions about how easily (or not) the product launches will go? Will you go to Epic Universe in Summer time 2025, or will you look forward to crowds to quiet down (in concept)? Assume Epic Universe shall be a 3rd gate that’s a worthy addition to Common Orlando Resort…and probably on par with Disney’s greatest lands? Any questions? We love listening to from readers, so please share some other ideas or questions you’ve within the feedback beneath!
