What Went Wrong With the "Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe" Special?
Why the hour-long commercial for Epic Universe left fans feeling underwhelmed.
ORLANDO, FL – For weeks, the theme park community was buzzing. When Universal announced its primetime NBC special, “Inside the Worlds of Epic Universe,” the hype machine went into overdrive. The star-studded guest list was parsed for clues, and the timing seemed perfect. But after an hour of what can only be described as a shallow and often bizarrely edited corporate presentation, the overwhelming feeling in the fan community is one of profound disappointment. The special wasn't just a letdown; it was a massive missed opportunity.
The core of the frustration stems from a classic bait-and-switch. When the special was announced to feature appearances by Wicked director Jon M. Chu and Fast & Furious icon Vin Diesel, the fan base was justifiably convinced that major announcements were imminent. With the corpse of Rip Ride Rockit still warm from its closure just a day before the special aired, it seemed like the perfect moment for Diesel to announce its rumored Fast & Furious coaster replacement. Likewise, Chu’s presence felt like the ultimate "soft confirmation" of a future Wicked land.
Instead, what we got was a lesson in the cynical reality of press junkets. Jon M. Chu appeared for approximately five seconds, delivering a single, generic sentence about storytelling or something. Vin Diesel was afforded maybe two sentences. These were not announcements or even thoughtful interviews; they were very clearly half-hearted statements tacked on during unrelated promotional events filmed months ago. It felt as though a producer simply fed a line to each celebrity, resulting in vague platitudes from people who seemed to have little to no idea what they were actually talking about.
This feeling of forced corporate synergy permeated the entire broadcast. While host Joe Manganiello has charisma to spare in his other projects, he was disappointingly reduced to reading generic, producer-fed lines about the park's wonders. The special was front-loaded with its celebrity guests, a clear attempt to attract and hold a general audience, but most, save for Steven Spielberg and a few others, were involved for less than a minute at the very beginning and end of the program.
The shining lights in an otherwise dull special were the guests who seemed to be in on the joke. Wicked star Bowen Yang and his Las Culturistas co-host Matt Rogers, along with How to Train Your Dragon’s Mason Thames and Nico Parker, brought a much-needed energy to their segments, almost winking at the camera as if to acknowledge the absurdity of the paid corporate synergy they were participating in. Their self-aware charm was a stark contrast to the special's otherwise lifeless and generic tone.
The structure of the program—a generic overview of each land, punctuated by a celebrity appearance—felt formulaic and uninspired. The one notable omission was a major figure from Nintendo to tour Super Nintendo World; one has to wonder if a planned appearance fell through (Shigeru Miyamoto?). Each segment felt less like a genuine exploration and more like a contractual obligation, a checklist of brands to be promoted.
Nowhere was the special’s strange execution more apparent than in its bizarre editing choices. For any theme park enthusiast paying close attention, the segment on Dark Universe was unintentionally hilarious. In an attempt to make the land’s relatively small footprint feel massive, the edit had guests walking in circles, often turning and walking away from the attraction they claimed to be heading towards. They repeatedly passed the same few buildings, and in a particularly telling move, the land’s divisive spinning coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, was completely omitted, as if Universal’s “ugliest and shortest child” had been written out of the family history.
The deception was even more egregious in the segment for Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Instead of showing actual footage of them riding one of the best dark rides in the world, the special opted for obviously faked reaction shots. The footage clearly showed Joe Manganiello and Warwick Davis sitting in a stationary ride vehicle while a green light was repeatedly flashed on their faces. Not only is there very little green light on the actual ride, but the two were having a full, generic conversation that had nothing to do with the attraction, something that would be impossible during the loud, high-action experience. It was painfully obvious the ride was not operational when they filmed, and the entire sequence was a cobbled-together fake-out with actual ride footage filmed presumably months later.
The most telling sign of the fabrication was the stilted and completely generic dialogue between the two hosts. The exchange felt entirely disconnected from any actual ride event, as if they were given vague prompts to simply "act amazed." At one point, with nothing happening around him, Joe Manganiello could only offer a non-specific, "That's crazy," to which Warwick Davis, presumably reacting to a blank wall, chimed in with a thematically vague, "It's a magical beast." The conversation had all the authenticity of a hostage video, a clear sign that the only magic happening in that moment was the desperate attempt by the show's producers to create content where none existed (especially the shaking the camera around to imply movement).
This refusal to show what makes the park's rides so spectacular was a running theme. Key screen-based moments in both Monsters Unchained and Battle at the Ministry were noticeably absent, leaving viewers with no real sense of what it's like to experience these E-ticket attractions, perhaps intentionally to get around the screen-fatigue cries theme park goers have been complaining about for decades. The only person who received any significant, insightful screen time was Steven Spielberg, who appeared in the last 15 minutes to talk about his role in championing the creation of Dark Universe—a segment he was likely contractually obligated to film as part of his multi-million dollar creative consultant deal (although for his part, he did truly seem passionate about creating the land).
Ultimately, the special felt like a generic, hour-long commercial that failed its primary mission. In my personal opinion, Universal has struggled to market the opening of Epic Universe to the general public; we are constantly asked by people when the park is set to open. This special was another attempt to let the world know the park is, in fact, open, but it was a disappointing and oddly produced early start to the holiday marketing push. Epic Universe is truly one of the best theme parks in the world, a stunning achievement that is only getting better. Universal just needs to learn how to market it to a mass audience, especially during a time when many are hesitant to spend money on travel, in a way that feels as authentic and epic as the park itself.
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