7 Things Comcast's Epic Universe Needs to Fix Before May 22
The country's first major theme park in 24 years opens in less than two weeks. Is it ready?
Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) new Epic Universe theme park was banking on weeks of gushing reviews from on-site hotel guests and annual passholders paying for previews, ahead of the gated attraction's official opening on May 22. It may have started that way when daily crowds rarely topped 6,000, the rides operated only somewhat unreliably, and weather complied.
It has a different kind of deluge on its hands now. The Universal Orlando resort paused member postings on its annual passholders page on April 27, the day before it announced that it would be opening preview ticket sales to the general public. It probably knew what was coming. Crowd levels have spiked and attraction downtime has become a serious liability, all while literal and figurative storm clouds darken.
Comcast needed to stress test the park that would put investors and rival Walt Disney on notice. It's failing the test. You can probably guess who's stressing now. I sprang for three days of previews in late April, including the first of the weather delays for paying guests. There are a lot of things Epic Universe needs to fix ahead of its official opening that is now less than two weeks away.
