ORLANDO, Fla. — Thursday marked one full week since the portals at Epic Universe officially opened, and thousands have now visited central Florida’s newest theme park.
Reviews are pouring in from tourists, local business leaders and even ride-booking drivers who are reaping benefits from the new park.
Comcast, the parent company of NBC Universal and Universal Orlando Resorts, said its $11 billion investment is anticipated to generate $2 billion for the state of Florida in the first year alone.
Epic Universe is the first theme park to open in central Florida in more than 25 years and is also expected to create 17,500 jobs across the country in its first year of operation, according to Comcast.
The CEO and president of Icon Park, Chris Jaskiewicz, said it’s too soon to have hard data on the park’s impact, but he believes Epic Universe is contributing to a spike in new visitors to Icon Park attractions, like the Orlando Eye.
“This is now the state-of-the-art park in the industry. And It’s very good for us,” said Jaskiewicz, “I can’t give you exact numbers, but I know that we’re getting more traffic because of the increased visitor count.”
On Thursday, Channel 9 spoke with tourists visiting Epic Universe from across the United States and overseas, including Marissa Medlock, who planned her 10-year anniversary trip around the parks opening.
“We were debating if we should come earlier to avoid the heat and stuff, but we had to come and see Epic,” said Medlock.
She’s visiting Orlando with her husband and three sons from Phoenix, Arizona.
During the family’s one-week trip, it is also visiting Disney, Cocoa Beach and several local businesses.
Channel 9 spoke with the Medlock family as they were getting lunch at the But First. Coffee Shop, in Orlando.
“We wanted to go with a cute local shop,” said Medlock.
Meanwhile, Channel 9 also heard from ride-booking drivers on Thursday who said they’ve already dropped off multiple passengers at the new park.
Kirby Rodriguez said one week since Epic Universe opened, it’s become a regular destination for his Lyft passengers.
Parking at Epic can cost anywhere between $32 and $50, and Rodriguez said people are skipping the parking line and turning to rideshare apps.
“It’s getting more business for us,” said Rodriguez. “They don’t want to pay the parking. So if they get a rental, they leave the car in the resort and they get an Uber.”
While some are seeing a business boost, not all drivers were eager to make the trip to Epic Universe with some stating they try to avoid busy tourist areas all together.
“That’s a no no sometimes for us to accept those kinds of rides,” said Uber driver Carlos Rigo, “The main concern is the traffic that sometimes we have around the area.”
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