- 15 hours ago
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00I hope this cuts.
00:22Go for it.
00:24Ladies and gentlemen, Universal Studios,
00:26Ford is now officially open to the public.
00:30Congratulations.
00:33Universal Studios Florida has opened its gates
00:35after 20 years in the making.
00:38Universal is about to take on the mouse.
00:41We got a big turnout that day.
00:42We had a lot of guests that day.
00:44But I knew we weren't ready.
00:47We had made commitments to plane loads of dignitaries
00:51and actors and actresses.
00:53So this was a risk I was willing to take.
01:00Did you like the park?
01:03Three-hour wait.
01:05Machine broke down twice.
01:06Very disappointing.
01:08Universal Studios' star-studded grand opening
01:10is marred tonight by hundreds of fuming fans.
01:14E.T. was broken down.
01:16The Kong one isn't open.
01:18Earthquake was up a short time ago.
01:21It's now backed down again.
01:24The crowds and the lines are totally mismanaged.
01:28This park and this grand opening
01:29has been 20 years in the making.
01:31They spent $100 million on this grand opening day.
01:34But you know what?
01:35We vote!
01:37We vote!
01:37We vote!
01:38The grand opening day was a flop.
01:41Tom Williams had to deal with my mess.
01:49Tom Williams, vice president of Universal Studios,
01:51is joining me now.
01:52All the news networks wanted to interview me
01:54at the end of the day.
01:55Universal said that it's all going to be up and running today.
01:58What happened?
01:59They gave a lot of refunds that day.
02:00It was a disappointment to office.
02:02It didn't go the way we wanted it to go.
02:03Not even close.
02:04I hope that Epic Universe can avoid the mistakes I've made.
02:13Over those days and weeks leading up to grand opening,
02:17it is a very steady increase of pressure.
02:20I know it's really hard right now, and it's tense,
02:23but the last time we opened a park in Orlando
02:25was 25 years ago.
02:27This is a very rare occurrence.
02:29It's not easy to make a opening day a certainty.
02:35Things do go wrong.
02:38They still have to get over that hurdle.
02:44I'll say a little prayer for them.
02:46Oh, the smell of grinding and welding.
03:11Did you see the chandelier?
03:15Yeah.
03:17These are coming together.
03:19We'll start doing practice smell detection already,
03:21calibrating the machines.
03:23Uh-oh.
03:25We've come in to take a look at the condition of the site
03:30as we are preparing for team member previews.
03:33Are these getting set up?
03:34In two days, we are bringing team members in as guests
03:40to test food, retail experience, attractions,
03:44just as guests were.
03:46And we do that to learn as much as we can,
03:48and then after we get through that mode,
03:50we'll go into what we call soft opening,
03:52where we have actual guests that can buy tickets.
03:55Then once that's done,
03:56that will lead us all the way up
03:58to May 22nd of the grand opening.
03:59All right, so my biggest concern
04:02is making sure that this is clean.
04:04A lot of tire tracks gone by tomorrow.
04:07I hope there's still a lot of cleaning
04:09that's got to be done in the next day or two.
04:11We saw a few things today
04:12where we've actually moved some equipment
04:16into position that has revealed
04:19a view of a back-of-house building
04:21that we would like to not have.
04:23I feel like we need some trees.
04:25Yeah, but those are the types of things
04:27that I'm really starting to take note of.
04:30During construction, it's so hard
04:31to know exactly what final state is.
04:34Trash cans.
04:35This one got scuffed, too.
04:37That's a werewolf mark.
04:39I'm not buying it.
04:42That is not the mark of the werewolf.
04:44That is a mark of a high reach.
04:46That's what that is.
04:47We've got a great team
04:48that's been working a long time.
04:49So this is a, you know,
04:50seven, eight years of work,
04:52all coming together at a point.
04:54And that's what I'm thinking about.
04:56Not thinking about all the other little details,
04:57because if I do, I won't go to sleep.
05:03Epic Universe really goes all the way back
05:05to Universal Studios Florida in 1990.
05:10I had been with the company at that point
05:11for probably three months.
05:13I was 25,
05:15and I remember there was a lot of frustration
05:19and difficulty through that period.
05:21Universal Orlando
05:23not only had the negativity
05:27of nothing working right,
05:29everything falling apart,
05:30Universal also had the stigma of,
05:34you know, the Walt Disney Company
05:35had figured it out.
05:36And so there was the sense of,
05:38can they even do this?
05:40None of our competitors up to that point
05:43had ever gone off on a limb
05:46the way that we went out on a limb
05:47to bring guests into the experience
05:50instead of passively watching something
05:52as they floated by.
05:54Shark, and it's the biggest one I've ever seen!
06:08Amity six to pace.
06:10Missed again!
06:13Score is one.
06:14Do your copy.
06:17Top is on the way.
06:18Score is one.
06:18The Jaws ride was ambitious.
06:29The technical complexity was extreme.
06:32And when the stuff worked,
06:34it was glorious.
06:35Great stuff.
06:37When you have a ride that's going to be open
06:41for 12 hours a day,
06:43and we're ideally putting
06:46somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 guests
06:48an hour through it
06:49all day long.
06:53And so all those effects have to work.
06:54All the mechanical systems have to work.
06:56All the software programming.
06:58Everything has to work.
07:01So we ended up closing the Jaws ride
07:03within the first two months after we opened
07:06because we determined that
07:08it was just going to be too difficult
07:09as configured
07:10to maintain it
07:13and keep it operating.
07:16I'm a big believer
07:17in adversity
07:20as the mother of invention.
07:23But oftentimes in that process,
07:25you come up with something
07:26that was better than the original.
07:30I was a fairly junior person
07:32at the time
07:32of the opening in 1990,
07:35but witnessing it
07:37and learning from that
07:38is really something
07:40that was very formulative
07:42for me personally.
07:43That was a challenging time.
07:48You know,
07:48you had a whole bunch of people
07:50with a lot of expectations,
07:52and now you had to sort of
07:55make it right.
07:56I think to do anything great,
07:59one must take risks.
08:01Sometimes that goes your way
08:02and sometimes it doesn't.
08:04But at the end of the day,
08:06I would say
08:06you can have everything
08:07in front of you.
08:08You can have all the data
08:09that you can assemble.
08:11It really does come down
08:13to your gut.
08:15You have to be prepared
08:17to fail.
08:18And then if you do fail,
08:20you have to be prepared
08:22to get back up again
08:23and get on your feet
08:24and do it all over again.
08:29When this baby
08:30hits 88 miles per hour,
08:32you're going to see
08:34there's some serious
08:34There are certain movies
08:50that were made to be rides.
08:56In fact,
08:57the future was definitely
08:58one of them.
08:59The attraction
09:00was cutting edge.
09:01And nobody had seen
09:03anything like it before.
09:06Omnimax Dome
09:07came up
09:07like a big shell
09:09around you.
09:10So no matter
09:10where you looked,
09:11it was fully synced up
09:12with this ride vehicle
09:13that came up
09:14and was in full motion.
09:18I remember
09:19when people
09:19would come off the ride
09:20when it first opened,
09:23they would come outside
09:25and they would be
09:25looking around the building
09:26to see
09:27where they went
09:29and how did
09:29it all happen.
09:30Because it was just
09:31so groundbreaking
09:32and so immersive.
09:36Being able
09:37to bring
09:38Michael J. Fox
09:40here
09:41and have a flawless
09:42grand opening moment
09:44after a year
09:45of criticism,
09:47it was a huge
09:49moment for us.
09:51Back to the Future
09:52became actually
09:53our savior.
09:55And that kind of
09:55relaunched us.
09:58And by that time,
09:59we got E.T. going.
10:01We got King Kong going.
10:06Jaws,
10:06we got it going again
10:07in tip-top shape,
10:08ran perfectly.
10:09Awesome!
10:10Yeah?
10:11This one screamed
10:12all the way through.
10:13Oh, man,
10:14it was fabulous.
10:14It's the best
10:15I have seen yet.
10:26We were on a mission
10:28now to become
10:29a very dominant force
10:31in the theme park industry.
10:34This is a whole new park,
10:36not just an attraction.
10:37Islands of Adventure opened in 1999.
10:43Featuring total immersion entertainment, Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure is the most technologically advanced theme park in the world.
10:57Jurassic Park became one of the anchors of Islands of Adventure.
11:00I used to joke that the Jurassic franchise was actually making the movies felt like a theme park.
11:09They literally, like, built a roller coaster for a gyrosphere sequence in Fallen Kingdom.
11:16I was like, wait, what? How am I on a roller coaster right now?
11:19And the irony is, when we were first talking about doing the first Jurassic, Stephen said, I need a dinosaur to run.
11:28The first people I went to were the people in the park, because we knew they were the experts.
11:34If anybody was going to figure out how something full-size was going to run, it was going to be the parks.
11:41And then very quickly after the opening of Islands of Adventure, we were off and running on expansion.
11:48Now let's build another theme park. Let's build CityWalk. Let's build a park in Japan.
11:53We've got the biggest theme park market in the world.
11:56So with Epic Universe, we now have to deliver something at a height level that goes beyond anything that anybody's ever seen.
12:05As we were discussing this morning, will the fountains be ready and running by next weekend?
12:21It wouldn't be programmed. It would be testing.
12:23I mean, this is obviously the big showpiece.
12:25Yeah.
12:25So as much as we focused on front gate, getting the front gate to look really nice, this has got to look spectacular.
12:32All right.
12:34No pressure.
12:35No pressure.
12:36We're all counting on you.
12:39Over the next few weeks, we're doing team member previews.
12:42It's really the first time we have an opportunity to exercise the park with guests.
12:47For so many months now, there's a lot of construction teams, equipment, dust, dirt.
12:54And what we're really looking forward to now is people walking into the park for the first time and actually exploring on their own.
13:01So we seem to have them queuing up pretty well.
13:05We're holding here.
13:08And then they're going into the metal detectors.
13:11Okay.
13:12Good deal.
13:13All right.
13:14Let's take a look.
13:15I'm going to go ahead and call the park open.
13:17Ain't nothing to it but to do it.
13:18That's it, baby.
13:19Open them up.
13:20Let them in.
13:20Open both feet.
13:24Hello.
13:25Good morning, everyone.
13:26Good morning, good morning.
13:28Exciting times.
13:29Exciting times.
13:30Very.
13:30Good morning, everyone.
13:32Just calling to let you know that Universal Epic Universe is open for technical rehearsal at 10 a.m.
13:39Thank you, everyone.
13:47Oh, my God, come in.
13:51Good morning, everyone.
13:52Zaire.
13:53Nice to meet you.
13:54Good.
13:55Good.
13:55Nice to meet you.
13:55There's a limited amount of team members in the park, so they can come in and be our mock
14:01guests.
14:02So we're facilitating ride-throughs.
14:06We're treating this like it's an open park, as you probably hear.
14:09We have trains going over top of us right now.
14:11Good.
14:12Yee-haw.
14:13Yee-haw.
14:14Four and five.
14:15Four and five.
14:17Four and five.
14:18Ride one has RVs one and two on it.
14:20No ridership.
14:21Ride two has RVs seven and eight on it.
14:23No ridership.
14:23Gotcha.
14:24Cool.
14:24Tech Services gets a great training tool, as well as our operations partners.
14:28They get a chance to see, in real time, what it feels like to put guests through the attraction.
14:34Yeah.
14:35It looks awesome.
14:36Yeah.
14:36And remain seated with your head firmly against the headrest.
14:41Sounds like the race is about to begin.
14:43Enjoy the ride.
14:44It's interesting because people are aware that we aren't done, and that's what I was really
14:56worried about.
14:57As an artist, you don't want to show anyone your work until it's 100%.
15:00So, you get paranoid, you get nervous.
15:05It's like the dress rehearsal.
15:07It's really exciting because I get to see the team members all wearing the wardrobe we
15:13developed.
15:13I get to see all the entertainment starting to be out there in the costumes we created
15:17and start to see the life breathed into the land.
15:21They're so young, so they can strike at any moment.
15:24Next, you're going to come here through the Forbidden Dome.
15:27All right.
15:36Good morning, folks.
15:37We're going to go ahead and get started.
15:39We're ramping up quick this week.
15:40We don't have, I'm going to call it an orientation period like what we had in the beginning.
15:45We're going to have, we're going to ramp up quick.
15:47That being said, it is raining today, so let's just try and get ahead of it.
15:50And please call stuff in and take notes because we want to know leaks and where water isn't
15:56necessarily leaking, but it's going in the wrong direction.
15:58Driving into work this morning, I went, oh, man, raining today.
16:01I'm like, no.
16:02It's actually good.
16:03Yeah.
16:04It's good.
16:05Glad this is happening.
16:10That's that light right there.
16:14That's the kind of stuff that I want to make sure the team is looking at today because
16:18obviously we've got leaks coming from here that go onto the panel.
16:21So if we can work with someone to get an umbrella, I think that's probably going to be our best
16:24case scenario for today.
16:25It doesn't rain like this every day.
16:28And we're going to learn things that we wouldn't normally learn without it.
16:35Each day we're putting out a report that says, here's how it went the day before.
16:38And each day we're improving something.
16:41We will actually purposely break the rides in the middle of the day to evacuate them
16:47so that we get experience actually practicing the evacuation.
16:55We don't tell anybody because we don't want everybody to know when it's going to happen.
16:59We want it to be a surprise both for the team members who are on the ride as well as the
17:03ones that are operating the ride.
17:05I am Dr. Victoria Frankenstein.
17:09Today, you chosen you.
17:13And the goal today is we're not waiting for any bubbles.
17:15You can just press it whenever you feel like it because we're supposed to test all the red zones.
17:19What we're doing today is we're actually setting ourselves up for an evacuation at Monsters Unchained.
17:26Can you guys let Brad through really quick?
17:30You're going to hit the ride stop?
17:33Yep.
17:35I'll tell you, I'll tell you when to hit it.
17:36Yeah, if you just, if you just wait for like, RV6.
17:39RV6.
17:39RV6.
17:40Yeah, RV6 is going to come around and that's where 40 is now.
17:43Stop it there.
17:45Did it right now.
17:47Now.
17:48There.
17:49Please remain.
17:50All right, you're 11 deep.
17:52We'll actually stop vehicles throughout the entire ride course.
17:56And then we send our team out to do an actual practice evacuation.
17:58Say that one time.
18:01They're rocking out right now, yes.
18:03No one's in those zones.
18:06You are going to go sit in here.
18:08Yes, you are good to go.
18:10Please let control zone when you are starting evacing your zone and how many guests you are
18:15taking off.
18:18Two riders over there?
18:19Okay.
18:19I'm good too.
18:20I'll go in a second.
18:21We're from five operating.
18:22And I'll be there.
18:23I'll be there.
18:23I'll be there.
18:24I'll be there.
18:24Hi guys.
18:28These railings are actually for the guests.
18:34So that's going to be their fall restraint as they work towards the exit pathways during
18:38an evacuation.
18:40You know, we call ourselves sometimes chaos coordinators because we're constantly, you
18:43know, it's changing every single day.
18:45We always want to make sure that we're practicing these kinds of things as we get closer to soft
18:49opening.
18:59There's a little bit of space and I've done, I've done the little head snake that it came
19:05off on before a few times.
19:07And you're not putting anything in there?
19:08There's actually, this is the only small one that would go over my head and they haven't
19:12put horse here in it yet.
19:13Well, they need to.
19:15Yeah.
19:15Just because of the wardrobe.
19:16Okay.
19:17Look at how great you look.
19:23Hello.
19:25We need horse hair because last time it fell off and there's nothing in here.
19:32Today we're doing a dress rehearsal so tomorrow we can actually have cast member previews.
19:37So it's really exciting, but it's also like we are just ready to go.
19:43Automation garage door go.
19:44Stand by potions for the enable at NCP3 on the LL open.
19:56All right, hold please, hold please.
19:59Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, thank you.
20:02You couldn't get to your button in time?
20:05All right, folks, we're going to reset Kelpy Curtain offstage.
20:08So this was the last time we ran this Kelpy, it didn't work.
20:18This is the first test run since the weekend, right?
20:21Unless they used it yesterday in the OIT.
20:23The Kelpy Curtain, the Kelpy Curtain, it's really the end of the show.
20:32The Kelpy is a beast and that Kelpy comes in, almost swims in, it's beautiful looking, but
20:37what it trails behind is really the Act Curtain.
20:41The Act Curtain shows the final scene.
20:44So it's the end of our story, really.
20:47So it's much more important than just a Kelpy Curtain.
20:49Kelpy moving.
20:53No.
20:55Stop!
20:55No.
21:00That did not sound good.
21:02That was not good.
21:04Oh, no.
21:04That sound was really scary.
21:13That sound makes me really nervous.
21:23This is crazy.
21:26Oh, boy.
21:34So, um, there was contact between the Kelpy Curtain and the corner of the lift.
21:42You can sort of see the sad part.
21:44I don't want to take the time right now to investigate that, so...
21:47That means we can't perform.
21:49The Kelpy Curtain is not working.
21:50If we have no Kelpy, then we have no show tomorrow, because we don't have the contingency.
21:54Do you want to take the time to have them?
21:55We need to take the time, because then we'll want to run, but then we're not being able to open tomorrow.
22:00Okay.
22:00So I think we have to, unfortunately, take the time.
22:02Take the time.
22:03Okay.
22:03I mean, we obviously can't do a show tomorrow.
22:07Our Kelpy Curtain got stuck on a piece of scenery, which stopped everything.
22:13Now we have to fix that, but, of course, the impact is that our cast did not have a dress rehearsal,
22:19and we pretty much lost a day, which, of course, is very disappointing.
22:23Okay, everyone.
22:24Thank you for your patience.
22:26You look fabulous, but we're going to let you get out of costume,
22:29because this is going to take some time to resolve.
22:33Remember life before Muggles and Hogwarts, Harry Potter and Hermione?
22:46The magic started when the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,
22:51was published on this day in 1997.
22:53I think I was chairman and CEO for about five minutes when the head of the creative studio came to me and said,
23:03we need to do a Harry Potter attraction.
23:05The first three volumes of Harry Potter sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
23:09One of the biggest events in publishing history hit the shelves at midnight.
23:12The biggest grossing film of the millennium opened in London.
23:15We were persistent over years.
23:19The second Harry Potter movie casting a spell.
23:22The fourth Harry Potter book.
23:24Potter Mania.
23:25Harry Potter Mania.
23:26Just finding the right time and arranging a meeting for us to share what we thought we could do.
23:36And that meeting took place in a small hotel in Scotland.
23:40With Warner Brothers and J.K. Rowling and her team, we brought all our wares with us.
23:45And our best dancing shoes, polished them all up.
23:49And we told our story.
23:51That we wanted to build Hogsmeade and we wanted to build Hogwarts.
23:56And in Hogwarts, we wanted to take you on a unique Harry Potter journey.
24:03Then we were, you know, excused from the meeting so they could have the, you know, the real talk.
24:08I happened to be in the creative offices when they found out.
24:17Warner Brothers' go list, yeah, she wants to do it.
24:22Just an explosion of emotion.
24:28It was a moment of pure, you know, we were elated.
24:31For us to get something like that, of that caliber and of that importance to the world at the time, was huge.
24:44But once that happened, then the pressure was on.
24:47It was raising their own bar to a level they had never played at.
24:54I always wonder if they actually knew what they were getting into.
24:57Everybody had their own impression of who Harry Potter was and what Hogwarts looked like because it was words.
25:06It wasn't until the original movie production designer, Stuart Craig, made it real in the movies that now Hogwarts and Hogsmeade had a visual vocabulary.
25:18So we were contemplating, okay, how do we expand this next?
25:22That evolution of placemaking and world building.
25:29We put a stake in the ground in terms of this kind of entertainment because we knew we were building not just an attraction, not just a themed area, but an entire world.
25:41And we wanted it to be very real.
25:45We wanted people to believe they were and to feel like they were in Hogsmeade.
25:51Our executive chef, Steve Jason, put us through a tasting of reading about it, what he thought Butterbeer would taste like.
25:59And Joe loved it.
26:03We built almost 800 original, unique products that we developed and designed.
26:08Because we want it to be the product that you would buy if you found yourself in Honeydukes.
26:14The candies, you know, nobody's had them before because they were just on film.
26:19And so we worked very closely with Warner Brothers and with J.K. Rowling to design these things that nobody had ever had.
26:27They have gone to the dedicated end to try and make these things as accurate, this feeling of fully immersed.
26:36All of the Harry Potter fans, they had read the books, they had seen the films.
26:43We wanted them to live the experience.
26:48That's what they were craving.
26:49That's what they wanted.
26:53So the moment of truth with Harry Potter really came at opening day.
26:57We knew that the fan base was huge and global.
27:03And we knew we were going to get a big turnout.
27:06I walked out to the front of the park.
27:08There's a very famous picture of the bridges in front of the park completely filled with guests waiting to get in.
27:14And there was a very long line snaking up into the park and around towards the Wizarding World.
27:20And I'm thinking to myself, oh my gosh, if the line's that long, I wonder if the ride's okay.
27:27Is it running?
27:28Is it not running?
27:29What's happening?
27:33I'm walking, I'm walking, I'm walking.
27:35I was thinking about June 7th of 1990.
27:38So now I'm starting to get a little panicked.
27:40I get into the Wizarding World.
27:52I'm going, oh gosh, this is terrible.
27:54What are we going to do?
27:56I took 15 more steps.
27:59And the line stopped at the Butterbeer cart.
28:03Today, Harry Potter fans can finally taste the much-talked-about Butterbeer.
28:07Yeah, it's awesome.
28:11They weren't in line for the ride.
28:13The ride had a 45-minute wait and it was running great.
28:19They were in line for the Butterbeer cart.
28:22And then I looked left and they were in line for Honeydukes, for the candy store.
28:26And then I looked right and they were in line at another retail shop.
28:30They were in line at all these things that we had never had lines for, ever.
28:34I think the first Harry Potter land changed the landscape of big theme park design.
28:41Lumos!
28:42Up until that point, I had always expected guests, when they come into a new park,
28:45they're going to check the box on each ride.
28:47The mission is to go on the rides.
28:48Nothing else.
28:49Ride to ride to ride to ride to ride.
28:51And I think probably one of the pleasant surprises was that people enjoyed the environmental experience
29:01as much as they enjoyed the rides and attractions.
29:06If you've seen the movies, you know what you're in for, but you don't know until you're there
29:10and you're going like, this is incredible.
29:14I love those stories and I would love to have magic.
29:18What we started to realize was if we spend this much time on all of these details in all
29:25of these other spaces, not just at the ride, look how much more rich the experience is for
29:30the guests.
29:32That became the template for what ultimately led us to Epic.
29:36This will be cool.
29:41What I'm thinking is when we enter the park, we're going to take a right.
29:47Ooh, character meet and greet.
29:49Frankenstein's monster, his bride.
29:51Igor, the invisible man.
29:53Oh, okay.
29:54Nice.
29:55That'll be super cool.
29:56And we're going to go over the Stardust Racers.
30:00That looks crazy.
30:01Look how long it is.
30:02That's why I'm excited for it.
30:03I feel like it's going to go upside down many times.
30:06Ooh, cool.
30:07Ooh, this will look real cool.
30:09I'm like so excited.
30:11I'm like, I want it to be here already.
30:14We actually started planning our trip to Epic Universe almost immediately after coming
30:18home from our last trip to Universal.
30:21Do you consider yourselves to be super fans of these parks?
30:24Yes, that is an accurate description.
30:27We are definitely super fans.
30:28The day we go to Epic, you're going to wear?
30:34Black skirt with shorts so it's safe to ride on the rides.
30:38That's key.
30:40Normally with shoes, we try to aim for like thicker soles.
30:43But with Converse, they have thinner soles.
30:46But I have inserts for those long walks around the park.
30:50And you like these ones because they like hold your ankle tighter?
30:53Yeah.
30:54Yeah.
30:54I have inserts because I was born with juvenile arthritis and I was diagnosed right around
31:00when I was three.
31:00She had a lot of difficulty walking.
31:07I actually carried her in like one of those like backpack carriers probably till she was
31:11almost five until she was able to really move around more.
31:15I think by kindergarten, she had had one of the last procedures where she was really starting
31:19to be able to walk more.
31:21Over the years, you know, she's had different medication treatments and things like that,
31:25which also impacts her.
31:27So it's just really nice to be able to go somewhere and be a kid.
31:31She's in her wheelchair at Hogwarts Castle, but she was there and she got to experience
31:36it.
31:37And so it's always been, we're not going to let anything stop her.
31:39Like we're going to go to all the places.
31:43It's gotten to the point where I'm on very good medication.
31:46So I don't honestly need my wheelchair all that much.
31:53Today's my birthday and I'm turning 14.
31:54We're going to have dinner with grandparents just to celebrate.
32:01What do you want to do when I'm 14?
32:05Go to Orlando.
32:07We're going kind of as a graduation gift.
32:10So I'm super excited.
32:11Happy birthday to you.
32:14What I think we're trying to do most is give people the opportunity to create a memory
32:20with their friends and families.
32:22We're trying to bring to life these great characters, great stories, and great places
32:28that they've always wanted to be part of.
32:43So for tomorrow, soft opening is a major transition.
32:49We've talked about this day for a long time.
32:52This is really, we're going to transition now from team members who I think have been
32:56very gracious with us over the past several weeks to a group now that is paying money.
33:02It's very different when you let the general population in.
33:05They will go where they want to go and do what they want to do.
33:08And so it gives us an opportunity to learn how that's all going to work and what we might
33:12have to do to better prepare.
33:13Over the past several weeks, it's been a very steady increase of pressure on the park
33:21and our staff because we're still doing a little work in the park.
33:25Why aren't we running the boat ride?
33:27I guess they need like four boats up, and we don't have four boats up.
33:31Why don't we have four boats up?
33:33I don't know.
33:34We have been working nights, days, weekends, and working really hard to make sure that it's
33:41perfect for the guests.
33:42There's a lot of energy in the air right now.
33:46Nervous at the same time, but very, very excited.
33:49A little sprucing, right?
33:50A little spruce, a little zhuzh.
33:51Exactly.
33:52They went to the werewolf salon.
33:55We're really going to get to a point tomorrow where every little thing we do is going to
33:59be really scrutinized, and every little experience we deliver is going to really mean something
34:05to somebody.
34:05All the elements working together create a huge moment.
34:09That's the difference between something that's good and something that's timeless.
34:14We're trying to go for timeless, something that we could come back 20 years from now,
34:19and it's just as good as the first time we wrote it.
34:21Do you think they're going to have the curtain installed before 3,000 people are here?
34:26I can pray.
34:27So all these things that we have been getting a lot of leeway on the past several weeks,
34:32oh, we're testing things, excuse us, it's partner dust kind of mode, that time stops today.
34:38And then encourage, if you're here tomorrow, we have our third shift breakfast, so...
34:443 a.m.
34:453 a.m.
34:46We'll be there.
34:46Tonight will be the first night where we've told the construction teams no work overnight
34:57without prior approval.
34:59We can't do that anymore because that brings with it risk that something might not be available
35:03the next day.
35:06Let the park be the park.
35:08Let the park be the park.
35:38I've been walking since 7 o'clock in the morning, and quite honestly, there's a lot
35:47of work going on in the park still, a lot of things that have to be finished out.
35:50Good morning.
35:50Good morning, welcome in.
35:51Oh, this fountain's not on.
35:54Call Brandon.
35:55Hey, the Apollo fountain's not on.
35:58Thanks.
35:59Bye.
36:00A lot of the teams are just starting to come to work, in fact.
36:03If they had seen this place two hours ago, they wouldn't have believed it.
36:06Good morning.
36:07There's a lot of chaotic movement in here, trucks and landscaping.
36:11These trees were put in about two hours ago.
36:16There's Kit.
36:16If we're clear, do we care if we open 410?
36:20But there's still like this type of stuff going on.
36:22That's called beautification.
36:24That is not beautification.
36:27Oh, we still have these covers missing.
36:30Do you know about these caps?
36:31We're working on it right now to see if we can find the pieces.
36:34Hopefully get them on in the next 45 minutes.
36:41There's always a sense of risk because we've planned a lot of things over a long period of time.
36:46And so, there's always this element of uncertainty about how everybody will interpret everything that's in front of them once they're here.
36:54Lauren's here, right?
36:54Lauren's here.
36:55All right.
36:56Good morning, everybody.
36:58Welcome to Epic Universe.
36:59This is our new day one.
37:01It has been an awesome time working with you guys through these previews.
37:06This is the real thing.
37:09As you guys all know, we are welcoming our first paid guests.
37:13There are people who've been waiting and waiting and waiting.
37:16They have very high expectations for this park.
37:20Some changes from yesterday.
37:22Seat numbers, it's going to be facing the RV.
37:24One, two, three, four, five, six on the front.
37:26So, front row is first, back row is second.
37:28Any questions about that?
37:29Cool.
37:34We're excited to finally be at this first landmark.
37:37All of you guys were hand-chosen to be here for a reason.
37:40And we've had nothing but good things from everybody that's been coming in.
37:43So, let's just keep it up.
37:44Everybody ready to have a great day?
37:52Siri, call Bill Adeloff.
37:54Call Karen.
37:55Okay.
37:56Bye.
37:56Siri, call Natalie Campbell.
37:58Morning.
37:59Perfect.
37:59You got it.
38:00Can you do me one more favor?
38:01Call Brandon.
38:01Good morning.
38:03That's not needed.
38:04Morning.
38:04Oh, it's a little snail.
38:07Are you saving him?
38:08Yeah.
38:11Careful.
38:12There you go.
38:14Perfect.
38:14Perfect.
38:18Awesome.
38:19You're going to open both colonnades.
38:27All right.
38:28Do it.
38:29I'm walking to you.
38:31Hello.
38:31Good morning.
38:32Are you heading to the theme park today?
38:33Yes.
38:35Yeah, if we're ready.
38:38All right, bye.
38:38Congratulations.
38:48How are you?
38:50Good morning.
38:53Good morning.
38:54All right.
38:56There we go.
38:57Got it.
38:58Good morning.
39:00Good morning.
39:00Good morning.
39:02Good morning.
39:02Good morning.
39:07Good morning.
39:11Good morning.
39:12You're almost there.
39:13You're almost there.
39:14You're almost there.
39:19Oh, wow.
39:21Oh, my gosh.
39:22It's so big.
39:23You can see all the way.
39:25And then the height.
39:26Good morning.
39:26Good morning.
39:27Good morning.
39:28How are we doing, folks?
39:29Everybody, happy?
39:36Good morning.
39:37How are you doing?
39:37Good to see you.
39:38Very good.
39:39How are you?
39:39I'm doing great.
39:40You have an amazing day.
39:41You too?
39:42I knew you will.
39:44That's a healthy lawn.
39:46Wow.
39:52We're so excited for people from the outside to come in and experience Super Nintendo World
39:56because cameras have not been allowed in Super Nintendo World until today.
40:05Oh, my good Lord.
40:07Holy cow.
40:08Holy.
40:09What is happening?
40:14This is insane.
40:15I want to ride in a pink one.
40:17I want to ride in a Yoshi.
40:18Oh, my God.
40:20Let's do Yoshi.
40:21Yoshi?
40:22Okay, where's the entrance?
40:22Right here?
40:23Down there.
40:23Down there.
40:24Okay.
40:26This project started for 10 years, but it's here until it comes.
40:33And when you enter here, you feel real.
40:38You feel real.
40:39That's my first experience.
40:41That's why I'm here.
40:43Now, a lot of Nintendo games are played here.
40:47So you feel real.
40:48The world of Mario and Donkey Kong is really the first experience of the Mario world.
40:56Wow. Oh my god.
40:59Nintendo is a beloved company. This is a really big day for all of us.
41:03Everyone gets to come in and take pictures with their friends and family
41:06in front of all the hard work they've been doing.
41:08Hey, that's right. That's worth the work.
41:10Excellent. All right. There you go. That's what we want to hear.
41:15The big thing here is that Nintendo is now
41:19parents, children, children and children.
41:22These three generations have experienced Nintendo.
41:26They all want to do the same thing.
41:29We want to do the same thing in the park.
41:32We want to do the same thing in the park.
41:38Wow.
41:40Wow.
41:47What?
41:48So cute.
41:49Oh my gosh.
41:58Isn't he gonna cry?
42:00Isn't he great?
42:03Oh.
42:06This is spectacular.
42:08This is truly spectacular. Wow.
42:16Seeing people experience it for the first time, it's really humbling.
42:21They have the emotion that sometimes we can't have ourselves.
42:27We've worked on it. We know what's going to happen.
42:30So you're like, man, I wonder what it's like experiencing this for the first time with no expectations.
42:40We know what I'm having it like this."
42:41—
42:47—
42:49There's literally millions of decisions that go into making something like this, and you can't begin to remember every one of them.
42:59to remember every one of them.
43:09Out of Igor's way.
43:11Someone has to move.
43:12It won't be Igor.
43:14A thousand experiments.
43:22So what happens at the end is you kind of look at it like with fresh eyes,
43:26and it just feels amazing.
43:30What's up, guys?
43:33I appreciate it.
43:34I'm awesome.
43:35Here's my brother.
43:36You know my brother, Grace.
43:37Yeah, I just figured that out.
43:38I thought it was David Winston for us.
43:40Everybody thinks he's David Winston.
43:42Everybody thinks he's David.
43:46Today I'm bringing my brother to the manor.
43:49First time ever seeing it.
43:52Yeah, 11 through.
43:53Oh, yeah. Appreciate it.
43:54It means the world to me, and he's seen all the attractions I've worked on since I was an intern here.
44:06Y'all did y'all thing, my boy.
44:08Y'all did y'all thing, my boy.
44:10It's really exciting and, of course, also kind of sad and sentimental to be now at this point, because it always felt so far away.
44:27It always felt like, oh, there's so many years, and all of a sudden it's here.
44:30Back to my throwing.
44:31Welcome, madame.
44:32It feels really good.
44:45It will never leave me because it will be here for myself and my family and friends to enjoy.
44:51And so I just feel joyful.
44:54I mean, it's exciting.
44:56It's a little bit bittersweet.
44:58It's like letting your child go, right?
45:02It's on its own two feet now, and that's walking away from me.
45:07I'm glad that my brother's here.
45:12Family's kind of a little smaller lately.
45:15I lost my stepdad, which was his dad.
45:18So moments like this is just way bigger than me, and even bigger than my family.
45:25There's other families going through other situations, and they're here to make a memory as well.
45:32It holds the box office glory.
45:52Do you know your suitcase stinks?
45:57Oh my God.
46:07No!
46:12It was good.
46:23I liked it a lot.
46:24I liked it a lot.
46:26I felt like I could touch the other ride.
46:31That was amazing.
46:32The front was really fun.
46:33We should go again.
46:35Now we have to do the green side.
46:36Can we do the green side?
46:37Yeah.
46:39A lot of people think of epic as meaning awesome, or big, or grand, or cool, but epic is actually
46:48an ancient word for story or poem.
46:52These are the stories that have endured as long as people have been writing down stories.
46:59The epic hero who exists in these poems is larger than life.
47:04That epic hero takes on challenges that are supernatural.
47:08They confront monsters and dragons and beasts.
47:12And they end up being legends to their people.
47:31It's bittersweet because all of a sudden, we know that's the end of the story for us.
47:53But really, it's the beginning of the story for everybody else.
47:57There is nothing like opening day.
48:19There's nowhere else I would want to be.
48:22When you work on a project like this, the first thing you want to do is share it with somebody.
48:26I will sit in silence and watch the experience of the utter beauty of emotion that will pour into that park.
48:46I want to see them look at the person that they're with and share that moment.
48:51That's one of the biggest motivators ever.
48:54In its purity, we're all fans.
48:58And I will enter those gates as a fan on that day and live it all like I've never seen it before.
49:04The first time in 25 years, Orlando is welcoming a brand new major theme park.
49:13Now officially open.
49:14We got here at 4 a.m. and it was packed.
49:17People, we are live inside the park.
49:19And after years of anticipation, it's finally here.
49:22We walked in through the portal and our jaws just dropped.
49:28You feel like you're in the movie.
49:30Who's ready to come face to face with a fire-breathing dragon?
49:42Because a world of fantastic beasts and magical creatures awaits you all.
49:54Beyond this gate, find catapult steam, full of monsters and the secrets they keep.
49:59Congratulations.
50:05It's a happy opening day.
50:07Congratulations.
50:08Yeah, same to you, brother.
50:09All of that preparation over the past three months is really paying off.
50:12Soft opening, we were probably all the way down to 4,000 or 5,000 a day.
50:17Today, we'll be closer to 15,000.
50:19The culmination of an eight-year journey that involves the most creative people in the entire world.
50:26The greatest amount of innovation, the most technologically advanced theme park we've ever created.
50:32We were always excited to be as a designer and a designer.
50:35So, I think that's where I'm really excited.
50:39I want to do it first with the competition in the world.
50:43I'm Dean. I'm the writer, the director of the How to Train Your Dragon movies.
50:58Amazing. Thank you, Noah.
51:01We go way back, don't we?
51:03It's just so well done. They hit it out of the park, pardon the pun.
51:06You always think, how can they top what they've done before?
51:09But this is absolutely fantastic.
51:11It's like finishing a movie and then walking into the movie and going, hi, to all the characters.
51:19I just keep thinking back to how Uncle Carl started this as, I mean, almost a little family studio.
51:27Carl Lemley would feel so proud, so amazed if he saw this today.
51:31I really do feel like this is a version of what he was envisioning so long ago.
51:38Universal's been spinning since 1915 because they have an appreciation of legacy and they don't forget their history.
51:47They bring the past into the present and they make it all one thing.
51:51I don't think that there's many other things other than a film on a massive theater screen or being in a world that's been created to emulate your favorite film.
52:03Those are incredible experiences that touch everybody.
52:12Any words of advice for Mark Woodbury and the team?
52:15I really don't have any advice.
52:19Whatever I was able to teach them, they have long surpassed.
52:25I look forward to that flame carrying on.
52:29This is the only place where you can do this kind of storytelling, this kind of immersion and this kind of visceral thrill with the people you love and care about in a way that you'll remember forever.
52:47It's a great fun, it's a real world that I'm trying to remember forever.
53:03Transcription by CastingWords
Recommended
1:11:55
|
Up next
0:52
53:34
56:44
0:50
0:47
0:50
0:50
1:39:41
56:00
43:41
46:05
1:22:55
24:16
24:34
44:04
50:07
44:17
Be the first to comment