According to new reports from multiple in-person and social media sources, three shows in Celestial Park have been scrapped prior to the opening of Epic Universe, and several entertainment Team Members have already been cut.
New Rumor of Celestial Park Entertainment Cuts
Epic Universe is the latest addition to the theme park lineup at Universal Orlando Resort. The park, which is scheduled to officially open on May 22, has been undergoing stages of Universal Team Member previews for the past several weeks. After only allowing Team Members into Epic Universe, the latest previews allow employees to bring up to three family members or close friends. The Team Member family preview dates were recently extended to April 5.
As a part of the previews, guests have been able to experience some of the many new entertainment offerings in Epic Universe. A previous episode of the Discover Universal Podcast revealed a hint of the supposedly many shows, performers, and original characters that would be bringing the worlds of Epic Universe to life, which were said to include magical exchange students in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, a group of wandering monster hunters in Dark Universe, and interactive dragons in How To Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk.
However, the podcast also had Universal Team Members go into more detail regarding the entertainment in Celestial Park.
The residents of Celestial Park, known as Celestians, are known in the land’s lore for maintaining the Chronos at the entrance to the park and building the portals guests use to visit other worlds. Trademark applications filed by Universal implied that several of the Celestians would be original characters.
The podcast episode specifically described some of the entertainment in Celestial Park. This entertainment was confirmed to include a group of traveling characters who have gone through several of the portals and have returned to tell stories of their adventures. This group, described as a band, would create a “musical moment” using artifacts they brought back to Celestial Park. Another original character was described as interacting with guests and using sound to power the land. Many of these performances would take place on or near a performance venue called the Hemisphere Stage.
According to several sources, many of the entertainment offerings in the Celestial Park section of Epic Universe have already been cut or scrapped. These reports all state that a wandering musician playing a guitar, the entire band show involving several entertainers, two more unnamed stage shows, and another performer who interacted with guests near the Hemisphere Stage have all been permanently removed from the entertainment lineup. A reasonably large number of other Celestians have also been removed, according to these reports. These changes are all reported to be budget cuts.
Multiple social media posts from Team Members have mentioned the performers in Epic Universe, expressing their sorrow at the changes and stressing the importance of live entertainment in theme parks.
What do you think of entertainment already being cut in Epic Universe before the land opens to guests? Share your thoughts with us on social media.
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