Dark Universe is the One to Beat at Epic Universe- and Why Disney Can't Do It!

Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy and more. Things are going to get twisted and very scary and very interesting! By this time next year, theme park fiends will be screaming with delight talking about Epic Universe and especially the brand new land, Dark Universe. That is saying certainly something coming up against the themes of the other lands in the park. Think of the juggernaut that is Harry Potter. Then consider the rabid fan base 40 years strong of Mario Bros and Super Nintendo World. Even How to Train Your Dragon has families excited to visit the Isle of Berk. But Monsters will rule them all. Why? These characters' stories have been told for seemingly hundreds of years, tales as old as time, and they are the backbone of Halloween costumes for decades as well.

Main nemesis the Walt Disney Company can't fight this battle since Disneyland or Walt Disney World has nothing even close to compare. My hunch is the suits know it too. They'll blew their chance to include uber villain Dr. Facillier on the Tiana's Bayou Adventure remodel, and Rise of the Resistance aside, they just don't have the guts to do real bad guys anymore let alone real monsters. Cartoon monsters that gather screams or laughs, sure. Those that truly terrify? No. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom is proof. On the other coast, Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim has more edge but misses the horror mark too.

Let's be honest, no one does horror like Universal. Whether it is the brutal slasher type scarefest of Halloween Horror Nights or the more playful Monster Make Up show, guests love to be scared. Now, the classic Universal movie monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, are on the scene, they've got to go to Universal to get it.

Opening night at Darkmoor in 2025- and there's additional scares to come.

The main attraction in the area named Darkmoor will be the new rite of passage for those younger theme park guests. Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment promises nonstop thrills and chills with a nightmare of a story. Cutting edge effects, unforeseen lifelike- or is it deathlike - frightening characters gone beserk in a setting that will make riding Disney Imagineering's Haunted Mansion look like time spent at Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Sign me up, he said trembling a bit.

The whole area will be fleshed out with otherworldly experiences, character meet and greets of a whole new dimension, and dining and shopping like nothing ever seen. Certainly incredible during the day but absolutely foreboding once the blackness of night settles in. Fans of classic horror now have another option to be scared, especially if slasher flicks are not their genre of choice.

I'm not even a big fan of the classic monsters franchise, and this has me very excited!

Could this year's D23 reveal Disney countering with a Villains land or even entire theme park? No. Robert Iger and company would appear to be playing catch up. And they are! For about two decades, the suits at Disney have not truly invested in building the parks. They've rested on their biggest cash cow, and now it is rightfully going to bite them in the wallet. And I hope it does- with a huge set of Dracula's fangs! 

(Art copyright Universal Creative.)