Pay-Per-Ride Comes to Epic Universe and the Long Goodbye to Lucy: A Tribute (Ep. 99)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Tv & Film, Places & Travel, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A new à la carte Express Pass option has Universal fans debating the future of line-skipping, while fresh surveys hint at bigger strategic shifts in Hollywood and Orlando. Jim and Eric break down what a single-ride upcharge could mean for guest spending and park flow, plus what face-scanning tech might signal for Epic Universe’s nighttime plans. Then, inspired by a listener suggestion, they take a deep dive into the surprisingly rich history of Lucy: A Tribute - the long-running attraction that once occupied prime real estate at Universal Studios Florida. NEWS • Universal begins testing a single-ride Express Pass option, allowing guests to skip lines for select attractions at a per-ride price • Early reactions to the pay-per-ride model and how it compares to Disney’s Lightning Lane system • Face recognition scanners appear at Epic Universe portals, fueling speculation about crowd control and nighttime access • New surveys suggest Universal may adjust operating hours at Hollywood, possibly ahead of major attraction demand • Universal explores offering discounted annual passes to Disney passholders to boost cross-park loyalty FEATURE • The origin story of Lucy: A Tribute and how Lucie Arnaz partnered with Universal to preserve her mother’s legacy • Why the attraction lasted decades longer than originally planned at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida • The role of I Love Lucy in early theme park competition between Universal and Disney-MGM Studios • How Lucy Ricardo became a beloved walkaround character - and why Universal recently retired her HOSTS • Jim Hill – X/Twitter: @JimHillMedia, Instagram: @JimHillMedia • Eric Hersey – X/Twitter: @erichersey, Instagram: @erichersey FOLLOW • Facebook: @JimHillMediaNews • YouTube: @jimhillmedia • TikTok: @jimhillmedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at https://www.patreon.com/jimhillmedia PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - https://strongmindedagency.com SPONSOR Save on your next Universal or Disney vacation with and enjoy exclusive discounts on tickets and Express Pass options. If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. https://www.jimhillmedia.com/sponsor/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Isn't life grande?
0:01.9	And making it better just got easier with Starbucks new protein cold foam.
0:06.7	A little something, something to take your favorite drinks up a notch with 15 grams of extra protein.
0:13.2	Turn your usual iced caramel latte into a smooth iced caramel protein latte.
0:18.5	Add a delicious swirl on top of your drink, just like that.
0:23.3	Protein never tasted so good with Starbucks new protein cold foam.
0:27.7	Subject to availability while stocks last.
0:30.0	Welcome back to the Epic Universal podcast.
0:32.7	I'm entertainment writer Jim Hill, and this is the podcast where we cover the latest universal news,
0:38.9	rumors and history. And as always, I'm joined by Eric Hersey. And once again, we're cutting
0:45.5	a little close this week, aren't we? You know, we're just trying to get the freshest news
0:49.2	possible for everyone. We are a banana that, you know, right now we are super super, super, we're just green.
0:54.6	Tomorrow we're going to be yellow and the next day we're just going to be brown, right?
0:58.3	Because that's how they work, at least in my house.
1:00.6	I love how optimistic you are about this as opposed to, you know, poor planning on my part
1:06.5	and we're recording this show on Thursday afternoon to go up on Friday morning.
1:10.9	But, but no, I love your banana, you know, analogy.
1:15.0	And speaking of which you did see coming out of CinemaCon this past week,
1:20.9	lots of news about the new Minions movie coming out?
1:24.2	Oh, no. See, I saw that the Universal Kids talked about the Minions versus Minions,
1:28.7	so that was my banana fix, so I must have not. What do we got going on there?
1:32.8	Well, again, they were just sort of talking up, you know, in fact, I hadn't put this together
	...

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