The opening of Universal’s Epic Universe theme park is beginning to test whether Orlando tourists are ready to break a 35-year old habit: treating Universal as a quick side trip during their Disney vacations.
Since Universal first opened its gates in 1990, the resort has played second fiddle to Disney World. Families would spend most of their time at Disney’s four theme parks, two waterparks and entertainment district, maybe squeezing in a day or two at Universal if they had time.
That pattern held true even after Universal added Islands of Adventure in 1999 and Volcano Bay in 2017. Visitors kept booking Disney hotels, eating at Disney restaurants, and treating Universal as an afterthought. This is evident in the numbers: Magic Kingdom is the consistently the world’s most visited theme park, with 17.7 million visitors in 2023. Islands of Adventure (Universal’s most visited park) ranked 11 with 10 million visitors, behind both Epcot, ranked 8, and Hollywood Studios, ranked 10.
Epic Universal is Universal’s biggest attempt yet to flip that script. The massive new park and wider development is 750 acres. The headline attractions and vast themed lands to explore take at least two days to see properly, which means tourists have to make a choice: spend less time at Disney or extend their vacations, at least that’s what Universal is hoping.
Universal has been building toward this moment for decades. The company’s earlier attempts to compete head-on with Disney mostly fell flat. It opened three upscale hotels in the early 2000s in a weird attempt to combine high value hotel guests with a new park built for thrill seekers in Islands of Adventure. Meanwhile, Disney had just opened Animal Kingdom, its fourth major park.
The real breakthrough came in 2010 with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the first time Universal created something that truly chipped away at Disney’s core audience: families. The company doubled down in 2014, expanding Harry Potter across both parks and connecting them with the Hogwarts Express.
But the smartest move in this period might have been Universal’s shift in hotel strategy. The company, with Loews, opened a string of budget-friendly hotels that typically run at $100 to $200 a night. Properties like Cabana Bay and Endless Summer resorts offer better amenities than Disney’s value hotels.
In the category of “value” hotels, Disney has 10,308 rooms to Universal’s 7,100. Yet, all of Universal’s rooms have been built since the opening of its first value resort, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, in 2014. Disney has not added a single room to their value resort portfolio in that time.
The math started working in Universal’s favor. Some families discovered they could stay at a Universal hotel, save money, and still visit Disney parks. This calculation is especially important for international guest who visit on average for 10-nights, the savings at Universal properties could be significant enough to offset other costs like park tickets and dining.
Now Epic Universe adds five new themed lands to explore: Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon — Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and Celestial Park. Combined with Universal’s existing parks, that’s enough entertainment to fill an entire vacation.
The stakes are significant. Disney’s theme park division brought in $34.15 billion last year, while Universal managed $8.617 billion. Those figures include parks worldwide, so while it doesn’t tell the true story, it shows just how far apart they are. This could just be the beginning, however, as Universal owns vast tracts of undeveloped land around Epic Universe, suggesting a larger expansion plan.
Disney hasn’t been sitting still, the company recently announced new experiences for Hollywood Studios. But some longtime Disney fans complain the resort feels stale, with recent additions failing to generate much excitement and years of price increases angering guests.
At a minimum, the increased competition from Universal should benefit visitors through better attractions and experiences. Whether it fundamentally changes how people vacation in Orlando, or helps with more competitive pricing, remains to be seen. But for the first time in decades, Disney has to worry about more than just a one-day detour to see Harry Potter.
