It’s Universal vs. Disney in an epic ‘prize fight’ for theme park dominance in Florida

The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up.

This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire.

That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal.

Part of a 750-acre development, Epic Universe represents the biggest Universal theme park expansion since the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 15 years ago.

It touts five different themed areas, four of which are tied to well-known franchises: “Harry Potter,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal’s Dark Universe of classic movie monsters and Nintendo video game properties, in addition to a cosmic central Celestial Park hub.

The resort, which also includes three hotels, features technologically-advanced animatronics and detailed rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which showcases many of Universal’s monsters. Reviews of the park have been largely positive, with critics highlighting the immersive nature of the attractions.

“Comcast has come on so strong with what they’ve developed and brought forth in the Orlando market,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of Cincinnati-based consulting firm International Theme Park Services Inc. “Over the last 15 years, they have brought that distance between Universal and Disney much closer, and it has really become a prize fight. It’s the most intense and competitive situation in the industry.”

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Disney was the first of the two to the Orlando market back in 1971, when it opened the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. It wasn’t until 1990 that Universal opened its own Orlando park, giving Disney a nearly two-decade head start.

By then, Disney had already opened the Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios theme parks (which would later become known as Hollywood Studios). Also in the mix in the Sunshine State: SeaWorld Orlando, which opened in 1973, and what’s now known as Busch Gardens Tampa, which debuted in 1959.

Today, Disney World has four theme parks and two water parks, while Universal Orlando will have three, including Epic Universe and Islands of Adventure (opened in 1999), and a water park, Volcano Bay (2017).

Though Universal was late to market, its 2010 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land across Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando pushed the theme park competition to new heights. Building a land solely around a specific intellectual property — instead of a general theme — was novel at the time, and the concept would later show up in Disney parks, such as Cars Land in Anaheim and later, “Star Wars”-themed lands in California and Florida.

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Demand at the time for the “Harry Potter”-themed land pushed Universal’s attendance up 36% compared with the previous year, Speigel said.

“They realized after ‘Harry Potter’ that it was a new world order,” he said. “They’ve just kept the pedal to the metal on everything they’ve done in terms of growth and internal experience.”

There’s good reason for that.

Both Universal and Disney have honed in on theme parks as a profit-generating part of their business that is less volatile than the ever-changing media, television and film markets. Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks and cruise lines, has long brought in the lion’s share of the company’s profit, particularly as pay TV shrinks.

“Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”

Both companies have recently announced new properties — Disney in Abu Dhabi and Universal with a smaller kids resort in Texas, a theme park in Britain and a year-round Halloween Horror Nights-esque experience in Las Vegas.

“The plan is to keep driving growth in a business that we think we’re one of two players in a market that is, within media, not at all exposed to the shift in time on screens from one venue to another,” Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh said during the company’s fiscal first quarter call with analysts last month. “Live experiences, parks experiences have been thrilling to people, and we think we lean into that and continue to do so.”

So far, he said, advance ticket sales and hotel bookings are “strong” for Epic Universe and the other Universal parks in Orlando. A one-day ticket starts at $139.

That’s why analysts have consistently flagged the upcoming park during earnings calls for rival Disney, querying executives about the potential pressure on Disney World and how the company plans to compete.

But if Disney is worried, it has shown little sign of it. Last week, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said hotel bookings for the fiscal third quarter are up 4% compared with last year, with about 80% of available nights reserved. For the fourth quarter, bookings are up about 7%, with about 50% to 60% of capacity filled, he said.

That’s despite broader worries that concerns about a potential recession — spurred by President Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods — will dampen travel and consumer spending.

“Experiences is obviously a critical business for Disney and also an important growth platform,” company Chief Executive Bob Iger said on a recent earnings call. “Despite questions around any macro-economic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business.”

The company has previously announced it is investing $30 billion into its parks in Florida and California, which will fund such additions as a “Monsters Inc.”-inspired land and a villains land in Disney World. The parks have also added attractions throughout the last 10 years, including the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride (which replaced Splash Mountain).

Disney is betting that the influx of visitors coming to Florida for Epic Universe will still make a stop at its parks. Last year, Orlando tallied more than 75 million visitors, up 1.8% compared with 2023, according to the Visit Orlando trade association. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said at an investor conference last week that Disney gets more tourists any time something new opens up in central Florida — even if it’s not a Disney property.

“If we just go back five or 10 years, and you think about what’s happened at Walt Disney World, we’ve always been on the offensive,” D’Amaro said. “If something is built new in Central Florida, like Epic Universe, and if it brings in additional tourists, I can almost guarantee you that new tourist coming into the market is going to have to visit the Magic Kingdom.”