With the May 22 grand opening of Universal Epic Universe, the third establishment of Universal Studios Orlando, enthusiasts in Florida now have a harder task in deciding which theme park is worth their while, given Walt Disney World is 12 miles away.
Walt Disney World, Universal’s rival, has been a staple in Orlando’s theme park history, with its doors first opening in 1971, almost 20 years before Universal was established.
With four individual theme parks to choose from — Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom — visitors at “The Most Magical Place on Earth” are able to experience a “whole new world” that differs greatly from Universal.
As the two leading theme parks in Orlando, many enthusiasts have visited both Disney World and Universal, and have formed their preferences. Since the opening of Epic Universe, frequent theme park goers have expressed varying opinions on the new establishment, with some believing it is a threat to Disney World. Others believe Disney World still outranks Universal on the whole.
“Disney better step it up!” Christiana Sinor, a native to South Florida and frequent Disney World and Universal visitor who recently visited Epic Universe for the first time in July, said. “I think that pricing, walkability, and food [are] better than Disney. If you want to go to a park that you can explore fully in one day, then Epic is definitely for you.”
The nearly six-year project is Orlando’s first new theme park to open in over 25 years, with the purpose of offering an experience different to the two established theme parks Universal has — Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure — located approximately 15 minutes away from Epic Universe.
“Epic Universe is the culmination of what we’ve been working on for nearly a decade,” said President and Chief Operating Officer of Universal Orlando Resort Jaren Irwin said in a press release. “Our teams have poured so much passion, vision and dedication into this new park and there is truly nothing like it in our universe.”
Visitors at Epic Universe are able to explore five lands — Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon, and Dark Universe — an experience which Irwin expresses as “nothing short of epic!”
The differences between the newest Universal theme park and Disney World vary in terms of pricing, attractions, and intellectual properties and themes.
For Florida residents, a one-day ticket to Epic Universe starts at $139 per adult, the highest price of all three Universal theme parks. In comparison, a one-day ticket at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, the highest priced park, starts at $144 per adult.
Furthermore, Disney World is known for their family-friendly attractions and nostalgia-driven experiences, with Epic Universe being more focused on immersing visitors by utilizing new ground-breaking technology and strong theming and attractions geared towards younger adults and thrill-seekers – Universal’s target audience.
However, Angelina from Orlando, a theme park content creator on TikTok with 8,749 followers, has visited Epic Universe a total of 10 times and does not believe Disney World has anything to worry about for now.
“Disney still has much more land and rides, and is incredibly busy. Universal still hasn’t created any rides to truly rival Cosmic Rewind, Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage, among others,” said the theme park enthusiast. “If Epic’s rides had been more innovative and hit harder, and the park had more rides, less wait times and overall a more pleasant experience for guests, then I think Disney might have been a little nervous.”
Despite various opinions, the Epic Universe excitement is not slowing down among theme park goers. Epic Universe continues to see thousands of visitors a day and towards the holiday season, many single-day tickets are already sold out.
“I think [Epic] absolutely has long-term staying power, as it’s got some of Universal’s strongest [intellectual properties], and there is a huge community of Universal fans out there,” Angelina said. “If Universal expands Epic, adds more resorts and maybe even a fourth park — and gets better at creating more unique rides and immersion — they could dominate Orlando at some point.”
With competition just a few miles away, Disney World is gearing up for new expansions coming to their existing theme parks in the following years, such as Cars Land in Magic Kingdom and Monsters, Inc. Land in Hollywood Studios. However, Disney World has no major park expansion plans for the future as of right now.
