Theme parks fans will always debate any new addition or significant change to their favorite park, and as long as there is more than one major theme park in the world, there will be comparisons between them. Something of a battle is currently going on comparing resort hotels at Walt Disney Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, but the fact that there’s even a debate is a bit ridiculous because there should be no comparison.
All of this stems from the recent leak of images and details for the two new resort hotels that are set to accompany the opening of Universal's Epic Universe theme park in 2025. A website glitch appears to have revealed a bit about what the hotels will look like, which sparked the debate. Here’s what’s going on.
What Are Universal Orlando’s Stella Nova And Terra Luna Resorts?
While Universal Orlando has confirmed surprisingly little about what will be part of its new theme park, among everything we know about Epic Universe through the brilliant detective work of people like Alicia Stella at Orlando ParkStop is the fact that the park will have hotels attached to it, similar to the way the Grand Californian Resort & Spa is attached to Disney California Adventure. The names Stella Nova and Terra Luna have been found in trademark documents, and a (now defunct) webpage on the Lowes hotel website, the company that manages Universal Orlando properties, confirmed the names.
The hotels are currently under construction and are being outfitted with a unique tile design on the exterior that makes the buildings actually change color in different light. They’re likely to look pretty impressive on the outside, but the big question is what they will look like on the inside.
Why Theme Park Fans Are Debating
The major debate among fans comes from the concept art that was found on the webpage leak that reveals a general idea of what the inside of the hotel will look like. In general, it looks fine. However, beyond a bit of “space” theming, it looks like a pretty standard hotel. The debate comes because a lot of people are praising Universal when others feel like, if this were a Disney World resort, they would be much harsher.
#StellaNova Resort is a prime example of the double standard in theme park Twitter. If this were Disney’s Resort, it’d be called “cheap, cold, & uninspired modernism/minimalism.” But it’s Universal, so it’s “stunning, beautiful” and “what Starcruiser should have been.” Y’all 🤡 pic.twitter.com/nicSpwyGR8November 7, 2023
As somebody who is part of this community and certainly voices his own opinions, I’ll certainly agree that Disney World tends to get lambasted by fans, especially when it comes to resort hotels. Most fans don’t love the recent update to the Contemporary hotel, and Disneyland’s newly renovated Pixar Place Hotel isn’t fairing much better. In all of these cases, the theming of the hotel is seen as minimal, making them look less like unique theme park locations and more like generic hotels. But that’s a big part of why comparing Disney and Universal hotels is just a fool's errand.
How Universal Orlando’s Resort Value Compares To Walt Disney World
Universal Orlando doesn’t have nearly as many hotels as Walt Disney World, but somehow it still has a greater variation in pricing. You’re looking at over $200 a night for Disney World’s least expensive hotels, which, to be honest, aren’t very impressive. In contrast, Universal’s value price options are actually much nicer, while also being significantly cheaper. As theme park reporter Carly Caramanna pointed out.
Except I’ve booked endless summer around a dozen times this year so far for under $100/night 🤷♀️ … https://t.co/o7aFloGoE5November 7, 2023
I've been to the Endless Summer Dockside Inn & Suites, and, while the hotel is certainly not the lap of luxury, it's nice while also being affordable. I've also stayed at Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it is an absolutely amazing place that no Universal resort holds a candle to, but brother, do you pay for it.
All signs point to these new Universal Hotels being on the lower end of the pricing spectrum, so the fact they maybe don’t blow you away from a design perspective is fine because you’re not going to pay that much for it. More than likely, if this was a Disney World hotel we were looking at, it would cost a lot more, and that would be a problem.
