Universal Orlando Resort has turned up the heat in the competition with Disney World over the last dozen years trying to lure Florida vacationers away from the Mouse House and keep them satisfied at its theme parks.
Comcast-owned (CMCSA) Universal Studios introduced the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land at its Islands of Adventure park in Orlando in 2010, then added the Wizarding World attraction to Universal Studios Orlando in 2014. Universal Studios Hollywood in California joined the party by adding Wizarding World in 2016.
The addition of these spectacular lands led crowds of visitors to the Universal parks to experience all the new attractions. Disney felt the impact of Universal's changes and added Toy Story Land to Hollywood Studios in June 2018 and Pandora - The World of Avatar at Animal Kingdom in Orlando in May 2017.
At the same time, Disney was developing even more spectacular attractions and added its Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge lands at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., in May 2019 and at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios in Orlando in August 2019.
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Universal Orlando Building its New Theme Park
Universal, however, will not be outdone. The theme park operator has already announced that it will open its new Super Nintendo World area at Universal Studios Hollywood next year and it has committed a huge investment in its much-anticipated third theme park in Orlando, Epic Universe.
When it comes to theme park choices, Disney World is king with four parks -- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom -- and two water parks. It also has the Disney Springs shopping, dining and entertainment area outside the parks, which is free to visit. A guest could easily spend a week at Disney World taking in all of the parks and attractions as long as they had enough capital to pay for all of the admission tickets, meals and accommodations.
Universal Orlando has its two theme parks, a water park and the CityWalk shopping, dining and entertainment area that a guest could probably visit in about three or four days without paying additional admissions for up to a week's stay. At Disney World, a visitor could spend a day at each park and attraction in a week's time without needing to pay to revisit any park or attraction.
Universal is looking to change that situation with the addition of its new theme park, Epic Universe, which is set to open in summer 2025 as CEO Jeff Shell proclaimed at the UBS Investor Conference, Theme Park Tourist reported.
Shell also said that the park is being designed to be divided into separate lands that can be accessed individually instead of one huge park.
Adding a New Wizarding World
The different lands at Epic Universe, either confirmed or speculated, include Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, Universal Classic Monsters and How to Train Your Dragon.
Rumors surrounding the Wizarding World expansion suggest guests would enter the main hall through the Floo network and exit through the fire places using special effects, Theme Park Tourist said. This land might include an attraction to be located in the Ministry's atrium which is said to feature a story surrounding the trials of Dolores Umbridge.
