WDW and Universal. Who wins?

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

It will never completely overtake Disney because it doesn’t have that nostalgia factor that most Disney fans have. Too much childhood movies etc

People cry thinking about Disney or watching videos.

That won’t happen with universal. It’s just a different experience.

They can however overtake Disney with cooler rides as time goes on

 

[wkrainey]

In my opinion, I think the pendulum swinging is good for consumers and visitors. It drives innovation and improves both parks. Neither park is going to back out of theme parks.

With that said I personally think Disney is in the better position because they have numerous spaces they can redevelop in their parks and plenty of expansion areas. Universal has limited space and is operating more like Disneyland as far as expansions go. WDW doesn't have this issue. Also, Disney is geared toward smaller children/teens. They can easily shift gears to a more thrilling group by added roller coasters.

 

[Brian Noble]

I would use total attendance at the various parks.

There is zero chance that Universal's parks collectively out-draws Disney's. Zero.

Even during a year when Disney refused to sell annual passes, and periodically refused to even sell day-tickets because the parks were at staffing capacity, the total attendance was 47M. Universal was 21.8M. Throw in the water parks and Disney hits 49M, with universal at 23.7M.

(Source: https://aecom.com/theme-index/)

There is no way that Universal closes a more than 2x gap, even with Epic Universe open.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Disney is not in a good place, Im not going into the reasons (there are many). Universal seems to be on a roll. So how long before Universal overtakes Disney in Orlando?

I'm begging my fellow posters on DIS Boards. Please no math!

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I also see Universal making some gains as a very good thing for overall park improvements. I just don't think I see a future where Universal overtakes Disney, but I can see they are gaining some ground as of late. Hopefully this will force Disney's hand to make some improvements in the parks. I feel like for example Galaxies Edge could have been done so much better, as it was supposed to compete with the wizarding world of Epcot......but Universal wins this comparison hands down imho.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm begging my fellow posters on DIS Boards. Please no math!

Too late.

 

[Gusey]

Disney still dominates

View attachment 779287

Just to say, that graphic is in order of 2019, not 2022 (Not sure why they couldn't organise it by 2022). If you take 2022's numbers, Universal Florida (10,750) and Islands of Adventure (11,025) had better attendance than Epcot (10,000) and Animal Kingdom (9,027)

 

[kevtlas]

After finally visiting Universal for the first time for my family, and first time in almost 30 years for me, we were impressed. It was something different, and now that my girls are in their teens, they enjoyed the almost constant excitement of the many thrill rides offered at Universal. But soon after we left, their first question was “when is the next time we are going to Disney?”, so I have to say for our family, although we will enjoy both, Disney will always be on top.

 

[Brian Noble]

(Not sure why they couldn't organise it by 2022).

They explained why they didn't on the same page that lists the rankings.

2022 attendance trends were still impacted due to agency restrictions limiting travel, operating days, and capacities in the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, we have kept the 2019 rankings in place for the 2022 report.

 

[Dcgc28]

I'm begging my fellow posters on DIS Boards. Please no math!

How many bald eagles is = to a million visitors? Which company will have the most bald eagles? Simple maths

 

[Pages26]

There is zero chance that Universal's parks collectively out-draws Disney's. Zero.

Even during a year when Disney refused to sell annual passes, and periodically refused to even sell day-tickets because the parks were at staffing capacity, the total attendance was 47M. Universal was 21.8M. Throw in the water parks and Disney hits 49M, with universal at 23.7M.

(Source: https://aecom.com/theme-index/)

There is no way that Universal closes a more than 2x gap, even with Epic Universe open.

If Disney doesn't start to construct new attractions in next couple of years, by 2030 the 3 universal parks will have combined higher attendance than the 4 Disney parks.

As what you currently see planned at Epic universe is just the start.

They have rights to 3 massive IPS on same level or above that of Mario/harry Potter

Islands of adventure is already in process of Zelda land being constructed.

The other 2 IPS they have secured rights for will be the real draws that finally see them overhaul Disney.

All the current office buildings and stores at studios will be removed once the new ones are built at epic universe leaving a lot of room to expand in the area behind men in black, Simpsons rights expire in 2028 so that whole end of park and extra area will be themed to Pokémon. Work will start after epic opens.
The popularity of Pokémon dwarfs everything.

One would then expect Disney would have to respond with putting the blue sky concepts in to reality, but that won't be enough as universal have left there biggest project to last namely lord of the rings being the 1st expansion at epic universe.

Studios having harry potter and Pokémon in same park out competes any Disney park for the family market.

Epic universe having a ninentdo land,lord of rings land alone out competes any Disney park even without the other lands.

Islands of adventure already fulfills the thrill seeker market and would expect universal to add another couple of thrill attractions there to cement that giving them 3 very different parks.

 

[Brian Noble]

2030 the 3 universal parks will have combined higher attendance than the 4 Disney parks.

I will take this bet. Name your stakes.

 

[Suger Mag]

If Disney doesn't start to construct new attractions in next couple of years, by 2030 the 3 universal parks will have combined higher attendance than the 4 Disney parks.

As what you currently see planned at Epic universe is just the start.

They have rights to 3 massive IPS on same level or above that of Mario/harry Potter

Islands of adventure is already in process of Zelda land being constructed.

The other 2 IPS they have secured rights for will be the real draws that finally see them overhaul Disney.

All the current office buildings and stores at studios will be removed once the new ones are built at epic universe leaving a lot of room to expand in the area behind men in black, Simpsons rights expire in 2028 so that whole end of park and extra area will be themed to Pokémon. Work will start after epic opens.
The popularity of Pokémon dwarfs everything.

One would then expect Disney would have to respond with putting the blue sky concepts in to reality, but that won't be enough as universal have left there biggest project to last namely lord of the rings being the 1st expansion at epic universe.

Studios having harry potter and Pokémon in same park out competes any Disney park for the family market.

Epic universe having a ninentdo land,lord of rings land alone out competes any Disney park even without the other lands.

Islands of adventure already fulfills the thrill seeker market and would expect universal to add another couple of thrill attractions there to cement that giving them 3 very different parks.

see NONE of those appeal to me. Never been a video gamer myself, so Mario... Epic.. Pokemon... Zelda.... Nintendo have zero attraction. I dont doubt for many people they do, but I maintain that a lot of folks are way inflating the appeal of these planned Universal lands. If you are a gamer sure... but a lot of folks dont game. But I am sure they will draw folks in, and spur development at WDW. Orlando has a big market and there is plenty of room for both titans.

 

[Dcgc28]

If Disney doesn't start to construct new attractions in next couple of years, by 2030 the 3 universal parks will have combined higher attendance than the 4 Disney parks.

As what you currently see planned at Epic universe is just the start.

They have rights to 3 massive IPS on same level or above that of Mario/harry Potter

Islands of adventure is already in process of Zelda land being constructed.

The other 2 IPS they have secured rights for will be the real draws that finally see them overhaul Disney.

All the current office buildings and stores at studios will be removed once the new ones are built at epic universe leaving a lot of room to expand in the area behind men in black, Simpsons rights expire in 2028 so that whole end of park and extra area will be themed to Pokémon. Work will start after epic opens.
The popularity of Pokémon dwarfs everything.

One would then expect Disney would have to respond with putting the blue sky concepts in to reality, but that won't be enough as universal have left there biggest project to last namely lord of the rings being the 1st expansion at epic universe.

Studios having harry potter and Pokémon in same park out competes any Disney park for the family market.

Epic universe having a ninentdo land,lord of rings land alone out competes any Disney park even without the other lands.

Islands of adventure already fulfills the thrill seeker market and would expect universal to add another couple of thrill attractions there to cement that giving them 3 very different parks.

People like you have been posting this same opinion since 2008, Harry Potter was the Disney killer. Now it’s Mario. Now it’s Lord of the Rings, now it’s Zelda.

It’s not. Those things are all great, and deserve to be in a park. But Disney still has plenty of IP to tap into and they still relate to little girls and boys better and parents will always take their little kids to Disney.

Not as many parents are coming across the country to take their kids to Zelda lol

 

[Skywalker3]

BOTH! We love both, and have been going to both since 2000. Different vibes all around, ,and they're both wonderful. I don't think Disney would've upped their game and built Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, or a ride like Guardians, without Universal building the Wizarding world. As much as love Star Wars and getting to fly the Falcon, it's still not as well done as Diagon Alley. My son is in his 30s, and he is so excited about something like Nintendo world, Mario, and Zelda coming, and he's not the biggest theme park fan. I can't wait to see what both bring in the coming years

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I don’t think Universal will overtake Disney or anything, but don’t underestimate the effect a Nintendo themed section could have. I saw a survey a while back that suggested that Mario was a more recognizable image than Mickey Mouse. Nintendo is a massive IP in Asia, absolutely massive.

 

[Minnie1222]

Is Nintendo World in Florida going to be identical to the one in Hollywood?

 

[fatmanatee]

Is Nintendo World in Florida going to be identical to the one in Hollywood?

No. Hollywood as of right now is the smallest iteration. Osaka has one extra ride (a tame family ride) and will be getting a Donkey Kong area with a roller coaster next year. Orlando will be getting all of this in one shot. There are rumors that they want to make space for the DK expansion in Hollywood but it’ll be tough, they really had to cram to make the Mario area work.

 

[bryaalre]

If Disney doesn't start to construct new attractions in next couple of years, by 2030 the 3 universal parks will have combined higher attendance than the 4 Disney parks.

As what you currently see planned at Epic universe is just the start.

They have rights to 3 massive IPS on same level or above that of Mario/harry Potter

Islands of adventure is already in process of Zelda land being constructed.

The other 2 IPS they have secured rights for will be the real draws that finally see them overhaul Disney.

All the current office buildings and stores at studios will be removed once the new ones are built at epic universe leaving a lot of room to expand in the area behind men in black, Simpsons rights expire in 2028 so that whole end of park and extra area will be themed to Pokémon. Work will start after epic opens.
The popularity of Pokémon dwarfs everything.

One would then expect Disney would have to respond with putting the blue sky concepts in to reality, but that won't be enough as universal have left there biggest project to last namely lord of the rings being the 1st expansion at epic universe.

Studios having harry potter and Pokémon in same park out competes any Disney park for the family market.

Epic universe having a ninentdo land,lord of rings land alone out competes any Disney park even without the other lands.

Islands of adventure already fulfills the thrill seeker market and would expect universal to add another couple of thrill attractions there to cement that giving them 3 very different parks.

This is a terrible take and in no way will Universals 3 parks out attendance Disney's 4.

I will guarantee that Magic Kingdom will have greater attendance than any Universal parks, including Epic Universe. No way will IOA/UO be able to have more attendance than AK/HS/Epcot. The only way Universal will have a higher attendance is if they have 5 parks.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don’t think Universal will overtake Disney or anything, but don’t underestimate the effect a Nintendo themed section could have. I saw a survey a while back that suggested that Mario was a more recognizable image than Mickey Mouse. Nintendo is a massive IP in Asia, absolutely massive.

Not just Asia but globally. Nintendo is HUGE. In terms of revenue, the gaming industry is the highest grossing industry out there, about eight times larger than Hollywood movies. That's a lot of untapped potential for theme parks and Universal was smart to get Nintendo. Mario in particular appeals to kids and adults. When I saw the Mario movie, the theater was a mix of families and adults my age lol

Agreed that Universal won't be the most visited park in Orlando (or California) but it'll be big.