Universal does not even come close to Disney. Disney has purchased more land outside of the original WDW boarders and in fact this additional land is more than Universal owns in all of Orlando...
Look, I LOVE Disney parks; but, even I can take the fanboy glasses off and see the truth.
Team Disney Orlando currently has no desire to fill that precious land with attractions, rides, and experiences. They have become complacent and all of us are to blame - we keep coming back. We are to blame for the Disney Decade+ of Stagnation.
WDW has become a monster that believes has hit perpetual motion to self sustain. It can continue to feed itself based on the hard work done by those that preceeded the current regime and created the incredible WDW legacy.
If you really love WDW, take a closer look at it and ask yourself - has it changed for the better and is it a fundmentally improved product compared to where it was a little as 15 years ago?
The only thing that matters to TDO is filling the resorts. The Parks are the draw and as long as we keep coming back, this mindset will prevail. What WDW NEEDS to be profitable is hotel occupancy. The entire business model that has been created requires it to be sustainable.
Universal has seized this moment of opportunity that Disney handed over to them when they refused to negotiate with JK Rowling (who in my opinion was simply trying to hold to her own high standards for her product much like old Disney Parks would). The Boy Who Lived has already changed the dynamic in O Town and phase II will further cement it.
You see, Universal's goal wasn't initally to compete with Disney. They were simply trying to steal days away from Disney at this point. This they are doing very effectively. They know people will travel to Orlando to visit WDW; but, they want to also have them spend time at Universal. In this, they have already done with Phase I.
Enter Phase II, Diagon Alley. When this opens and has the impact that it will, it lays the framework for MUCH bigger objectives. Universal then goes after the big fish - stealing not only day trips to Universal parks, stealing nights spent in a Universal resort. When you are offering superior levels of accomdations for the price as your competitor AND throwing in perks that they can't match (unlimited Express Pass and early entry) - it becomes an offer too good to pass up and people will either split their stay or WDW save us... speand their entire visit at a UO resort.
With the attendance boost that UO is going to get over the next few years from Phase II, all of that land south of I-4 becomes very much the future. Comcast isn't playing around. There is more gold to be made in Orlando than all of what is in Gringotts.
Seascape mentioned all the land that WDW has; but, the question you should be asking is what they are going to do with it? I can guarantee that Universal's land aquistions won't be filled with acres of empty wetlands. It will be compressed and filled with resorts and park(s) that are filled with rides and attractions.
Do you want to know where Universal learned this? All you need to do is look to the West and see what was done in Anaheim. Disneyland Resort is a perfect example of making the most out of the space you have. The apprentice becomes the master.
I can only hope that the sleeping giant will awake at WDW when resort occupancy can no longer be hidden. Until they can pull their head out of their tablet/smart phone little world of fantasy vacation micromanagement - I have little hope. Oh well, at least Disneyland Resort is still improving and growing.
