HOW WILL UNIVERSAL'S EPIC UNIVERSE AFFECT WALT DISNEY WORLD?

[IanDLBZF]

I seem to remember Universal ran a shuttle bus from someplace on WDW property and Universal?

I think Mears ran that (and still might too this day).

 

[Disstevefan1]

Tell me more about the bagel.

It was an everythING BAGEL....... OPPS....... CRUMB STUCK AGAIN!!!

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Islands of Adventure is a beautiful park and can give Disney a run for its' money in terms of theming and quality of attractions.

It has still been significantly less crowded than any Disney park in my experience.

We've heard for ages that Disney would lose out to Universal, especially when they opened world class attractions at times when Disney was stagnant (i.e. the first Harry Potter opening).

It really hasn't happened.

Epic Universe looks nice in the videos and photos. A lot of moderately themed coasters though. How much will it actually offer that wows in the way Flight of Passage or Rise of the Resistance does?

 

[zipadee999]

Epic Universe looks nice in the videos and photos. A lot of moderately themed coasters though. How much will it actually offer that wows in the way Flight of Passage or Rise of the Resistance does?

Attraction diversity and quality. They have their fair share of Hulk-like coasters with more of that stylization then immersion, but the rest of the park will counter that. I’ve heard that the Monsters dark ride is expected to set the bar in a way that Rise did, and apparently the new Ministry of Magic ride is being designed as the magnum opus. Also that’s leaving out all of Nintendo world which has already proven itself to be a hyper-immersive experience.

So we’re looking at Donkey Kong Minecart Madness, Mario Kart, Monster’s Unleashed, and Ministry of Madness as the main Rise-level e-tickets. Once you add in the supporting attractions and coasters that’s a pretty stacked lineup

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

How did it affect during the time when AK 98 and IOA 99 opened?

 

[mkt]

It was an everythING BAGEL....... OPPS....... CRUMB STUCK AGAIN!!!

I used to love those.

Now I'm a Cacio e Pepe bagel guy.

 

[mkt]

How did it affect during the time when AK 98 and IOA 99 opened?

I lived through it, it was negligible at best.

The economy was strong, and even crappy 1-2* motels on I-Drive demanded $70/nt on the weekends in late 90s dollars.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Attraction diversity and quality. They have their fair share of Hulk-like coasters with more of that stylization then immersion, but the rest of the park will counter that. I’ve heard that the Monsters dark ride is expected to set the bar in a way that Rise did, and apparently the new Ministry of Magic ride is being designed as the magnum opus. Also that’s leaving out all of Nintendo world which has already proven itself to be a hyper-immersive experience.

So we’re looking at Donkey Kong Minecart Madness, Mario Kart, Monster’s Unleashed, and Ministry of Madness as the main Rise-level e-tickets. Once you add in the supporting attractions and coasters that’s a pretty stacked lineup

That lineup, impressive as it may be, just can't compare to the number of attractions at the Magic Kingdom that are draws for families.

Disney will always attract that demographic more than Universal has. That's a reason a family that does to to Orlando for Epic Universe will generally go to Disney as well.

Epic will attract a lot of unique visitors. It may eat into Disney's attendance a bit. I've certainly shifted to split trips between the two properties.

I just don't see them anywhere near a point where they would "beat" Disney or harm Disney in any significant way.

And that's fine. The more development in the area should benefit both companies.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I think Epic increases the size of the pie. The bigger the pie, the more profitable the slice.

My take is that both Disney and Uni win.

And for us it makes Uni a much more viable competitor which may force Disneys hand regarding decisions that impact affordability. And in that case, we win too.

 

[zipadee999]

That lineup, impressive as it may be, just can't compare to the number of attractions at the Magic Kingdom that are draws for families.

Disney will always attract that demographic more than Universal has. That's a reason a family that does to to Orlando for Epic Universe will generally go to Disney as well.

Epic will attract a lot of unique visitors. It may eat into Disney's attendance a bit. I've certainly shifted to split trips between the two properties.

I just don't see them anywhere near a point where they would "beat" Disney or harm Disney in any significant way.

And that's fine. The more development in the area should benefit both companies.

Good point, I also think it’s because Epic has set out to do something different than Disney. It’s the true all ages park, there’s something for everybody there. Because of that, it probably doesn’t cater as heavily to the family market.

The yoshi ride and the carousel are the only two things I can think of that would be considered ‘kiddie rides’ Both parks serve their own comparative advantage in the market which is good for both of their long-term survival, what I think Disney should be worried about is the overlap.

Teens, young adults, and families with older kids will all likely choose epic over anything Disney currently offers or is planning to soon offer. These are the same people who in theory could also be attracted to Disney, but would be likely to choose epic instead for various reasons. Again, for families without young kids and for young adults, that lineup of e-tickets is pretty hard to beat

Technically we’re the winners because competition just stimulates the market and causes growth from all directions

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Good point, I also think it’s because Epic has set out to do something different than Disney. It’s the true all ages park, there’s something for everybody there. Because of that, it probably doesn’t cater as heavily to the family market.

The yoshi ride and the carousel are the only two things I can think of that would be considered ‘kiddie rides’ Both parks serve their own comparative advantage in the market which is good for both of their long-term survival, what I think Disney should be worried about is the overlap.

Teens, young adults, and families with older kids will all likely choose epic over anything Disney currently offers or is planning to soon offer. These are the same people who in theory could also be attracted to Disney, but would be likely to choose epic instead for various reasons. Again, for families without young kids and for young adults, that lineup of e-tickets is pretty hard to beat

Technically we’re the winners because competition just stimulates the market and causes growth from all directions

If I’m Disney, the one thing that would keep me up at night is the fact that Uni is trying to control the corridor. They’re going to book end it with USO and Epic and create an entire district encompassing ICON, the convention center, and the new development taking place north of Sandlake.

All in close proximity and in some cases even walking distance. It will become more important for Disney to lure people to stay on-property and I’d think you’ll see some better value propositions to that effect as we get closer to opening day.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I used to love those.

Now I'm a Cacio e Pepe bagel guy.

I had to look that one up. Wow! that sounds GREAT! never had one of those.

I am also a huge fan of egg bagel !!!

 

[mikegdis]

Anything new drives people to it. We’ve seen that many times when the latest attraction/ land opens up. Dis will see a defection of guests who want to try what looks amazing. See Disney try to roll out something to counter that with maybe discounts or promotions but that will not have a huge affect. Numbers will decrease for a while. But Dis has the brand, the popularity and the parks to hold on and last through the coming tide. They will in the near future, have to do something big to catch up and bring guests back to the magic. Don’t expect Epic to put Dis out of business. But it will feel some pain momentarily.

We pondered getting UAP instead WDWAP this year. But since Epic wont be finished until next year, we will probably switch our annual passes to UO away from Disney for a few years. Reason is that there is so much at UO that we haven't done yet and obviously will be able to do once Epic opens.

We as a family still love the Disney parks, but UO will have so much to offer that is new to us, I don't think we will pass up going there for a few years.

 

[drew81]

Immediately, there may be an effect. But a year out, it's just more tourists in the pot of central Florida tourism due to the additional capacity a new park creates.

I think DHS and AK will be the most affected of the Disney parks, but the overlap isn't too huge. I'd be more concerned with Universal cannibalizing their own IOA numbers with this.

This will be especially true if they start taking down lands or attractions for major rethemes.

 

[Robbiem]

Where it will hit Disney is in the wallet if Uni becomes more of a resort destination and people choose to stay there for a week and maybe visit magic kingdom for a day.

While Disney will be OK in the short term the longer term impacts I think will bite more. People will gradually have less affinity for the Mouse and some will start to develop more affinity for Uni. As the gap narrows and the resorts become more similar where you stay and spend will come down more to personal tastes a bit like picking what Vegas theme you prefer your hotel to be - Rome or Venice or Paris.

what will be fascinating will be how Disney responds- will they get into a war to outgun Uni with something exciting or will the accountaneers say less people needs no need to build more so cut investment and milk what’s there some more

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Wonder if Universal has a plan of a monorail line or other transport besides the busses down the line to connect both resorts since they are on the opposite sides of I-4..

 

[JoeCamel]

Wonder if Universal has a plan of a monorail line or other transport besides the busses down the line to connect both resorts since they are on the opposite sides of I-4..

I'm pretty sure they have looked at all available options and have settled on busses. They built new dedicated bus lanes and for some of the run between the resorts there are existing bus lanes so maybe some expansion of the route will be worked on in the future.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Where it will hit Disney is in the wallet if Uni becomes more of a resort destination and people choose to stay there for a week and maybe visit magic kingdom for a day.

While Disney will be OK in the short term the longer term impacts I think will bite more. People will gradually have less affinity for the Mouse and some will start to develop more affinity for Uni. As the gap narrows and the resorts become more similar where you stay and spend will come down more to personal tastes a bit like picking what Vegas theme you prefer your hotel to be - Rome or Venice or Paris.

what will be fascinating will be how Disney responds- will they get into a war to outgun Uni with something exciting or will the accountaneers say less people needs no need to build more so cut investment and milk what’s there some more

Yes theres a possibility of a turnabout. Disney now relies on their guests spending the majority of their vacation time at WDW with the day or two at Uni. The major wallet drop goes to the mouse. Unis. resorts are just as nice although not at the level of being themed.
And with families having less kids and the kids they have now growing to the ages where WDW isnt as fun for them, Dis will take more hits from Uni attracting them away.
I'm sure some in Dis echelon are are at this moment are being called to come up with a viable counter plan. The accountants will, if it gets drastic enough, will have to open those purse strings.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I'm pretty sure they have looked at all available options and have settled on busses. They built new dedicated bus lanes and for some of the run between the resorts there are existing bus lanes so maybe some expansion of the route will be worked on in the future.

They could "theme" the busses. And using the dedicated lanes would be able to provide a rather smooth transition from say Diagon to the Ministry of Magic. Imagine driving near EPIC and being passed by a small, continual armada of Knight Busses.

 

[Robbiem]

They could "theme" the busses. And using the dedicated lanes would be able to provide a rather smooth transition from say Diagon to the Ministry of Magic. Imagine driving near EPIC and being passed by a small, continual armada of Knight Busses.

Tokyo Disney has great themed buses

Disney Resort Cruiser - Chris's Tokyo Disney Resort Fan Site

something similar with suitable uni themes would work well IMO