How will Universal's Epic Universe effect Disney?

yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I think Epic U will have an effect on Disney parks for about 2-5 years after it opens, unless Disney does something!
I suspect that crowd levels will be down at Disney, as well as Universal's other park, so what better time to go to Disney or Universal Studios or IOA!?

What are your thoughts?
 
T

TalkToEthan

Well-Known Member
Under an “all things equal theory”:

If Epic Universal will truly be Epic, as in a sizable game changer, then Mario and Hiccup Horrendous will steal 2 more days from Mouse.
We have a sporting chance to see universal hold 40% to Disney’s 50% of Central market dedicated vacation days.

In the aggregate I don’t see longer vacations but I do see a redistribution of WHERE those vacation days will be spent.


I bet Universal already grabbed a 1.5 day on average from Disney with Potter.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
The way it would affect my family's vacation planning is that if we're splitting a one-week (~7-night) trip, it would become 4-5 days at Universal and 2-3 days at WDW, instead of the other way around. Since we've often purchased seasonal annual passes to Universal instead of multi-day tickets due to the similarity in cost (we'll have to revisit the math after Epic Universe opens and see if that still makes financial sense), that means we'd probably make a second, Universal-only trip within 12 months, to get more use out of those passes, as well. And if we find that splitting a week-long trip between the two properties is just too expensive, we'd skip WDW altogether. By that time (around summer 2025), we'll have "just been" to WDW in the summer of 2023, and there won't be any new attractions at WDW during those 2 years anyway (unless you count the Splash Mountain retheme, which is slated to open in "late" 2024 but could easily get delayed past summer 2025: definitely not worth planning a trip around).
 
Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
yensid67 said:
I think Epic U will have an effect on Disney parks for about 2-5 years after it opens, unless Disney does something!
I suspect that crowd levels will be down at Disney, as well as Universal's other park, so what better time to go to Disney or Universal Studios or IOA!?

What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Universal is great and I love their parks and EPIC is gonna be, well EPIC, but Universal resorts do not have enough beds to put a dent in Disney’s business.

Even if someone stays at a WDW resort and goes to Universal parks and never sets foot in a WDW park, Disney wins.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
Even if someone stays at a WDW resort and goes to Universal parks and never sets foot in a WDW park, Disney wins.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why anyone would do that, when Universal's hotels are just as good (and typically cost less -- e.g., for my family's upcoming dates, one would pay $600/night for a standard room at, e.g., Yacht Club, Beach Club or Contemporary, and only $450-$525/night to stay at any of the three Universal premier hotels), and if you stay at a premier hotel at Universal, you get unlimited express pass.
 
networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
Weather_Lady said:
I'm not sure why anyone would do that, when Universal's hotels are just as good (and typically cost less -- e.g., for my family's upcoming dates, one would pay $600/night for a standard room at the Yacht or Beach Club, and only $450-$525 to stay at any of the Universal premier hotels), and if you stay at a premier hotel at Universal, you get unlimited express pass.
Click to expand...
Availibility. Disney has ~ 30K rooms. Universal currently only has 9,000.
 
Jrb1979

Jrb1979

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
Universal is great and I love their parks and EPIC is gonna be, well EPIC, but Universal resorts do not have enough beds to put a dent in Disney’s business.

Even if someone stays at a WDW resort and goes to Universal parks and never sets foot in a WDW park, Disney wins.
Click to expand...
I don't see that happening either. According to many here more guests visit WDW from off-site then those who stay on property
 
JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Anything new will perk interest and draw people in and away from the Disney parks, but not totally. Its guaranteed that Uni's going to publicize the heck out of Epic and get their rooms booking up. Dis will have little to counter with so guests in the midst of a WDW trip will plan more days than usual to travel across town. Those who are abandoning Dis totally for Uni due to dissatisfaction over heightened cost and policies will be replaced by others. I see Uni having a much more profitable span of time due to a flux of visitors to the new and Disney not being affected enough to make them hurt as badly as some think. Disney still holds the majority of vacationers time and money.
 
ppete1975

ppete1975

Well-Known Member
With price increases I think its going to cause people with annual passes (existing ones) or if they bring them back... to choose between one or the other instead of having APs at both parks. And maybe add a local cheaper park like gatorland as an additional.
 
Andrew25

Andrew25

Well-Known Member
I'm a big Universal fan (profile photo for reference), but they've been dropping the ball with their operations these past few months now. Their resorts are a much greater value than WDW and their table service restaurants, but the quick service options are a disaster.

MK will still be king, but I can definitely see DAK/USF/SeaWorld fight for scraps over the next few years.
 
JoeCamel

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
Is this true? If so, then Universal has a shot at putting a dent in WDWs theme park business.
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Think about it, WDW has ~32K rooms and at 90% plus 3 - 4 in each room that will barely fill one park. There is a reason for those huge parking lots, they hold the bulk of the day's guests
 
Poseidon Quest

Poseidon Quest

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
but Universal resorts do not have enough beds to put a dent in Disney’s business.
Click to expand...

The park will be opening with three new hotels, plus there's plenty of additional space for additional hotels down the line. I-Drive also essentially connects both pieces of Universal property and offers plenty of hotels and entertainment, potentially shifting people into the mind-set that this is a new entertainment hub. I was going to post this video anyways, but you gave me a good jumping off point:

 
Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
Poseidon Quest said:
The park will be opening with three new hotels, plus there's plenty of additional space for additional hotels down the line. I-Drive also essentially connects both pieces of Universal property and offers plenty of hotels and entertainment, potentially shifting people into the mind-set that this is a new entertainment hub. I was going to post this video anyways, but you gave me a good jumping off point:

Click to expand...

Oh boy! I love your videos! very well done!! 🏆 💯👍
 
"El Gran Magnifico"

"El Gran Magnifico"

Bring Me A Shrubbery
Premium Member
The real game here is how to bring more people into Orlando.

Fighting over slices of the same sized pie is just one upmanship.

I think EPIC has the opportunity to increase the size of the pie. In that case both Uni and Disney win.

They’ll still be fighting over slices. But it’d be an XL pie.
 

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