Competition is always supposed to benefit the consumer by keeping companies in check but it seems like in the Orlando theme park space, this notion is non-existent. If either Disney or Universal were to magically drop off the map, I can't foresee the surviving company having much more room to actually gouge the customer any further; both companies are already on the verge of pricing-out consumers. Which begs the question, how exactly does the consumer benefit from this competition?!
Even Sea World, who is a step-sibling, has joined the fray with single day ticket prices that are almost in line with both Disney and Universal. None of these parks, not even Sea World, attempts to cannibalize the customer-base of the other. These parks are so incredibly brash, they price their tickets with an all-or-nothing approach; pay an outrageous price for a few days, or pay a little more on top of that for a full week (or more).
Given Universal's Epic Universe plans, I would argue that such an inclusion into the Orlando theme park arena will actually hurt the overall consumer as Universal will most certainly increase prices on the new park which will lead Disney to justify an increase in their prices as well.
Thoughts?