If I’m the CEO of Universal/Comcast, this is what I’d do

[Aluminum Falcon]

Yeah, the "Dinsey Renaissance" was more than just a resurgence from the feature length animation studio. I grew up in the 80's and Disney was not a strong brand. I had an old storybook, and a tape of christmas songs - we alwasy watched Mickey's Christmas Carol on TV, but it wasn't that big. Going to Disney World, while certainly something I wouldn't have trned my nose up at, was aslo not super high on my personal to-do list. But, moving into the late 80's you have the start of the changes, not just with The Little Mermaid, but the strong, new television division putting out Gummi Bears and DuckTales (DuckTales was HUGE!), building the much needed new rides and MGM Studios, a showcase for some of those new ideas - it was a wave of energy throughout the company. After Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Disney was back on top with a vengeance, and Toy Story was right around the corner too!

If you haven't read Disney Wars, it's a great resource on the Eisner years, does a great job illustrating just how down and out Disney was after Roy passed. Waking Sleeping Beauty does a decent job as well on the animation side. Everyone should be thanking Eisner and jeffrey katzenberg for what we have today

 

[Jrb1979]

I personally agree with you about more thrill, my wife, daughter, mom, and dad would tell you you're nuts. They all love Remy, where i found it just meh. I think that's where Disney wins over a lot of people, no one feels left out, there's always something for everyone, and chances are that a lot of people will find common areas they like at Disney which creates memories, adds to the magic, nostalgia, and presto you have repeaters like myself for life

My family has never had that feeling of nostalgia and magic. Probably has to do with not really growing up on the parks. I went a few times as child. The only thing I was amazed by was the original Epcot. Don't get me wrong we would love our 3 year old to experience the parks some day. It's why I stick around here to keep updated on the parks for when that day comes.

For us our best park vacation was this past summer when we took my step son to Cedar Point for the first time. We stayed a week and got multiple rides on almost everything. We had so much fun and made a lot of memories. My 3 year old loved the Peanut characters.

 

[randumb0]

Universal doesn't have the land for another park even if it's something that they wanted to do

 

[Isaiah55.1]

They have a singular opportunity to crush the mouse. Chapek is a bean counter with zero vision and the Disney faithful are angry. Plus the company has zero plans to launch a proactive response to epic universe as is evidenced by the crickets heard at D23. Right now Disney is all about short term $$ and not thinking strategically.

So if I’m Universal I get aggressive. Before Epic universe is even built, I’d announce a fourth park. Say that the shovels would start on that park before Epic is even open. Now’s the time. Chapek is asleep at the wheel and within less than a decade you can be on nearly equal footing with Disney . Here’s why I like this strategy.

- timing is right, Disney leadership sucks

- it would tie Disney’s hands as to how they could response since universal would have most of the construction resources tied up for many years

- Disney fans are ripe for the taking as they are tired of getting penny pinched and would laud the decision.

- Disney would be shocked and caught flat footed. I’m sure they are not expecting to respond with anything major until Epic U is complete. Now they’d be forced to respond earlier but their options would be very limited as resources would already be under contract from universal.

This decision would not be without risk of course. Economy is unstable right now , and capital investment is more expensive with rates up, and this would put them in the red for the short term.

But imo it would be a bold and timely move. Anyway what do y’all think??

Agree, Disney is giving Universal a unique opportunity

 

[maverik85]

This would probably be a foolish move on their part honestly. That is a bit too aggressive of an expansion and could hit them hard financially as it would take longer to recoup from it. Plus they would need to expand their workforce at a high amount much sooner to staff a fourth park. They have expansion areas and room for improvements in the current plus, plus expansion pads at Epic Universe that they can keep the interest and demand high for the resort by adding on new lands and rides there for the moment. Especially with the increased backstage space around the new plot, they appear to be reading to open up some current back of house for park expansion at the other parks.
In addition to these reasons, planning and opening your main expansions all at once shows your hand to Disney so they just need to plan for that then coast again. Whereas opening one park now, continuing with expansion and improvements, then announcing a fourth park after the fanfare dies down and Disney has responded will keep Disney on their toes and keep Universal to the forefront longer than front loading.

 

[maverik85]

Universal doesn't have the land for another park even if it's something that they wanted to do

Actually they do. The area where Epic Universe is going has room for a fourth park along with a CityWalk type space and parking garage. They are putting a surface lot in for now but can replace it with a more space efficient garage at a later date to make additional room. Universal and IoA combined (with soundstages between them, currently fit in the space taken up just by Epic Universe and it's parking lot. Without even touching the parking lot, the land has a 104 acre expansion area on the other side of the parking lot from EU. For comparison IoA is 101.6 acres.

 

[New Mouse]

Universal doesn't have the land for another park even if it's something that they wanted to do

When they purchased this new land, there were already very rough plans for both the 3rd and 4th park. Nothing concrete for sure, but I would say this is a when not if situation.

 

[Kestryl]

Nobody cares about Universal nearly as much.

Clearly you’ve never met an HHN fan!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Every time I try universal, it’s just…. Meh. It’s not me. universal would have to do a lot more than just build another park to get most of my money from Disney. But even if they stepped up their game, they would more likely get me to extend one day… at my Disney hotel, and Uber to uni. So in that case, Disney still wins (they get an expensive hotel room additionAl night).

I do not see a path right now for uni to overtake the mouse. It would be a bad investment on their part to build another park right now.

 

[randumb0]

Nobody cares about Universal nearly as much.

Nobody must be a small group to you

 

[Tbone183]

Actually they do. The area where Epic Universe is going has room for a fourth park along with a CityWalk type space and parking garage. They are putting a surface lot in for now but can replace it with a more space efficient garage at a later date to make additional room. Universal and IoA combined (with soundstages between them, currently fit in the space taken up just by Epic Universe and it's parking lot. Without even touching the parking lot, the land has a 104 acre expansion area on the other side of the parking lot from EU. For comparison IoA is 101.6 acres.

This guy knows his universal geography..

 

[Tbone183]

Only thing that could convert me to a universal guy is if they built a "wwe land" lol

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

Every time I try universal, it’s just…. Meh. It’s not me. universal would have to do a lot more than just build another park to get most of my money from Disney. But even if they stepped up their game, they would more likely get me to extend one day… at my Disney hotel, and Uber to uni. So in that case, Disney still wins (they get an expensive hotel room additionAl night).

I do not see a path right now for uni to overtake the mouse. It would be a bad investment on their part to build another park right now.

Universal has their version of lightning lane attached to their deluxe hotel. We would likely stay there for that on Universal days, unless hotel prices are too high.

My one child is interested in Harry Potter and we are considering going, but we love Disney and it is hard to think about skipping out on Disney. I've considered adding 1-2 Universal days to a Disney trip, but the price to go a day or two is really expensive on top of Disney when you lose the ability to bundle multiple days (Universal has really high prices too, it's not just Disney). Plus some of the rides are for adults/teens, which also makes Universal less attractive for us as a family with younger kids. However, when EPIC Universe opens, my other child is interested in Nintendo land. The rides also look like they will be more immersive. With multiple IPs now interesting my family, I've already told my husband we are doing a Universal trip in 2025/2026. That will likely replace a WDW trip. Depending upon how we like the parks, we might end up alternating. I can totally see Universal talking business from Disney.

 

[Miffy]

Every time I think maybe I'll try Uni for a day or two, I read about the attractions and realize there's hardly anything there that isn't either a major thrill ride (not my thing at all) or something that's got a huge potential to cause me motion sickness. Then I forget about it.

 

[New Mouse]

Only thing that could convert me to a universal guy is if they built a "wwe land" lol

Not out of the question. They have a streaming partnership with wwe currently and previously considered brining the hall of fame or a museum and restaurant to CityWalk. Years back but it was a thing.

 

[jdrasin]

Nobody must be a small group to you

It is really interesting to read the comments made with such certainty. We were at both parks twice over a few years (when kids were in the 4-11 age) and my kids enjoyed both a ton (I have trip reports here), but they are interested in going back to Universal and have zero interest in Disney. The Disney IPs aren't really that interesting to them (or their friends) and they just found the universal parks more fun and relaxing (it helped we were in a Universal Deluxe hotel). Again, we had great fun at both, but even from early on my kids were more drawn to Universal.
It's hard to impress how much Disney is not a special/magically/nostalgia thing in my social circles.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

As someone who recently stayed at a universal resort for the first time, I was amazed at how much better the resorts themselves were. Everyone was nice. Everything was clean. The pools and drinks were great and huge. I just had a really nice time.

They are not on the level of Disney when it comes to parks, but some rides they have are just amazing ( Hagrids is amazing ). Its still only a 2 night trip for me. You can basically do both parks with express pass in a day if you really wanted to. They still have too much screen based 3d rides. That will change as time goes on

Once epic opens and it maybe becomes a 5 night park, things might change.

I did love riding the boat from the resort, they played really fun music on it lol Different vibe then Disney. Disney has the nostalgia, and Universal will never beat that. They should stick to their ride the movies slogan and continue doing that.

They are both just different resorts. I was texted to make sure everything was OK during the stay. Someone came to the room on check out day to make sure I didn't need anything. Just random nice little things

 

[wkrainey]

They have a singular opportunity to crush the mouse. Chapek is a bean counter with zero vision and the Disney faithful are angry. Plus the company has zero plans to launch a proactive response to epic universe as is evidenced by the crickets heard at D23. Right now Disney is all about short term $$ and not thinking strategically.

So if I’m Universal I get aggressive. Before Epic universe is even built, I’d announce a fourth park. Say that the shovels would start on that park before Epic is even open. Now’s the time. Chapek is asleep at the wheel and within less than a decade you can be on nearly equal footing with Disney . Here’s why I like this strategy.

- timing is right, Disney leadership sucks

- it would tie Disney’s hands as to how they could response since universal would have most of the construction resources tied up for many years

- Disney fans are ripe for the taking as they are tired of getting penny pinched and would laud the decision.

- Disney would be shocked and caught flat footed. I’m sure they are not expecting to respond with anything major until Epic U is complete. Now they’d be forced to respond earlier but their options would be very limited as resources would already be under contract from universal.

This decision would not be without risk of course. Economy is unstable right now , and capital investment is more expensive with rates up, and this would put them in the red for the short term.

But imo it would be a bold and timely move. Anyway what do y’all think??

Personally, I think Disney is more than willing to let Universal take some of the steam away from them. Disney has several long-term problems that need to be addressed/are being addressed by the Chapek era (for what it's worth, I think Chapek is getting a lot of negative attention due to Covid, and a lot of mess his previous CEO's left him, remember this is a guy that got announced for CEO the same month Disney shutdown for Covid).

With that out of the way, here is my flawed arm-chair side-seat driving take as the Disney CEO and reasons to not worry about EPIC Universe, and instead focus on the positives of waiting out the negative they current see themselves in.

1. Universal NEEDS a 3rd gate for expansion, Disney just doesn't. We saw this with all 4 parks in recent years, New Fantasy at MK, Frozen at Epcot, Pandora at AK, SW:GE and ToyStory at HS. All of these replaced or expanded onto existing lands without the need of a new park. Universal did this with Harry Potter, but doesn't have space to do that again currently. However, as it stands Disney still has several areas that need to be reimagined or seriously updated at each park. Dino-land at AK, Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland at MK, Epocts entire front half of the park, HS also has plenty of space to add in with other ideas.

2. The average length of a US family vacation just isn't growing to justify a 5th gate. Unless families start taking 6,7,8 day vacations to Florida they aren't going to have time to visit a 5th Disney park.

3. Staffing, we've all seen the staffing shortages, and there are only so many people working in the Orlando area that both Disney and Universal can tap for labor. The college program is great, but regular staff is needed for the in-between times when new CP's are getting up to speed.

4. Disney can still tap into increasing prices on guests to make up for the missed revenue from a 5th gate. We all complain about crowds, but less people to serve while making more money is a win for Disney.

5. A potential recession is Looming, and if it hits like 2001 or 2008, Disney doesn't have a huge construction bill they need to recuperate costs on. If we see the crash of 08 again, a lot of people aren't going to be going to Universals new park without some deep discounts. It'll be a very different story from the long lines at the opening of SW:GE or Hagrid's we saw these last few years.

6. The Disney vacation market has changed. The reason a "year" at Disney lasts 18 months, is because that was the average time between visits for a family going to Disney World. That's not the case anymore. For many it's now a once-in-a-lifetime, or every 3-5 years. I'm an avid Disney fan that went regularly until I started my own family a few years ago. I haven't been to a Disney park since Pandora was announced. My next visit, I'll be walking through Pandora, Galaxy's Edge, Toy Story, New Fantasyland, and a completed revamped Epcot for the 1st time.

7. Social Media has changed the need for new content at the park. It used to be exciting to see a Disney park visit on your favorite TV show. Now I can pull up several social media producers that show me everything Disney when I have that urge. I can watch videos from a park bench and feel like I'm at the park. I can listen to people discuss the latest food or merchandise and talk about what is great or isn't about the parks. Sure, I'm not there, but I'm still getting my Disney fix without spending the $$$.

8. If Disney really starts feeling the heat, they can produce a park rather quickly., but they don't feel that need. Disney can hire the same contractors Universal has if they want and can pay out the same prices to get construction done quickly. They've got the resources to tap into if needed, but aren't because it's not a concern for them.

 

[soniam]

We love both for different reasons. We love Halloween Horror Nights and Winnie the Pooh. We have been going as a family for about 10 years and have a high schooler. Balance in life is key for us, I have a lot of theme park friends; only one of them is a strict Disney park fan. All the others attend both, even the travel agents. I don’t really understand the bad mouthing of either by people on this board, other than dissing Chapek. The world is big enough to appreciate both, either, or neither. I don’t consider complaints about things we dislike to be bad mouthing, I think each company is doing what they think is necessary to sustain profitability and manage growth,

 

[maverik85]

Every time I think maybe I'll try Uni for a day or two, I read about the attractions and realize there's hardly anything there that isn't either a major thrill ride (not my thing at all) or something that's got a huge potential to cause me motion sickness. Then I forget about it.

My DH hasn't really had any interest in going to Disney so far, but we have gone to Universal multiple times. His motion sickness steadily gets worse as time goes for major rides. We went to a regional amusement park recently and some of the big coasters were making him feel sick. I joked to him that he's going to become a Disney park fan by default as they'll have the rides he's able to actually handle.
Grew up in a Disney family so have a love for both, but right now we are more towards Universal. But the high thrill, while great for now, will hinder enjoyment as we get older. And as much as I love the parks, Universal has been too relient on screens and UO really needs more non screen rides. IoA has a decent mix and EU seems like it will be fine when it opens.