Disney has found itself a formidable competitor that will soon be challenging its traditionally dominant position in the theme park market. That new entrant is none other than its traditional rival, Universal.
The telecommunications conglomerate, Comcast, announced its intention to increase its footprint in the family attraction market with its latest $3 billion investment into the theme park in Orlando. This will intensify its competition with Walt Disney World Resort. The Universal Orlando Resort will be the third full theme park by Universal and is expected to boost its presence in the central Florida area.
The theme park has been named Universal’s Epic Universe and will feature an entertainment complex, shops, and hotels. The facility is said to cover an expansive 750 acres and is expected to be open to visitors by 2023.
There seems to be a clear will to take Disney head-on in the theme park market. The CEO of universal also voiced these intentions clearly and went on to emphasise that Universal will not leave a stone unturned to provide a better experience than its competitor.
There are no concrete details available as of yet on what themes will the facility actually go on to incorporate. However, there have been rumours about a number of possibilities, including a Nintendo themed-land, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings as well as JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and the How To Train Your Dragon franchise all being on the cards.
The CEO hinted that it will be bigger than Disney World as Universal has a richer collection of movies and big-name franchises to draw theme inspirations from. He was confident that it will be the most innovative and immersive theme park they’ve created so far. The details have been deliberately kept under wraps as they do not want their competitor to know their strategy.
Universal has two other major theme parks to their name; the Universal Studio, which opened in 1990 and the Islands of Adventure, which opened in 1999. Besides these, there are several water parks, themed resort hotels, nightclubs, cinemas, and restaurants that they own.
Comcast, the telecommunication conglomerate, is the parent company that acquired Universal in 2011. They have put in almost half a billion dollars into its Orlando theme park territory ever since. However, their recent investment into the Epic Universe will dwarf their earlier investments. $160 million has been set aside just to ensure road access to the facility, and the total investments could easily go over $3 billion.
This will be Comcast’s largest investment to date in the theme park business. The number of their employees is expected to shoot up to 39000 after this investment and will give them a significant penetration into the huge market that is Orlando – it gets 75 million visitors each year.
