Mickey vs. Mario: Inside the billion-dollar Orlando theme-park wars

New York Post

25-05-2025

Can the all-star team of Super Mario Bros., Frankenstein and Harry Potter be enough to conquer the Magic Kingdom? That's what Universal Orlando Resort is banking on with the arrival of its new park — the $7 billion Epic Universe — which debuted in Central Florida this past week.
Epic is Universal's third Orlando park and the first major theme park to open in the United States in more than 25 years. And leisure sector insiders are already suggesting Epic could be an industry game-changer.
9 The How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk ride at the new Epic Universe Amusement Park in Orlando, a $7 billion addition to the region's theme-park offerings that opened this past week.
Courtesy of Universal
'Epic Universe is Universal's biggest swing since Islands of Adventure opened and a much bolder statement,' says Brian Glenn, editor-in-chief of the website Inside Universal, which covers Universal theme parks and attractions. Not only is Epic Universe seven times the size of its sister parks, Glenn explains, but by leveraging immersive technologies, lucrative intellectual properties and innovative design, Universal is aiming to redefine what a theme park can be.
The new park marks Universal's largest gamble in its 35-year battle with Disney — which has long reigned over Central Florida's $92.5 billion tourism industry. Epic Universe introduces more than 50 new attractions designed around pop culture icons like Harry Potter, legendary movie monsters and gaming giant Nintendo. The park's 11 rides include new technologies, such as omnidirectional ride vehicles trackless ride systems, and augmented reality.
9 Epic Universe is the first theme park to open in the region in decades; nearly 100 million visitors flock to Orlando's parks each year.
Courtesy of Universal
'The park is just state of the art, maybe even beyond state of the art,' says Dennis Speigel, owner and founder of International Theme Park Services, a theme park industry consultant. 'It is really going to set the benchmark for all future parks . . . in America or internationally.'
Sprawling over 750 acres, Epic Universe is the single largest investment Comcast, Universal's parent company, has made in its theme parks. 'Our most ambitious parks experience ever created' is how Comcast described Epic Universe during its Q1 earnings release. First announced back in August 2019, Epic Universe is the culmination of years of investment by Universal as it attempts to chip away at Disney — which recently announced its own $60 billion investment in its massive parks division.
Part of this process included learning from past mistakes. Peter Sciretta, who covers theme parks for the popular YouTube theme park channel Ordinary Adventures, says in recent years Universal had become too reliant on 'screen rides' — the motion-simulation experiences enjoyed from a seat. These types of rides have wide appeal, but often trigger motion sickness, especially when the content on the screen is poorly synced with the rider. Epic rides such as Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry appear to have solved that problem via a blend of immersive screens and animatronics.
9 'The real investment is evident in the small details,' says parks insider Brian Glenn. For instance, 'over 40 hours of original background music were composed specifically for Celestial Park, changing throughout the day to match the atmosphere,' he says.
Courtesy of Brian Glenn
The rides at Epic Universe incorporate different technologies in different ways. The Curse of the Werewolf, for instance, has cars that spin in circles on their tracks, while the Stardust Racers coaster hurtles riders at speeds up to 62mph. The Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment features four-seat vehicles that lift and jerk via robotic arms. And in Super Nintendo World's Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, the races aren't just on screens — they're in your face via track-mounted Augmented Reality headsets.
'The real investment is evident in the small details,' notes Inside Universal's Glenn. For instance, 'over 40 hours of original background music were composed specifically for Celestial Park, changing throughout the day to match the atmosphere,' he says.
Immersive environments are the calling card for the new park. What that means is every detail — from the architecture and landscaping to the sounds, smells, and even the food — is designed to make visitors blend into a ride's back story. Whether it's Viking village in Isle of Berk or the wizarding realm of Harry Potter, 'this theme park is . . . the first one where every single land has that level of immersion and interaction, and it is really unlike anything that has been created,' Sciretta says.
9 Mario Bros. is one of the many iconic Universal intellectual property brands that have come to life at the new Epic themepark.
AP
The embrace of immersive technology for the new park wasn't cheap, as evidenced by that $7 billion price tag. Speigel, the veteran theme park industry consultant, says Universal also invested heavily to train its roughly 14,000 park employees on the specifics of the new rides and gadgetry. 'In their quarterly report recently, Comcast announced they spent $100 million on the pre-opening process,' Speigel says.
All that training still hasn't prevented technical woes. Angry theme park attendees vented on Reddit about issues with various rides during previews. The Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry attraction, in particular, was vexed by frequent breakdowns. Universal never revealed the exact cause. It did, however, implement a virtual queue system that sparked its own backlash for being confusing.
9 The Dark Universe at the new Epic Universal.
Courtesy of Universal
Once the technical issues are ironed out, Universal execs are counting on the diversity of the intellectual property anchoring Epic Universe to ensure guests keep coming back. Harry Potter, for instance, is the closest thing to the Star Wars and Marvel franchises that Gen Z has — and an entire generation of kids grew up playing Nintendo games like Donkey Kong and Mario Kart.
For these demographics, such characters are just as, if not more, influential than Disney icons like Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan and the Pirates of the Caribbean. By leaning into brands like Mario Bros. — along with existing favorites such as Jurassic World — Universal has differentiated itself from Disney by 'appealing to older families while ensuring younger kids have something to do,' says Inside Universal's Glenn.
Disney's collection of IP and the power of nostalgia around its brand is almost insurmountable, says Sciretta. But he salutes Universal for successfully translating its classic Monster characters for a new audience. 'I feel like there's going to be a new generation of fans discovering Frankenstein and the Invisible Man and all those characters through this land,' he says.
9 Families are now spending big for a day at Disney World, shelling out nearly $1,500 for a family of four.
AP
Disney continues to dominate the Orlando theme park market. In 2024, Walt Disney World saw 48 million attendees — compared to the 20 million visitors at Universal's two parks. But Epic Universe is expected to have a significant impact on both companies' bottom lines. The park is projected to lure between five and eight million visitors to Universal in its first year. One report suggests it could even siphon a million attendees away from Disney parks. That should rankle executives overseeing Disney's theme parks division, which generated $34 billion in revenue in 2024.
The arrival of Universal Epic comes at a particularly vulnerable moment for Disney. Even dedicated Disney-philes have become fed up with the company's continuous price hikes and the introduction of dynamic pricing, which means entry fees can spike depending on visitor demand each day. Disney prices have become so exorbitant that it can cost a family of five nearly $1,400 to spend the day at Walt Disney World.
9 Former Disney CEO of Disney Bob Chapek saw his company become embroiled in Florida's 'culture wars' a few years back.
Getty Images
On top of that, the company saw its brand tarnished — and its power diminished — in Florida when it became embroiled in a culture war with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Back in 2022, then-CEO Bob Chapek criticized the state's 'Don't Say Gay' law which banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
That led DeSantis to take over the district government that oversaw Disney, which the company had controlled since the Magic Kingdom first opened in 1971. The two sides finally settled their differences in 2024 with Disney agreeing to invest as much as $17 billion in Florida to shore up its theme park properties. It was a deal widely seen as a victory for DeSantis. But for Disney, it could be the lifeline it needs to fend off the latest challenge by Universal.
9 DeSantis hit back at Disney by taking over the district government that oversees the Park, which the company had previously controlled for decades.
AP
Although Disney hasn't opened a new park in 27 years, it has approval to develop a fifth Orlando outpost sometime in the next decade. In the meantime, the company announced it will build its first park in the Middle East, Disneyland Abu Dhabi, which should open around 2030. The arrival of Epic Universe is almost certain to force the company to be more innovative in developing new attractions at these parks, rather than relying on its library of established, but aging character hits
'I'm not sure stale is the word, but I think maybe [Disney] has become a little complacent,' says Speigel. 'Snow White, Cinderella, Peter Pan, some of these [characters] have been around for 70 years. I really believe that if Disney wants to maintain its superiority and dominance in the industry . . . they're going to have to step up.'
9 To remain competitive, Disney is investing billions in its own parks division — including a new park to Abu Dhabi to open by the end of the decade.
Abu Dhabi Media Office
Still, beyond both companies' bottom lines, park insiders like Ordinary Adventures' Sciretta believe that competition — and an injection of fresh thinking and technology — could benefit both companies.
'I don't think Disney is going to be that hurt by [Epic],' he says. 'It's going to bring a lot more people to Orlando; families will be going for Epic Universe and they'll tack on a day at Disney.'
Ultimately, he adds, 'the good thing about the competition is that the people that win most are theme park fans.'