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USA Today
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
What Epic Universe means for Universal Orlando Resort's other theme parks
It's been just over a month since the opening of Universal's shiny new theme park, Universal Epic Universe. This month also marks 35 years since the opening of Universal Orlando Resort's first park, Universal Studios Florida. Universal has four Orlando parks in all, and while many travelers are eager to experience the new addition, the company is betting big on the wider destination. 'This fourth gate changes everything for Universal Orlando,' resort President and Chief Operating Officer Karen Irwin said at a small gathering of executives and journalists at Epic Universe, on the eve of its opening. 'It not only cements us as more than a full weeklong destination vacation, but it also adds three hotels to the resort.' Here's what Epic Universe means for the rest of Universal Orlando. What are the 4 parks at Universal Orlando? Universal Studios Florida came first, opening in 1990. Universal Islands of Adventure opened in 1999, the same year as the destination's CityWalk dining and entertainment complex and first resort hotel. This marks the beginning of the larger Universal Orlando Resort. Universal Volcano Bay water park opened in 2017. Universal Epic Universe officially opened this May. Why do people go to Universal Orlando? When Universal Studios Florida first opened, its motto was 'ride the movies.' The wider resort is known for bringing beloved films to life in immersive experiences ranging from the once groundbreaking, still beloved E.T. Adventure ride to the five new worlds at Epic Universe. 'There's no replacement for being here live. Put your phones down. You're immersed, and you're experiencing all of this,' said Michael J. Cavanagh, president of Universal's parent company, Comcast Corporation. Its parks are alongside Disney among the most popular in North America, according to the latest Global Attractions Attendance Report from the Themed Entertainment Association and infrastructure leader AECOM. Like Disney, Universal has a deep bench of intellectual property. However, Universal is known for having relatively more thrill rides for big kids and adults, though its parks also have kid-friendly areas and Universal is building a new theme park in Texas geared toward young families. 'Obviously we come at it with a little different age target than they do,' Cavanagh said. One of Universal Orlando's biggest draws is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which now has three destinations across property: Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure, Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida and the Ministry of Magic at Epic Universe. 'If you're a Harry Potter fan, you have to see all three parks,' said Mark Woodbury, chairman and CEO of Universal Destinations and Experiences. Epic Universe mistakes: What to avoid at Universal's new theme park Where Epic Universe fits into Universal Orlando Universal doesn't see Epic Universe as taking away from its other parks, but adding to them. 'It started with the idea 'how do we continue to grow our Orlando business?' and the realization that in order do that, we needed another park to garner a full week vacation and make this the destination of choice for people for their full Orlando vacation trip,' Woodbury said. That growth benefits others too, according to Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. "Not only do (guests) experience a fantastic new park, but that also implies a certain reaction because it will drive competition and we will see more parks being built because our industry likes to challenge each other," he said. "I think there are only winners in this story, and I'm very excited to see how it plays out." In addition to Universal Orlando's four parks, guests now have their choice of 11 hotels with 11,000 rooms on property, so they don't have to worry about leaving or logistics until it's time to go home. "We want you not to have to think about what you're doing ... and just feel what we're doing here,' Irwin said. 'We offer this opportunity for people to come together with people that they love, the people that they care about, and just connect and be together and have those moments and those experiences that honestly they will remember for a lifetime.' What's next for Universal Orlando? Universal has said it's working on new attractions for all of its Orlando parks. 'What you can't see sitting here are all the expansion areas that are outside the spaces that you can see,' Woodbury said from inside Celestial Park. 'There's a lot of room for expansion. We're already thinking about how that plays out, and it's the same on the north end of the campus, new attractions coming, new intellectual property coming.' Details remain under wraps, but Universal has shared the location for at least one future project. A new experience will replace Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit after it closes permanently at Universal Studios Florida on Aug. 18. How far is Epic Universe from the other parks? Epic Universe is about 4 miles away from Universal Orlando's other parks. Free resort transportation is available between the two campuses, and between Universal parks and hotels. How much do Epic Universe tickets cost? Single-day tickets to Epic Universe start at $139 for guests ages 10 and older. Prices vary by date. Specially priced tickets are available for annual passholders and Military Freedom Pass holders.
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Universal's UK theme park is a win for the government – but one rollercoaster of a challenge
Universal 's announcement of a huge new theme park in Bedfordshire counts as a much-needed win for the UK and its beleaguered government as the latter attempts to revive a torpid economy while grappling with Trump's tariffs, a global market meltdown and its own dismal poll ratings. The announcement of the deal talked breathlessly of a '£50bn boost to the economy' along with the creation of 28,000 jobs 'across creative, hospitality and construction industries'. While I'm always sceptical when numbers like that get thrown around (and it often feels like they are plucked out of the air), this is still a bona fide big deal. The UK lost out to France when Disney was looking for a venue for its first European theme park: partly because of the latter's ability to easily draw in visitors from across Europe, partly because of climate (although the annual rainfall in Bedford is actually a tad less than Paris experiences while hotter summers are getting increasingly common here thanks to global heating). While the number of visitors to Disneyland Paris fell in 2023, it remains the only European destination in the worldwide top 10 in the Themed Entertainment Association's Global Attractions Attendance Report. The best attended UK park was Legoland Windsor, good for number 10 in the Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, with 2.4m visitors. The Warner Bros Studio Tour London, which focuses on Harry Potter, isn't on that list, although it also tops 2m visitors annually. Universal's park will eclipse those two, and just about anything else, if it achieves the expected 8.5m visitors in its first year. Its site on the former Kempston Hardwick Brickworks just south of the town of Bedford is within spitting distance of Luton airport, the expansion of which has been approved by the government. One would hope some thought has been given to other transport links. It would not look good for there to be a repeat of the queues of vehicles that embarrassed the French when Disneyland Paris opened. This may also put the government's enthusiasm for planning reform to the test. But I wouldn't foresee the latter as the biggest issue to be overcome if this is to live up to the hype Keir Starmer has been giving it. Here are a few things the PM might care to think about because the announcement is just the start of the process. Let's start with the fact that the hospitality sector says it has 132,000 vacancies to fill, something UK Hospitality lists as a 'core priority'. The trade body says it raises this with the government 'at every opportunity'. The sense of frustration at the tin ear it receives is palpable when I talk to industry leaders. There is time to address that. A more immediate labour problem comes in the form of the construction workers that Universal's contractors will need to find. Labour keeps telling us it wants to build 1.5m new homes, which is also putting pressure on a sector the government admits faces a 'dire shortage' of workers. It's not as if they can be easily imported, like in the rest of Europe. Thanks Brexit! We are told this is being addressed, but the proof of the pudding and all that… Moving swiftly on, should we look at the decision to slash VisitBritain 's promotional budget with just 24 hours' notice? When its CEO Nick de Bois spoke to my colleague Simon Calder, he said ministers 'don't get tourism' – with some justification. This month, the requirement for the £10 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) was also imposed on all European visitors apart from the Irish, with the cost set to increase to £16 in short order. After Brexit – yes, we're still on the impact of Brexit – Britain also insisted EU visitors carry a full passport. Around 300m EU citizens have only ID cards and therefore cannot travel to the UK. The decision was described by Bernard Donoghue, director of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, as 'a disastrous act of economic self-harm'. I might venture to add that it was a supreme act of stupidity on the part of the previous British government. There would doubtless be some who would argue that all this is nitpicking on my part. After all, the deal has been signed – huzzah! Universal, whose parent company Comcast has a big presence here through its ownership of Sky, knows the scene and the score and has nonetheless committed billions of pounds in capital expenditure. It must be comfortable that these problems can be overcome. But the success or failure of this project will have ramifications beyond theme parks. It will be carefully scrutinised by anyone considering investing in the UK. The government has to prove it can pull this off without Comcast's money getting poured down the drain through cock ups and systemic failure. Delays, queues like those that initially blighted Disneyland Paris, not to mention the latter's financial difficulties in the 2010s, could all rapidly apply a thick coat of tarnish. It's not just Keir Starmer's kids – and the PM said they were unusually interested in this particular government announcement – who will be watching closely.
