“We Have a Slate of New Attractions” – Universal Orlando Teases More New Rides at Epic and Beyond as Disney World Begins Next Development Phase

Universal Orlando's new Epic Universe park opens to the public in 11 weeks and will begin offering previews to Team Members and media even sooner than that. We are covering all the latest Epic Universe news very closely.

Beyond Epic Universe, Universal is building tons more across their theme parks and they just made more bold statements about this expansion today. Disney is also at the beginning of an expansion period with new rides announced for Disney World and Disneyland.

Universal is investing heavily in the expansion of their theme parks to compete with Disney on both coasts and at other locations in the United States.

New Universal Attractions Teased Beyond Epic Universe

Universal is expanding rapidly. In addition to Epic Universe, there is work ongoing for a new kids focused Universal park in Texas, a new Las Vegas permanent Halloween Horror Nights-style experience, a new roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood, and more. You can see all the new Universal Orlando rides announced here and the Universal Studios Hollywood new rides here.

Now, Universal has released a new video that pushes back on the notion that Epic Universe is the final piece of development at Universal Orlando. Instead, they are stating that they are going to continue to build further across all parts of the Universal Orlando resort and will continue to expand Epic Universe. It's in keeping with their general expansion goals across Universal theme parks.

Here's the key quote from the video released about the further expansion:

“There are already so many things in the works now. We have a slate of new attractions that we are already in development on for every one of our parks [at Universal Orlando]. We're already planning for the next thing at Epic. It fits with our ethos of making the next thing we do better than the last thing we did.”

It appears that Universal senses an opportunity to close the gap between them and Disney. They are moving as quickly as they can to expand their destination and grab new visitors who are open to trying a different product. With the opening of Epic Universe they'll have three theme parks, a fantastic water park, CityWalk, and quite a few hotels for all budgets. It's amazing how much the resort has expanded. It also comes at a time when Disney and Comcast, the parent company of Universal, recognize the value of the theme park business in the changing media world. There is momentum here that Universal wants to keep building on.

There are some fantastic new Disney World rides on the horizon and we felt tons of good energy from fans coming out of the D23 last August. Now, we just have to hope that Disney can move quickly to execute on the creation of these new offerings. So far we have not been thrilled by the visible progress. Now that key permits have been approved for the Magic Kingdom construction, perhaps that will kick into high gear. Other factors like the DINOSAUR attraction not closing until after late 2025 also have us a bit worried about the projects that we perceived as the fastest turn around. Disney needs to keep building on this momentum with additional news. We anticipate that we'll get more from Disney as soon as this weekend at SXSW in Austin, but hope that there is some material progress seen also.

In so many ways, Disney World thrives on nostalgia. That keeps families coming back time and time again. They have always needed to strike a balance between that nostalgia for the theme parks while also creating new offerings to bring back guests and incentivize new visits. They are also contending with a perception of an increased cost of a Disney World vacation.

Universal views nostalgia differently than Disney. For Disney, this is most typically an asset because people want to keep coming back year after year to have similar experiences that connect them with a previous period in life. Now, though, expansion creates some difficulties for Disney. There is tension between the nostalgia and the need for change. Disney has chosen to level the Rivers of America at Magic Kingdom to build the Cars-themed expansion frustrating some fans. Similarly, backlash around the removal of MuppetVision 3D has caused Disney to announced a new Muppets roller coaster so that the characters will remain in the parks.

Universal Orlando approaches change very differently and in the video released today they put that feeling into words saying “We're fired up by change. We thrive on change and by going to Universal Orlando Resort you get the total experience.” They never quite seem afraid to tear something down. This is good for their pace of building, but bad for those who have a nostalgic connection to anything there previously. It's also a commentary on the type of franchises that exist at Universal. Most do not have the massive staying power of the Disney stories.

We will be watching closely as Universal and Disney continue their march forward in expansion across their theme parks around the world. At the end of the day, we are the winners when these two parks drive one another to improve and expand. We've been having this conversation of Disney vs Universal since Universal introduced the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter ride. Disney has opened incredible lands since then including Cars Land and Pandora World of Avatar, that also push the envelope. It's so much fun to see how each makes the other deliver something even better.

Here's the video released by Universal.

Don't Miss the Latest Disney News

Get the FREE Mickey Visit newsletter with the latest discounts, news, and tips. Over 100k theme park fans receive this every week.