Disney Needs to Pay More Attention to the “Threat In Its Backyard”

According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Disney needs to pay much more attention to the threat sitting pretty in its backyard.

With the recent developments from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, some believe that they could not only give the Mouse House a run for its money but could also easily outrun the Walt Disney Company itself. In 2019, Universal announced Epic Universe—a third theme park at Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal Orlando Resort has more than made its worthiness as an adversary to Disney known with its effort to rival the Disney experience with its theme park in Central Florida. Just 10 miles down from the property on Interstate 4, the Walt Disney World Resort sits pretty, enjoying its status as the most beloved theme park in the United States.

But is that going to change?

For years now, Disney guests have been taking the Walt Disney Company to task for many of the decisions it has made with respect to the Disney Parks. The Disney Park experience has become markedly more expensive, with guests increasingly being priced out of being able to afford it.

With products like FastPass being replaced by the paid Disney Genie service (including Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane) and food and beverages at the Disney Parks becoming more expensive (despite reduced portion sizes—fans will remember Disney executives’ comments on reducing waistlines), fans are becoming increasingly unhappy with the Disney Park experience.

Many have even shared that they are walking away from Disney with the recent changes, with some declaring, “I’m done.”

On the other hand, this year has been incredibly exciting for Universal’s parent company, Comcast, as they take a page out of Disney’s book and mine IPs like Despicable Me (think minions) and How to Train Your Dragon for its parks.

Universal has been seeing more and more success, with many former Disney fans making their way over to bat for the other theme park. Not only are Universal’s prices easier on the wallet, but the company has been working to ensure the quality of its theme parks rival Disney’s.

Where Disney has decades of experience behind it, Universal is smart; they are learning from Disney’s mistakes and making exponential jumps in the theme park game.

As WSJ explained, “A common vacation itinerary includes three or four days at Disney World and one or two days at Universal,” but if this switches around, Universal stands to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Ultimately, the numbers don’t lie, and for now, Disney still holds the crown when it comes to the entertainment business, especially their theme parks and experiences. But Universal is not far behind, and Disney would do well to watch their backs because Universal is certainly coming for them.

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