Epic News Week!

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Epic News Week!

 Universal Epic Universe Rendering

Back in September, I speculated about Universal's Epic Universe and a rumor about a new skip-the-line option at Disney. This week, news on both topics dominated the theme parks press and were topics of conversation behind-the-scenes as well.

Universal announced they were going to open both Epic Universe (1) and their new signature, connected Universal Helios Grand Hotel (2) on May 22. Both will begin selling tickets and reservations this upcoming Tuesday, October 22nd. Universal is trying to control crowd levels by initially only offering multi-day tickets, and even then only one of the days can be used at Epic Universe. The news was big enough to make national outlets like the New York Times (3). The least expensive tickets will start at $352 for off-peak days, rising to $521 for peak days. For a family of four, that could be over $2,000 just for a single day in the new park. Staying onsite at the Helios will start around $300/night, and go way up from there, adding another expense to the vacation (4). The New York Times article predicts over 10 million visitors in the first year, at least 1 million of which be "siphoned" from Walt Disney World.

Also this week, Disney made an official announcement about Lightning Lane Premier (5). The service will go on sale starting the end of this month. Cast members were definitely talking about the new service, since some of us spend a fair amount of time in the parks, and occasionally purchase the traditional pass (that costs around $25). This new pass has several limitations. Guest have to stay in a Deluxe (expensive) onsite hotel, there will be a strict limit on how many passes are available each day, you can only use the pass in a single theme park, and you can only ride each ride once in the day. Despite these limitations, the pass will cost from $129 for Animal Kingdom all the way up to $449 for the Magic Kingdom, plus tax (6). That's on top of park admission tickets. Cast members think it might be a tough sell, especially when compared to the perks at Universal. If you stay at one of their Deluxe resorts, you get their equivalent pass included in the prices of your room. Their pass, called Universal Express Unlimited) is good at both their theme parks, and as the name implies, can be used an unlimited number of times on eligible rides.

If the predictions are correct, Universal's Orlando theme parks are going to see a big jump in attendance starting in May 2025. So far, Disney's competitive response has not been well-received. While there will be investments in new rides, they are knocking down some fan favorites to make room rather than build a new theme park. Perhaps the Lightning Lane Premier is part of a strategy to expect fewer guests, but get more revenue from each guest that remains? That might work in the short term, but I worry it is not as good a strategy as expanding and building new magical experiences for guests.

Topic: Disney in the News

References

(1) https://media.universalparksusa.com/press-releases/universal-epic-universe-officially-opens-on-may-22-2025/ (and cover image above)

(2) https://media.universalparksusa.com/press-releases/universal-orlando-resort-shares-first-ever-details-about-universal-helios-grand-hotel-a-loews-hotel/

(3) https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/17/business/media/universal-epic-universe-opening-date.html?unlocked_article_code=1.TU4.p6Eu.sc9G8lK5zKrg&smid=url-share

(4) https://chipandco.com/pricing-revealed-for-helios-grand-hotel-at-universal-orlandos-epic-universe-580466/

(5) https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/lightning-lane-passes/lightning-lane-premier/

(6) https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2024/10/16/disneyland-and-disney-world-launch-new-skip-the-line-service-lightning-lane-premier-pass/

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