Epic Universe Opening Hasn’t Yet Hurt Worldwide Orlando Attendance, Reports Show
ORLANDO, FL – Despite opening Orlando’s first new theme park in a generation, Universal’s Epic Universe has had “minimal impact” on attendance at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure sence its debut this summer, according to Comcast officials and data analyzed by Blog Mickey. The new park is set to officially open to the public on May 22, following preview days in April.
the initial success in maintaining attendance at the existing parks is attributed to a deliberate strategy by Universal to bundle Epic Universe tickets with multi-day packages requiring visits to the legacy parks, and to limit annual passes to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. This encouraged visitors to continue frequenting the original parks while crowds explored the new Epic Universe.
universal implemented a two-part strategy, as noted by the disney tourist Blog: requiring Epic Universe tickets be purchased as part of a multi-day package that included the original parks, and restricting annual passes to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. This aimed to “backfill” the existing parks with local visitors as tourists flocked to Epic Universe.
Though,any potential attendance cannibalization at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure may not be fully apparent until 2026,when ticketing rules for Epic Universe are relaxed – especially if the existing parks do not introduce new attractions.
The arrival of Epic Universe has already provided a significant economic boost to the Orlando area, increasing hotel tax revenues by millions of dollars, as reported by Florida Politics.
