Is Universal King At Building New Theme Parks? | Epic Universe Analysis

[@zarajenkins6948]

I really enjoyed this video, normally I would be the first ti defend Disney but, everything this video explained is true, Epic Universe is going to blow Disney out the water, I do hope however the new lands Disney are building are really built with the old school detail that we have grown to love otherwise Universal are going to take over, I'm sure they have so much more planned after Epic which is just going to amaze us even more, I think they have no plans in stopping!

[@capthemagic]

Thanks for watching! Ultimately I do hope/think that Universal stepping up their offerings in the way they are is going to force Disney to go back to how they used to do things. More than likely though it'll never get back to the level it used to but they can get closer to that standard

[@kaijuguy19]

The video does show the irony that even back in the day Disney was somehow trying to catch up to Universal long before Harry Potter opened in 2010. doesn't help in Disney's case is that unlike them Universal does learn the right lessons from their park experiences when needed.

[@capthemagic]

Valid point. You can also see how Disney changed their approach to rides in the parks based on what Universal was doing and has been doing.

[@benjaminhaley5818]

For whatever reason, Disney just takes too long to do stuff build things event things whatever they focus on the movies and these days it’s all remakes

[@slxdaTV]

But they take NO time raising prices & adding lightning lanes

[@capthemagic]

Disney loves to spread their construction costs over multiple quarters. It'll be interesting to see how they go about all the construction they're going to do over the next 5-10 years. If they're previous trends hold true then we won't see any of the new lands they're building for 5+ years is my guess

[@d.j.klefeker9207]

16:32 Answer: Budget cuts. It was either Dinoland USA, or Beastly Kingdom.

[@Neemo2314]

I wish you could sit down with the big executive at the round table , just to advise . Your personal perspective is very bright and future driven! (Bttf joke ) I really believe epic will be two days . With the amount of experiences coming that you can’t even see from Ariel shots . Like they said it will be an emotional park ! You’re gonna get all up in your feelings!! Hope to shake your hand one day ! Huge fan !

[@capthemagic]

Handshakes shall commence one day! I've often said I would be willing to sit down and give them honest feedback but I think Disney's C Suite wants to hear what they want to hear. I've heard from others that they've told some of the execs their opinions on matters but that they will argue with them and say how they're wrong. I guess they will learn the hard way eventually?

[@glorianaponte]

I like Expedition Everest and Avatar rides at AK. I agree it is a half day park

[@ducktails1695]

I know people don't think water parks are theme parks, but let's not forget Universal opened a brand new water park with Volcano Bay in 2017 which is an absolutely amazing water park and extremely well done. Just yet another example of how Universal builds parks today.

[@capthemagic]

Very good point

[@metallicnole4514]

Yeah water parks are not theme parks

[@ducktails1695]

@@metallicnole4514 Well it is a themed water park, but my point still stands.

[@maceywade5136]

Now don't diss my Dino land now 😂😂

[@capthemagic]

It does have its charm but it’s not peak theme park theming 🤣🤣

[@d.j.klefeker9207]

16:52 If memory serves me correct, I believe the budget cuts were due to the failure of Euro Disney (Disneyland Paris).

[@jmig1016]

You are underestimating dvc. They are building more hotels. They need to expand there parks I agree. Just a thought. Thanks

[@feliciasingleton4849]

Eisner was there when Universal was looking for backers to help start their theme park....he was the studio head of Paramount and was a witness to what Universal had planned to do -that's why there was such a rush to get Disney - MGM on the ground running....he managed to beat Universal by one year -and it helped that he had seen what Universal was going to do....but it turned out to be better for Universal (not at first, I know, I was there about a month after Universal opened), because they had to think out of the box on how they did their attractions.... there is a 2015 book that was published by the people who put out the Unofficial Guides called Universal Vs. Disney, by Sam Gennawey.... it's a great read, and I've talked too long 😅😅😅😅

[@randolphwilliams2365]

I hope every thing will work when they open. I read about stress load issues with Donky Kong in Japan. But there is so much to see and discover. I pretty much agree with him. Just the extravagance of construction is amazing (compared to MGM Studios). Can't wait to walk around every land! By the way, where did all the laid-off Disney imagineers go to? Universal really is getting the total immersive land perfect because J K Rowling demanded this new level of design for Harry Potter.

[@brian8928]

Whatever you read about loading issues on donkey Kong throw that article away😂 How do they have loading issues when that ride isn’t open yet 🤔 and won’t til December 22

[@capthemagic]

@brian8928 Have they said what the average capacity per hour is on Minecart Madness? I'm curious how many people that ride will be able to move through it in a day

[@ducktails1695]

Of course there is going to be issues. It's all part of opening something major at this scale. People will have to be patient while they get operations going properly. It'll be a good 4-6 months IMO before they get things working correctly across the park. That doesn't mean nothing will work, but it's just that they don't know how things will truly work until massive amounts of people coming in. Sometimes things sound good on paper and then when you go to put them into practice it doesn't work out as well as originally thought.

[@remyd8767]

I do agree that generally most of the Disney park openings in the past had been lackluster. However, I think it's really hard to compare the theme park industry of 20-30 years ago to today. Disney didn't have much of a competition back then and Universal Studios wasn't really a true competitor. They didn't really had a real incentive to make the new parks competitive. While Disney will probably take much slower to open a new park, if they were to build one today, they would definitely go for something grander and with more rides than in the past.

[@capthemagic]

I'm really curious if and when Disney announces a new park what it would be themed on and what level they would build it at. I think with what Epic is doing, whatever plans they had for a new park would have to be reworked and force them to up the level of everything they would do

[@jacksonscowen3940]

I’m personally not a big fan of EPCOT, I think most of its rides are ok to bland and a lot of it is a pain to walk through. The only 3 rides I like are Guardians of the Galaxy, Spaceship Earth, and Test Track

[@tarazieminek1947]

EPCOT would be so much better if there was a train or shuttle or something that went around the loop with the different countries and you could hop on/hop off at various locations. Or if they rented scooters with sidecars for parents + kids.

[@capthemagic]

A train or transportation around the World Showcase would be an awesome addition

[@ducktails1695]

How can you not like Living with the Land?

[@86wellacre]

Needs to be more rides in the world showcase

[@ducktails1695]

I really don't understand why some are so upset about Dinoland going away from AK. I laughed when I went into Dinoland. I didn't feel like I was in Disney anymore but rather the county fair. It's a little embarrassing. DHS IMO is still not a full day park. It's only really busy with long lines because 1, there's nothing to do there really and 2, Lightning Lane which kills stand by queues.

[@jimt9245]

For the longest time Disney was it's main competition. Disneyland was unlike any park at it's time and over it's first 40 years - it continued to improve. They continued to build on it's legacy and exceed expectations. The few of expansions following the opening seamlessly built on a non IP crutch. Indiana Jones would be the last addition during this period and only the 5th best attraction on the western part of the park (in my opinion). But the theming was still top notch. (meanwhile Tomorrowland has been crumbling). DisneySea and Epcot are perhaps good encores to the Original - with DisneySea weathering better (don't know if Fantasy Springs builds on the value of DisneySea thou). Where as Disney had 40 years of unrivaled success - It looks like Universal has taken the 3 third time the charm approach - from a scattered / low theme Studio park to a higher themed park in Islands of Adventure Universal was trying to find it's footing. I believe that is was not for JK Rowling and the Wizarding World ... Epic Universe would have never existed. Through the team building from that period - Universal has continued to practicing on developing themed lands in their two existing parks with success . Now Epic Universe will be Universal's shot at building a new theme park on a new canvas under current days rules and no historical baggage. Would it be fair to compare the health of these two theme park giants based on the age of them. If we base the Universal's theme park history on 1990 - it is now 34 years old. When Disneyland (plus 2 castle parks and Epcot) was 34 years old - they had 3 parks and would be opening Splash Mountain in 1989. Disney seemed to peak in it's 30's and Universal seems to be a late bloomer and may peak it's 40s or later ... The carnival ride inclusion at Dinoland and then more at DCA may have been the first signs of Disney's Star dimming.

[@metallicnole4514]

Moving forward, what conceivably could be disney's best moves to respond to epic?

[@MissMyMusicAddiction]

1:19 what happened to the sound?

[@capthemagic]

Thanks for letting me know. I edited that part out, not sure what happened there... ghosts in the machine perhaps lol

[@d.j.klefeker9207]

18:08 They cut the budget because of the failure of Euro Disney (Disneyland Paris).

[@ottot3221]

You say Disney is adding to AK but they don't. They reskin or replace and even the playground is taken away. Blow the line it will have even less to do.

[@metallicnole4514]

Villains land is an addition to magic kingdom. The issue is that universal is held to a lower standard than Disney. If we held them to the same standard, then look at the studios park. They replaced nearly the entirety of the whole park that it’s barely recognizable. And no, the opening of epic isn’t a rebuttal since universal has been replacing attractions for well over the past 10-15 years.

[@capthemagic]

@ottot3221 You're not wrong there

[@capthemagic]

@mettallicnole4514 Universal doesn't have the space that Disney World does so them replacing attractions is a bit more forgivable vs Disney who has the space to expand but choose to replace attractions. Now that they have space with Epic Universe area I think this will be a new phase of Universal

[@metallicnole4514]

@@capthemagic Forgivable? I don't think so. I'll never forgive universal from replacing the earthquake ride system for that awful fast and the furious ride or replacing back to the future with the simpsons. They didn't just replace a few rides here and there. Almost the entire park has been replaced with the exception of ET. Back in the day, universal studios was my favorite theme park in orlando alongside magic kingdom. People may be crying and whining about the rivers of america being replaced, but magic kingdom is still intact for the most part. I don't even recognize studios anymore. So no, universal does not get a pass for replacing almost an entire theme park of what were great and diverse attractions.

[@yankeesusa1]

I wouldn't say they are king yet. Universal Epic is not open yet. But as of now, Disney is not looking good with shoddy construction, like Epcot, horrible construction times like Tron and horrible decisions all over the place.

[@stephanievitale-ur1vo]

Disney takes too long to build everything but universal is faster

[@benjaminhaley5818]

Disney doesn’t have the IP in the worlds people want at an amusement park. Disney his family friendly and used to be immersive.. universal follows the movies Disney could never make Harry Potter hence universal has it.

[@metallicnole4514]

Disney doesn’t lack for ip that the general public loves.

[@capthemagic]

Disney still has classic IPs they could tap into but when it comes to newer IPs and things that interest kids, they don't have that strength that they used to. Nintendo is a real problem for Disney because it's basically an instant Nostalgia property that also has relevance today with the games and movies

[@metallicnole4514]

@@capthemagic So newer ip like moana and inside out don't interest kids? Disney doesn't lack for popular ip, old and new, that appeals to the general audience. They have way more than universal does and it's all in house, so they don't have to pay for the licenses. The issue is whether disney can put the ip to good use. They did a good job with pandora, galaxy's edge not so much. Even though smuggler's run and rise of the resistance are great.

[@710moose8]

Hot take but I think Hollywood is worse then animal kingdom. I go to the parks all the time. My mind would be blown if Disney added another park. They can barely build rides. Never see it happening for along time.

[@yankeesusa1]

Dino Land should have been gutted over 5 years ago. That is a junky and old looking area. Cheaper looking than the city fairgrounds.

[@liamcollinson5695]

Don't forget Disneys worst park in the world walt Disney studios in fact the first time I went me and my friend decided to just stick to the main park instead because our other friends decided to spend there first day in walt Disney studios and hated it

[@0dylan]

If they aren't yet, they will be soon.

[@sky0kast0]

I would certainly hope that they can remaster some of their older rides to have them at least work a little better have them compete properly with the epic universe rides, because if they can get all the parks to work as well as they can. I'm trying to imagine a time when sanity comes back to Disney.