Epic Universe opens as Universal leans into parks, takes on Disney

ORLANDO, Florida — With the grand opening of Epic Universe on Thursday, Comcast is positioning its Common Studios Orlando Resort as a vacation spot, not a pit cease.

For years, Common’s Florida-based resort has performed second fiddle to rival Disney. Whereas it boasted three theme parks — Common Studios Florida, Common Islands of Journey and water park Volcano Bay — and a handful of accommodations, it wasn’t seen as a vacation spot.

“This fourth gate modifications the whole lot,” stated Karen Irwin, president of Common Orlando Resort. “It not solely cements us as greater than a full-week vacation spot trip, nevertheless it additionally provides three accommodations to the resort.”

Epic Universe opens at a time of financial uncertainty within the U.S., as President Donald Trump has instituted a variety of ever-changing tariffs which have stoked fears a couple of world commerce conflict, despatched the inventory market by itself roller-coaster trip and has threatened to tip the American economic system right into a recession.

The U.S. has already seen a droop in air journey, significantly from worldwide vacationers. Whereas these company are small subset of general guests to central Florida, they usually spend an extended time frame staying at accommodations and visiting theme parks and spend more cash on meals and merchandise.

“When there’s shopper uncertainty, the parks are likely to really feel it,” Jason Armstrong, chief monetary officer at Comcast, stated throughout a MoffettNathanson convention final week. “They have a tendency to snap again actually shortly, however they do are likely to really feel that.”

“On parks, whether or not it is present attendance developments or bookings — which, bookings aren’t an ideal window, however they’re the window you have got — there’s nothing that is displaying up within the bookings developments thus far that may point out any stress,” he added. “That is true in Orlando. It is true internationally.”

Those that are most budget-conscious could have already been priced out of the theme park market, Craig Moffett, co-founder and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, instructed CNBC.

“There was a time when visiting a theme park was a mass-market trip,” he stated. “It is arguably too costly for that to be the case anymore. The tickets alone can run a household a thousand {dollars} or extra for a multiday go to, and that is earlier than accommodations and meals. Maybe that is why we’re not seeing as a lot financial sensitivity as we’d have anticipated.”

Regardless of these financial headwinds, Epic Universe is anticipated to attract in thousands and thousands of tourists, bolster theme park income for Common, in addition to Disney simply down the freeway, and produce billions of {dollars} to the native economic system.

It is also the beginning of a brand new period of theme park improvement for Common.

It took practically a decade for Comcast to carry Epic Universe to life. From shopping for up land its earlier administration had bought off, to Covid-related building delays, this 750-acre improvement is the primary new theme park to open in Orlando in 25 years.

Epic Universe, first introduced in 2019, represents the biggest single funding Comcast has ever made in its theme parks enterprise and in Florida general, CEO Brian Roberts stated on the time. That determine is rumored to be round $7 billion, although the precise quantity is unclear.

The park options 5 themed worlds: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Tremendous Nintendo World, Find out how to Prepare Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Celestial Park and Darkish Universe.

Comcast’s funding in Epic Universe is a part of a wider push to develop its theme park and experiences enterprise. The corporate already has plans to open a year-round Hollywood Horror Nights themed expertise in Las Vegas later this 12 months, a kid-friendly park in Frisco, Texas, in 2026, and a U.Okay.-based park in 2031.

“Comcast is leaning into the theme park section for a easy purpose: It is working,” Moffett stated. “Progress is nice and returns on funding are engaging, and the theme parks pay all types of strategic dividends by deepening clients’ relationships with their favourite Common characters.”

Whereas theme parks are a smaller income driver than Comcast’s media division, the division is worthwhile and has important potential for progress. In 2024, theme parks accounted for rather less than 20% of Comcast’s general income, however about 44% of its adjusted earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

For comparability, Disney’s experiences division, which incorporates parks, represented 37% of the corporate’s income in fiscal 2024, smaller than its leisure enterprise, however accounted for practically 60% of its web revenue.

Common’s theme park funding and growth come as Disney has pledged to spend $60 billion over a decade to enhance, innovate and increase its amusement places. New developments, whether or not they be parks, lands or rides, spark wholesome competitors between the businesses to create extra compelling and revolutionary points of interest to lure in company.

“That is the primary new theme park in Orlando in 1 / 4 century, and people 25 years have seen breathtaking technological advances,” Moffett stated. “For that purpose alone, it is a large deal.”

The corporate has acquired 161 patents for its improvements at Epic Universe, together with new animated results, trip designs and robotics. Throughout the brand new park, there are trackless trip methods, augmented actuality and high-resolution projections. In whole, the Common Locations and Expertise division holds 3,300 patents globally.

Main improvements may be seen in rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment within the Darkish Universe portal and Harry Potter and the Battle on the Ministry on the latest Wizarding World land that transports company from Twenties Paris to the Nineteen Nineties British Ministry of Magic.

It is usually obvious in new leisure exhibits like “The Untrainable Dragon” with the Find out how to Prepare Your Dragon – Isle of Berk portal, the place an animatronic Toothless, with a wingspan of practically 27 toes, soars over the viewers.

“It is a really momentous event for us, and only a important milestone in that continuum of our improvement,” stated Mark Woodbury, CEO of Common Locations and Experiences. “The long run is tremendous brilliant. … There’s lots of room for growth. We’re already fascinated by how that performs out. New points of interest coming, new mental property coming, all a part of our philosophy to develop our enterprise by increasing our present footprint.”

Woodbury famous that there’s loads of area on the Epic Universe campus to carry different worlds into the fold.

The corporate has loads of mental properties to faucet into, together with present theme park manufacturers like Jurassic Park and Minions in addition to untapped franchises like “Depraved.”

The place Common executives additionally see power is with its companion manufacturers. Throughout its home and worldwide theme parks, the corporate has delivered to life lands and points of interest primarily based on mental property from different studios like Harry Potter, Nintendo and Transformers.

“There is no creator on the market that would not wish to see their their IP delivered to the world in a means such as you see in these parks,” stated Mike Cavanagh, president of Comcast. “It truly enhances the IP for additional use of the creator.”

Common’s theme park expansions additionally broaden its enchantment to extra age segments with the Find out how to Prepare Your Dragon and Tremendous Nintendo worlds.

“Prior to now, Disney actually had the below 10-years-old section kind of to themselves,” Moffett stated. “Common catered to tweens. The brand new Epic Universe park brings entire worlds to life for youthful kids.”

Extra parks, extra merchandise, extra meals choices and extra company to cater to open up extra alternatives for Common to generate income, not simply in Florida, however globally. The corporate has chosen franchise IP that isn’t solely beloved, however evergreen, Comcast executives stated. It has additionally up to date characters and tales, like its traditional monsters, for a contemporary age.

“We have delicate opened for some time, and that provides you a lens into kind of what persons are going to do within the parks,” Armstrong stated. “And exit surveys have been nice. The evaluations of it have been terrific.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the dad or mum firm of NBCUniversal and CNBC.