The complex opened three more parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, further solidifying Disney's impact on the theme park industry. Known for its innovative attractions and hospitality, visiting Disney World became every child's dream vacation.
Even with the openings of SeaWorld in 1973, Universal Studios in 1990, and Islands of Adventure in 1999, Walt Disney World's parks remained the most visited tourist destination in Orlando.
In 2010, Disney's dominance in the theme park landscape began to change.
The grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure changed theme parks forever.
There has never been such an immersive theme park experience as The Wizarding World, where guests can make their own magical wand, drink butterbeer, and enter an extremely detailed recreation of the Hogsmeade village from the movies.
An expansion of the land was opened at Universal Studios in 2014, this time recreating Diagon Alley and connecting the two parks through the Hogwarts Express attraction.
Instead of being seen as a one-day visit, The Wizarding World has given guests a reason to travel to Orlando specifically for a Universal parks vacation.
This is the first time that Universal Orlando Resort is considered a serious competitor to Disney's offerings, which means Disney needed to retaliate.
A year after The Wizarding World's opening, Disney announced that the world of Avatar franchise would arrive at Animal Kingdom.
Shortly after, Disney also announced lands for the Toy Story and Star Wars franchises.
Even with these new additions, Disney's post-pandemic attendance numbers have remained lower than usual for the Disney parks.
In 2021, Magic Kingdom continued to be the most visited theme park in the U.S. However, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure took the top 3 spots, with higher attendance than three of the remaining four Disney Orlando parks.
In terms of movies, Universal Pictures' Super Mario Bros Movie recently grossed over $700 million at the box office and became the highest-grossing video game movie of all time.
Walt Disney Pictures' two latest animated movies, Lightyear and Strange World, were box office bombs, grossing $226.4 million and $73.6 million respectively.
Universal's third park in Orlando, Epic Universe, will open in the summer of 2025, with Super Nintendo World confirmed as an addition to the park.
With a section based on a highly successful video game franchise now having a hit movie based on it, attracting a new and younger audience, Universal's Super Nintendo World aims to become a major draw for the park, targeting Disney's family-oriented audience.
Although Universal attracts an older demographic, the upcoming Epic Universe park may be the only thing that can elevate Universal to Disney-level heights.
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