3. Don't be afraid to replace good attractions with great ones

Universal's Jaws attraction was absolutely a wonderful attraction. It perfectly balanced humor and thrills and took guests inside one of the most memorable summer films ever made. That film, Jaws, is still as culturally relevant as it was when it was released, and Universal's choice to remove the attraction was somewhat controversial.

But, while Jaws was good, the Diagon Alley expansion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is something else entirely.

It's a big risk removing a solid attraction, and Universal showed great fearlessness in doing so. Clearly, they were confident they could deliver on the Diagon Alley experience, and that confidence was not misplaced.

Disney, on the other hand, is often reticent to remove some of their older attractions.

Now, there are good reasons for this – Disney's fan base is also significantly more rabid and passionate than Universal's, and removing any attraction causes a minor uproar among generations of parkgoers. That's totally understandable. But that doesn't mean Disney should let older, staid attractions operate when that space could be better used by other experiences.

Disney's has had great success with this in the past – removing Food Rocks in favor of Soarin', or The Legend of the Lion King in favor of Mickey's Philharmagic. They simply need to do more of it, and be more fearless in attempting it.

While I may personally disagree with removing Maelstrom at Epcot (mostly for larger thematic/aesthetic reasons), Disney is showing more of a willingness to change things, which is a start.

4. Swing for the fences

Universal doesn't care. Build a new hotel? Sure. Open a massive new attraction? Definitely. Build yet another new attraction while another is being opened? Go right ahead. They've been expanding so aggressively and so quickly that they clearly see an opportunity to take some of Disney's market share, and they are seizing that opportunity.

Disney hasn't taken a swing like that in over 15 years.

To be fair, Disney is such a large entity that small/medium changes are really all they need to stay successful, and they're already operating on such a large scale, that a swing for the fences would have to be pretty big.

Still, thus far, they haven't really done it. New Fantasyland is nice, but frankly, it was a much-needed expansion that arrived about 10 years later than it should have. The rumored development of Disney's Hollywood Studios has the potential to be a big hit, but it's still unclear if Disney will be able to deliver an overhaul quite up to the level that park needs.

Disney has mostly maxed out on hotel accommodations, and barring a big change, won't need to construct another resort in the near future.

And so, that leaves one obvious choice for Disney if they really wanted to lean back and let it rip: the fabled fifth park.

Disney, however, is comfortable at the moment. Universal is there, but not threatening. They can continue on their schedule and, likely, will be just fine.

But stay tuned – at some point, Universal will wake the sleeping giant, and when they do, be sure to stand clear of the doors.