3. Universal’s IP and ride collection is different, but world-class

No one can beat Disney’s IP collection. There is no brand portfolio owned by any media conglomerate on Earth that can so simply and completely dominate media quite like “Disney + Pixar + Marvel + Star Wars.” There is no counterpart to the Mickey & Friends franchise, or the Disney Princess franchise, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the non-stop, A-rated, top-tier, tear-jerking, and timeless collection of films produced by Pixar. 

Universal is one of the oldest movie studios on Earth, with a treasure trove of stories, brands, acquisitions, and favorites. Universal + Dreamworks + NBC + Illumination doesn’t have the same ring to it, and surely, not every successful, beloved property owned by Universal is used well (cough, King Kong, Universal Monsters, Secret Life of Pets, How To Train Your Dragons, Shrek, Fast & Furious) or at all (cough, The Office, Jaws, SNL, 30 Rock, Back to the Future, Pacific Rim) in its theme parks, but positioning Universal as some bland “Studio” park of obsolete or second-rate characters and stories is a huge red flag.

Taking a look at Universal Studios itself, surprisingly few “Opening Day Originals” are left, so if you’re looking for odes to Universal’s own classics of the ‘70s and ‘80s, you won’t find the Lost Legends: JAWS, Konfrontation, and Back to the Future: The Ride. For better or worse, a major modernization effort in the 2000s saw the Studio park packed with newer, fresher brands. Many of them (Men in Black, The Simpsons, The Mummy, Transformers) feel adequately timeless and well-represented, even if the Studio park's focus remains on more timely franchises than the pursuit of forever-rides.

The collection is even stronger at Islands of Adventure, which intentionally bucked the “Studio” trend of its sister by downplaying “movies” and instead highlighting timeless “stories.” Think about it: vibrant, colorful lands themed to Marvel comic book heroes, classic characters from newspaper comic strips, Jurassic Park, ancient myths & legends, the pages of Dr. Seuss’ picture books… There’s something novel about a park willing to forego box office blockbusters and think long term, about the kinds of characters that stick around between generations.

Then there’s the elephant in the room: Universal’s exclusive licensing of Harry Potter. Potter isn’t just the 10th highest grossing media franchise of all time with nearly $40 billion in combined revenue; it’s the kind of once-in-a-half-century media franchise that breaks records, changes the pop culture landscape forever, and actually lasts.

Like Star Wars for Disney, Potter was an industry-changing coup for Universal… and perhaps more to the point, the way Potter is used in Universal’s two Floridian theme parks is a masterclass in adaptation that literally rewrote the rules. (Without it, Cars Land, New Fantasyland, Pandora, Avengers Campus, and Galaxy's Edge wouldn't exist, full stop.) Universal brought to life the world of Harry Potter in such staggering, loving, lived-in detail that the first “Living Land” arguably remains the best. 

And frankly, those IPs bring us to the resort's rides. Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure easily blow past the ride counts of EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom (sometimes even in combination) and offer a staggering number of "E-Ticket" quality attractions.

From beloved classics (E.T. Adventure and Jurassic Park River Adventure) to new-age dark rides (Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Reign of Kong, Revenge of the Mummy, and TRANSFORMERS: The Ride) to outright thrills (Incredible Hulk and Rip Ride Rocket) and family dark rides (Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, Cat in the Hat, Minion Mayhem, and Poseidon's Fury), these are parks littered anchor attractions.

That's to say nothing of four universally-highlighted "bucket list" rides that reside at Islands of Adventure: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, the Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – each a legendary addition and a landmark attraction for the entire industry.

Don't misunderstand: there's a lot of ride types that Universal still "needs" to make its parks feel balanced, built-out, and as widely beloved as Disney's. But it's almost laughable to suggest that Universal's parks are blanket skippable, out-of-touch, or the equivalent of a low-quality knock-off. We're talking about a truly exceptional collection of characters, stories, and rides! And that’s only the start… 

4. There’s a whole lot on the horizon for Universal Orlando

When NBCUniversal was purchased by cable giant Comcast in 2011, industry commentators largely expected the newly-created conglomerate to spin off Universal Parks & Resorts into a standalone business that could be sold to a private equity group. (Theme parks in need of continuous investment and cheery guest service aren’t really the typical domain of a cable and Internet company.) But the massive success of the Wizarding World meant that Comcast kept hold of the Parks division… and invested big time. 

Comcast has spent billions on Universal Parks in the last decade, all the while trumpeting the incredible success of the parks and their continued commitment to them. In Orlando alone, we’re talking about constructing a dozen high-profile rides, adding ten thousand rooms to the resort’s hotel occupancy (via Cabana Bay, the Aventura Hotel, Sapphire Falls, and the Endless Summer hotels), and opening Universal’s Volcano Bay. 

Even now, as Disney publicly admits to cutting $900 million in planned capital projects for its parks with literally nothing announced for beyond 2023, Comcast committed at least a billion dollars in 2022 toward the construction of a third theme park – Universal’s Epic Universe, set to open by Summer 2025 on a whole new, undeveloped, 750-acre plot of land. That  "second half" of the Universal Orlando Resort – a sort of "southern campus" – is expected to include not just the new theme park, but a shopping, dining, and hotel district of its own, all tuned to the needs of the walkable Orange County Convention Center... 

More to the point, Epic Universe is set to be the first new theme park in Orlando since 1999 – when Islands of Adventure opened. A sort of embodiment of Universal's 21st century momentum, the new park will contain five brand new lands and – at least as of now – two resort hotels of its own.

Epic Universe is expected to debut with Super Nintendo World (the product of another once-unthinkable brand coup at least on the scale of Potter if not bigger), an immersive land themed to DreamWorks' How To Train Your Dragon, a third Wizarding World of Harry Potter (allegedly set in Paris), and a land dedicated to Universal's classic horror movie Monsters (think, Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon as seen in Universal's black and white films of the '30s and '40s.)

And given that a January 2022 conference call saw Comcast CEO Brian Roberts report the best quarter in Universal Orlando’s history, Comcast doesn’t show any signs of slowing their investment in the parks. So if you're just pretending this isn't happening, Universal doesn't exist, and its parks aren't worth your time, then frankly: what are you thinking?!

Look – Disney World is Disney World. It’s a pop culture icon, with the number one most-visited theme park on Earth, and it’s not even close. Universal will always be an underdog in Florida, and even the addition of a third Universal theme park won’t change that. But from longtime Disney fans to locals, more and more people are coming around to the same conclusion: maybe Universal Orlando is a destination in its own right after all… and if you're fed up with the modern Walt Disney Company and its missing perks, microtransactions, and misfires, there's always another way...