Universal is betting billions of dollars with thousands of people and holiday makers lined up with thousands of people this month at Harry Potter’s Magic Ministry and Super Nintendo’s world-leading theme park.
But real life outside the epic space gates and theme park markets is very different from 2019 when Universal’s parent company Comcast began planning a massive new site in Orlando, Florida.
Industry executives and analysts began to fear that Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House caused a war of trade and culture.
One executive expressed concern that White House actions could block overseas visitors, and could risk a slowdown in the economy that taps appetite among domestic visitors to everyday tickets at prices above $100.
The Epic Universe, which will be held this month, is not just about the US investments Comcast makes in the sector. The group also opened Universal Horror Relief, Las Vegas’ first permanent annual horror “entertainment experience” in August. And in 2026, the first Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas, was on sale to families with younger children.
Epic Universe is Comcast’s biggest investment in the theme park business ever ©Felix Mizioznikov/Alamy
Rival Disney’s parks and experience business is also expanding in the US and overseas, with $600 billion planned for the next decade.
Disney has always had more expansion projects around the world in its history, including new “lands” and attractions in national parks in Florida and California. This week, the group revealed plans for a new theme park resort on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, despite funding from local entertainment company Miral.
Theme parks are a key engine for the growth of both groups, and cash flow supports Disney’s investment in other areas such as streaming and film. Parks and Experience are Disney’s biggest operating profits and the second largest revenue driver after the entertainment sector.
Meanwhile, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh explained last month the importance of the theme park business, unlike the television skills.
Epic is Comcast’s biggest investment in the theme park business of all time. This site – Comcast’s fourth in Orlando includes five different theme areas, including the magical world of Harry Potter, and five different theme areas, including how to train dragons. Its opening will allow the media group to offer a week’s holiday destination for tourists across the Orlando site.
But opening of Florida’s biggest park for over 20 years has come after a tough time for the sector over the past year.
Both Comcast and Disney experienced strong growth in 2022 and 2023 after the pandemic ended.
However, the bounceback declined in 2024, and attendance at Florida Parks remains clearly lingering from its pre-pandemic highs in 2019, according to AECOM, which provides industry data.
Parks division’s Comcast revenue fell from $8.9 billion in 2023 to $8.6 billion in 2024. In the first quarter of this year, Comcast’s Parks Division fell again, blaming Hollywood wildfires.
Last year, Disney’s experience business, which increased revenue by 5%, including cruise holidays, increased by $34.1 billion, much slower than the 16% growth last year.
A note from Redburn Atlantic analysts at Rothschild & Co in October warned that the Florida theme park market is “not healthy,” with 2023 down about 13% below 2019 levels. It denounced an overpricing strategy that reached affordable prices, especially for foreign visitors.
“Although Epic was able to attract new visitors to Florida,” writes Redburn Atlantic.
Mid-level operators like SeaWorld and Six Flags followed by giant park operators like Disney and Comcast are boosting per capita revenue through sharp price increases. As a result, they are willing to sacrifice high attendance, said Chris Yoshii, global director of leisure and culture services at AECOM.
People walk through dark universes in epic space. Comcast hopes the park’s new attractions will drive consumer demand ©Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg
This is to give people who can afford to visit financially a “premium experience” and he explained that they don’t have to wait in line too long. Last summer, Orlando and California parks were supported by wealthy foreign visitors, according to Yoshii.
“I’m wondering if (theme parks) are really middle class activities. Family budgets are growing and pricing (these consumers) are actually coming out,” he said.
“They have reached the point that this is everything they can do in terms of pushing prices up. In times of economic uncertainty, it is difficult to increase prices and profitability,” Yoshii added.
Analysts also ask whether Trump’s trade war will increase uncertainty in US theme parks. Airlines and hotel groups have warned that domestic travel is declining, but international visitors could be hit with a more severe and unwelcome border control threat.
Moffettnathanson analyst Craig Moffett last month when asking Comcast’s executives about their theme park business, noting “a very big drop in international travel to the US and some anti-American sentiment.”
But so far, both Comcast and Disney say that demand from US consumers remains strong against their entertainment.
Comcast’s Cavanagh said in an analyst’s phone call that both pre-paid ticket sales and hotel bookings were “strong because of the whole park and grandeur.”
Sales are “still tracking smoothly,” he added, “many people in the US” who don’t have to fly to get to Florida.
He admitted that “there may be a delayed effect between what the airline is beginning to report and what we see,” but so far “there is no real sign of our business when we’re sitting here and now.”
Comcast and Disney are confident that new parks and experiences will bring new audiences. Executives argue that one of the reasons for the slow growth last year was the lack of major new attractions that tend to drive demand. Comcast hopes Epic will change that – at least this year.
JPMorgan analysts predict that Comcast’s new opening slate will “harness new demographics and geography to capture potential demand.”
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Disney reported that its experience division is expected to increase by 6% per year, and that it is strong in the first half of the year. This week, he told analysts that bookings at Walt Disney World increased 4% in the third quarter a year ago and 7% in the fourth, making them “very optimistic” about the US outlook.
Johnston admitted that there was a slight decline in foreign visitors to U.S. parks on calls with analysts, but added that this was more than offset by the growth of U.S. participants.
“We’ve seen a bit of an impact, but it’s literally similar in that the mix is 1-15% mix. And what I’m looking forward to in the future is something similar. The good news is more than making up for it with national attendees.”
