Credit: UniversalThe competition is heating up between Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort, and it seems there is another feather in the cap to give Universal Studios Orlando.
The Walt Disney Company made some exciting announcements during its quarterly shareholder’s meeting on Wednesday, including sequels for Zootopia, Frozen, and Toy Story, as well as an all-new Avatar experience that will be coming to Disneyland Resort.
But, that was all overshadowed by the news that Disney would be laying off a total of 7,000 people worldwide. That would be about 3% of the roughly 220,000 people it reportedly employs. Though Disney posted an increase of 35% on the Parks side of things for an impressive total of $2.1 billion in revenue, the company as a whole is still looking to make cuts and Disney CEO Bob Iger has yet to lift the hiring freeze that was implemented by Bob Chapek several months ago.
While Disney plans even more cuts, its competition just announced a massive hiring plan.
Universal Orlando Resort is looking to hire 2,500 new jobs for its theme parks and Resorts, which include Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Universal’s Volcano Bay, and each of its Resort Hotels.
This is quite an impressive number when thinking about the fact that cuts– in assumingly all areas of The Walt Disney Company– are set to take over the competition.
Universal has made strides over the last couple of years in its attempt to catch, and even surpass, Disney. Universal Orlando is in the process of building Epic Universe, an all-new theme park that will open in 2025. When it opens, Universal will have three theme parks– just one less of Disney, which houses Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
In addition, both Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure reported more attendance than any Disney Park outside of Magic Kingdom. These are all signs that competition is brewing, and while Disney continues to post impressive financial numbers on the Parks side of things, the company is still not progressing forward at a rate as fast or rapid as Universal, at least not currently.
What do you think of the competition heating up between Universal Orlando and Disney World? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!