Disney Predicted To Fail After Epic Universe Success

With Epic Universe now feeling very real and very close to opening, theme park fans are wondering what the response from Disney will be, and some are speculating the company may fail to take the right lessons from Universal’s expected success.

With the release of Universal’s first detailed look at Epic Universe last month, fans were delighted to have confirmation of the five immersive lands coming to the brand-new park. Four areas are based on existing Universal IPs, or known franchises, including an expansion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, How To Train Your Dragon, Universal’s Classic Monsters, and SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. While these areas have been rumored for over a year now, Celestial Park surprised fans with its announcement as a completely original concept for Epic Universe, one that will reportedly “put the ‘park’ back in ‘theme park.’”

With the amount of hype and excitement the reveal has generated, discussions have arisen about Disney’s lack of competition in comparison. Disney has gained some criticism lately over its decision to flood the parks with more IPs, effectively starting to erase its original attractions and ideas within the parks. This controversial decision has earned the company backlash as fans bemoan the loss of the original concepts that once made the Disney parks so unique.

In a thread posted to X (formerly Twitter), one user states that they’re worried that Disney will take the wrong idea away from the potential success of Epic Universe. “Disney shouldn’t chase. IP is Universal’s bag. They’ve always appealed to what’s hot NOW & when things get dated, they aren’t afraid to rip it out and replace. Disney is not that,” said @DisMahhhlon. “Disney excels when it shoots for timelessness. Nostalgia, creating things we never thought we wanted, allowing creativity to thrive unabashedly. This is what led to attractions that are still 60+ years later. IP has its place in Disney, but shouldn’t be the defining identity.”

Most of the possible announcements Disney has teased or confirmed in the last several years are highly focused on IPs. Even conceptual projects like Beyond Big Thunder Mountain are centered on specific properties like Coco (2017) or Encanto (2021). Although it feels like Disney has doubled down lately, it’s a shift that’s been years in the making, it’s just becoming more discussed as rethemes start to overtake “original” classics like Splash Mountain.

Despite the Disney parks reporting near-similar profits over the last year and climbing their way back up after suffering a drop in attendance after COVID-19, Epic Universe has been highly-anticipated for several years and the announcements and looks that fans are already getting are more than proving that the wait will be worth it. Disney has a long way to go to try and compete with Universal once the park opens, but with fans clearly already worrying about Disney’s laser focus on IP chasing, it’s possible that Disney may fail to learn the right lessons from Epic Universe’s predicted success.

Do you think Disney will learn from the success of Universal, or will they take away the wrong lesson? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.