Disney World is pretty great, isn’t it?
From all of the attractions and restaurants to the amazing level of immersive detail, there are a TON of things to love about Disney. But even though we love Disney World, it doesn’t check ALL of the boxes, right? Let’s talk about that ONE thing that Disney Adults don’t want to admit about Disney World!
As we said, Disney World is pretty great. The level of immersion and accessibility for the whole family is just unmatched.
That being said, if you step behind the curtain of all that pixie dust and Disney magic, you’ll discover a secret that many Disney adults try to keep hush-hush — Disney’s not checking the box for heart-pounding excitement with their thrill rides. That’s sending some thrill-seekers straight into the arms of Universal Studios.
Now, to be fair, Disney World does have rides like Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom, and they’re all great rides. But Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster just went down for refurbishment, and, let’s be honest, TRON is a VERY short ride.
You can tell that the focus at Disney World is and has been on the entire family, so the attractions reflect that. If you’ve got an itch for the thrill rides, you’re going to find Disney World a little lacking. This is where Universal Orlando Resort steps in.
Universal Orlando boasts an impressive array of thrill rides that rival even the most daring roller coasters. From the high-speed twists and turns of the Jurassic World VelociCoaster to the gravity-defying antics of The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Universal keeps hearts pounding and pulses racing and that’s not even talking about the Harry Potter rides they have like Hagrid’s or Escape from Gringotts!
These are all existing attractions. We haven’t even brought up the elephant in the room, or rather the whole entire park that Universal is building right next door!
Yes, Universal Orlando is building a NEW park, and it’s already living up to its “epic” title. The new park will include a Super Nintendo World, lands based on How To Train Your Dragon, and Harry Potter could potentially make their way to the park. We’ve even just seen that a NEW dual-racing roller coaster is in the works, too!
With all that, Disney World’s got an “EPIC” challenge they’re facing. Epic Universe is promising to be a game-changer in the theme park landscape. Spanning multiple lands with unique themes, including a mysterious Universal Classic Monsters land, it’s poised to offer a fresh and thrilling alternative to the Disney World experience.
And we know that Disney is not oblivious to the changing tides. Disney has announced plans to spend $60 billion over the next 10 years investing and expanding in its parks. But right now, nothing concrete has been announced. We have heard from Disney leadership about many “blue sky” ideas — including the addition of a “Beyond Big Thunder Mountain” land in Magic Kingdom that could include Disney Villains IP.
As theme parks continue to evolve, the allure of thrill rides at Universal keeps whispering to Disney adults, and some of them are beginning to acknowledge the call.
One thing is certain and that is change is inevitable. Disney is going to have to embrace the change to continue to capture the hearts of the thrill seekers.
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How Epic Universe Is Already CHANGING Universal’s Other Theme Parks
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What do you think of Epic Universe so far and how Disney World can keep up? Let us know in the comments!
I skip most of the ‘thrill’ rides at Disney, because they make me sick. In fact the lack of so called thrill rides is why I go to Disney instead of Universal.
With Universal’s full-speed-ahead attitude with new parks and hotel construction underway, Disney has been updating and changing existing venues the teardown/rebuild process is quite time-consuming and not user-friendly… Rather vacant untapped Disney land could have been utilized to create new adventurous attractions….
Universal has really stepped up their game. It’s fun for adults and kids and the rides and the dedicated Harry Potter aspects are high quality and a genuinely good time (skip the Butter Beer). The Universal Mardi Gras is particularly entertaining (I March in New Orleans Mardi Gras parades every year BTW). I will always love WDW but with the quality at Disney going down, the IP being more and more bland on Disney products and and prices so high I’ve expanded my own horizons to include at least one visit to Universal each year.
The reason Disney continues to have my loyalty is inclusivity. So many Universal rides aren’t inclusive to different body types and there is nothing worse than paying to be shamed/walked out of a ride queue or feel anxious all day about whether you’ll fit on a ride. And this is not just for thrilling attractions where they could possibly make a case for safety reasons. Making the slow dark Mario ride unable to fit people for size reasons really turned me off Universal forever.
Over the top thrill rides are not why I go to Disney World. There are plenty of parks like Universal in Florida people can go for those experiences. Keep Disney and their mostly sweet movies front and center for family friendly attractions. How could anyone possibly explain the popularity of Peter Pan attraction? Or Jungle cruise? These attractions remain so very popular. It’s not Mission Space, a huge disaster of a ride. There are so many adults at Disney World. They far outnumber children. Most of these adults are there for atmosphere, food and walking outside in beautiful weather. They enjoy Soarin, Flight of Passage, Rise, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My husband and I are older , however we loved Tron . Let the extreme coasters exist at other parks. It’s not the big draw. If Disney brought back Mr Toads Wild Ride, the line would be extremely lengthy. Look at Figments popularity still. An attraction similar to Peter Pan featuring Coco would be amazing. More Rides like Runaway Railway are what the public wants. Rides that are kid friendly and also appealing to their parents.
Judy,
I could not agree more. Disney does not need to be a knock-off of Universal by trying to emulate its thrill rides. They are unique unto themselves, which is why they have a loyal base of customers who keep coming back year after year. Thrill rides are a dime a dozen, whether they be at Universal, Six Flags, Magic Mountain, Busch Gardens, Magic Mountain, Cedar Point, et al. The Disney Magic is all about the creative, immersive and imaginative experiences they create. Their attractions are not merely rides…..they are transportative.