This morning, Universal Orlando Resort announced plans to build a 4ththeme park called Epic Universe. Currently, the three parks at Universal Orlando Resort include Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and Volcano Bay water park.
Details of Epic Universe
Although rumors about a 4thpark have been swirling for a while, we still don’t have too many details on this new Epic Universe. In fact, Universal’s own announcement is overrun with traffic, and the site keeps going down.
The new park will not be attached to the three current parks. Its location is about four miles away, just north of the Orange County Convention Center. The new theme park will also have hotels, stores and restaurants (of course!)
While we don’t know any specifics about the rides and attractions, the internet has been abuzz with predictions. Nintendo World? Jurassic Park World? Maybe.
Universal Orlando vs. Disney World
I’ve never taken my kids to Universal Orlando, although my older two have seen commercials and want to go. The last time I went, I wasn’t very impressed with the rides. Admittedly, some of the coasters were just too extreme for my taste. My family has made plans to visit more than once, only to cancel them in favor of Disney World.
My husband visited Universal recently as part of a work convention. Although the Harry Potter section was cool, he wasn’t overly impressed with all the virtual reality rides. So many of the rides there are just like 4D movies.
For my family, Disney World has much more variety in rides and attractions. Universal Orlando rides are geared for older kids and adults, for the most part. Disney also makes it so easy to get to onsite hotels with the Magical Express, and it keeps you onsite with the bus/monorail/sky ride system.
That said, I think competition between the two parks is necessary to keep the new attractions coming. My family is planning a trip to Orlando next summer, and I think that is the year we will finally take the kids to Universal Orlando. If we like it enough, maybe we’ll make plans to return in a few years when Epic Universe opens.
Are you excited about this 4thUniversal park? Do your kids prefer Disney World or Universal?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
We visited Disney World and Universal Orlando for the first time in 2017. This was also my first time to either of the parks. My kids, who were ages 19, 16, 12, and 6 at the time, all preferred Universal. In fact, when we had an extra day to spend either place, they chose to go back to Universal (my 6 year old chose to stay and play in the hotel pool!). They found the rides at Disney to be too tame, and plus they are all Harry Potter fans. I wonder if the fact that they had never been to either place played a role in their preference as well-they don’t have years of memories from Disney.
@Andrea I’m not too surprised your older kids preferred Universal. I’m actually a little scared that my two boys will prefer it over Disney. Although last year, they had a blast on Everest and the new Avatar ride. I get motion sickness on most of those movie-screen rides, so that’s why I still don’t think I will love Universal. In order to survive Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, I had to double down on medicine. Disney World is very nostalgic for me.