Epic Universe opens in Orlando on May 22nd, 2025, and we’ve been so curious to see how this massive new park with FIVE new lands will affect Disney World.
We were very surprised to read that out of the 76 readers who replied to our question, about 40% of the responses said the opening of Epic Universe HAS changed their mind about visiting the park! And one of the biggest reasons for this? Well, we’ll let reader Frank state it best in his own words:
“I was a Disney die hard up until about three years ago. I’m all about Universal now. They treat customers better as well as the annual Pass Holders.“
Yep, a big reason a lot of former Disney goers are switching over to Universal is due to Disney’s rising costs and the benefits Universal Orlando Passholders receive. Reader Amy said something similar we want to highlight:
“We gave up on Disney because it’s gotten to be cost than we are willing to spend – we got APs at Universal instead. We’ve had so much fun & we’re super excited for the new park.”
Other readers have shared that Disney’s changes to their Disability Access Service (DAS) system have caused them to switch over to Universal, which uses a different system than Disney.
“Why Can’t We Enjoy Both?”
Around 25% of our readers who replied said that Epic Universe isn’t necessarily changing their thoughts on visiting Disney or the new park, but it does make them want to extend their trips so they can visit both! Reader Cindy said it best:
“Right now you can only get 1-days tickets to Epic. I can spare a day out of my WDW vacation for Epic 😀 … we already booked it.”
Many other readers said that they’re interested in visiting Epic Universe, but only once tickets are on sale for more than just one day at a time. Others said they certainly plan to visit, but not until the initial crowds from opening die down, and we can totally see why! We’re expecting crowds to be LARGE at least the first few months of opening, so if you’re heading to the park during that time, pack your patience!
A Flat Out NO
The remaining 45% of readers who replied said that Epic Universe opening has no impact on their thoughts of traveling to Universal over Disney. While many readers just said a flat out “no,” others gave reasoning as to why, and one of the reasons we saw referenced the most is best said by reader Linda:
“Not at all! Universal was not a park I was able to enjoy when I was a much larger person so I decided then and there that if they couldn’t accommodate people of size they don’t need my money. I’m much smaller now and could definitely ride everything but my money will always go to Disney.”
Magic Kingdom
Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios are not known for being very accommodating for those with larger frames, but we will tell you that we had a reporter in the park for the first time recently who shared with us that Epic Universe is appearing to be MUCH more friendly toward a wider variety of body types!
Living With The Land
Additionally, other readers shared that the theming of Epic Universe just doesn’t hold a lot of interest for them, or that Universal Orlando parks just aren’t a draw for them. However, another big reason our readers have said they’re not interested in going we feel was worded perfectly by Laura:
“Just came back from universal. We had fun, hotel was fantastic and loved the all day express pass. The pass was bit pricey but we got every ride in in one day. Didn’t give off any ‘feeling’ like disney does. It’s not as spread out so there is more relaxation time. Def will go back especially for epic. Just doesn’t give the ‘feelings’ like DW.”
EPCOT
A lot of our readers said they don’t get that same magical feeling from Universal that Disney gives them, and we agree — there’s definitely a different feeling between the two theme parks! Some people prefer one over the other, while others enjoy both for different reasons, and the good news is that there’s no right answer — whatever is best for you and your group is what you should do.
4 Replies to “Why Disney Adults Are Suddenly Changing Their Minds About Epic Universe”
The magic has been gone from Disney for awhile now. My family has been over 24 times to Disney, but I no longer has a desire to go there anymore. It is too stressful, you never get to ride all the rides you like anymore & having to make reservations & pay extra for passes & then maybe still not getting the rides you want. It just isn’t worth the effort. Not fun anymore & way too expensive & crowded.
Wait. A while back there was an article in All Ears that said Disney attributed attendance drop to “rich people taking the year off to go to Europe” or something to that effect. After reading about the reasons people are opting for Universal over Disney, it would seem Disney needs to listen more to what their guests are saying and less to what they think is the problem.
👍 I will visit universal Orlando and epic universe before going to spend the rest of my time at Disney I love universal and Disney can’t wait to come in Dec /jan 2026
We honestly prefer Universal Orlando over DisneyWorld. The service is better and the price point is beyond better. Disney has gotten too big for their britches and has made it more complicated to go there than necessary. We used to be die hard Disney park fans but no longer. When we go to Orlando we do all the Universal Parks and maybe one Disney Park. Usually Animal Kingdom.
The magic has been gone from Disney for awhile now. My family has been over 24 times to Disney, but I no longer has a desire to go there anymore. It is too stressful, you never get to ride all the rides you like anymore & having to make reservations & pay extra for passes & then maybe still not getting the rides you want. It just isn’t worth the effort. Not fun anymore & way too expensive & crowded.
Wait. A while back there was an article in All Ears that said Disney attributed attendance drop to “rich people taking the year off to go to Europe” or something to that effect. After reading about the reasons people are opting for Universal over Disney, it would seem Disney needs to listen more to what their guests are saying and less to what they think is the problem.
👍 I will visit universal Orlando and epic universe before going to spend the rest of my time at Disney I love universal and Disney can’t wait to come in Dec /jan 2026
We honestly prefer Universal Orlando over DisneyWorld. The service is better and the price point is beyond better. Disney has gotten too big for their britches and has made it more complicated to go there than necessary. We used to be die hard Disney park fans but no longer. When we go to Orlando we do all the Universal Parks and maybe one Disney Park. Usually Animal Kingdom.