Every year, there are new experiences that become available in Disney World.
Magic Kingdom
Last year alone, TRON Lightcycle /Run opened, Disney celebrated their 100th Anniversary for the whole year, Splash Mountain permanently closed to make way for a new attraction, and those are just to name a few. And while there are tons of exciting things coming for 2024, we’re wondering if it will be enough.
What do we mean by “not being enough?” Well, another Orlando theme park currently has a massive expansion planned for early 2025. And by expansion, we mean an entire new park.
©Universal | Epic Universe Concept Art
Yes, Universal Orlando is building a whole new park called Epic Universe to open in early to mid 2025, located not too far from the existing two parks. Additionally, they’ll be getting three new hotels — one inside the park and two located close by.
©Universal
Yeah…that’s a little hard to compete with. Disney isn’t planning a new theme park by any means, but there are lots of exciting things on the way. One of the biggest is the introduction of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is taking the place of Splash Mountain (but will have the same ride system).
@Disney
Additionally, we should see ALL the walls come down in EPCOT to complete the EPCOT Transformation. This will include the opening of Communicore Plaza and Communicore Hall, as well as open up the park to be fully walkable again without walls blocking your path. Now, this was technically supposed to be done in 2023…but we have hope it’ll finally happen this year!
Communicore Hall Construction
We also know that Country Bear Jamboree is getting a facelift/revamp in Magic Kingdom (which has prompted some mixed feelings from guests to say the least) in 2024, and Test Track in EPCOT will also be undergoing a transformation. Country Bear Jamboree will close on Jan. 27th and reopen this summer. However, we don’t know when Test Track’s closure and revamp will begin OR end.
©Disney
Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. will also officially be going away sometime soon (no timeline announced just yet) and be replaced with a new land themed after the Tropical Americas. This could include experiences inspired by Encanto and Indiana Jones, but we don’t have any concrete information just yet.
@Disney
Not to mention that we’re getting new sections of hotels like the DVC tower at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and new restaurants like the Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers coming to the BoardWalk.
Polynesian Village Construction
But is this enough to compete with a WHOLE new park? It’s hard to say, and it’s up to each individual. Universal doesn’t have the Disney magic that Disney World does, but older kids and adults may really enjoy exploring a new park with IPs from many different Universal films and worlds.
Mickey Premium Bar
Overall, we’re going to have to wait until we get closer to the end of 2024 to see what’s happened in Disney World, and how Epic Universe is coming along to really see how they’re comparing. As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news!
We compared Disney and Universal to see how they compete as they currently stand — check it out!
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Disneys arrogance will eventually cost them. Universal is building an entire park in less time than Disney took to create a rest area in the middle of Epcot. They refuse to update things, instead letting rides break down pretty regularly & refuse to build on their #1 attraction, Guardians, instead just thinking it’s the best, let’s just coast on that.
Completely agree with Dan. The quick answer to whether it’s enough is…NO! Disney seems to think putting a bandaid on an oozing wound is sufficient to satisfy customers. We already have a big trip planned for 2025 to see Epic. We MIGHT include some Disney since we are already there but it’s definitely NOT the focus of the trip!
The cost at Disney way outweighs what you get. Six flags offers a full season pass for $105, which includes parking, a 15% discount on food and merchandise, a fast pass for a single ride, and 46 rides to choose from while you’re at the park, with a wide variety of types of rides to try. They also have shows available and themed nights for Halloween and Christmas.
By contrast, Disney’s Incredipass costs $1449 for the year and only offers five more rides than Six Flags. And these rides are divided among four parks.
Granted, Disney has likely more shows than Six Flags does, specialty restaurants, and the like.
But the fact of the matter is, if you’re going for the day to Hollywood Studios, it costs you as much as a season pass to Sux Flags to get in the door. Then you spend the day waiting in line for nine available rides, restaurants that are booked out within five minutes of reservations being dropped sixty days ahead of time, and a couple of shows that close down by 4-5 pm.
They have way more crowds than available things to do in the park. And now they charge you money to get on the rides if you don’t want to wait for Slinky Dog Dash for three hours.
For a family of four, you can easily drop a mortgage payment on each day at the parks, even with an annual pass in hand.
I’ve been going yearly since 1991. I can’t justify the cost anymore. I don’t know how families with kids do it.
I agree that Disney takes way too long to complete construction. Everyone has gotten lazy since the Pandemic. But, I still prefer the vibe of Disney World. I always felt Disney is cleaner and more joyful. Maybe it’s because I’m older. I was at Universal almost a year ago with a niece and nephew. I wasn’t thrilled. The Harry Potter area (just the original Park) is just a lot of shops. Big Deal…a fire breathing dragon. A lot of their rides were old and rundown too. If you have young children, Disney is the place. If you have teens or older children, they’ll want to ride the coasters, which I don’t do anymore. DISNEY IS MY HAPPY PLACE.
Disney doesn’t have to worry about me because I have not in the past, nor do I have any today and I can say that I won’t ever care to go to Universal in the future. Never cared for them, never will. Am I saying Disney is doing great in their maintenance or in addition of a “5th Gate” ? I think not. All politics aside I like Disney, and while it has faults, they won’t lose me. Been going there since 1976 (High School trip) and still going in the future, 19 times, 17th since 2000. “Muse” means to think, “a” means to not, “amuse” means “not think”. I go to Disney to be “amused” , not to worry about work, politics or any of my problems.
Hakuna Matata, y’all!
WDW is their Cash Cow and they are using it to bolster their other losses. Time it catches up with them. They need another whole new park just to offset all of the hotel expansion
I used to agree that Universal doesn’t have the “magic” that Disney World does, but after my last few visits to both…not sure I believe that anymore. Childhood nostalgia can only cover so much until the reality crashes in and Universal is going full steam ahead while Disney is just coasting on “feelings” instead of the tangible. While I’m afraid Disney is in for a very unpleasant wake-up call, I think it is what will be needed to remind them why these parks were originally built.
Sad, we love Disney, but simply putting a fresh coat of paint on things does not make them new. As far as Dinosaur, why Indiana Jones? It’s a dead franchise…
It took years to get Tron in and they already had a prototype at another park. Redoing splash mountain doesn’t count as a new ride. Last time I was at haunted mansion the wall paper was falling off the portrait room wall. MK is a shell of what it was and is going downhill fast. My DVC room is now just a staging area to get to Universal
Exactly this Dan, I know it’s new land so they don’t have to worry about disruption to an existing park but the speed in which this entire new area has been built is astonishing when you compare it to most Disney construction over the last decade. I’m sure Tron took 7 years to build to the point where the outdoor elements were already faded and rusting when the ride opened.