Universal’s Epic Universe opens next month on May 22, bringing a massive new theme park to Orlando. The park includes five distinct worlds, 11 new rides, and over 50 new experiences spread across 750 acres. This comes as Walt Disney World continues its pattern of reimagining attractions rather than adding substantial new ones. What’s behind this strategy, and why isn’t Disney matching Universal’s expansion efforts?
Disney’s Capital Priorities: Cruise Ships and DVC
While Disney announced a “turbocharged” investment of $60 billion into its experiences division over the next decade, a closer look reveals concerning priorities for theme park fans.
The company’s capital expenditure plan allocates a significant portion to Disney Cruise Line rather than Walt Disney World improvements. In their latest annual report, Disney forecasts $8 billion in capital expenditures for 2025, up from $5 billion in 2024. However, this increase is primarily for “cruise ship fleet expansion” and only secondarily for “new guest offerings at our theme parks”.
Of the touted $60 billion investment plan, only 50% is earmarked for theme parks and resorts, with 20% going to Disney Cruise Line and “other” ventures. This diverts billions away from improving the core theme park experience.
Disney Vacation Club and cruise ships deliver high profits with less maintenance than theme parks. Yet these investments do nothing to enhance Disney’s most profitable business segment – the theme parks themselves.
Currently, the most significant investment is going to expansions and refreshes at Disneyland Paris, specifically in the Walt Disney Studios park, which will be renamed to Disney Adventure World at the completion of the project.
Building vs. Rebuilding
When looking since 2020, Walt Disney World has opened surprisingly few truly new attractions. Most have been replacements:
True Additions (New Construction)
- TRON Lightcycle Run (Magic Kingdom)
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (EPCOT)
Reimagined Attractions (Replacements)
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (replaced Splash Mountain)
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (replaced Universe of Energy)
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway (replaced Great Movie Ride)
- Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! (refresh of existing show)
- Test Track 3.0 (refresh of existing attraction)
- Country Bear Musical Jamboree (replaced Country Bear Jamboree)
- Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After (replaces Lightning McQueen Racing Academy)
- Zootopia: Better Zoogether (replaces It’s Tough To Be A Bug)
- The Little Mermaid Musical Adventure (refresh of existing show)
Meanwhile, Universal creates an entirely new theme park with fresh experiences that expand their overall capacity. Epic Universe features lands dedicated to Super Nintendo World, Universal Monsters, Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and more.
Walt Disney World has added two new in-park Disney Vacation Club establishments, one of which replaced an opening day attraction open to all guests. Two new bars will open this year at EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.
A new nighttime parade, Disney Starlight, is coming this summer. But this, too, is merely to replace long-absent nighttime parades such as SpectroMagic and Main Street Electrical Parade.
Vague Timelines for Announced Expansions
Disney has announced several major projects at Walt Disney World, but timelines remain vague.
Tropical Americas (Animal Kingdom)
- Groundbreaking: January 17, 2025
- Projected opening: “By 2027”
- Current status: Early construction phase
Cars Land (Magic Kingdom)
- Construction begins: Sometime in 2025
- Opening: “2029 (Maybe?)”
- Current status: Awaiting permit approvals
- Will replace Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island
Villains Land (Magic Kingdom)
- Construction: Said to begin “very, very soon”
- Opening date: Not announced
- Current status: Concept art only
Monsters Inc. Land (Hollywood Studios)
- Construction: Starting after June 7, 2025 closure of Muppets area
- Opening date: Not announced
- Current status: Concept art only
These timelines stretch years into the future, with opening dates that could easily shift. Cars Land, for instance, has a tentative opening four years from now. These far-off dates contrast sharply with Universal’s decisive action in building Epic Universe.
Disney’s Track Record of Abandoned Projects
History suggests some of these announced projects may never materialize.
Disney has a pattern of canceling or drastically scaling back announced projects, especially during economic challenges. Recent examples include Cherry Tree Lane, Play! Pavilion, and Spaceship Earth renovations.
The company consistently falls short of its own spending projections. In 2023, Disney projected capital expenditures of $6.7 billion but spent only $4.9 billion. This pattern has repeated for years, making their ambitious announcements less credible.
During the “Disney Decade” of the 1990s, major expansions were halted due to Euro Disneyland’s financial troubles. If economic headwinds appear, which projects might face the chopping block this time?
The Path Forward
For Disney to truly “turbocharge” its theme parks, it needs to focus on actual expansion rather than replacement. Their current strategy of reimagining attractions maintains the same guest capacity while creating only the illusion of growth.
With permits for some expansions finally moving forward, Disney has an opportunity to change course. However, guests will need to wait years to see if these plans become reality or join the list of canceled Disney dreams.
Until then, the contrast between Epic Universe’s grand opening and Disney’s slow-moving reimaginings will continue to highlight Walt Disney World’s real problem: too much reimagining with not enough adding.
Check back here at MainGatePass.com and follow us on X (Twitter) for the latest Disney Parks news & updates.
