Ministry of Magic, Dragons and Mario. Universal opens the Epic Universe park for $ 7 billion
In just over a month, Universal will officially open the gates of its latest amusement park – the first such large facility of this type in Florida for 25 years – which is to cause significant changes in the local tourist industry.
Epic Universe is the largest of the Universal parks – it covers an area of 750 acres (this corresponds to more or less 425 football fields) and consists of five thematic worlds, which was called: Harry Potter's magic world – Ministry of Magic, Nintendo's great world, how to train your dragon – Berk Island, Star Park and the Dark Universe.
The new park will join Universal Studios and Walt Disney World, creating an even more powerful entertainment complex at the Tourist Center Orlando.
Tourism has long been the main sector of the central Florida economy, attracting both domestic and foreign tourists. In 2023, Orlando was visited by over 74 million people, which was responsible for about 50% of total revenues from sales tax in Orange.
Epic changes are coming in Orlando
Epic Universe is expected not only to increase Universal's revenues, but also bring billions of dollars to the local economy.
Casandra Matej, cited by CNBC, the CEO of the industry organization for tourism Visit Orlando, said:
“This is the first completely new, large thematic park in the US in 25 years. This is a very strong reason to visit Orlando. Such an investment like Epic Universe will certainly launch the domino effect, which will bring our community enormous economic benefits.”
Epic Universe, announced for the first time in 2019, is the largest single investment that the-Mattka Universal Comcast has ever made in the amusement parks industry and in Florida in general. According to the company's CEO, Brian Roberts, the value of this investment is to be around $ 7 billion.
This huge project, whose official opening is scheduled for May 22, allows Universal to show and commercialize their rich franchise portfolio and strengthen the presence of entertainment market. The company is currently managing Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, as well as the Volcano Bay water park.
Universal drives the American economy. $ 11 billion in receipt now
According to the report prepared by Sean Snaith, director of the Institute of Economic Forecasts of the Central University of Florida, Universal Orlando generated $ 44 billion in economic impact in 2019–2023.
Direct investment in Epic Universe has already brought $ 11 billion in economic impact Throughout the country, taking into account expenses for construction, operations and employment of new employees.
In 2023 Universal Orlando created 94,000 jobs In the entire United States: from engineers and programmers, to artists, architects and set designers. About 65,000 of these jobs were created specifically for the needs of the Epic Universe construction.
Snaith's research also shows that in the first year of activity Epic Universe will generate about $ 2 billion for Florida and create over $ 17,500 new jobs. CNBC quotes Snaith, who stated:
“The work market in Florida is currently very strong. This is a” rich man becomes richer “. We anticipate that Florida will continue to overtake the rest of the country in terms of economic growth and employment.”
Development of the entire region powered by Epic Universe
After opening the park, visitors will use local hotels, car rentals, shops and restaurants, which will increase the turnover of many local companies.
Jakob Wahl, general director of the International Association of Entertainment Parks and Attractions, said: “You can already see that Epic Universe is beginning to develop thanks to construction. A new infrastructure is being created, new apartments, new hotels, new restaurants. This is an impulse for the whole region.”
Wahl also stated in an interview with CNBC that also Other attractions, including Disney, will probably take advantage of the new Universal Park.
“When Disneyland Paris was opened in 1992, other thematic parks in the region were afraid of competition. But it happened the opposite – they increased the number of visitors. And the same will probably happen in Orlando – the whole area will gain attractiveness.”
New investments – whether in new parks, new zones or new attractions – always cause competition and mobilize companies to create even more thrilling projects to attract tourists.
Both Universal and Disney usually attract the same tourists – especially coming from other states and abroad. An additional park means that many visitors will extend their holidays to be able to see Epic Universe and all other attractions of Disney and Universal.
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