Is Universal trying to take young guests from Disney? – DePaoli on DeParks

The Walt Disney Company has made it clear that their latest strategy for the theme parks is to fill them with less people who spend more money. In theory, this would make the parks less crowded, and therefore a “better” guest experience, without a monetary loss.

The problem with seeking guests who are willing to spend more money is that, in general, this tends to be more established families. It’s not uncommon for a young family with young children to have less expendable income. Especially in these days of what seems like endlessly rising costs in every area of life.  

The fact is, Disney has never been an inexpensive vacation. But now it can become simply absurd when you account for travel, hotel, food, consistently rising theme park admission, plus numerous add-ons like Genie+ and Lightning Lane, just to have a full vacation. What once felt like a rite of passage for many families is simply out of reach. Enter Universal Studios.

Universal Studios theme parks has had a long tradition of marketing themselves as the non-Disney vacation, featuring thrill seeking adventures versus Disney’s pixie dust filled fantasies. Basically, once kids hit their teenage years, it was time to move onto Universal theme parks. That’s not saying Universal didn’t have any attractions for children, the same way Disney had some attractions for thrill-seeking guests. But they each have their brands that they’ve stuck to for the most part.

But recently we’ve seen some interesting moves on Universal’s part. These moves can make you wonder whether or not they’re trying to create more affordable options for young families with young children.

First, there is the new development that is coming to the former Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone area of Universal Studios Florida. As the name goes, KidZone was made for kids to enjoy. The fact that they’re demolishing much that was in that area to build a brand new space for kids shows that Universal is willing to invest heavily in this younger demographic. If they weren’t taking it seriously, they could have simply done an inexpensive facelift on the already existing space.

Second is an even more impressive undertaking with the proposed theme park in Texas. Universal has mentioned that this theme park will be smaller in scale than typical, for the specific purpose of appealing to young families with young children. That sounds a lot like the demographic Disney typically targets.

In both cases, Universal hasn’t confirmed any particular themes for the updated land and new park. But based on concept art and clues, it seems that DreamWorks Animation (a subsidiary of Universal Pictures) is where this is all heading. This could include franchises like Shrek, Trolls, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, and more.