Does Disney Need a Fifth Gate to Fight Epic Universe?

We’re not quite to 2025, but we’re close enough that many within the industry are already looking forward to next year.

Whether Disney wants it or not, a conversation is coming in 2025.

Many people will ask whether/when Disney is building a fifth theme park at Walt Disney World.

Now, an influential voice in the theme park community has written an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel.

The article argues that Disney will fall behind unless it moves forward and creates an entirely new park. Is that argument correct?

Let’s discuss whether Disney must add a fifth park at Walt Disney World to fight Epic Universe.

What’s Happening?

Unless you’ve got Disney blinders on and never keep up with the competition, you should know what’s coming.

During Memorial Day Weekend, Universal Epic Universe will finally debut, becoming the third theme park at Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal has hyped this park for five years, partially by happenstance.

Construction had just begun in earnest when the pandemic struck.

For a time, bored people sent drones to capture videos of the early developments at the new park.

So, for several years now, we’ve had a decent idea of what Epic Universe will be.

I’ll put it to you like this. In the summer of 2000, I wrote some articles on UniversalParksBlog that described the park’s themed lands.

Even though Universal wouldn’t confirm any of it for years, all those stories proved correct. And I was far from the only reporter doing it.

Epic Universe has been an open secret since late 2019, but it’s soon to become a very real threat to Disney’s theme park dominance.

Well, that’s what some people are saying anyway. Dennis Spiegel, the founder of International Theme Park Services, is one of them.

Spiegel wrote this commentary in the Orlando Sentinel. His stated belief is that Disney will fall behind unless it builds a new theme park.

The theme park expert feels strongly that Epic Universe presents “a direct challenge to Disney’s long-held technological attraction supremacy.”

Spiegel bases his argument on the upcoming debut of The Battle at the Ministry, a Harry Potter attraction ostensibly of Disney quality.

Is Epic Universe an Existential Threat?

That’s the question that Disney executives are asking as they evaluate the unprecedented upcoming event of Epic Universe.

Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, and Universal’s Islands of Adventure debuted in 1999.

So, other Universal Studios theme parks have threatened Disney in the past, at least theoretically.

In reality, neither park was anywhere near the level of Disney, which made comparisons between the two companies quaint.

Then, the gap closed in June 2010 when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter arrived and immediately spiked attendance.

In the nearly 15 years since then, Universal fans have claimed that there’s a battle for supremacy in Central Florida.

Disney fans typically roll their eyes at these claims and say, “Scoreboard.” And they’re right. There’s still a huge gap.

However, many plugged-in analysts like Spiegel feel strongly that Epic Universe will diminish, if not totally eliminate, Disney’s current advantage.

In his editorial, the analyst mentions “new, immersive attractions that promise to set new standards in entertainment” as the reason.

For its part, Disney has displayed no outward concern about the upcoming park and publicly stated that its summer 2025 forecasts look great.

Since Disney knows its future hotel reservation sales better than anyone else, we should accept that statement at face value.

Skeptics and Universal loyalists will still hold the opinion that Universal Studios is gaining on Disney, though.

Spiegel suggests that Universal’s threat stems from “cutting-edge technology, beloved intellectual properties (IPs), and an unprecedented level of technological immersion.”

The analyst argues that Disney will make a mistake if it “rest(s) on its laurels in the face of such formidable forthcoming competition.”

So, Spiegel wrote an entire editorial imploring Disney to build a fifth gate.

Could Disney Build a Fifth Gate?

I broached this topic in June, but let’s be honest that the topic isn’t going away anytime soon. And why would it?

Diehard Disney fans have clamored for a fifth theme park at Walt Disney since before Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened!

Folks, that was 26 years ago. That’s a long time to keep people waiting, but it also reflects CEO Bob Iger’s theme park philosophy.

Rather than create a new theme park and gain one set of splashy headlines, Iger prefers a modular approach.

His idea of proper theme park management entails every current Disney park gaining new attractions and/or theme lands each decade.

Recently, EPCOT and Disney California Adventure completed seven-year transformations of their infrastructure.

During roughly the same timeline, Animal Kingdom added Pandora – The World of Avatar.

Meanwhile, Disney’s Hollywood Studios introduced Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which Disneyland added.

At Magic Kingdom, Disney overhauled Tomorrowland and added/re-themed several attractions.

That’s the Iger style of theme park improvement. Disney wants to hype something new with its marketing campaign each year.

While a new theme park would be phenomenal, Iger considers other concerns like the need for new infrastructure and expense.

Also, there’s the sticking point that a fifth gate would require an “all hands on deck” approach from Imagineering.

That would distract from other projects like the upcoming Beyond Big Thunder project leading to Villains Land.

I suspect fans would rather Disney focus on that project to the point of obsession.

Then again, there’s nothing precluding Disney from making an entirely new theme park for its villains.

Disney doesn’t do that because Iger and his team believe they wouldn’t get good bang for the buck on a fifth gate.

Does Disney Need a Fifth Park?

The honest answer here is “absolutely not!” But there’s a caveat here.

When someone gives you a gift, how often do you NEED it? Like, could you live without that item?

The answer is that I’m sure you could. Still, you like that new gift and are happy to have it, right?

That same statement applies to a fifth theme park at Disney World. Disney doesn’t need it, but fans would love it.

Also, we know that one will come at some point. When Disney had its feud with Florida’s government, two things happened.

First, Disney wrote its own paperwork giving itself the right to build a new theme park.

After Florida officials negated that law, the two parties eventually negotiated a new one.

That agreement again provided Disney with the needed governmental authorization to build a fifth gate.

So, Disney wants this…at some point. Where I disagree with the editorial is the timeline.

Spiegel suggests that Disney must act quickly to eliminate Universal’s perceived momentum.

I say there’s no rush, and I feel that way for two reasons. The first is that many recent Universal attractions…haven’t been good.

While I’m as optimistic about Epic Universe as anyone you’ll ever meet, I don’t view the excellence of the park’s attractions as a foregone conclusion.

I’m in wait-and-see mode because of stuff like Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious: Supercharged.

Universal needs to prove it can overcome its recent track record of mediocrity.

Then, we have the more significant point for Disney. At the 2024 D23 Expo, the company just announced several expansion projects.

Those need to be Disney’s focus until they’re done. And this company can’t simply scale up because Imagineering is a special skill.

Will Disney Build a Fifth Gate…and When?

Yes, at some point, Disney World will add an entirely new theme park.

Disney officials fought too hard with the local government for that right not to use it.

The debate lies with the timeline, as Disney has more than 14 years to create a fifth gate.

So, I look to the times when Disney is likely to announce such a project.

The moment when that reveal makes the most sense is at Destination D23, the D23 event hosted at Disney World.The next one of these occurs in 2025, but I’m skeptical Disney will announce then.

I suspect the 2027 event better fits the timeline. You shouldn’t even get overly excited about that, though.

In considering all of Disney’s upcoming projects, they won’t be done by then. So, that pushes the announcement back to 2029.

Then, a new theme park should take five years to build.

Friends, I think we’re still a decade away from a new Disney World theme park. But I’d love for Disney to prove me wrong…

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Photo: Disney/Universal