Common Orlando Resort has pulled again the curtain on its upcoming enlargement—and the battle for vacationers in central Florida is prone to turn out to be much more fierce within the coming years.
Common Epic Universe is slated to open in 2025. In an announcement video Tuesday, Common revealed the 750-acre theme park will embody 5 new worlds, devoted to Harry Potter, Nintendo, Learn how to Practice Your Dragon, and extra. A 500-room lodge adjoining to the park will open subsequent yr.
The mission has been underway since 2019—and was initially set to open final yr, however was delayed, partially, due to the pandemic. This might be Common’s fourth park in Orlando, becoming a member of Common Studios Florida, Common Islands of Journey, and Common’s Volcano Bay water park. The corporate additionally has parks in California, Japan, China, and Singapore.
The park’s format is designed to let guests enter a “portal,” which takes them to 5 totally different lands. Right here’s what you’ll discover while you go to.
[Rendering: Universal]
Celestial Park—Your entry into Common Epic Universe, with eating, purchasing and three sights: a carousel, a dual-launch coaster, and interactive dancing fountains. The Helios Grand Lodge will even be positioned on this space.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic—Bringing collectively parts from each the Harry Potter and Unbelievable Beasts franchises, this lets followers discover worldwide “wizarding” communities. There might be a experience, however moderately than giving any particulars, the corporate solely teased at it.
Tremendous Nintendo World—Already a success in California, this Nintendo-themed world is alleged to be interactive and loaded with acquainted characters from Mario to Bowser. Among the many rides? A live-action Mario Kart.
Learn how to Practice Your Dragon’s Isle of Berk—Simply as you had been capable of ride Hagrid’s motorbike at Common Orlando, you’ll have the ability to experience a dragon on this zone. You’ll additionally have the ability to discover the Viking village on the coronary heart of the story.
Darkish Universe—Common will get again to its roots on this space the place monsters roam. The purpose right here is to reimagine traditional monsters, from Frankenstein to Dracula.
Disney prepares for battle
As Common appears to achieve a much bigger share of the Orlando tourism market, Disney shouldn’t be planning to cede any of its viewers. Disney has 4 parks there, and attendance has been an everyday bright spot in earnings. Final September, the corporate introduced plans to spend $60 billion over the following 10 years on capital expenditures at its Disney Parks, Experiences and Merchandise division, which oversees all of its theme park holdings. That was double the quantity the corporate had beforehand dedicated—and comes regardless of the ongoing legal battles with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The corporate has already unveiled a number of initiatives for each the near- and longer-term.
Later this yr, as an example, the corporate will replace Walt Disney World’s Nation Bear Jamboree exhibit, and a considerable replace is on the way in which to Epcot’s Check Observe, the corporate introduced at its Vacation spot D23 occasion. Particulars of these adjustments weren’t disclosed, however Disney stated its Imagineers would look again to historic rides, just like the World of Movement (the experience Check Observe changed) for inspiration.
Long run, the adjustments might be extra substantial.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom might be receiving experiences impressed by the Encanto and Indiana Jones movies. The corporate additionally mentioned a “tropical Americas” theme with quite a lot of biodiverse areas. Disney didn’t give a timeframe for its completion. And when saying the adjustments final yr, Walt Disney Imagineering chief artistic officer Bruce Vaughn famous, “there’s a protracted technique to go and much more to find, however Imagineering groups in Florida are as much as the problem.”
In the meantime, future enlargement plans for Disney World’s Magic Kingdom are stated to be the “largest ever for the park.” The world past Huge Thunder Mountain Railroad is being seen for an enlargement even larger than Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Pandora—The World of Avatar. New sights, eating places, and reveals are all on the desk, however Disney stated it’s nonetheless an undefined mission, with no specifics as Imagineers analysis and plan what to do.
Which means there’s no agency timeline but, both. Some adjustments might take as a lot as a decade to finish. And that might permit Common to make a dent in Disney’s long-time dominance as a tourism magnet.
