Walt Disney's (DIS) Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California compete for customers with Comcast's (CMCSA) Universal Studios in Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood in California.
Both companies want families to come and spend their entire vacation ensconced in their theme park, its on-site resorts, and all the other nearby, on-property amenities.
Planning a trip to either companies' park takes a fair amount of planning. You not only have to pick a hotel -- something especially hard in Florida where both companies have seemingly endless options -- you also need to buy the right tickets, plan your meals, and make an awful lot of other choices before you set foot in an actual theme park.
Countless guides have been written about both Disney's and Universal's parks. And Disney has multiple resources including its app and blog design to make planning your trip easier. Universal has had similar resources, but now, Disney's big rival has created a new resource, which is really a collection of resources designed to make planning your trip and navigating its park once you get there easier.
Image Source: Universal Studios.
Universal Launches a New Planning and Information "Hub"
Since Universal can't assign guests a Minion as a tour guide, the company has taken steps to make vacation planning and being at the parks easier to understand.
"The Discover Universal content hub was created in response to feedback we have received from you, our guests and -- hopefully -- potential future guests, about wanting a one-stop resource for learning everything you need to know about Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. Here you’ll find informative articles, entertaining original video series, and a brand new vacation planning podcast to give you the must-dos, must-eats, must-knows, how-tos, and so much more," the company wrote in a blog post.
It's a collection of everything from Universal's first-ever podcast to a video series, Ride Guys, that answer questions about the company's rides. That may sound like it's not needed but some people have a limited thrill tolerance, while others might be traveling with kids where scare factors or how a ride actually works matters.
"How fast does that ride go? Does it go upside down? What’s the ride height requirements? And what about hidden easter eggs? These are some of the questions our Ride Guys hosts hope to answer as they take you through an entertaining tour of the must-do attractions at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, and strap in to show you what the actual experiences are like," the company added.
Additional resources will cover dining and hotel options as well as traveling to both U.S. Universal locations.
Universal Steps Up Its Battle With Disney
Covering everything Disney has become a major industry for bloggers, podcasters and social media personalities. Universal has people who do the same but not at the same level as its key rival.
By launching its own media service that answers guest and potential guest questions, Universal provides a needed service. The company appears to be doing so in a fashion that's similar to how independent bloggers, podcasters, and social media personalities cover Disney.
This gives Universal a chance to control its message while also giving customers and potential customers the information they want. The company appears to be doing that in a fashion that's designed to be fun, because nobody wants vacation planning to be a chore.
A service like Discover Universal will become more important when the theme park company opens its third Florida theme park, Epic Universe. That park has been delayed, but it's on its way Comcast CFO Michael Cavanagh said during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.
"Epic is full steam ahead. I was down there a couple of weeks ago. And the construction is going really well. And I think we said this in the past, but we expect that park to open in '25 and certainly in time for the summer of '25 and we'll be back to you and everybody when we get more granular on the date," he said.
When that park launches, it won't have the guides and internet/social media content that the existing parks have. Universal will be able to use its own service to get the needed information to the public, which, along with the new park, may help it take some customers who might otherwise have gone to Disney.
