While the Walt Disney Company had been the outright king of the theme park industry for nearly a decade at the time, Universal Studios Hollywood opened in 1964 as a different type of amusement experience. Truthfully, it was not much of a competitor to Walt’s wonderland. It was more of a side trip for tourists interested in the glitz and glamour Hollywood. The “park” opened with exactly one single attraction: the “Backlot Studio Tour”, giving guests a magical behind-the-scenes look at their active movie studio on gas-powered trams. For nearly thirty years, this remained the case, with new show scenes added along the tram route, but little else in the way of enthralling attractions. That is, until parent company MCA decided it was time to “Ride the Movies”.
In a bold move, the executives of Universal at the time decided to directly compete with Disney with a brand new theme park in Orlando, Florida. At the time, the Walt Disney World Resort had become the most visited vacation destination in the world by far, and CEO Michael Eisner was preparing plans for massive hotel and park expansions. In fact, Disney was so comfortable in their market share that they published a full-page welcome to Universal in the Orlando Sentinel. Still, Universal persisted. While Disney’s parks thus far had featured a few rides based on Walt Disney’s animated classics, not park had yet opened which featured a wide variety of live-action based attractions. With their vast film library on hand, Universal took action. Their plans for Universal Studios Florida included an active sister-studio to their Hollywood backlot, complete with tram tour and all. Attached to the studio would be an expansive theme park, with intricately themed, thrilling attractions based on classic Universal pictures, from Jaws to Back to the Future. For the first time, guests were being drawn away from Disney’s all-encompassing resort.
Still, the guests flowing through Universal’s gates seemed to be a trickle compared to the millions passing through Disney’s four parks. So, in 1999, Universal decided to open a second park, Islands of Adventure. Dropping the idea of an active studio, the company went all in on immersing guests within the worlds of their films. The park opened with six islands: Port of Entry, Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing. Completely based on intellectual property, the park was an instant smash hit, and the Universal Orlando Resort became a true competitor for Walt Disney World.
In the years since Islands of Adventure, Universal has followed up with several expansive additions based on Harry Potter, Transformers, King Kong, and The Fast and the Furious. Their commitment to intense physical immersion has developed a magical atmosphere beneficially comparable to that formed by Disney Imagineers in their first three decades. Overall, the competition brought to the theme park industry by this rivalry of creative passion has led to a renaissance of parks on all levels, from your local favorites to the grandest of resorts.