Epic Universe: An epic impact
While Epic Universe has already spurred increased business for travel agencies, they are far from the only ones benefitting: Throughout its construction, the park has produced economic impact to the tune of billions of dollars throughout the country, and it is expected to generate billions more now that it is fully operational. Much of that is in central Florida.
'When a major new park debuts, the entire region benefits,' said Casandra Matej, CEO of Visit Orlando. 'Visitors don't just go to one park — they stay in our hotels and resorts, dine in local restaurants, shop in our stores and explore our diverse attractions. It's truly a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats scenario, from global brands to our small businesses.'
Universal Destinations & Experiences engaged economist Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida's (UCF) Institute for Economic Forecasting, to perform an analysis of Epic's impact locally and nationally. The report found that Epic's five-year economic impact from 2019 to 2023 totaled $44 billion and that the construction of the park generated 65,000 jobs across the country.
Further, in its first year of operation, Epic is expected to generate an economic impact of $2 billion in Florida.
Visit Orlando's Matej called Epic's opening a 'landmark moment' for the region, the most visited in the U.S. with 75.3 million visitors in 2024.
Stays this year are already trending positively: From April to June, hotel bookings were pacing 2.5% ahead of the same period last year, according to Matej. Short-term rental bookings were up 16%.
'For more than five decades, theme parks have played a key role in transforming Orlando from citrus groves into a global tourism destination — driving growth, expanding infrastructure and boosting the local economy,' she said.
Jorge Ridderstaat, associate professor of finance, accounting and econometrics at UCF's Rosen College, said the park's overall economic impact expanded well beyond Florida in its planning and construction phase. Going forward, it will be felt more in Florida and the Orlando area, he said, with an estimated $1 billion in additional tax revenue and nearly 18,000 direct employees. 'The direct and indirect economic impacts are major.' Jorge Ridderstaat, UCF
'There's also an indirect effect, and that's coming from additional restaurants, hotels; and you can even think about banking activities,' Ridderstaat said. 'The direct and indirect impacts are major here.'
Universal's other projects under development may be smaller in scale than Epic but will provide significant economic benefits.
Universal Horror Unleashed, a year-round attraction in Las Vegas, will open this year; the Universal Kids Resort is slated to open in Texas in 2026; and Universal's first theme park in England is set to debut in 2031.
Ridderstaat said the new parks would impact local and national economies as well as motivate other operators to compete.
'Because these technologies being used are very sophisticated, that gives a run on Disney to increase the quality of their product,' he said. 'Because otherwise, you don't catch these types of people who are interested in innovative types of products. I think that's a challenge for the competition.'
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