It will be interesting to see if there is an exclusivity agreement with the UAE and the attractions they build at that park. Disney is already saying this will be its most technologically advanced park. If they are allowed to do so, eventually bringing over the attractions they build there (or the tech they use) to the domestic parks would be great.
It sounds like the Summer is going to be light crowd wise at WDW ($60 a day tickets for Florida residents), despite Epic Universe opening down the road. As an Orlando local, the Summer months have been slow for years, even during the post-covid boom. People have discovered that Central Florida in July & August is miserable.
Additionally, it sounds like there are lots of growing pains at Epic Universe with their "soft openings." By all accounts the park is beautiful and a step forward, but the attractions are struggling to stay open all day due to weather/maintenance/tech mess-ups. There are also issues with ride capacity, causing long wait times. Epic is a net positive for the Theme Park industry, but it might not be a bad idea to let them get the kinks worked out operationally before doing a big Universal trip.
Over at the Mouse, I think now is a good time to return to those days when they would over-deliver with customer experiences. Return to the highest standard of customer service, bring "the Magic" back. Every guest should feel special, not like a number on a Quarterly Income Report.
With all of the coming construction coming at Magic Kingdom (Villains Land/Cars of America) & Animal Kingdom (Indiana Jones/Tropical Americas). Disney can "respond" to Epic by doing what it does best - making guests feel special and providing a magical vacation. Then, once the shine is off of Epic Universe, and these big projects at Disney open (3-5 years from now), the customer service they were once (still are?) known for, will be matched by refreshed parks that are still the class of the industry.
