New Report Reveals Epic Universe Financials, With Comcast Execs Promising More Capacity Soon

A new report reveals some numbers from Comcast, spotlight the performance of the new Universal Epic Universe, with the promise that things will only get even better from here.

What’s Happening: 

• Universal Epic Universe helped drive double-digit gains for parent company Comcast’s theme park unit, and executives only expect the numbers to increase. 
• A new report from Deadline reveals some of the numbers, saying that Comcast “reported a 19% year-over-year gain in parks revenue, to $2.7 billion, in the period ended September 30. EBITDA (or, or Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) rose 13% to $958 million.“
• Universal Epic Universe officially opened earlier this year, in May, adding a 4th gate to the Universal Orlando Resort, behind flagship Universal Studios Florida, Universal Islands of Adventure, and Universal Volcano Bay Water Theme Park. This makes the destination more reasonable as a week-long vacation spot, raising the competition level in the Orlando market - namely the Walt Disney World Resort. 
• The new park features five distinctly themed and immersive areas, themed not only to Universal properties like their classic Monsters and How To Train Your Dragon, but also lucrative licenses like the Harry Potter franchise from Warner Bros. and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros  (Yes, the recent animated film was a Universal property, but the theme park area is based on the popular video game series). 
• The report also indicates that the main focus now is to ramp up capacity at the park, getting it up to full capacity. Rumors and analysts have suggested that since the park opened they have been capping attendance at lower numbers to make sure everything runs smoothly. 
• Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh seemingly confirmed this notion, telling Deadline, “It’s a new park, and very technologically advanced. So, working on the labor and the kinks to drive it to full capacity. We’ve been holding back a little bit to make sure the experience is what we want it to be.”
• Also worth noting, Cavanagh also has said that there was “less cannibalization of attendance from the preexisting parks than we expected.”
• Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong said that Comcast is expecting Epic Universe to have “higher attendance, stronger per-caps, and improved operating leverage” in 2026. 

What They’re Saying: 

• Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh: “[Epic is] driving higher per capita spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando… we expect it to fully scale up. [Our focus is] Just driving increased ride capacity. It’s a new park, and very technologically advanced.”

Fourth Gatekeeping: 

• One thing that could be arguably hindering, or maybe even helping these reported numbers is how Universal Orlando is currently dealing with Annual Passholders at their new park. 
• At this time, Universal Epic Universe is not included in the annual passes of the Universal Orlando Resort, including the highest tier pass which also includes many different bells and whistles. 
• Instead, their only option is to purchase one day tickets to the park (sometimes at a discount) to access the new fourth gate at the resort. This could be helping those numbers, as with the discount those tickets start at $122.00. Especially compared to the average annual pass that passholders have - the two park preferred pass, which can be purchased for $630 - nearly 20% of the cost of the annual pass for a one day visit to the new park - if the discounted tickets are available. 
• While yes, prices will surely increase when Epic is inevitably added in, those price comparisons alone are sure to help keep many passholders away until that day comes. 
• Additionally, while Passholders might not drop the big money upfront to get in for a single day - locals who visit the park will surely spend at the park on meals and merchandise. Whether they go in for a drink at the popular tavern inside the park’s Dark Universe, or one of the fine restaurants in the central Celestial Park area. 
• Annual Passholders also comprise a large amount of residents in the southeastern U.S. who are known to come down for a weekend multiple times a year as well, spending at on-site resorts and restaurants, as well as in-park that Epic has yet to even tap into. 
• We are getting one step closer, as Universal Orlando just introduced a new park-to-park ticket that allows visiting Epic Universe along with the other parks on the same day. 
• For more information about the ticket options at Universal Orlando and to plan a visit, reach out to our friends at Mouse Fan Travel.