the concept for Universal Studios Florida
began back in 1981. In the 70's actually, they bought
the land in late 85, I do believe. Universal already
had a popular Studio Tour in Hollywood, but they wanted
something that would double as a working studio and theme
park, and the concept of Universal Studios Florida was born.
At the time, Universal's parent company, MCA, was a
bit leery of spending the anticipated $250M dollars it would
cost to build the park, so they scouted out partners. Among
the partners they looked to was Paramount, at that time,
Paramount's studio chief was none other than Michael Eisner.
Paramount passed on the project, but Eisner never forgot
what he saw. When he came to Disney, one of his first projects
was to put the Disney Hollywood Studios project in the pipeline.
Thanks to Disney's Reedy Creek Development District (a quasi-governmental
agency that gives Disney the ability to zone itself for
construction), Disney was able to complete it's "working
studio and theme park" more than a year before Universal
Studios opened it's gates in June 7, of 1990.
the
early days for Universal were not good. Attractions failed
to work correctly, lines were long and people left the park
vowing never to return. "Kongfrontation" and "Earthquake",
two of the parks most popular attractions at the time of
the opening, didn't work. the 'JAWS' attraction suffered
a similar fate. Universal resorted to handing out free passes
to apologize, but the damage was done. It took Universal
years to recover from it's opening day "black eye", but
it did recover.
What many people don't realize is
while Universal was being opened, former recreation chief
Jay Stein was conceiving Islands of Adventure. According
to some reports, about 70% of what he envisioned actually
made it into the park.
By 1996 not much had changed
at the park, but plans were in the works for a massive expansion.
the plan was to open a second theme park, a new hotel, and
an entertainment district almost simultaneously. By 1996
construction had started, and in 1999 Universal Studios
Florida became Universal Studios Escape (followed by another
name change, Universal Studios Orlando). the new theme
park, entitled Islands of Adventure, would put the amusement
world on notice that Universal was capable of delivering
a first rate, multi faceted theme park every bit as good
as Disney. As a matter of fact, some of the creative talent
behind the Disney-Hollywood studios was responsible for
Islands of Adventure. But it was clear from the beginning
that Islands would not be a 'kiddie park'. Strewn with high
energy coasters and thrill rides, this would appeal to an
older set of visitors.
Subsequently in 1999, Universal
opened City Walk (an entertainment district similar to Disney's
Pleasure Island and the luxury hotel Portofino Bay. In 2000,
the resort introduced the Hard Rock Hotel and in 2002, the
Royal Pacific Resort opened. Now, with three hotel properties,
two theme parks and an entertainment district, Universal
seems poised to give Disney a real run for the money.
And don't think for a second that Universal is finished.
It still owns another 2000 acres where it plans to develop
at least two additional theme parks, more resorts and even
some golf courses. While Universal will likely never be
the size of Disney World, it may not have to. Universal
has shown itself to be a strong player, actually increasing
it's visitor base during the dismal 2002 season, when all
other parks in Orlando were down. Universal is far from
challenging Disney's dominance in Orlando, but it has created
a very unique, very upscale resort to offer guests an alternative.
With a third park, and some more resorts, Universal just
may give Disney a real run for its money. In the end, it
is us, the visitors, who win.
