Epic Universe is bringing new visitors to Orlando, new report says
Marcus manages the day-to-day editorial workflow across all brands, coordinating coverage assignments and ensuring editorial standards are met. He previously served as city editor at the Pioneer Press and holds a degree in Political Science from Carleton College.
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Epic Universe is changing how many people visit Central Florida’s theme parks, and a new report has the numbers.The Themed Entertainment Association, or TEA, says Epic helped lift combined attendance at Central Florida’s leading theme parks by 4.3 percent in 2025.Epic opened in May, and TEA estimates it drew about 4 million visits in its first partial year. That brought Universal Orlando’s three parks to about 22.5 million visits.Universal’s older parks did slip. Universal Studios Florida was down about 2 percent, and Islands of Adventure was down about 3 percent.Disney World stayed about flat, down 0.2 percent. Magic Kingdom is still the most visited theme park in the world, with 17.8 million visits. Since Disney held steady, the numbers suggest Epic brought in new visitors, not just visitors who moved over from other parks.TEA also says Universal passed Merlin Entertainments, the company behind Legoland, to become the world’s third-largest theme park operator.We talked to one of thos