In 2007, Universal Orlando stunned everyone by securing the theme park rights to the Harry Potter franchise over assumed victor Disney. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 2010, and has been a smash hit ever since. In 2013, cable giant Comcast bought out GE’s remaining share in NBCUniversal and began sinking money into the theme parks at a record pace. The Universal Orlando of today is a powerhouse in the crowded Orlando marketplace, but did you know that the complex was nearly doomed at its outset?
Like Disneyland before it, Universal Studios Florida’s opening day was filled with both triumphs and missteps. The trials and tribulations played out in the international media, and many thought it would close within a matter of weeks. Here are 6 ways that Universal Studios Florida’s opening day was reminiscent of Disneyland’s.
1. Media anticipation
Disneyland PlansWalt promoted Disneyland by sharing the construction process on his TV show. Photo courtesy Orange County Archives.
On July 17, 1955, Disneyland threw open its gates. Nearly 30,000 people, many bearing counterfeit tickets, packed into the park, eager to get a look at the future of entertainment. Another 90 million watched it live on television. Why all the fuss? Because Disneyland was truly the first of its kind.
Walt Disney created Disneyland as a place that families could have fun together. In his day, amusement parks were dirty and dangerous, and parents generally sat on benches while their kids rode rides. Walt imagined a dream-like utopia, clean, safe and heavily themed, where the entire family could escape from real life.
From its conception, experts and the general public alike thought Walt’s dream was equal parts blissful and kooky. If it could be done, it would be incredible—but it hardly seemed like a sustainable business model. Undeterred, Walt mortgaged he owned. During the entire construction process, Walt heavily promoted the upcoming park on his hit television series, then titled Disneyland. The marketing plan worked. By the time the park opened, the media and the general public were in a frenzy.
When Universal announced plans in 1987 to build a theme park in the crowded Orlando market, both insiders and the general public reacted with a blend of confusion, excitement and doubt. Universal Hollywood was working well, but Disney was the undisputed king of Central Florida. The area was littered with the remains of attractions that had tried and failed to challenge Disney, and surely Universal would just be the next victim. Yet if they did succeed…many local residents were tired of the then-saccharine sweet Disney experience and loved the hipper, cutting-edge experiences planned by Universal.
Disney responded by building its own movie-themed park, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios). With the provisions Walt had put in place for the Florida Project, Disney was able to circumvent much of the permitting process and open Disney-MGM Studios a full year before Universal Studios Florida. Then the company took out a full-page ad in the Orlando Sentinel welcoming Universal to the neighborhood and sat back to watch.
By June 7, 1990, Universal Studios Florida’s opening day, the media and the public were again in a frenzy. Could Universal pull it off? Was it really possible to challenge Disney on its home turf? The park was packed that day with stars, media royalty, and a sharply divided general public. Some came to watch magic happen, some to witness a train wreck.
2. A star-studded gala
Universal Ribbon CuttingSurrounded by Hollywood royalty, Steven Spielberg cut the ribbon to open Universal Studios Florida.
Disneyland’s opening day was originally designed only for invited guests including celebrities and members of the media. Among the Hollywood royalty in attendance were Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis, Jr. Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan and Bob Cummings anchored the live television broadcast, and many of the celebrities made appearances on the show.
Universal Studios Florida’s opening day was not an invitation-only affair, but it was no less star-studded. Celebrity attendees included Michael J. Fox, Ernie Hudson, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Anthony Perkins and Jimmy Stewart. Many of the celebrities made brief speeches and signed autographs for the crowd.
3. The rides didn’t work
Amity SharkThe strung-up shark was as close as most visitors would get to the Jaws ride for more than 2 years.
Disneyland incorporated brand-new technologies that were untested and unproven. No one knew how the rides would hold up under the strain of thousands of visitors. According to those who were there, many of them did not hold up at all. The Storybook Land Canal boats had to be pulled to shore. Peter Pan’s Flight was closed as much as it was open. The Mark Twain Riverboat nearly capsized from overloading.
Universal Studios Florida also incorporated brand-new, unproven technologies. In two of the three headliner rides, Kongfrontation and Jaws, the complex ride systems were carefully engineered to interact with equally complex audio-animatronics. The timing had to be impeccable, or the entire ride would shut down for safety reasons.
Throughout the day, they did just that, as did the third headliner, Earthquake. Park visitors stood at each attraction for upwards of three hours hoping for the chance to ride before it broke down again. Rumors were flying that Steven Spielberg and his family got stuck in the Jaws lagoon. Whether that particular story is true or not, it is true that Jaws shut down that afternoon. It reopened only sporadically over the next two months, before closing down in August for a complete overhaul that took more than two years.
4. Food and beverage issues
BoulangerieThe Boulangerie, like the rest of Universal’s restaurants, had a line out the door.
Disneyland fell victim to a plumbers’ strike that forced Walt to choose between restrooms and water fountains. He chose restrooms, leaving guests to pay for sodas to quench their thirst in a Southern California heat wave. The sheer number of unexpected visitors and the unavailability of water fountains led to long lines of frustrated people at the park’s eateries.
Universal Studios Florida had plenty of water fountains and plenty of food, but not enough to do. As the crowds swelled throughout the day, the ride problems continued to worsen. Tired of waiting for the headliners to open, many people went in search of a good meal. Food service lines grew longer and longer, adding another layer of frustration to an already difficult day.
5. Compensation
Disneyland Opening GalaWalt Disney compensated his visitors for their difficulties by offering them a second day free. Image: Loren Javier, Flickr
Both Disneyland’s and Universal Studios Florida’s opening days were declared unmitigated disasters by many of those who attended. They felt duped, frustrated and angry, and they were happy to make their feelings known. At Disneyland, the guests had not paid for admission. They were there as invited guests. Nonetheless, Walt Disney felt they deserved some compensation for the hassles. He invited everyone to return for a second day at a later time, also as his personal guests.
Universal Studios Florida’s visitors had paid for their admission, and they wasted no time in storming Guest Services with their complaints. The company quietly began issuing no-questions-asked refunds to anyone who wanted one. Hedging their bets for the future, they also implemented a second day free offer that lasted through the busy summer season.
6. The little park that could
Fright NightsFright Nights, now Halloween Horror Nights, helped turn Universal’s fortunes around.
It seemed certain that Disneyland would fail. Experts talked at length about how this unproven concept, which was stretched beyond its limits by the crowds, could never be profitable. The public generally agreed that even the beloved Walt Disney was a fallible human being who had simply bitten off more than he could chew.
Yet despite all odds, Disneyland began to flourish. Walt learned from his mistakes, soon capping daily attendance at 20,000 to avoid overcrowding. Through a great deal of trial and error, the company learned what worked and what didn’t when it came to pushing that many people through attractions each day. Word of mouth spread that the problems were being fixed and the dream was shining through. Just seven weeks after that disastrous opening day, Disneyland welcomed its millionth guest.
Of course, that was only the beginning. Under Walt’s leadership, the Florida Project was born. Although he did not live to see its completion, the 1971 opening of the Magic Kingdom in Florida touched off an era of expansion that has gone global. Disney became the clear leader of the theme park industry, proving once and for all that clean, safe, heavily themed parks have a timeless appeal that cuts across cultural barriers.
While Disneyland’s future was far from assured, it had both novelty and the charisma of Walt Disney behind it. Universal Studios Florida had neither. In Central Florida, Disney was clearly king, and smaller parks such as SeaWorld Orlando were there to siphon some spending from Disney guests. How could Universal possibly hope to overcome its black eye and convince people to try it again?
The road was not easy, but parent company MCA persevered. They went to the source to fix the rides’ technical problems, filing lawsuits against ride designers and insisting that the attractions be tweaked to perfection. This heavily-publicized approach reassured the public that the company was focused on making things right. Meanwhile, the entire Universal Studios Florida staff pulled together as a team. They believed in their park and were determined to do whatever they could to make it better. Ride operators memorized technical manuals in order to work with the techs to troubleshoot problems. Managers filled in at overcrowded food service locations and even took janitorial shifts.
As the 1991 summer tourist season began, things were guardedly optimistic for the Little Park That Could. Two of the three headliners were out of technical rehearsals and operating regularly, and new smaller attractions were dispersing the crowds. But it was that fall when Universal’s fortunes finally changed for good, via a little three-night party known as Fright Nights.
Fright Nights gave locals and visitors a place to celebrate Halloween with heavily discounted admission, live stage shows, wandering scareactors and a walk-through haunted house. An instant success, it returned the next year as Halloween Horror Nights. That annual event helped turn around Universal’s reputation, solidifying it as a vacation destination. In 1999, Universal opened its second park, Islands of Adventure, transforming itself into a multi-day experience.
Although the theme park wars seemed lost before they began, Universal Orlando continues to prove that there is room for two powerhouses in the Central Florida market. Iron sharpens iron, and the competition keeps both destinations on their toes. As a result, the future looks brighter than ever for theme park fans.
