Universal’s Flywheel
Universal Added 2,000 Rooms and Raised Prices 20%
The theme park industry is celebrating this week as Comcast’s Parks division crossed $1 billion in quarterly EBITDA for the first time in Q4 2025. What drew my attention, though, was the hotels. I’ll admit, as a previous Disney Hotels cast member, that I might be biased, but these numbers are simply bonkers.
“We added 2,000 rooms. Our average daily rate in the hotels in Orlando is up 20%, and occupancy is up 3%. So we feel great,” explained Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh during the last earnings call.
Yes, Mike, you should reel great.
When you flood a market with supply, prices drop. Universal’s didn’t. They went up.
Watch: our full conversation on this week’s Green Tagged show.
EPIC Was a Catalyst
Much of the focus was placed on how Epic Universe drove Parks revenue up 22% and EBITDA up 24% in Q4. Yet EPIC is “not yet operating at full run rate capacity” and won’t be “fully ramped up in that park” until the end of 2026 (eighteen months after opening).
The way I see it, Epic didn’t do it alone. The park in a vacuum isn’t the story, the story is how Universal proved they can create an ecosystem that traps guests (IE the Disney Model).
The hotel additions (Stella Nova, Terra Luna, Helios Grand) feed into the ecosystem and encourage guests to stay on the property for 5 nights rather than 1. Universal captures dining, merchandise, and incremental park visits at much higher margins than gate admission alone.
Of course, this was the plan all along. What’s different here is that (unlike Six Flags) we’re seeing the plan working in real time. Universal has transformed Universal Orlando into a true destination resort where the company controls the full customer relationship and spending pattern.
Moving Too Fast?
And yet, if you zoom out, the parks are masking how unwell Comcast is. Overall revenue was flat in 2025, and adjusted EBITDA declined 1.8%. The Connectivity & Platforms division lost 181,000 broadband subscribers in Q4 alone.
That is why Universal is not only diversifying but doing so at breakneck speed; despite the press release, it remains a race against time.
Universal Kids Resort in Frisco is opening later this year, the Fast & Furious coaster in Hollywood is opening later this year, and groundbreaking is underway for the UK resort. Cavanagh was explicit that 2026 for Orlando “is the year where we continue to drive the original agenda” at Epic, a “digest” phase focused on ramping existing capacity rather than announcing new lands.
I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with moving this fast. Universal is placing bets across multiple regions and demographics, testing what models will make the most sense for the future. Although we should expect some cracks to appear due to the speed. One of those cracks is the ride capacity at Epic Universe. Another seems to be sewage.
According to a BBC report, Bedford Borough Council leader Andrew Darch noted that regulatory approvals that “might previously have taken a couple of years” now need to be considered “in a matter of weeks” to meet Universal’s schedule. Infrastructure moves at government speed, not corporate-urgency speed, and sewage capacity isn’t exactly glamorous, but it’s essential for the eight million annual visitors.
Disney Has No Monopoly on the Guest Flywheel
Universal’s Q4 2025 results proved that when you give guests a reason to stay for a week, they will. The ability to add 2,000 rooms while raising prices 20% isn’t a lucky quarter. It’s validation that the destination resort strategy with a major new gate as the anchor works exactly as designed.
Recent Episodes:
Is Universal’s Ecosystem Strategy Is Actually Working Against Disney?
Six Flags’ Expands Grad Nights & Disney Pivots Galaxy’s Edge
Want the unfiltered version of these discussions? Join us on Green Tagged: Unhinged on Patreon, where we say what we really think about the industry’s biggest moves.