Epic Universe Is Not Empty, But Universal Confirms “Softening” Summer Crowds.

It’s another slow summer for Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando. Comcast just reported its latest quarterly results, during which they revealed “softness” and “weakness in attendance” that continue into the coming quarter. Here’s a breakdown of what they confirmed about crowds, along with why this is happening and our recommendations for visiting Epic Universe.

Nothing that was said during Comcast’s earnings call will come as a surprise to regular readers of this blog. The broader Central Florida summer slowdown that’s impacting Universal Orlando and Epic Universe is something we’ve been stressing for years, most recently in Should You Visit Disney World in Summer? That offers our verdict on whether visiting this time of year is “worth it,” which basically comes down to weather and longer days versus lower crowds and better deals.

In part, this is nothing new. Summer hasn’t been peak season since 2016. There were a couple of years that were anomalies during the pent-up demand period, which is probably a big reason why some fans are being caught off-guard by the summer slowdown at Walt Disney World in 2026. Because it hasn’t been the case that summer has consistently been slow during the last decade.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that Memorial Day through Labor Day is the busiest stretch of the year in Florida, summer crowds are no longer unbearable (just the weather!). Summer no longer being peak season comes as a surprise to some, but this has been the trendline for years at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.

At the same time, Summer 2026 has been even slower than the new normal. With only a week left, July wait times are down year-over-year at Walt Disney World and tied with September 2025 for the slowest month in the last twelve. It’s a very similar story at Universal Orlando. Even though Epic Universe is pretty far from “empty” and none of the parks are “dead” or “ghost towns” as some viral social media reports might claim, the parks are also pretty far from busy.

As we’ve explained previously on countless occasions, this is part of a bigger picture trend away from summer being peak season for the major theme parks. There are several factors for this shift, and the last Comcast earnings call adds some new wrinkles to the mix.

Even if you couldn’t care less about Universal or Epic Universe, this is illuminating, as it’s almost certainly a precursor to what’ll be discussed during Disney’s next earnings call in a couple of weeks. Let’s dig in…

Universal Executives Discuss Downturn

During prepared remarks at the beginning of the earnings call, Universal co-CEO Mike Cavanagh revealed that the “operating environment has softened more than we anticipated.” They continued to unpack this by geography, starting with Orlando, asserting that Epic Universe “continues to perform well and is delivering the strong guest response we expected.”

Cavanagh conceded that, “at the same time, attendance across the broader Orlando market began to soften in June, and that trend has continued into the third quarter.” Executives asserted that some temporary factors are contributing to the downturn, including higher fuel prices and weaker consumer sentiment, and that they are watching these trends closely.

Executives then turned to the other parks. This is an Epic Universe and Universal Orlando centered post, but I found these comments interesting and relevant to points we’ve been discussing here, so they’re worth the brief digression.

Internationally, leadership indicated that Universal Studios Japan in Osaka continues to be affected by China-related travel restrictions. Meanwhile, Beijing is operating against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we published: Why Now Is a Golden Window to Visit Tokyo Disney for Lower Crowds & Prices! That argued that there’s never been a better time to travel to Japan, and that’s not just because of the new Fantasy Springs or the weakest the yen has been in 30 years.

We also covered how visitors from China have plunged by 60.4% year over year, and how this is very evident in places like Kyoto, which is our favorite city in the world. Well, apparently that’s also true at Universal Studios Japan. I still wouldn’t expect truly low crowds at USJ, as it’s infamous for being the most chaotic and overcrowded theme park in the world, but they should be better than before.

The challenges faced there are especially notable, I might add, given that Universal Studios Japan is currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, and Japanese fans love this type of milestone celebration. So the drop from Chinese tour groups must be especially bad if even the anniversary bump isn’t enough to help offset it.

Universal CFO Jason Armstrong broke things down a bit more, revealing that the EBITDA decline was primarily driven by continued pressure at Universal Studios Japan, which he attributed to the aforementioned China-related travel restrictions that are impacting attendance.

That pressure was partially offset by growth at the U.S. parks. In Orlando, revenue and EBITDA grew as compared to the partial opening period of Epic Universe in last year’s second quarter. With that said, “growth in Orlando came in below our expectations as attendance began to soften in June and has remained pressured into the third quarter,” according to Armstrong.

If you’re wondering how to reconcile the revenue growth at Universal’s domestic parks with below-expectations performance, it comes down to Epic Universe being only partially opened in last year’s second quarter. Of course the results are going to be up year-over-year when adding a new theme park to the mix!

Anything it contributes to the bottom line is growth. This is also one of the big reasons why Disney Parks & Resorts continues to outperform and achieve record results, and will for several more years. They’ve been adding new cruise ships that did not exist in the prior year!

During the Q&A, Cavanagh went on to reiterate that the softness affecting this quarter that continues into the next quarter “is essentially weakness in attendance.” Universal believes this attendance decrease is driven by weakness in consumer sentiment and higher travel costs affecting demand.

Again, Universal is already seeing this continuing into the third quarter, but it is not something that the company believes is a permanent change in the outlook. Universal also reports continued consumer appeal, satisfaction, and excitement people have about its parks.

When discussing Epic Universe more specifically, Cavanagh said that the point is that the park is “doing what we wanted it to do. It’s delivering against our expectations. Guest response continues to be strong. It’s driving higher per capita spend and strengthening broader Orlando as making it a true multi-destination resort. We’re not seeing anything that causes us to feel at all disappointed in the performance of Epic. It’s an overall demand drop that’s hitting Orlando broadly.”

Cavanagh also reassured that, despite the near-term pressures, Universal’s outlook for the long-term opportunity in theme parks is unchanged. They have “great brands, great locations, and a proven playbook for investing in attractions and experiences that create real consumer demand and strong returns.” He pointed to Universal Kids Resort in Texas and the United Kingdom park moving toward construction as examples of a long runway for growth.

Why Summer 2026 is Slower

Let’s start the commentary with a quick positive, which is that nothing discussed by Universal is cause for long-term concern. While I do believe that the Florida parks need to come up with long term solutions for shifting travel preferences, such as not building so much of their parks as outdoor attractions, there’s nothing here that’s truly alarming or unique to Universal. Nothing that’ll cause them to pause projects or scale back investment ambitions, thankfully.

With that said, Universal’s softness is no surprise to us. Four months ago, we published Why the Iran War Could Cut Crowds at Walt Disney World & Negatively Impact Your 2026 Travel Plans. Although that’s been dubbed doom and gloom by some, I maintain that oil at its current levels for a sustained amount of time will have an adverse impact on travel.

The reason I believed that then, and still today, is because it’s precisely what happened the last time gas prices reached this level. There were measurable impacts on attendance in the second half of 2022 in the Central Florida theme parks, and although gas prices were higher then, they’ve nevertheless reached or exceeded some of the same psychological barriers that caused people to travel less or stay closer to home.

Just today, AAA shared that the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline jumped 15 cents from last week to $4.09. Most states are now averaging $4 per gallon or higher, as rising crude oil prices are once again behind the spike at the pump.

Per AAA, volatility along the Strait of Hormuz and instability in the region have pushed crude oil prices into the $90 per barrel range and could continue driving up costs during the second half of summer. (Since that report this morning, Brent crude futures have risen to over $100 per barrel.)

It’s not just prices at the pump. Airfares has skyrocketed since the Iran war started, driven by soaring jet fuel prices. Domestic routes within the United States are up by roughly 15% to 35% compared to last year, while international flights face their own hikes and added fuel surcharges.

Given that flights are often one of the biggest line-items for a Walt Disney World vacation budget, increases of 15-35% could be make-or-break for some families, and this would only just be starting to show up in bookings and crowds since (unlike gasoline) people purchase airfare further in advance. Anecdotally, the prices we’ve been seeing for late 2026 airfare have been at the upper end of that increase spectrum. (I wish I were paying “only” 15% more than last year!)

On top of that, rising fuel costs are fanning the flames on inflation yet again. It’s not simply the cost of gasoline or airfare alone to get to the parks. It’s consumers feeling squeezed on the prices of everything. With that happening, Americans have to make tough decisions on discretionary spending, and some of them will cut travel. Just as has happened in the past!

There are no doubt contributing factors to the slower summer in Central Florida theme parks, but few of them work all that well on a year-over-year basis. Bigger picture summer travel trends have already played out over the last decade. Higher prices are nothing new. As far as explanations go, that really just leaves the lack of major marketable new offerings, the ongoing international downturn, and, I guess, the World Cup?

Walt Disney World might be seeing a slight downtick due to the lack of additions, especially if semi-frequent visitors are starting to postpone trips in the lead-up to Tropical Americas. However, Universal Orlando should be benefitting tremendously from Epic Universe in its first full year, especially as many guests (wisely) sat on the sidelines to wait out the initial growing pains.

As for the World Cup, the only reason I’m even addressing it is because I keep seeing it mentioned by fans. But the World Cup wasn’t in Central Florida, so it would’ve had zero impact on hotel inventory or flights through Orlando. Accordingly, the World Cup should not have inflated room prices or international airfare locally. That’s what matters when it comes to this type of sporting event, not more people watching the events at home or whatever. There’s no precedent for that having any relevance.

That really just leaves the international downturn. We previously theorized that the slowdown among international attendees might hit Walt Disney World harder in 2026 than last year, due to the lag between booking and traveling. Disney’s CFO essentially confirmed this was correct on their last earnings call, while also indicating that last quarter was the worst of it.

Accordingly, it really seems like this is a story of higher fuel prices and weaker consumer sentiment, which is exactly the explanation Universal offered. That’s layered on top of the gradual shift of travel preferences away from summer that’s been ongoing for years, but is insufficient alone to explain this summer’s sharper-than-expected slowdown.

From my perspective, the bigger question at this point is whether rising oil prices start having an impact on October through December 2026 bookings. Due to that same aforementioned lag, the slowdown for the remainder of summer (and the off-season) is already locked-in.

Fall and the holidays are a different story, though. It’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, Disney has to say about that. (Discounts are weak for October through December, suggestive of strong bookings–or at least, the expectation for that when promos were released last month.)

What Epic Universe Wait Times Show

Average wait times have dropped dramatically at Epic Universe since Spring Break, with May being the lowest full month since the park officially opened with average wait times of 46 minutes.

Average wait times in June 2025 were 63 minutes, versus 48 minutes in June 2026. It’s a similar story thus far in July 2026, which has seen a slight uptick with 51 minute wait times, versus 64 minutes last July. That’s a big improvement, and continues a downtrend that began in February and continued through Spring Break!

None of this is surprising. To the contrary, it’s consistent with what we covered in July 2026 is Walt Disney World’s Least Busy Month Since September 2021. The only difference is that Epic Universe hasn’t been open since 2021, so we can’t go that far back with the comparisons.

The other added wrinkle with Epic Universe is the expectation of improved operational efficiency. It has always been the case that, even assuming static attendance, average wait times would decrease over time as the new park found its operational footing. There are clearly ways that that’s happening, but it also seems that attendance is softening at the same time.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for an actionable takeaway, it’s that right now could be a great time to visit Epic Universe. Consider this a potential window of opportunity, especially since the new park still doesn’t have Annual Passes and isn’t included in the recently-released Florida resident ticket deals.

While I’m appreciative of Comcast’s restraint, this disciplined approach to unlocking discount admission to Epic Universe can only last so long. It’s only a matter of time before they cave, craving the boost to the bottom line. Once APs and ticket deals arrive, the crowds and wait times will worsen.

For the last year-plus, we’ve been cautioning that it might be pragmatic to skip Epic Universe for now, and wait for the new park to hit its stride. While that’s still generally true, there’s something to be said for threading the needle and targeting the sweet spots that exist (much as we’d recommend with Universal Studios Japan).

Of course, in order to do that you’d have to brave the Florida heat and humidity and pay higher prices at the pump (or on airfare), which is precisely why so many people are opting out in the first place. But as we’ve mentioned elsewhere, Walt Disney World guest satisfaction is revealing that summer travel is exceeding guest expectations thanks largely to lower crowds. So there’s that!

If I were visiting Central Florida anytime between now and October 8, 2026, I’d strongly consider doing a day at Epic Universe. (And in fact, I’m planning two myself for that window!) If gas prices stay above $4 per gallon persist, that window of opportunity could extend to dates later in the year; minus the peak holiday weeks, which will be busy, regardless.

I’d also note that around this time of year, it’ll be possible to choose your day to visit strategically. I’ve been to Epic Universe several times, and have yet to encounter peak crowds. See our Epic Universe Crowd Calendar: Best Dates to Visit in 2026 for advice. The worst and least busy dates are actually pretty predictable, albeit slightly counterintuitive and unlike the other Universal Orlando theme parks.

Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more. For regular updates, news & rumors, a heads up when discounts are released, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!

Your Thoughts

Thoughts on the summer slowdown hitting Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments and explanations? Or, do you disagree entirely, and think this summer has been busier than normal? Any observations about attendance trends during the fall months that follow this summer dip? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!