UniversalParksBlog News for October 31st, 2025
The owner of Universal Studios just revealed some new information about its latest theme park.
Also, Universal is currently switching holidays, and we just learned information about another one.
You’ll want to read this latest batch of UniversalParksBlog News!
Universal by the Numbers
(Jeff Fusco/Comcast via AP Images)
How did Comcast’s earnings report go? Well, the stock fell nine percent in an hour.
So, you can probably guess that the news wasn’t great for the corporate owner of Universal Studios.
Photo: Comcast NBC Universal
Comcast executives glumly revealed that its broadband business, its linchpin product, is in trouble.
The corporation downgraded its revenue expectations for broadband, the very business it has promised will improve.
In addition, Peacock remains the one streaming service that simply cannot return a profit.
Every other major service has achieved some form of profitability, yet Peacock continues to fail.
Image: UniversalParksBlog
During the latest quarter, Peacock reported zero subscriber growth and more revenue losses.
Peacock burned through another $217 million of money that we all wish were being spent at the parks.
Photo: billboard.com
Even worse, its revenue declined to $1.4 billion, while subscriptions stagnated at 41 million.
The service does have the Winter Olympics and some NFL games coming up, which should help.
Photo: Yahoo Sports
Still, this streaming business continues to be a lodestone on Comcast’s overall bottom line.
That’s a problem because a cash-poor Comcast cannot invest as much at the parks.
Speaking of which, the Universal Studios news is exceptional. So, that’s nice.
Before we get to that, I’ll add that Comcast’s finances will get cleaned up soon anyway.
Photo: Deadline
The upcoming VERSANT spinoff should free up loads of capital as Comcast gets leaner.
So, any current inconveniences are temporary ones that should be gone in about six months.
What’s the Good News?
Photo: NY Times
Here’s the quote Comcast executives used while describing its theme parks division:
Revenue was up “primarily due to higher revenue at domestic theme parks, driven by the successful opening of Epic Universe in May.”
Image: Associated Press
Those are words we all really want to see: “Successful opening.”
I know that a lot has happened at Universal Epic Universe lately, but let’s focus on the positives.
CNN
Revenue soared nearly 19 percent to $2.71 billion during the most recent quarter.
Obviously, we all expected that since a new theme park should lead to more revenue.
Photo: NY Times
Now we get to the eye of the beholder part of the conversation.
Adjusted EBITDA at Universal’s theme parks rose by a solid 13 percent to $958 million.
That sounds phenomenal, as companies always covet double-digit EBITDA growth.
However, Universal Destinations & Experiences also experienced a 22 percent increase in operating expenses.
Universal
The cost of doing business went up almost exclusively because of the operations at Epic Universe.
As an aside, yes, this timeframe does include the Stardust Racers tragedy, but that had no impact on the bottom line.
OC Register
Only one attraction closed for a few weeks. The park itself remained open…and lucrative.
In fact, during the earnings call, Comcast’s CFO, Jason Armstrong, said the following:
Universal
“We’re really pleased with the early results from Epic, which are driving higher (per capita) spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando.
We remain focused on expanding ride throughput as we build to run rate capacity and expect Epic to continue scaling over the next year.”
Attractions Magazine
I think we can all agree that expanding ride throughput would be really, really nice. It’s *ahem* needed.
More about the Parks
Attraction Insight
We’ve got other stuff to cover, but I want to add another quote about Epic Universe since it remains the big story.
A Wall Street analyst pressed Comcast officials for more information about the park.
Attractins Magazine
However, the executives were quite defensive about broadband at the time and got sidetracked.
Sadly, this prevented us from getting a more nuanced answer. Still, we learned the following:
Attractins Magazine
“Broadly, the full resort of Orlando is very strong, so we’re very pleased.
“The idea was to have Epic head us towards a week-long vacation type of experience.
Universal
“What we’re seeing as Epic is now in the market is that it’s driving higher (per capita) spending and attendance across the entirety of Universal Orlando.
“One of the nice things is that there’s lesser cannibalization of attendance from our two pre-existing parks than we had expected.
Attractins magazine
“In terms of Epic itself, our focus now is just driving increased ride capacity.
“It’s a new park and very technologically advanced, so working on the labor and the kinks to drive it to full capacity.
NBC
“We’ve been holding back a little bit to make sure the experience is what we want it to be.
We expect it to fully scale up in the months ahead, and we’ll really be driving higher attendance…”
UO
So, that is universally great news, pun entirely unintentional.
Universal Miscellany
Photo: Universal
As Kristin Sabol mentioned the other day, Mardi Gras will return to Universal in 2026!
The party begins on February 7th and lasts through April 4th.
Photo: Universal
All of your favorite activities will return, and that’s not even the best part.
You don’t need to pay extra for this experience, which differentiates it from Halloween Horror Nights.
Photo: Universal
All Mardi Gras activities are included with standard theme park admission. What a deal!
Speaking of the holidays and Halloween Horror Nights (HHN), well, it just ended for this year.
Photo: Universal
I know, it’s a time of infinite sadness for Universal Studios fans, but it’s okay!
As we speak, Universal Studios is currently converting to its Christmas holiday look.
Photo: Universal
One day soon, we’ll all be celebrating Grinchmas at the parks and standing in line for hours to meet Mr. Grinch himself!
Of course, Max often steals the show during these encounters, so make sure to look for him as well!
Then, after Grinchmas ends, the calendar turns to 2026, and you know what that means!
Speculation Maps start appearing and hinting at what we’ll find during HHN 2026!
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Feature Photo: Universal
