Universal Orlando to double resort size

ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando officials said Thursday that the resort is doubling in size with plans for an “epic” fourth theme park, but they offered almost no information on when the new park will open, what it will hold or how much they are spending.

The secretive nature of the new park is “because of competitive pressure,” Universal Parks & Resorts CEO Tom Williams said at a news conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his boss, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

The announcement is the latest salvo in the war for dominance between Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in America’s theme park capital.

Despite the lack of details, officials with the theme park resort promised the new park would be epic. To that end, they’re calling the new park Universal’s Epic Universe.

The new park will be located on a 750-acre site separated by a few miles from the current Universal Orlando property that is home to the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure parks, as well as the Volcano Bay water park.

More than 14,000 workers will be hired on top of the existing 25,000-person labor force in Orlando. They will be paid a starting minimum wage of $15 an hour, officials said.

The company also has theme parks in California, China, Japan and Singapore.

Comcast purchased NBC-Universal almost a decade ago. During that time, Comcast has put more money into theme parks than any other part of the company, Roberts said Thursday. That investment had paid for Harry Potter-themed lands and rides based on other franchises, such as “Fast & Furious.”

The fourth park will be the biggest investment the Comcast NBC-Universal has made in its theme park business, Robert said. It will have a park, hotels, restaurants and shops, and more details will be released as the project gets under way, officials said.