I think your last sentence kinda gets glanced over a bit. It's acknowledged, but I don't think it's really being considered, sorta.
COVID happened, so things had to get shuffled. In some ways, that probably worked out for the better, and in others... not so much. If we're just counting USF right now, we have the Finn's redo, HMU redo, a big HHN 35 event, the coaster, and whatever replaces FF.
But at some point, everything Universal has done - and is doing - across the resort has to count when we're asking what they're doing and why the timeline looks the way it does.
I know we'd all love to know when USF gets its next Diagon-level project ASAP. I just don't think "I thought it would've happened by now" necessarily means Universal is doing something wrong, per se.
It doesn't mean that. I agree. They're responding in the ways that they think would be best for them, and making those decisions without our knowledge of the rocky 2020s they were barreling into.
And they have done a
lot of quieter, un-Billboardable upkeep in this time. Much of the resort is more polished than its' ever been, and in a few ways, far more polished than the Mouse next door. For all my aesthetic issues with it, USF feels significantly less "Dead mall-y" than some portions of DHS; and I'm very interested to see how River Adventure looks once it returns from under the knife.
I do personally believe they made a not insignificant number of poor decisions in that time, but time and money are not unlimited and most Universal rides have third-party entities controlling the way things are handled, so I can imagine that a portion of those decisions were simply the best that they could've done at that point.
Dreamworksland is an obviously budget-strapped half-fix of a redevelopment, but it's still pretty obvious that certain teams behind the project knew the park needed help and spread that very limited budget remarkably far (New E.T. signage and paint, infrastructure for a new Dreamworks show, Shrek's House, Po Living Character, the Pinocchio animatronic, the PiB 3D game). I think a lot of Nintendoland's design is an operational nightmare, and that the rides are mostly mediocre, but Nintendo is incredibly hands-on and obtuse, and there are a great many signs that UDX creative and operations have wanted to do much more with the IP than they have been able to.
It's
entirely understandable. With that said - I can't get excited for consistently understandably mediocre projects.
UDX has hit a number of unimaginably critical home-runs. They did change the game with Wizarding World in the 2010s, and they've forced Disney out of hibernation, which is tremendous for this space. Volcano Bay is a very solid water park and HHN has grown consistently in quality, budget and attendance year after year. I will continue to appreciate UDX in those lanes.
Those additions bought them a lot of good will, at least for myself. In the late 2010s and early '20s, it was easier to ignore the chintzy older lineup, or the middling newer additions like Kong, Fallon, Villaincon, because the hope was that they were going to change the game again with Epic. Disney certainly believed that was a possibility. You had Chapek talking down the wild success of Hagrids ahead of SW:GE, and their $60 million reinvestment plan back in 2023 had a number of reasons behind it, but increasing competition was a definite factor.
And for me, I don't believe that happened. Epic is not a game-changer. It was a park full of more UDX rides, and outside of coasters, I just don't think they've got it. Numbers aren't looking like they're changing the world. They look like Animal Kingdom; attracting decent crowds and cannibalizing older parks, with an appropriate capacity and headline-spurring response of new attractions for any of the parks still years and years away.
Even if I haven't enjoyed a number of their recent projects, I have always appreciated that UDX has lit a fire under the undisputed king of the industry. I don't believe that Walt Disney World would be anywhere as fresh, bold, or enjoyable for me today without Universal's recent influence. I just wonder what the lineup for WDW projects looks like in 10 years. I don't know if I believe they'll be as bullish as they were in 2024. Epic acts like a regular theme park; UKR doesn't help with brand perception; I think Pokemon will be big, but it won't be Potter; and I don't think a pre-built Party Bus ride themed to the 2024
Twister sequel lights a fire for anyone, really.