The confluence of Epic Universe’s grand opening and the Trump administration’s upending of trade and travel has raised troubling questions about the future of tourism, both in Orlando and around the globe. To get some expert answers, I turned to Jakob Wahl, President and CEO of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, who granted Orlando Weekly this exclusive one-on-one interview after a recent presentation at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games on I-Drive.
What impact will Epic Universe have on the local market?
We are super excited about the opening of Epic Universe. This project has been around for a while, and now seeing it finally open is fantastic because it encompasses many trends of this industry. I think Epic Universe is one of the biggest openings in the past 10 or 15 years across the world.
We always say rising tides lift all boats, [and] if you travel to Orlando to visit Epic Universe, you will not not visit the other parks here, because once you’re here, you want to experience everything. … Josh D’Amaro from Disney said the same. We expect, actually, that Orlando as a destination will grow thanks to the opening of Epic Universe.
Do you see Universal’s rivals responding to Epic?
Disney already announced massive plans for Orlando and how they will respond in further investing and strengthening the market. SeaWorld has done a very strong investment program over those years. When you look at Legoland, they have done a very strong investment program. When you even look at Busch Gardens Tampa, they also announced a $50 million investment program. So it shows that there is response from the market, because ultimately, the guests see something and they want to expect even more. Our industry is very investment-heavy. We need to invest approximately 12% to 15% of our turnover into new attractions. And that is something which is very, very important.
Will Disney’s upcoming Abu Dhabi resort impact Orlando visitation?
The world is ever-changing, and the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have positioned themselves as a hub for flight connections, but also for tourists. While Dubai is very well-known for luxury beach and shopping destinations, Abu Dhabi has positioned itself as a tourism destination. And that is something which is very interesting, because all of a sudden there’s a growing population, it’s a wealthy population, and it’s very close to growing markets. It’s just four flight hours away from India, which is expected to be the largest country in the world in just the next five years, overcoming China, and that is obviously a very interesting market.
Have we seen political fallout in lowered visitation from Canada, the U.K. and Europe yet?
It is sad that we see a more difficult relationship between Canada and the U.S. And there has been a reduction in demand from Canada in flight seats. At the same time, it is too early to tell. There was early news about March being lower than previous years or Quarter 1. But you shouldn’t forget last year Easter was in Quarter 1, and this year is a late Easter. You don’t really compare apples to apples there.
When you just look at what MCO Orlando International Airport is doing, they have a lot more international flight connections this summer. They have increased flights to Germany, new connections to Munich. They have flights to Amsterdam. There are additional flights to other European countries. And that speaks for an increased demand.
What new industry trends does Epic Universe exemplify?
It [has] an in-park hotel, so during your day visit, you can go back to your room, freshen up and all of that. We see something which you see across the world, the use of more intellectual property: Harry Potter, Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, the Monsters. We see more and more of that. Then we see more food and beverage experiences. An experience is not only about a ride or a show; it’s also about food and beverage, about retail. … This idea of social competing, with Nintendo[‘s Power-Up] band, with technology being used, with facial recognition — those are all things which we see increasing, [and] we expect more of those things to come.
We obviously have giga-projects around the world. Six Flags Qiddiya, which is meant to open in the not-too-distant future, will have the world’s highest, fastest, longest coaster, shattering all records. But the interesting thing is that while we will always have those record-breaking things, we see a bigger focus on family attractions, where multi-generations can experience things together. And that is something which we see at Epic, but also in other in other projects around the world.
What’s your favorite thing to do in an Orlando park?
A classic when I go to a park is to buy a funnel cake. Also, grabbing my daughters and riding Hagrid’s [Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure] is fantastic as well. There’s so many different things which I love in this industry, it’s hard to just pick one.
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This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2025.