Disney has a LOT of lofty goals for the future, including plans to spend a whopping $60 billion to expand its parks.

In Disney World, we’re already seeing the addition of at least one new attraction, an update for a classic attraction, a re-theming of an entire land, plus an expansion at Magic Kingdom. But one thing Disney World fans have been craving for a LONG time is a fifth park. Well, that very well could be a possibility for Disney World.

Universal Orlando just released a LOT of new details about its Epic Universe — and well, to say that it’s going to be “epic” is an understatement. The new park will feature five NEW themed lands, with five new restaurants, plus two new hotels nearby. This is going to create a LOT of stiff competition for Disney World, perhaps for the first time since Universal Orlando opened.

Well, now experts are predicting that Disney might want to finally get around to building a fifth park in order to properly compete with Universal, especially with Epic Universe opening in 2025. According to The Orlando Sentinel, Martin Lewison, associate professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York, said, “There’s an 800-pound gorilla in the room, but there’s also a 600-pound gorilla in the room. We’ve watched that gorilla grow from little gorilla to big gorilla.”

Dennis Speigel, owner of International Theme Park Services, believes Epic Universe is going to end up becoming a serious contender once the park opens. “This is going to tilt the axis of the theme-park world, I believe, in Orlando. This park is going to perform at enormous numbers,” he said, adding that he believes Epic Universe will attract between 5 million and 6 million people in its first year. 

Universal was already starting to catch up with Disney World when it opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. “We saw the largest jump in attendance and margins we’d seen in the industry [with Potter],” Spiegel said. “So there’s no question that this new park Epic Universe, in my mind, puts Universal on par, on level with Disney now.” In other words, he expects Disney to start speeding up development in Disney World.

“You’re going to see a big announcement. … They’re going to add a fifth park,” he predicted. “I’ve heard rumors that it has been worked on for several years now. But I think the [Universal] announcement …. will be a catalyst for Disney to show their hand as well,” he said.

Disney has not mentioned anything about a potential “fifth gate,” but with the amount of money being pledged to its theme parks, the company has some big plans, including plans for Disney World. If an announcement is made, we’ll be sure to share it with you (you know, once we’re done LOSING OUR  MINDS), so stay tuned to DFB for more.

Three HUGE Disney Park Expansions Are Coming in 2024

What do you think? Do you think Disney will announce a fifth park soon? Let us know in the comments!

The post Expert Predicts Disney World Will Announce 5th Park first appeared on the disney food blog.