Universal Destinations & Experiences
Universal Destinations & Experiences, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. They are also referred to as Universal Studios Theme Parks or solely Universal Theme Parks.
| Formerly | Universal Parks & Resorts |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Theme park |
| Founded | July 15, 1964 |
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida |
Key people | Mark Woodbury (CEO) |
Number of employees | 25,000 |
| Parent | NBCUniversal |
| Subsidiaries | Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Orlando Resort Universal Studios Japan Universal Studios Singapore Universal Beijing Resort Universal Kids Resort Universal Horror Unleashed Universal Creative |
| Website | Official website |
The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort properties around the world. Universal Destinations & Experiences is best known for attractions and lands based on famous classic and modern pop culture properties (movies, television, literature, cartoons, comics, video games, music, etc.) from not only NBCUniversal, but also third-party companies, for all of its parks.
It started as a touring attraction in the 1910s at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City near Los Angeles, California, and in 1964 turned into a Universal Studios Hollywood theme park destination, where guests can look behind the scenes of motion pictures and television programs, produced by Universal Pictures and occasionally others, and ride the attraction based on the world's favorite feature films and television shows. The popularity of Universal Studios Hollywood had led Universal to build parks in Florida and overseas.
In 2017, approximately 49,458,000 guests visited Universal Studios theme parks, making it the third-largest amusement park operator in the world. It is a major competitor of Cedar Fair, Disney Experiences, Six Flags, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Herschend Family Entertainment, Parques Reunidos/Palace Entertainment, and Merlin Entertainments. In August 2020, a report released by Deutsche Bank revealed that Universal Orlando had surpassed Walt Disney World in total attendance in the first months after both resorts reopened during the global COVID-19 pandemic. This came after Universal reopened its parks in June 2020 and Walt Disney World reopened in July 2020 with capacity modifications, according to the report.
On March 8, 2023, Universal Parks and Resorts CEO Mark Woodbury announced that they would be rebranding the division to "Universal Destinations and Experiences". Woodbury stated "Universal Destinations & Experiences aligns with our aspiration to be the Destination of Choice in the markets where we are today and the markets we enter in the future. We are thrilled to expand how we bring the Universal brand to life in new, immersive and compelling ways for fans around the world using our rich collection of stories, characters and franchises."