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Epic Universe hotel demand expected to mirror ‘4 or 5′ Harry Potter Wizarding Worlds

Universal Orlando shares first look at Epic Universe, new theme park opening in 2025 Universal Orlando Resort shared new details Tuesday about a brand new theme park set to open in 2025. (Universal Orlando Resort)

ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Universal Orlando’s two new resorts under construction that will open in early 2025 — and their 1,500 rooms — are but a drop in the bucket to satisfy next year’s hotel demand, said Michael Weinberg, a managing director in the Orlando office of commercial real estate firm Berkadia.

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That’s all because of the anticipated 2025 debut of the Epic Universe theme park, he told Orlando Business Journal.

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“If you add this big demand driver in the market and then you look back at previous big demand generators — like when they added [Wizarding World of] Harry Potter in 2010 — the spike was around 10%-15%,” Weinberg said. “This is like adding four or five Harry Potters.

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.

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