Menu

“Boycott Universal” Spreads Online as Universal Set to Overtake Disney

boycott universal disney competition
Credit: Universal, Thomas Hawk, Flickr, Edited on Canva

Fans are beginning to call for the boycott of Universal online, notably as the company was recently revealed to be on track to beat out Disney.

The Walt Disney Company has been at the forefront of entertainment for decades now. Whether it comes to the theme park business or the movie industry, Disney has long since made its presence well-known as an innovator and trendsetter across the board.

Over the years, due to various business and strategic decisions that the company has taken, it’s been on the receiving end of criticism. Some of these critiques have even evolved into calls to boycott the company and its products. (Yes, this includes the beloved Disney Park, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort as well.)

crowds at disney world

Magic Kingdom Park, the Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Becky Burkett

As fans move to “boycott” Disney, there’s one clear company that stands to benefit immensely from this. Universal is owned by parent company, Comcast. The company has been positioning itself as a competitor and top rival to the Walt Disney Company, and a recent announcement has many believing they are bringing their A-game.

As fans would know, Universal has theme parks around the US itself, but the park that is most frequently touted as the rival to Disney is Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal Orlando Resort is just a stone’s throw (in a manner of speaking) from Disney World in Central Florida and is one of the most exciting theme parks in the United States. The park has made a name for itself with its amazing experiences and attractions, and most recently, is receiving a lot of hype for its upcoming park, Universal’s Epic Universe.

But, with all of these highly-anticipated developments, there are some who are incredibly unhappy with Universal and are calling for the boycott of the company.

Rather than any of the reasons for this having to do with the parks themselves or any issues with Universal Orlando, they are to do with the politics of the corporate structure of the company.

More specifically, the fan who posted about boycotting Universal was responding to a post wherein an X account called out Universal by writing, “Still doesn’t change the fact that one of the parks in Epic Universe will be giving money to a Holocaust denier.” 

Holocaust denial is a serious accusation, of course, but the poster doesn’t make it clear to whom they’re precisely referring to when they make this statement.

How might this impact Universal if the boycott spreads and becomes a widespread, viral moment?

Recently, the Wall Street Journal explained that Epic Universe’s opening and the park could lead to a huge decrease in the number of guests at the Walt Disney World Resort. Epic Universe could cause a 1 million drop in foot fall to Disney World and an 8 million increase in their own overall attendance.

It doesn’t take a math genius to figure out this means incredibly good things for the park.

This isn’t the only reason that a fan called out the hypocrisy of these companies, however. One wrote, “‘Abigail’ is from Universal, and Universal is owned by Comcast, and Comcast is on the boycott list for being Zionists who sent money to the IDF. So all these damn fools in the quote-tweets are unserious hypocrites!” 

Only time will whether this development stays (relatively) small-scale or pushes fans away from Disney altogether.

What do you think of the call to boycott Universal? Let Disney Dining know in the comments! 

About Priyanka Kumar

Priyanka is a writer, artist, avid reader, and travel enthusiast based in Chicago. In her free time, she is probably walking by the lake, catching up on the latest releases on TV, or spending inordinate amounts of time rewatching Moana, Encanto, and her Disney Channel life-long favorites Zack and Cody wreak havoc on the Tipton.