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The concept for Universal Studios Florida began back in 1981. In the 70's actually, they bought the land in late 85, I do believe.
Universal already had a popular Studio Tour in Hollywood, but they wanted something that would double as a working studio and theme park, and the concept of Universal Studios Florida was born.
At the time, Universal's parent company, MCA, was a bit leery of spending the anticipated $250M dollars it would cost to build the park, so they scouted out partners. Among the partners they looked to was Paramount, at that time, Paramount's studio chief was none other than Michael Eisner. Paramount passed on the project, but Eisner never forgot what he saw. When he came to Disney, one of his first projects was to put the Disney MGM Studios project in the pipeline. Thanks to Disney's Reedy Creek Development District (a quasi-governmental agency that gives Disney the ability to zone itself for construction), Disney was able to complete it's "working studio and theme park" more than a year before Universal Studios opened it's gates in June 7, of 1990.
The early days for Universal were not good. Attractions failed to work correctly, lines were long and people left the park vowing never to return. "Kongfrontation" and "Earthquake", two of the parks most popular attractions at the time of the opening, didn't work. The 'JAWS' attraction suffered a similar fate. Universal resorted to handing out free passes to apologize, but the damage was done. It took Universal years to recover from it's opening day "black eye", but it did recover.
What many people don't realize is while Universal was being opened, former recreation chief Jay Stein was conceiving Islands of Adventure. According to some reports, about 70% of what he envisioned actually made it into the park.
By 1996 not much had changed at the park, but plans were in the works for a massive expansion. The plan was to open a second theme park, a new hotel, and an entertainment district almost simultaneously. By 1996 construction had started, and in 1999 Universal Studios Florida became Universal Studios Escape (followed by another name change, Universal Studios Orlando).
The new theme park, entitled Islands of Adventure, would put the amusement world on notice that Universal was capable of delivering a first rate, multi faceted theme park every bit as good as Disney. As a matter of fact, some of the creative talent behind the Disney-MGM studios was responsible for Islands of Adventure. But it was clear from the beginning that Islands would not be a 'kiddie park'. Strewn with high energy coasters and thrill rides, this would appeal to an older set of visitors.
Subsequently in 1999, Universal opened CityWalk (an entertainment district similar to Disney's Pleasure Island and the luxury hotel Portofino Bay. In 2000, the resort introduced the Hard Rock Hotel and in 2002, the Royal Pacific Resort opened. Now, with three hotel properties, two theme parks and an entertainment district, Universal seems poised to give Disney a real run for the money.
And don't think for a second that Universal is finished. It still owns another 2000 acres where it plans to develop at least two additional theme parks, more resorts and even some golf courses. While Universal will likely never be the size of Disney World, it may not have to. Universal has shown itself to be a strong player, actually increasing it's visitor base during the dismal 2002 season, when all other parks in Orlando were down. Universal is far from challenging Disney's dominance in Orlando, but it has created a very unique, very upscale resort to offer guests an alternative. With a third park, and some more resorts, Universal just may give Disney a real run for its money. In the end, it is us, the visitors, who win.
Islands of Adventure is the newer of Universal's two theme parks, and by far it has proven to be a succesful entry. With an estimated 5.5 Million visitors in 2001 (less than the 7.2 Million estimated to have visited Universal Studios during the same period), Islands has done it's job in drawing more visitors to the revamped destination.