I'm not sure I'd say it increased their reputation per se, but it definitely solidified and reinforced it at least. I also think Universal have come through the last couple of years - maybe longer - a lot stronger than Disney. They've continued to invest and expand while Disney has slowed down and stagnated a bit - and many of the attractions which have been in development and construction for so long at this point aren't particularly exciting or revolutionary for the most part, and those which are sometimes have a slightly narrower appeal than Disney maybe had in mind.
I think a lot of enthusiasts held that view to an extent pre-COVID as Universal was doubling down on Harry Potter and starting to pump money into the parks whilst Disney continued to make very safe and samey attractions whilst their big projects such as Pandora seemed to take forever to see the light of day. I think that even carried over to Galaxy's Edge to an extent. I also think Star Wars isn't as universally (pardon the pun) appealing despite the strong acclaim and hype in some circles, and we're even seeing both those issues now happen again with the hotel.
For me personally, I'm not particularly wedded to the IPs of Universal - but I'd much rather have Harry Potter, The Simpsons and Jurassic Park than Avengers, Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy which all leave me extremely cold.
I think the most pronounced example of Universal overtaking Disney and Disney dropping the ball a bit is with the Web Slingers ride. There's now a direct comparison to be made between both using the same IP of Spiderman and Disney. Some would say it's not a fair comparison, but it's clear they're just not on the same level - despite Universal's being 20-odd years old.
