Universal were owned by a different company back then and had a much different philosophy. The current Universal really only came to be because of the Wizarding World and GE selling to Comcast, the PA rebrand precedes that by a good few years.
It's why I facepalm when I see people try and compare Universal doing UGB with the failed attempt of Universal Studios London in the early 90's... The company and it's philosophy is not the same as it was back in 1990.