What is up with all the US/IOA haters, or am I just too sensitive???

[louise1928]

I was just reading reviews at another site (I will mention the name, because I do like the info they provide), but, there were some big US/IOA haters, and I had to add my two cents. Many of the comments I found most interesting were from the people who compared Disney Parks to Universal/IOA. I anxiously stated in my review, that you cannot compare the two. They are soooooo totally different, in every aspect. Then there were other complaints about the ticket prices. Way overpriced! I also stated, Hardly Not!!! But the majority of the reviews were about how different and negative their experiences were at US/IOA compared to Disney. What is it that some people are not getting??? I know these parks are not for everyone, but I enjoy them both and look forward to many many more visits, until I bones can't take the walking anymore. But then there's always wheelchairs right?? :smooth: Oh well, at least I got to vent!!!!

[phamton]

You see that a lot on Disney boards. Many times, people haven't been in several years. I know a few years ago the Universal parks just weren't as clean as they are now. Plus some of the employees weren't the best either.

As Disney seems to be getting less clean (not dirty just not sparkling clean like a few years ago) and some cast members aren't as perky as before, Universal seems to be cleaning up its act. Universal has increased their attendance percentage wise more than Disney. A few years ago, I don't think Disney did more than just a passing glance at Universal but now it is giving them a little competition. With competition comes more bad mouthing. But that is just my opinion. I like WDW and Universal but for different reasons. Some people just like WDW and others just like Universal. Different strokes for different folks.

Would you PM me the name of the website though?

[JessicaR]

You didnt read much about this before Universal became a competitor to Disney. Once IOA was added the threat to some seemed imminent. Not sure why that is, it just is.Some people feel the need to defend Disney and a good way is to knock IOA. I have even seen people that have NEVER stepped foot into the park knock it. I dont think Disney needs defending and I dont think people knocking IOA will matter much either. There are plenty of parks to go around for us all and to each his own! Reading posts everywhere not just here, you can often get the inclination that admitting they liked a park other than Disney, (more often Universal) is somehow a betrayal in their eyes. You pobably came across these USO/IOA haters at a Disney website. Too bad there just arent as many Universal boards. The competition between the two is to all of our benefit. Disney will continue to strive to be the best and so will Universal. We all win!

You arent too sensitive to the matter. You just feel the need to speak up for an injustice to a park you enjoy. Human nature. :)

[phamton]

What's funny is on the Universal boards (like IOACentral.com ) there is very little Disney bashing.

[JessicaR]

phamton - What's funny is on the Universal boards (like IOACentral.com ) there is very little Disney bashing.


That's because Universal fans are much classier. puckerup: ........

















Just kidding...

[capthooksmom]

Until last year my only experience with Universal was Universal Studios Hollywood from waaayy back. I had fun there, but I could take it or leave it -
nothing like Disney.
Well, last year MIL decided our family needed to spend at least 1 day at Universal Orlando. I was not excited (it was our first day there and I was ready to hit WDW) but I will tell you it far exceeded my expectations! We had a blast. DS was barely 3 at the time and he loved Seuss Landing almost as much as Fantasyland (I say almost because there isn't as much at Seuss Landing, but the theming is incredible!). I am ready for another trip that is Universal all the way!!
Disney's characters (IMO) are more warm and fuzzy and more widely known and recognized than Universals. I had a lot of trouble identifying almost all characters at Universal other than Spidey and the Seuss characters (loved them). This may be part of the appeal problem for Disney fanatics.

[Immelman]

my favorite are posts by the people that bash UO and admit they've never been there. they just wouldn't ever dream of leaving WDW's property. :D

[Prince Eric1]

This has been going on for a few years now, but it is just the perfect comeback to not have to do anything but read all of the posts from people who have been to both and state that they are now converts to Universal or now split their trips. We love both and could not rip either.

[ksdave]

I have learned to ignore these people. It seems that, until many people's children reach the age of 9 or 10, they are almost like Disney Zombies due to the barage of stuff they get that is Disney. I know that, when my kids were young, we could not go to the local mall without spending at least (30)minutes in the Disney Store, we had to own every Disney movie as soon as it went on sale, and any vacation not spent at a relative's house had to be at WDW. Once my son reached nine and we went on a combination UO/WDW vacation, our eyes were opened to the rest of the world. We have only been back to WDW once since that time, but have made four or five trips to UO, as well as gone on a Norwegian Cruise, gone on weekend trips to places like Shlitterbaun, Worlds of Fun, etc. The kids growing up has allowed us to try other things than just chasing characters around to get autographs.
Just ignore these UO bashers. Sooner or later, them and their families will open their minds to other opportunities.

[ChisJo]

I must admit that my first encounter with UO in 1999 was a letdown. It seemed to not have the magic that Disney offered. In my last trip, I decided to give it another shot. I has liked some of the rides, and also wanted to try IOA since I had not done so in 1999. Well, let me tell you, I ended up buying a 3 day pass and used them all up . I had the best time and look forward to my next trip to IOA and USF. I could do with or without Disney, but my sister (Who I am going with next) must get her fix of WDW!
Jo

[Blueberry]

Yes..this has been going on for years, even some in my own extended family feel that way, wouldn't set foot at Universal parks,..never been there just never would, because they KNOW it is not as good. :rolleyes:

This has always been my theory, for those who just want Disney, they are not going to find it at Universal...stay in the Disney parks and be happy. I however do not understand company or big business loyalty, but many Disneyaholics have it concerning the Disney parks. That is like saying I will never eat a Whopper, or even try one, because I like Big Macs and it would be disloyal.....ridiculous

There are certain Disney boards you will never find a good word said about Universal, many do not even allow discussion of Universal as it is off topic or causes trouble..I myself got asked to quit posting about it on a certain board, I no longer post there.

It is wonderful that DIS has its own moderated Universal site for Universal fans, it keeps the Universal haters pretty much from coming here and just flaming us or trying to stir up trouble just because it is not a Disney park.

Now we love both Universal and Disney but I know many here do not and many do not like Universal even after visiting it..too each his own, this is a debate that will never be settled like the off site-on site issue. Just want to say I love these boards and even though we have been visiting Universal for years I have picked up so much useful info here.... :flower1:

[Sandyincanada]

It is odd how some people feel the need to bash USF/IOA especially the ones who have never tried it. Most of the same people feel that if you dont stay onsite, you just "don't get it"...well, we got it, a very small room with tons of kids running everywhere...now, we "get it" in a quiet condo, lol. Or the ones who say they feel guilty about asking a question.

They are both great parks. We always do both but spend more time at usf/ioa, its just sooo much fun, lol. DW is cute, warm and fuzzy, a lovely place but not very thrilling. The first time I went to USF, I was expecting to be thrilled and enjoy "riding the movies" and thats exactly what happened. My teen DD who ignore the charactors at DW, went crazy when she saw thing 1 and 2.... but I guess growing up, she always preferred Dr Suess to Disney books.

And how on earth can anyone bash Spiderman?? The KIDS have to drag ME away from that ride, lol.

People shouldn't compare, they are entirely different parks with different goals in mind. And enjoying them both makes it a great diverse holiday for us. :)

[Blueberry]

I completely agree..WDW is very warm and fuzzy, a nice family oriented place to go but Universal is WOW!!! The rides and attractions are brand new technology and the best in the world...you do truly ride the movies as they say.... :cool1:

[Immelman]

I can't live with or without WDW. I remember growing up watching the wonderful world of dis on sunday nights and being amazed by walt and the things he did. I still get excited at 36 stepping onto Main St. but now that I get to spend so much time in all of the parks, it's lost the detail to attention. stitch and philharmagic have been let-downs, and mission space to me is the biggest waste of 100 million dollars a theme park company could do. some of the resorts actually look crappy..scuff marks, faded colors. it seems disney is simply reacting to moves UO does, and poorly. but I'll keep renewing our AP's because I'm a sucker. getting my picture taken with micket still makes me smile. but for first class entertainment, UO's about 10 minutes up the road. the new kid on the block is hit it's stride and kicking serious butt. I love it when diehard WDW weens brag that UO has no theming, no 'magic'. they have no idea. :D

[sha_lyn]

I don't get it either. Sure I can see people like WDW more (not that I agree LOL) but why all the negative energy put toward USO, especially from those that have never been. A thread here on the dis a few months ago really got ugly bcause some refused to believe that anyone could like USO. What really got me were the ones who said that the USO parks had no theming and nothing to ride for anyone under 13. I actually asked one of them if they tried opening their eyes while they were there.

[Immelman]

I got banned from Intercot for defending UO to the very end. I was the one being 'argumentive'. :D

[Michelle2]

I love WDW, but I totally love USO/IOA too! We made our first trip in Oct 2003, and I was a little hesitant...did not think I would love US as much as I did! My DH even likes it better :) We had a blast and cannot think of making our next WDW trip without being at US too! There are those of us die-hard Disney fans who love both, and that is definitely me and my family!

[aring75]

DH and I go back and forth between buying APs for WDW and USO/IOA. However, for the past two years, we've purchased passes for Universal. We got a little "Disneyed-out" as DH calls it. Oh, we'll definitley go back. But for now, we're getting our fill of the more high-powered entertainment that UOA provides.

:smooth:

[Cass]

LOL... I think they feel threatened and take it very personally if someone likes universal... like it is a personal insult.

If only they would realize there is room for both companies and both are wonderful ~ they lose that feeling of insecurity :)

[Blueberry]

There is no reason people cannot like both...we sure do, and would not dream of going to Orlando without visiting both sets of parks. As I said previously if they really just want Disney, stay in the Disney parks but don't bash us who want something differnt along with Disney parks, or who just prefer the Universal parks....intolerance of differnt ideas or differnt views is always ugly....just my two cents... :flower1:


THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME BUT I WOULD RATHER BE AT UNIVERSAL!!!

[HappyLawyer]

ok, here is my honest opinion, we do disney every 2 years and i love it, they have awesome shows, it is not really a comparison cuz the parks are different, but, i think the shows at the disney parks are much better- now i am very proud to admit that with all 4 of disney's parks, i enjoyed IOA the best, we went 3 days, and i had so much fun, i had never been before and it was awesome, i think people as i had been are too closed minded and it is just disney only, well i try to try something new each visit, our last was disney, seaworld, universal and ioa, next old town will be included and dinner shows too, so i am not a hater, i love all the parks, but again more fun at IOA then anywhere else.

[patster734]

I must confess that the first time I visited IOA, I almost came to hate it. It was December 2000 so the park wasn't very old. The trip consisted of just DW and I.

We arrived in the morning and headed towards Marvel Island. The first ride we came across was the Hulk which happened to be closed for testing. No problem we'll keep heading around the park. We bypassed Dr. Doom's Fearfall as DW hates those types of rides. We came to the Spiderman ride and got in line as I had been looking forward to this ride because of what I'd seen on the Travel Channel. The line was moving along ok until we reached the area with the Spiderman car display at which time the line was notified that the ride was broke with no estimate time of when the ride would be fixed. It was a chaotic mess as everyone exited the queue line. Well, being 0 for 2 on working rides, we were becoming frustrated with IOA.

We continued on towards Toontown and came across Dudley Do-Right's RipSaw Falls. As it was actually working, we decided to go on it. Got drenched and loved it! In my opinion, the best flume ride I've ever been on. Frustration was dwindling! As we were already drenched, we went on Popeye and Bluto's ride. Ok, I thought that I was drenched before going on this ride, but afterwards I realized that there's a level of soakness that can only be achieved by riding these 2 rides back to back. To me, Popeye and Bluto's ride is the best raft ride I've ever been on. The frustration that I felt previously had literally been washed away!

We continued around the rest of the park, enjoying both the rides and the atmosphere. Jurrasic Park River Ride was fun. Dueling Dragons was awesome. Both the Sindbad show and Poseidon's Fury show were entertaining. Mythos is one of the best themed restaurants that I've had the pleasure of eating at. Cat in the Hat was also alot of fun. Even managed to return back to Marvel Islands and ride the previously mentioned Hulk and Spiderman rides. They both lived up to their high expectations.

Looking back it amazes me. After one hour at the park, I was very frustrated and almost ready to leave. After one full day at the park, I was completely happy. We now rank IOA as one of the best parks that we've been to. As for Universal Studios, we really like it as well, especially with the addition of the Shrek movie and Mummy ride.

Of course, we still like and do Disney, but realize that USO has alot to offer us as well in both entertainment and excitement.

[kgilchri]

The best is when guests complain and they ALWAYS have to throw in Disney in their complaint. I've just started working at Universal and I've already gotten this at least a dozen times. People are nuts...