Are Disney & Universal Fans Really That Different.

[SanFranciscan]

Okay, I will disclose that I have an ulterior motive for asking this question. I have just accepted work writing theme park reviews for other people whose names will appear on the reviews. In other words, I shall be a ghost writer.

Now here is the deal. I have noticed here that Universal posts and Disney posts are full of digs at each other. I understand that the marketing machine must go on for both sides. However, my only crime is wanting to get off of a front gate at a theme park where I currently work in the sun in tremendous heat without shade and in total downpours for $8.00 per hour. I have no interest in being unfair to any of the parks and want to do right by people planning to visit any attraction this summer should they follow my advice.

Do you think that Universal fans and Disney fans are really that different? Can't themed entertainment just be themed entertainment? Period. Please tell me if you disagree and why. I am fearful of being expected to be catty in order to hold readers' interest.

 

[cmwade77]

I am a fan of both, so i don't know where this comes from.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

I'm a huge fan of both. I'm sure most people have a preference, but I would think that anyone who has any real bias towards one or the other would be in the minority.

 

[Planogirl]

I like both and make it a rule to defend both from unfair comments. I don't understand the mentality of tearing down either of them.

I will say that Disney fans do more of it but maybe only because there are so many more of them here.

 

[macraven]

both parks get my money.
enjoy them both.

i'm an equal opportunity spender.....

 

[RMulieri]

I am HUGE fan of both, but you will find diehard fans on boths sides that will take jabs at each other.I find on the disboards there is alot more Universal haters then Disney haters.I have even been flamed for defending Universal and was told I must not be a "true" Disney fan.

 

[Darcy03231]

Count me in as another person who likes both. They each offer different experiences.

I will say that I find if you have young children WDW is a better fit. Its definitely more geared for them.

We didn't start going to US/IOA until my kids were old enough (and tall enough) to ride everything. Now, they'd rather go to US/IOA over WDW as they are coaster junkies and love thrill rides (which WDW lacks).

 

[damo]

DL and USO are my favourite parks. WDW is not my favourite but that doesn't mean I still don't go there!

 

[derekburgan]

Wow, more power to the OP and I hope it's a lucrative career choice, but I've officially seen everything. A ghost writer for theme park reviews?

I think there is a mentality of YOU'RE WITH US OR AGAINST US in the theme park community, the same as there is in almost every entertainment form. Usually though it is by a younger generation, but the "Disney Blinders" seem to stay on people longer. This mentality is definitely changing, as families who only grew up with Disney World are disappearing and a big combination of Universal having huge properties that are hitting big right now (Harry Potter, Marvel, Despicable Me, etc) whereas Disney had to literally buy its competition as Disney's core characters had almost zero grasp on American culture in the 2000s.

When I started reading comic books, I loved Marvel comics. If it wasn't a Marvel comic I had no interest. It helped that there was a semi-playfull competition between Marvel and DC (the other big comic publisher). For years I would only buy and read Marvel comics. But then I grew up. And I realized it wasn't Marvel comics that I necessarily like, but the creators who were behind those comics. And if those creators moved over to DC, I would pretty much like the book they were on there. Then I found out about comics that were put by companies that weren't Marvel and DC, comics that were written for adults to enjoy and not "for all ages." It's great that Spider-man can appeal to an 8 year old as much as a 40 year old, but I also like a comic book that has no superheroes and deals with adult themes that I can relate to.

Disney fans obviously love theme parks. And for many of them all they ever had was Disney and something like Universal is a shock to the system. Many people just don't like "new" or "different" things because it's too much of a change. But Universal (and Sea World and Busch Gardens) have things that just about every Disney fan would love, especially if they have young boys, teenagers, or young adults in their party. Disney caters to young children, and there's a place for that, but only going to Disney World makes me think of someone who started watching Nickeldeon on TV and still was only watching Nickeldeon when they were 40. At some point you have to take off the blinders and accept that there's something else out there that just might be as good, if not better in some ways, that what you are used to.

And to be fair to those wearing Disney Blinders, Disney the corporation is insanely good (with deep pockets) in marketing to that crowd and making sure they don't see anything else. For this particular audience (the Dis Boards) I think it speaks VOLUMES that the last Dis meet was held at the Wizarding World. If you listened to Pete and the gang's reaction to the pre-opening of the WWOHP you would think it was one of the worst places in Orlando and could never last. But Pete and the Dis listen to their fan base and know what they like, and people - even hardcore Disney fans - like Universal once they give it a chance.

The tides are changing, and we are probably one or two theme park "generations" of families who won't see at as "Disney or Universal," it will be gong to Orlando to visit "Disney and Universal."

 

[Sehsun]

I'm a big fan of all the major theme parks in central Florida. In fact, SeaWorld is currently my favorite one.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We also love both. For the purposes of your research, we act the same at both sets of parks. I do think more close minded people seem to be WDW fans only. They seem to feel like they're cheating on Disney, if they admit to liking UO. I have a close relative who hated UO, because they saw alcohol everywhere they turned. Interestingly, they said they'd never seen alcohol in a Disney park not even Epcot. When I see people on the Disney forums on this board say UO's rides aren't any good, the food is all terrible, the crowd is rowdy compared to the more family friendly guests at WDW, etc., I know they don't know what they're talking about & tend to ignore their WDW advice as well. Neither of the sets of parks are perfect all the time nor is everything about either of them all bad.

 

[schumigirl]

Good luck with your new career. I`m very curious as to how being a ghost writer works when it`s opinions you are writing about??

I do think there are people who have the opinion that you can`t love or enjoy both theme parks.

On our very first trip we did an Illuminations Cruise with a family who only did Disney. We said we were going to Universal the next day, we were very excited and asked what they liked at Universal. They looked shocked and said they would never go to "those" parks?? Didn`t like to pursue the reasons why.

We are a bit unusual for UK visitors I suppose that we don`t go to Disney at all now. I do think Disney is wonderful, but with an 18 year old son it doesn`t really hold much for us with exception of ToT, RnRC and maybe Splash. We will go back for a couple of days at Disney, maybe next year when we plan to visit at a less busy time of year. But we still plan to stay at RPR.

We adore the Universal parks. It has a more vibrant feel and a bit more adult theme which we enjoy a lot. I wouldn`t feel "disloyal" going to one park over the other. I don`t understand that viewpoint at all?

HP has certainly changed things a bit. I`m reading on different sites a lot more people are staying one or two nights at one of the Universal hotels to take advantage of the EP and early entry to HP. These are people that used to say they had little or no interest in US/IOA. This can only be a good thing.

I think both can be enjoyed fully if you don`t try and compare the two. Both are unique and wonderful in their own way.

 

[Lycaon]

I'm neutral when it comes to the whole "Disney vs. Universal" thing. I've visited and enjoyed both, and while I have an obvious preference for Universal, I don't wish bad things on Disney and I hope both companies continue to grow and improve over the years. Their competition only means good things for us!

Now, I will confess to being mildly annoyed when I tell people I'm going to Orlando and they automatically assume I mean WDW (and trust me, they ALWAYS do). My correction of "Nooo... Universal Studios..." is then met with "Oh, you're going to Harry Potter World?"

 

[SanFranciscan]

I'm a big fan of all the major theme parks in central Florida. In fact, SeaWorld is currently my favorite one.

You might be surprised at how much company you have as I have heard from a number of tourists here in Orlando who claim the same favorite. I am just surprised at how huge the themed entertainment industry is in general with Sea World becoming a major contender around the country.

Yet the industry is huge in places where you would not expect. A co-worker recently wrote recommendations for hotels for tourists going to a shopping mall in Minnesota. I am not kidding. These families were planning to book hotel rooms in order to spend their vacations in a shopping mall. Believe it or not the mall is special enough to attract visitors who are not from Minnesota to come into the state.

I did some research for a co-worker writing an article about The World Of Coke. I busted out laughing because I imagined a big warehouse full of soft drinks and wondered why anyone would buy tickets to take their family to that. No, that is not it at all. The World of Coke is a real destination in Atlanta and is marketed as such.

Working farms which really do grow food for sale in supermarkets are also into "agri-tainment" and sometimes make a fair share of their income from tourism. Same thing with wineries, with an ever-increasing number of regions with a "wine country."

Zoos have their following among people who have local zoos traveling great distances just to visit zoos that I did not even know existed until I learned that my co-workers were writing about them from a guest's point of view.

How much money gets spent just to promote state fairs can be incredible. For example the person writing for the hotels surrounding the shopping mall in Minnesota wrote a Minnesota State Fair piece for a publication in Iowa. The California State Fair sells among people from Nevada. The hotel industry loves this of course.

 

[ilovefh]

We love both! Well, all three actually because we also have Sea World annual passes too! Thank you free teacher pass!

Funny enough we just had a discussion about our park attendance last week. When I renewed my WDW AP the CM asked if I wanted to know how many times I had used my pass. I had used it 41 times this past year. I thought it was low but I remembered all of the Mardi Gras nights we spent at Universal, all of the Christmas nights we spent at Sea World and all of the days we spent at the other two parks. I guess it cut into our Disney time. Oh yeah, and the new baby!