Can you believe ...

[Grumpy4568]

Yeah, while COVID certianly has had some impact, Disney has been so slow in recent years, even before that. I really don't know what causes it, but it's pretty astonishing that they can't get stuff done faster. Maybe they are trying to do too much. It's one thing for a brand new ride to run into issues, but clones of something that is already built and operates correctly should be pretty easy to construct.

Including IT, high speed internet, etc.. Which Disney is embarrassingly bad at.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

This competition from Universal is a good thing. The DisneyWorld parks are becoming oversaturated with crowds. Ironically, DisneyWorld needs something to pull some people away to make DisneyWorld better.

Universal has been a no-go to me. I went once in the early 90's, and nothing appealed to me. Nowhere near as nice as Disney. Never went back.

Then they built Harry Potter in 2016. My interest piqued. But it's still only a 1 to 2 day park. And too expensive to do a side-trip, because I'll have to buy park tickets plus the Express Pass to get it done in a day. It's over $2100 for my family of 4 for ONE DAY in December. ($202 for a 2-park 1-day ticket and $299 for the Express Pass) Um, nope.

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No way I'm adding that onto a DisneyWorld vacation. And no way I'm taking just a 1-2 day vacation at Universal. We normally take 7-10 day vacations.

But if the new park opens up at Universal in the next few years, and the Universal Parks become more like a 4 day thing, then we'll definitely plan a vacation to just Universal one year. Then it would be worth it to stay in a hotel there for 3-4 days and get free Express Passes.

I'm looking forward to it, as it will ease DisneyWorld crowds when more people do that.

We would never take a 1-2 day vacation at UO either. After our first trip in 2020, we decided we need at least 5 days at UO. There is so much to do there and nothing compares to Halloween Horror Nights! We purchased AP's for 4 of us for $400 and change each. We book through American Express fine resorts at Portofino Bay and our last trip this past Christmas the total for 6 nights was $2300.00. With the AMEX deal you get a room upgrade at check in so we were moved to a Deluxe suite which was huge. You also get included breakfast for every day of your stay which alone pays for the AP's. Plus a $200 statement credit and a $100 dinner credit which takes the stay down to $2000 for 4 people, 6 nights at a Deluxe resort waking distance from the parks with included unlimited express passes. WDW has nothing that even comes close to what UO offers. Plus the parks are much cleaner. This is coming from a DVC owner so take it for what it's worth.

 

[kassonvike]

We would never take a 1-2 day vacation at UO either. After our first trip in 2020, we decided we need at least 5 days at UO. There is so much to do there and nothing compares to Halloween Horror Nights! We purchased AP's for 4 of us for $400 and change each. We book through American Express fine resorts at Portofino Bay and our last trip this past Christmas the total for 6 nights was $2300.00. With the AMEX deal you get a room upgrade at check in so we were moved to a Deluxe suite which was huge. You also get included breakfast for every day of your stay which alone pays for the AP's. Plus a $200 statement credit and a $100 dinner credit which takes the stay down to $2000 for 4 people, 6 nights at a Deluxe resort waking distance from the parks with included unlimited express passes. WDW has nothing that even comes close to what UO offers. Plus the parks are much cleaner. This is coming from a DVC owner so take it for what it's worth.

Agree 100%. Also a DVC owner and we just did a Saturdayto Saturday UO trip staying at Hard Rock which came with unlimited express passes. Best Orlando vacation we’ve had in last 10 years. it was so relaxing and no stress. We rented a car one day to go to Kennedy and spent most of one day at Volcano bay. The rest of the time was sitting by pool and going in and out of parks whenever we felt like it. i only booked two restraunts(both times the day before). No planning, no constantly looking at my watch and trying to rush everyone to specific rides or restraints at specific times. It reminded me of being a kid again and just wondering around, taking everything in, and trying whatever we felt like doing.

(Also we rode Velocicoaster 9 times. It was Awesome!!!)

 

[bbeagle]

it was so relaxing and no stress. We rented a car one day to go to Kennedy and spent most of one day at Volcano bay. The rest of the time was sitting by pool and going in and out of parks whenever we felt like it.

Sounds very boring and dull to me. I’d hate a vacation like that. Shows how much people are different.

When I go on vacation, the LAST thing I want to do is sit on the beach and do nothing. From my perspective, it seems like I’m wasting my time and money. I can sleep on my couch at home. I want to get my money's worth - if I’m going to France, I’m filling up my day by going up the Eiffel Tower, visiting the louvre, taking a biking tour of the city, going down the Seine in a dinner cruise. Lying down in a park on a blanket napping or reading a book is hell to me. I’d regret that when I got back.

When we last went to Disneyland with a large group, half the people said ‘we've gone on 5 rides already! Let’s go back to the hotel, visit the pool, and maybe come back after a relaxing dinner!'. the other half of us were like, ‘see ya, We're going on ALL the rides TODAY. The snack bar in our pocket is all the food we need. We don’t do pools'.

When I return from a vacation, I need 2 days to relax on my couch at home to 'recover' from the vacation. I know others idea of a vacation is to relax so when they come home they are rejuvenated and ready to go - not me. lol.

 

[kassonvike]

Sounds very boring and dull to me. I’d hate a vacation like that. Shows how much people are different.

When I go on vacation, the LAST thing I want to do is sit on the beach and do nothing. From my perspective, it seems like I’m wasting my time and money. I can sleep on my couch at home. I want to get my money's worth - if I’m going to France, I’m filling up my day by going up the Eiffel Tower, visiting the louvre, taking a biking tour of the city, going down the Seine in a dinner cruise. Lying down in a park on a blanket napping or reading a book is hell to me. I’d regret that when I got back.

When we last went to Disneyland with a large group, half the people said ‘we've gone on 5 rides already! Let’s go back to the hotel, visit the pool, and maybe come back after a relaxing dinner!'. the other half of us were like, ‘see ya, We're going on ALL the rides TODAY. The snack bar in our pocket is all the food we need. We don’t do pools'.

When I return from a vacation, I need 2 days to relax on my couch at home to 'recover' from the vacation. I know others idea of a vacation is to relax so when they come home they are rejuvenated and ready to go - not me. lol.

oh we still spent the vast majority of our time in the parks. with the unlimited express passes however it was easy to do everything we wanted to do. I felt like we rode three times as many rides as usual with very little planning or effort. the pool was usually for an hour or two tops most days, sometimes not at all (it was January)

 

[pkgman]

I know, right? The only reason I think they can't re-route it (and like put a temporary canopy over it to avoid the dust from Tron) is that the railroad would be going through a work zone. And I think, for OSHA and legal reasons, that's not allowed.

So you are saying that WDRR is going to be closing again for Splash Mountain re-theming construction.
Construction goes on all of the time in cities. You construct safety barricades to protect individuals in the area. If you didn’t like plain old boring barricades you could theme it too given area.

 

[Gusey]

So you are saying that WDRR is going to be closing again for Splash Mountain re-theming construction.
Construction goes on all of the time in cities. You construct safety barricades to protect individuals in the area. If you didn’t like plain old boring barricades you could theme it too given area.

In DLP, when they were renovating Pirates (which the train goes through like Splash Mountain), they just boarded up the windows into the attraction. They'd only need to close the train again for the Splash Mountain re-theme if it was for structural reasons

 

[TommyJK]

This competition from Universal is a good thing. The DisneyWorld parks are becoming oversaturated with crowds. Ironically, DisneyWorld needs something to pull some people away to make DisneyWorld better.

Universal has been a no-go to me. I went once in the early 90's, and nothing appealed to me. Nowhere near as nice as Disney. Never went back.

Then they built Harry Potter in 2016. My interest piqued. But it's still only a 1 to 2 day park. And too expensive to do a side-trip, because I'll have to buy park tickets plus the Express Pass to get it done in a day. It's over $2100 for my family of 4 for ONE DAY in December. ($202 for a 2-park 1-day ticket and $299 for the Express Pass) Um, nope.

View attachment 648343

No way I'm adding that onto a DisneyWorld vacation. And no way I'm taking just a 1-2 day vacation at Universal. We normally take 7-10 day vacations.

But if the new park opens up at Universal in the next few years, and the Universal Parks become more like a 4 day thing, then we'll definitely plan a vacation to just Universal one year. Then it would be worth it to stay in a hotel there for 3-4 days and get free Express Passes.

I'm looking forward to it, as it will ease DisneyWorld crowds when more people do that.

Not sure how you figure Universal is a 1-2 day park. Combine Universal and Islands of Adventure and it's roughly the same size and same number of attractions as when you combine Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Would you consider a MK + HS visit only a 1-2 combination too? Or would it at least be 3? (2 Days MK, 1 Day HS)

As for the prices, As others have noted you could get your express passes via a stay at one of the deluxes that include Express Pass for free for 2 days (check-in day + check-out day). Royal Pacific Resort is $339 for the night on Dec 19th (giving you free express passes for Dec 19th and 20th):



Doing a search for a 2 day park to park ticket (as opposed to one day) for that date too comes to $1465 for tickets.

So I just put together:
- Stay at a premier resort
- Unlimimted Express Passes for everyone for 2 days
- 2 Day Park to Park ticket
Total : $1804

For comparison I did a similar search for same dates at Disney:
- Stay at Carribean Beach Resort (similar in class to Royal Pacific)
- 2 Day Park Hoppers
- Genie + (which isn't even a close comparison to Unlimited Express, but it's as close as you can hope to get for any form of front of the line access)
Total : $2087

 

[bbeagle]

Not sure how you figure Universal is a 1-2 day park. Combine Universal and Islands of Adventure and it's roughly the same size and same number of attractions as when you combine Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Would you consider a MK + HS visit only a 1-2 combination too? Or would it at least be 3? (2 Days MK, 1 Day HS)

You're leaving out huge swaths of WDW in making your comparison. There is also Epcot and AK. There are also resorts to visit like a campfire with Mickey or a Luau at Polynesian. There's Disney Springs. Lots more to make WDW a week-long trip.

As for the prices, As others have noted you could get your express passes via a stay at one of the deluxes that include Express Pass for free for 2 days (check-in day + check-out day). Royal Pacific Resort is $339 for the night on Dec 19th (giving you free express passes for Dec 19th and 20th):

Doing a search for a 2 day park to park ticket (as opposed to one day) for that date too comes to $1465 for tickets.
Total : $1804

For comparison I did a similar search for same dates at Disney:
Total : $2087

Yes, I know a vacation at each could cost similar. The issue is that I _WILL_ be taking a vacation at Disney. I wanted a 1-day trip to Universal.

Staying at Disney an EXTRA park day costs me $300 for a room and $200 for park tickets ($50/day/pp). That's $500.

If the Universal day trip costs $500-$800 for my family, I might consider it. But $1800? No way. I'll spend $500 to spend that day in Disney instead - or go to Cape Canaveral, Legoland, SeaWorld, KeyWest to swim with dolphins. All much, much, much cheaper options.

Yes, an entire vacation at Universal would be okay, but until it's a week-long vacation, we won't go there.

 

[TommyJK]

You're leaving out huge swaths of WDW in making your comparison. There is also Epcot and AK. There are also resorts to visit like a campfire with Mickey or a Luau at Polynesian. There's Disney Springs. Lots more to make WDW a week-long trip.

And you're leaving out huge swaths of attractions and activities if you say that Universal is only a 1-2 day park. There is also resorts to visit (becasue you can pool-hop across all of the resorts, go to the Bowling alley at Cabana Bay etc.), the Luau at Royal Pacific, Volvano Bay, Citywalk...... Lots to make Universal a week-long trip. We've done it many times, had a blast, and never felt as if we didn't have something to do each day.

But I'll ask one of my questions again, but re-word it differently. If DW only had MK and HS, would you consider Disney a 1-2 day park?

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

Upsetting, but to add even more insult to injury the The Walt Disney World Railroad has been closed this whole time. IMHO that's just totally unacceptable, it was one factor in our decision to bail on WDWs 50th. Get it rerouted and reopend while you sit and twiddle your thumbs on Tron. Remember all the rumors & discussions of Tron being mothballed?

Who is responsible for these poor decisions? Josh D’Amaro?

 

[PepperjackDragon]

This competition from Universal is a good thing. The DisneyWorld parks are becoming oversaturated with crowds. Ironically, DisneyWorld needs something to pull some people away to make DisneyWorld better.

Universal has been a no-go to me. I went once in the early 90's, and nothing appealed to me. Nowhere near as nice as Disney. Never went back.

Then they built Harry Potter in 2016. My interest piqued. But it's still only a 1 to 2 day park. And too expensive to do a side-trip, because I'll have to buy park tickets plus the Express Pass to get it done in a day. It's over $2100 for my family of 4 for ONE DAY in December. ($202 for a 2-park 1-day ticket and $299 for the Express Pass) Um, nope.

View attachment 648343

No way I'm adding that onto a DisneyWorld vacation. And no way I'm taking just a 1-2 day vacation at Universal. We normally take 7-10 day vacations.

But if the new park opens up at Universal in the next few years, and the Universal Parks become more like a 4 day thing, then we'll definitely plan a vacation to just Universal one year. Then it would be worth it to stay in a hotel there for 3-4 days and get free Express Passes.

I'm looking forward to it, as it will ease DisneyWorld crowds when more people do that.

this is a classic misunderstanding of express pass. Express pass is only intended for deluxe hotel guest or extremely rich. You can stay at portifino bay for one night for 404 save on your WDW hotel cost and get 2days express pass for all guests for 404 dollars (from a 2 minute search) or book through Amex and get a 100 dollar dinner credit as well or look for a better deal. Then stack ticket coupons on top of it. In about 2 minutes searching the price has already dropped to 1200 for all of that (2days parks, deluxe hotel, 100 dollar credit via Amex, and express 2 days) and we know better deals are available if you are a savvy shopper and willing to switch hotels for one night.
Still expensive but given WDW recent multiday ticket increase the savings offset on WDW ticket for non annual pass holders make it much more palatable.

 

[bbeagle]

But I'll ask one of my questions again, but re-word it differently. If DW only had MK and HS, would you consider Disney a 1-2 day park?

You're asking the wrong question. My kids are not into roller-coasters bigger than Slinky's Dog Dash. The only things they like that are in the park are Harry Potter and Jurassic Park and Minions. Marvel Super Heroes do not interest them at all. Any big rides aren't for us.

They like 'everything' at Disney. They have watched all the movies and enjoy everything. We could skip most of Epcot, and they'd be happy though.

You like Universal, fine. You don't want to get your hair done to match Disney Princesses, fine. That's the difference. Just MK and HS could be a week long for us. My son could spend an entire afternoon making Lightsabers and Star Wars robots, while my daughter could get her hair done and try dresses on for an entire afternoon.

Universal - two parks, we would go to the Harry Potter areas, and spend a few hours there. Spend an hour in the Jurassic Park area, then leave. Once they get more that our family likes, then it will be worth more. When they get bigger and like bigger rides, bigger coasters, Super Mario land opens, etc. then it will be something we'd spend more than 1 day in.

Maybe our family would love Universal. Maybe there are small things here and there we'd like. We want to TRY it for 1 day, but it's too expensive for a 1 day trial.

Remember that I went before, well before Harry Potter opened and I absolutely hated Universal Studios. I, along with my brothers and friends begged my parents to leave and go back to Disney. My parents planned it as a 1 day side trip, so we did go back to Disney the next day. I felt in Universal, there were no 'lands', it was all just a ride here, an unrelated ride there, no overall theming. I saw large square grey warehouse buildings in the background everywhere. It didn't feel like home. It just felt like a bigger Six Flags back home. Maybe it's all changed, but I have that bad taste in my mouth from before.

 

[SteveH]

Who is responsible for these poor decisions? Josh D’Amaro?

I really have no idea, I'd say it was the team that designed it and was ok with the idea of the WDRR being shut down for an extended period. The ball was at Bob Iger's feet then he handed it to Bob Chapek, as the CEO they get much the blame IMHO. I am of the belief that TRON is an embarrassment at this point.