Comcast CEO: Universal will compete aggressively with Disney

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Words don't prove anything. Words are cheap. Visitors are what the whole business is about and Everest is a top-notch popular ride. And it has a great story even if Yeti doesn't move.

Haha. Shake hands and call it a day? Good game. Then what will we discuss next? (Goes in search of another thread.)

So...just WHY can they not FIX the Yeti? Does anyone know the reason?

Btw, I still love Expedition Everest but I do wonder why they can't fix it.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Hey Hulk has a story...

It's....um.....uh....,,

Hulk Smash... All the things.

Yeah. ;-)

Disney is all about the words...what THEY tell you to value.

PR Is alot of their arsenal...

I love the bacon at cape may cafe ( or anywhere...it's bought in bulk). But they're charging me $29 to get a picture of my kid with a chipmunk.
Almost all that they sell is "the story"... You can't dismiss it here.

If Everest was a "tremendous" ride without the worlds largest and most ambitious AA... Why bother trying. Because the STORY wasn't complete without it.

If you really think Everest is an awesome ride... You and I should go on a day trip.

Hulk, kraken, gwazi, Montu...all better rides within an hour's drive...
No "story"

A successful ride at any other amusing park is evidenced by the line and the ridership. Disney is the one place where this argument doesn't hold. And that's not my idea...that's what they have been dealing for 60 years. Any old park can build dirty amusement rides... Walt said it. And none charge you premiums for EVERYTHING.

They own it.

Ok...I'm done...back to the free dining watch and studying avatars bluray sales

 

[yitbos96bb]

So...just WHY can they not FIX the Yeti? Does anyone know the reason?

Btw, I still love Expedition Everest but I do wonder why they can't fix it.

I've heard the time it will take will shut it down an extensive amount of time 6-12 months or something like that...and they don't want to take away one of the big attractions. Perhaps after Avatarland opens

 

[Yellowstonetim]

So...just WHY can they not FIX the Yeti? Does anyone know the reason?

Btw, I still love Expedition Everest but I do wonder why they can't fix it.

Yeti is one of the biggest heaviest most advanced animatronics. It moved a great deal, but something cracked in the base. I heard that they will need to disassemble a portion of the mountain to fix it and everest would be closed for months.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

One thing we haven't talked about in all this discussion of Universal and Disney and what they have done the last 15 years and what they will do in the future is all the expansion Disney has done overseas and in Asia. That is amazing. There are awesome parks (I want to visit Disney Sea in Japan) and some great rides like Journey to the Center of the Earth.

(Which is so great because of the wonderful franchise it is part of. )

While we tend to be focused on the US on boards such as this, I think Disney did the right thing. These parks are going gangbusters and will pay off in the long run back here in America in DL and WDW. Disney certainly hasn't been sitting still!! I am excited about Shanghai and I sure hope Disney gets some Pandas!

 

[rteetz]

One thing we haven't talked about in all this discussion of Universal and Disney and what they have done the last 15 years and what they will do in the future is all the expansion Disney has done overseas and in Asia. That is amazing. There are awesome parks (I want to visit Disney Sea in Japan) and some great rides like Journey to the Center of the Earth. (Which is so great because of the wonderful franchise it is part of. ) While we tend to be focused on the US on boards such as this, I think Disney did the right thing. These parks are going gangbusters and will pay off in the long run back here in America in DL and WDW. Disney certainly hasn't been sitting still!! I am excited about Shanghai and I sure hope Disney gets some Pandas!

Disney is focusing on those components right now over seas is there top priority in the theme parks. One thing about japan those both of those parks are owned by the oriental company which leases all the rights from disney so it's technically not a disney runner theme park but it has some amazing attractions. Shanghai is also going to be a major hit for disney they are adding some amazing things there china is also getting the worlds largest disney store. Universal may be gaining ground here but by no means are they over seas disney is killing the competition.

 

[Son of Gadsden]

So...just WHY can they not FIX the Yeti? Does anyone know the reason?

Btw, I still love Expedition Everest but I do wonder why they can't fix it.

Everest is three different structures: The mountain, the track, and the Yeti. They each have different foundations. The movement from the Yeti was shaking loose from it's foundation so they had to turn it off. It still operates just fine, and every now and then they turn it on. To repair it, they would have to redo the Yeti foundation which would involve dismantling the entire Yeti structure, which would be a good portion of the mountain. It would take a long time. Disney doesn't feel like they can justify taking the ride out of service for a long portion of time to fix it. Not yet, anyway. Avatarland may change that.

 

[Robbi]

.....



While not in the same class as Disney, anything Universal does to improve is good for all of us. They aren't about to unseat Disney or even threaten it, but they do have Disney's attention and Disney is countering. That is good for everyone.


However, Universal has a long way to go to compete with Disney. I went for the first time this year because my daughter loves HP and went during our last trip. (Wife and I didn't go) It was fun and HP and Spiderman rides were great; however, there was a great deal not up to Disney standards. Not much in the way of merchandise, not near the customer service, and I was so disappointed with Dr Seuss land!!

Dr. Seuss is an amazing property known and beloved by people of all ages all over. All they did was make some cool shaped places and play area. They should redo it with a whole themed are with rides like HP. Some other rides need updated too. Doom Fear fall is terribly lame. My kids hated it.

Again, I hope they do better and increase. I will go one more time in a few years to see the new HP area. BTW, I also HATE that you have to pay for FP and can't use it on HP.

We all had a fun day and will go back but both my grown kids who love all kinds of theme parks said that it wasn't Disney!







I hope both do well and yes we win. I agree that Uni is much more an adult park, but it could be for everyone if they tried more.

HP expansion should help Uni for a few years, but I am both happy and worried. Pandora: World of Avatar at AK and Star Wars at Hollywood studios could be a terrible one-two punch if done right. It would push both parks into the stratosphere and greatly increase attendance. If AK and HS both become very popular full and multi-day parks, that will make it much less likely people would take time out of their week to go to Uni.

I predict that HP will do fantastic and Uni will do well and slightly increase their attendance for several years. Then when the newness wears off and Pandora opens things will go back to the way they were. Then when Star Wars opens they might even see a decrease.

It all depends on what else Uni does and what Disney does with SW.

You're right- Uni has outclassed WDW both in the parks and the resorts.
FOTL is free for onsite guests. There is a lot of talk about Disney going to a pay to play either by resort level or cash.

I have never been to Universal and that is probably never going to change. First off, not a big thrill ride person. Second, not a big fan of the movies Universal has in their parks, I am a Disney movie fan and like the theming of Disney more.

For me, it doesn't matter which one has the new rides or whatever, I am going to keep going to Disney because I like Disney's theming. And no matter what Universal does I bet they will never create the same magic Disney has, the second you get inside those gates you are in a different world and only Disney World has that. And only Disney has the magic left behind by a great, one of a kind dreamer, Walt Disney.

One Universal film I am a big fan of is Harry Potter. Grow up in love with the books and movies but I have no interest to go to the land because I don't want to take time away from a Disney trip

Of course this is all just me, but my point is I think Disney has a following so they do not have to respond to Universal as much as people think.

Before you decide WDW doesn't have to compete, you should make an informed decision by visiting the Uni parks. The 1st time my daughter and I went-about 10-11 years ago, it was supposed to be a one time thing cause we were bored at WDW. Instead, Uni has become our go to. We still include Disney but more because we are DVC members and now with a new grand baby, we want him to experience WDW and Uni.

Everest is three different structures: The mountain, the track, and the Yeti. They each have different foundations. The movement from the Yeti was shaking loose from it's foundation so they had to turn it off. It still operates just fine, and every now and then they turn it on. To repair it, they would have to redo the Yeti foundation which would involve dismantling the entire Yeti structure, which would be a good portion of the mountain. It would take a long time. Disney doesn't feel like they can justify taking the ride out of service for a long portion of time to fix it. Not yet, anyway. Avatarland may change that.

 

[Borishack]

So...just WHY can they not FIX the Yeti? Does anyone know the reason?

Because of the attitude of current Disney management. Their word view is that as long as people keep coming to ride attractions that are functional but have core elements that are broken, why bother repairing them?

So if you want to experience attractions that are repaired when core elements fail, you have to go to theme parks run by certain competitors who actually care about delivering what they promise.

 

[Borishack]

Everest is three different structures: The mountain, the track, and the Yeti. They each have different foundations. The movement from the Yeti was shaking loose from it's foundation so they had to turn it off. It still operates just fine, and every now and then they turn it on. To repair it, they would have to redo the Yeti foundation which would involve dismantling the entire Yeti structure, which would be a good portion of the mountain. It would take a long time. Disney doesn't feel like they can justify taking the ride out of service for a long portion of time to fix it. Not yet, anyway. Avatarland may change that.

We've been hearing this "Disney can't take that e-ticket out of action" excuse for almost eight years now. It's become reminiscent of the lazy homeowner who keeps hearing that the garage door opener isn't working consistently and who always says "I can't fix it because it would require taking the garage door out of service and that would be disruptive."

And if people are waiting for "Avatarland" to come online so Expedition Everest can be taken out of service for repair, you all better really like waiting....and waiting....and waiting...

 

[mvk]

You're right- Uni has outclassed WDW both in the parks and the resorts.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HaHaHaHa!!!!

Thanks for the laugh!

No, really, that's a good one.

ROTFL!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing this is sarcasm, which is hard to detect online. Please clear it up for everyone, though.

Universal has outclassed Disney. Get a grip, man. They have a nice little resort area over there, but it doesn't come close to Disney, let alone outclassing it.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

We've been hearing this "Disney can't take that e-ticket out of action" excuse for almost eight years now. It's become reminiscent of the lazy homeowner who keeps hearing that the garage door opener isn't working consistently and who always says "I can't fix it because it would require taking the garage door out of service and that would be disruptive."

I think a better analogy would be the garage door isn't working and in order to fix it they have to pour a new slab under the entire house. So choice A is don't fix the door but enjoy the rest of your house or choice B is move out of your house for a year so they can fix the door.

A house with a working garage door is preferable to a house without a working garage door but most people aren't going to move out for a year to fix it.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I agree with the others that Universal expanding is good for us fans of Disney.

The best case scenario is Disney competes by building new attractions and the worst case scenario is Disney does nothing and the parks have fewer people in them.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HaHaHaHa!!!!

Thanks for the laugh!

No, really, that's a good one.

ROTFL!!!!!!!!

I'm guessing this is sarcasm, which is hard to detect online. Please clear it up for everyone, though.

Universal has outclassed Disney. Get a grip, man. They have a nice little resort area over there, but it doesn't come close to Disney, let alone outclassing it.

I agree with you...
However they definitely have closed the gap.

The additions they've made have been much more detailed and quality in the last 5 years...much more so than the cheap looking original studios or even the better but still cedar point esque Island of Adventure in 99.

And their hotels get rave reviews in comparison for the price. common sense attributes that to their partnering with a legitimate service operator in Lowes (sp?))...thereby not trying to have bakers do the laundry. (FYI...Disney originally studied and based their resort operations off of Marriott, Hilton (specifically), Westin...but have moved slowly but steadily away from that model ever since)

I agree that wdw still is a better looking/better constructed place...but not as much as it was 15+ years ago. And the old Disney guard and Eisner are about 98% responsible for that...
Iger is a papersuit whose talent lies in negotiating properties and production in television... Which makes sense when looking at his acquisitions in IP but somewhat disarray in what exactly to do with them.

 

[Donut23]

I agree with you...
However they definitely have closed the gap.

The additions they've made have been much more detailed and quality in the last 5 years...much more so than the cheap looking original studios or even the better but still cedar point esque Island of Adventure in 99.

And their hotels get rave reviews in comparison for the price. common sense attributes that to their partnering with a legitimate service operator in Lowes (sp?))...thereby not trying to have bakers do the laundry. (FYI...Disney originally studied and based their resort operations off of Marriott, Hilton (specifically), Westin...but have moved slowly but steadily away from that model ever since)

I agree that wdw still is a better looking/better constructed place...but not as much as it was 15+ years ago. And the old Disney guard and Eisner are about 98% responsible for that...
Iger is a papersuit whose talent lies in negotiating properties and production in television... Which makes sense when looking at his acquisitions in IP but somewhat disarray in what exactly to do with them.

UNI does blow Disney out of the water on the quality of the hotels. Just because Disney has more doesn't mean they are better.

Right now operations reminds me of the tortious and the hare. Disney is busy-busy-busy with their magic bands, massive cost over runs .... All in preparation of taking more of our $$$ when they begin charging us for fast passes. (Don't kid yourselves. It's coming.)

Disney seems to be chasing it's tail while the overall care and feeding (maintenance) of their property suffers (too many examples to list).

Down international drive the UNI folks slowly add kick-butt attractions, hotels, shows. They have been rewarded recently with staggering increases in guest spending (enough to make uncle bobby travel from his ivory tower in Burbank to check it out personally after the first year HP opened.)

Remember how everyone said HP would die down in a month? NOT. But it HAS happened to the expansion to Fantasyland. Sure it's OK but you can hardly call any increases staggering.

That UNI turtle keeps plodding along.......taking it's bulging $$$$$ sacks to the bank.

Sure Disney is bigger. But it costs less to operate UNI. That means a game changer like HP has a vastly bigger inpact.

My GOD. They are standing in long lines to buy plastic wands.

The Comcasters are dancing all the way to the bank. No longer shy about going after Disney. It's a shame Disney has made Comcast's business of capturing Disney guests so easy.

 

[manning]

Like the, bigger isn't always Better. Heard and saw that many times in my life. It's like trying to turn a big ship on a dime. Can't be done.

 

[xie]

UNI does blow Disney out of the water on the quality of the hotels. Just because Disney has more doesn't mean they are better.

Right now operations reminds me of the tortious and the hare. Disney is busy-busy-busy with their magic bands, massive cost over runs .... All in preparation of taking more of our $$$ when they begin charging us for fast passes. (Don't kid yourselves. It's coming.)

Disney seems to be chasing it's tail while the overall care and feeding (maintenance) of their property suffers (too many examples to list).

Down international drive the UNI folks slowly add kick-butt attractions, hotels, shows. They have been rewarded recently with staggering increases in guest spending (enough to make uncle bobby travel from his ivory tower in Burbank to check it out personally after the first year HP opened.)

Remember how everyone said HP would die down in a month? NOT. But it HAS happened to the expansion to Fantasyland. Sure it's OK but you can hardly call any increases staggering.

That UNI turtle keeps plodding along.......taking it's bulging $$$$$ sacks to the bank.

Sure Disney is bigger. But it costs less to operate UNI. That means a game changer like HP has a vastly bigger inpact.

My GOD. They are standing in long lines to buy plastic wands.

The Comcasters are dancing all the way to the bank. No longer shy about going after Disney. It's a shame Disney has made Comcast's business of capturing Disney guests so easy.

You are so right about the hotels, it seems. We've never stayed at the Universal hotels, but all our friends who have RAVE about them. We are staying at Hard Rock in September for a week, looking forward to it!

Anyone who thought Harry Potter at Universal would die down was engaged in magical thinking, no pun intended. That book series, and the movies that tagged along with it, were and are huge cultural events. An entire generation or two of kids drank the HP koolaid like hippies and nerds drank Tolkien in the 60s and 70s. And what Universal (and Rowling) did right was ensure that what's in the park is as authentic to the movie sets as possible, so the vision people have already seen onscreen matches what they are experiencing in person.

We went to Universal purely see HP a year ago, and we loved it. I can't wait to go back. Frozen butterbeer... yum. We didn't buy wands that trip, but we still have the 3 wizard trading cards we got from the Chocolate Frogs at the candy store, and the boys in my household are the proud owners of a genuine parchment Maurauder's Map. And I think there are a couple of t-shirts still holding their own. I'm sure I'll be buying more come September, because, Harry Potter.

I can't say that folks in our house identify with any current Disney characters as much as they do Rowlings' characters, except Star Wars which has very little park presence. Personally, I love Belle, but I'm a geeky reader girl too, who would rather put her nose in a book, but that also means I kind of identify with Hermione (at least I enjoyed reading about her). But the guys in the house aren't enamored of anything at Disney anymore, from a character perspective. The little ones outgrew Buzz Lightyear years ago. They are totally stoked about going to Universal.

The best thing in the world Disney could do for themselves in my guys' eyes is get to work on Star Wars expansion plans, stat. Generations of guys would beat down the gates to get in.

 

[Donut23]

You are so right about the hotels, it seems. We've never stayed at the Universal hotels, but all our friends who have RAVE about them. We are staying at Hard Rock in September for a week, looking forward to it!

Anyone who thought Harry Potter at Universal would die down was engaged in magical thinking, no pun intended. That book series, and the movies that tagged along with it, were and are huge cultural events. An entire generation or two of kids drank the HP koolaid like hippies and nerds drank Tolkien in the 60s and 70s. And what Universal (and Rowling) did right was ensure that what's in the park is as authentic to the movie sets as possible, so the vision people have already seen onscreen matches what they are experiencing in person.

We went to Universal purely see HP a year ago, and we loved it. I can't wait to go back. Frozen butterbeer... yum. We didn't buy wands that trip, but we still have the 3 wizard trading cards we got from the Chocolate Frogs at the candy store, and the boys in my household are the proud owners of a genuine parchment Maurauder's Map. And I think there are a couple of t-shirts still holding their own. I'm sure I'll be buying more come September, because, Harry Potter.

I can't say that folks in our house identify with any current Disney characters as much as they do Rowlings' characters, except Star Wars which has very little park presence. Personally, I love Belle, but I'm a geeky reader girl too, who would rather put her nose in a book, but that also means I kind of identify with Hermione (at least I enjoyed reading about her). But the guys in the house aren't enamored of anything at Disney anymore, from a character perspective. The little ones outgrew Buzz Lightyear years ago. They are totally stoked about going to Universal.

The best thing in the world Disney could do for themselves in my guys' eyes is get to work on Star Wars expansion plans, stat. Generations of guys would beat down the gates to get in.

Oh boy I agree.

Want to make Comcast feel like the butt of a ciggie, scrap the stupid magic bands and spend the BILLION + on Star Wars. The lines will start out on Highway 4!!!

The way it is now (have said it for a while). I have the mental image on Comcast Grownups at the big conference table, magic bands discarded. They are bent in half with laughter reading the Disboards checking the daily deposits from UNI.

 

[xie]

Oh boy I agree.

Want to make Comcast feel like the butt of a ciggie, scrap the stupid magic bands and spend the BILLION + on Star Wars. The lines will start out on Highway 4!!!

The way it is now (have said it for a while). I have the mental image on Comcast Grownups at the big conference table, magic bands discarded. They are bent in half with laughter reading the Disboards checking the daily deposits from UNI.

Heh. Dunno. I will say that I live in a major city within driving distance of Orlando. Many of our friends and work associates have either stopped going to WDW entirely and only go to Universal, or they stay at Universal and enter Disney property for only 1 or 2 days of their trip as offsite park guests. We know very few who split their stays and move from a hotel on one property to a hotel on the other one. Most of them, once they experience the Loews hotels over at Universal, don't want to stay at Disney's resorts anymore. They are telling us we're going to feel the same way. Between the nicer rooms and the endless FOTL privilege, it'll be interesting for us to see how the other side lives, after spending so many years at WDW.

Harry Potter was inarguably the biggest fantasy IP of the 00's, and Disney let it go. (I'm sure they regret that.) If the film division does a good job with the next 3 Star Wars movies, that will be the biggest fantasy IP of this decade, but Disney doesn't seem to be doing much to capitalize on it. It's 2014 already... at the pace they move it will be well into the 2020s before anything new Star Wars arrives on Disney property. (Character signings and t-shirts do not count.)

 

[old lady]

I heard that the makers of Harry Potter are making a movie about the stuffed bear Paddington who like Marmalade like Pooh likes honey. Sounds like attempt to cash on the pooh crowd. I find it weird that Disney owns Marvel and yet all the superhero rides are in Universal and Six Flags.