Come on, Disney! Step it up already.

[metzgardesign]

Disney became comfortable, then they fell into complacency.

Universal is still hungry.

We took our first sidetrip to US/IOA on our last visit to Disney. The Universal complex, hands down beat the comparable elements at Disney. The dining was better, the hotel was better (and not just in level of amenities, but in service, cleanliness, and ROI), and the parks was better. People seemed to be having a good time at the Universal parks. The underlying vibe was a much more concentrated effort by the Universal folks to make the visit a good one for the customers.

Disney needs to refocus on why they exist. Concentrate on what visitors want and expect to see and experience (other than 5 year old girls in princess dresses.....there can be that of course.....but they also need to concentrate on a wider customer base). Re-dedicate their drive to what Walt intended when he built Disneyland (and subsequently WDW).

They have almost entirely lost sight of the founding principles. And with that loss of sight.....the parks have suffered; the hotels have become stale and crusty; and the dining even, has become "Meh."

 

[RMoneyTheHBomb]

I think we will all disagree on what is better, but no one can argue that Universal has upped the antie. They coasted for a while but it seems the success of Potter reinvigorated them and proved that people would come if they were presented with quality.

I've done Disneyland hundreds of times and WDW every 2-3 years since 2000. We did universal on one of our first trips and saw no reason to go back until our most recent trip. After doing both universal parks, we all agreed that Disney has got to step it up or risk losing more people.

It's gonna take an effort bigger than adding something much more than new fantasyland which none of us were really impressed with to stay at the top of the game. I don't think Avatar is a great idea but may be saved in how the execute it.

If Universal gets lotr, Disney has got to have an answer.

In the end though, we win. The theme park fans win as these 2 companies try to one up each other.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Nixie]

Walking Midde Earth and seeing Hogwarts all in the same day!?!?! My little geeky heart would explode!!!

 

[Jennasis]

Just think, if Universal manages to have meet-n-greets with Aragorn and Legolas...

 

[bcrook]

Walking Midde Earth and seeing Hogwarts all in the same day!?!?! My little geeky heart would explode!!!

I am with you there.

 

[Nixie]

I am with you there.

Just think... If I could coordinate a vacay where I visit HS during Star Wars Weekends, then hop over to US for Middle Earth and Harry Potter?!!?!!? I am having heart palpatations just thinking about it!

 

[notnothin]

Just think... If I could coordinate a vacay where I visit HS during Star Wars Weekends, then hop over to US for Middle Earth and Harry Potter?!!?!!? I am having heart palpatations just thinking about it!

It could be even better if Disney would go ahead and green light Lucas Land!

 

[Robbi]

For us the difference is we feel like we're on vacation at Universal while we feel that Disney World is work because in order to have a nice trip, you have to plan and it's getting worse. It used to be plan 1.5 years in advance to book a room, then you had to get to Epcot early to get on the computer thingees to make a dining reservation, then came ADRs, now they'll want us to not only make room and dining reservations but also to plan in advance which rides we'll want to ride at a certain time of day 6 months in advance.

Pretty soon Disney will want to ask our children how many children they plan to have and on which day of which month of which year. They'll probably want to issue a Fast +++ in order to get them into the delivery room.

 

[bauer1168]

Ok so, I am very excited by this news. I really hope an agreement can be reached!
My main question though is, were would it go? Universal or IOA? Do they have space to expand or would something need to torn down?

Universal and Disney are very different in my opinion, I love them both because they are. Universal has the great rides, Disney has the magic. There is NOWHERE in Disney World that has a queue as detailed/expertly themed as Forbidden Journey (Little Mermaid is great, but not better), or as original and amazing as the ride itself. New Fantasyland is so rich in detail and its theming and I loved it, but Harry Potter is better in both departments, in my opinion.
Yet there is NOWHERE in either Universal/IOA that gives me that feeling inside I get when I walk into Main St. and see the castle. Only in Disney can I get that feeling seeing the castle with the ice lights whilst watching Wishes, still my favourite/most important 'must do' of a trip to Orlando.
If Universal can pull this off, after seeing what they have done with Harry Potter, it will surely cause heads to turn at Disney. They can't ignore it, no way.
I don't think it's fair to say Universal has dated rides/attractions either when there have been lots of threads on this site that have hoped Disney would update some areas or get rid of certain rides/attractions due to them being outdated, or atleast update them (Great Movie Ride for example).

 

[jsgrand0]

OK, my bad ... I haven't seen anything other than spectulation regarding the new Harry Potter area. Did Universal announce that? I'd only heard the Transformers announcement. I'd love a link to the official Universal announcement or press release on the Amity change-over. Thanks.

As for the other stuff ... I was in Seuss Landing in October and it was faded and filthy. If it's been painted since then, great. Want to compare Popeye to Kali? OK ... still no contest. Kali wins.

The "Universal vs. Disney" argument happens all the time and no one's mind is ever changed. But if we're going to talk about "the new stuff set to open" ... the last thing they opened that was new was Minion Mayhem last July. The next thing on the list is Transformers this summer. One ride in one park. My point being that when Universal opens one new ride in one park, that's seen as huge. When Disney opens a park expansion that includes rides, shows, restaurants and new character areas, that's seen as "so what, where's my coaster?"

I LOVE the popeye ride! Been YEARS since i've been there, but the Popeye ride was one of my friends' and I FAVORITE...much better than Kali...

 

[KrazeeK120]

If there were some kind of LOTR land at Universal, I would make my first visit to the "dark side," no doubt. LOTR is the original fantasy story, IMO, and those movies are among my all-time favorites (as are the books).

I've not involved myself with anything Harry Potter related, so the fact that they added a Harry Potter land was just more reason for me to stay away.

I think there may be a lot of putting the cart before the horse here though as Universal hasn't officially bought anything just yet...

 

[ChancesAre]

The first year we visited US/IOA was in 2002. We were wandering the streets area at US and the ghostbuster car and ghostbusters drove up and commenced to rid a building of ghosts. Our then-8-yr-old son was chosen to hold the bucket out on the street to catch the "slime" that was thrown out the second-story building. What can I say...we were hooked!

Combine that with characters roaming the parks (got great pics of Shaggy that year with my boys), a more leisurely pace because there's no running from one end of the park to the other for Fastpasses, and posh hotels that are only a few minutes' walk to everything, we said back in 2002 this was the best.

Every trip, we end our stay with three days at US/IOA and every trip we think US/IOA does it better than WDW. Every trip, without fail, US/IOA sprinkles tons of pixie dust on us, even though there's no Tinker Bell.

So our plan for our next trip is to stay at US/IOA for the entire week, and use two of those days to drive to MK and HS, the only two parks we really care about at this point.

Everyone should try at least once staying on property at US with the front-of-the-line access, the short walk or boat ride to the parks and Citywalk, and the stunning theming and scenery before saying it's not for you. Then if it's not your cup of tea, sobeit. I'm sure it's not for everyone. But we love it!

 

[glassslippergirl]

Before Harry Potter, US/IOA occasionally offered free passes to FL teachers. That was the last time my husband and I were there. We had fun-- don't get me wrong-- but we always found the experience better at WDW. Better attention to detail, better attention to service, better everything. So we were willing to shell out considerably more $ for Disney APs for several years.

Right now, we are excitedly anticipating our son's (now 6 mos old) first trip to Disney World (probably around his first birthday). It is a rite of passage that has no equal at Universal. I think that no matter what happens, the "first trip" rite of passage will always be a major point in Disney's favor.

That said, I can also see a time 10 or so years from now when Disney- as it stands now-- will hold little appeal for our son. Harry Potter, Transformers, and Middle Earth will beckon him, and we will trade our Disney APs for Universal ones.

Disney needs to take a cue from Universal-- though it pains me to say it-- and give the people what they want-- not just would-be princesses. If they do what they should with newly acquired Lucas rights-- a Star Wars land with AWESOME, state-of-the-art attractions like the Harry Potter ride-- then, it will be game over, Disney for the win. Also, I don't think it has been mentioned on this thread yet that Disney now owns the rights to Marvel. IoA's Superhero Island cannot be updated and will eventually have to be rethemed, opening another super cool set of opportunities for Disney. But, come on Disney, really grab on to these opportunities. Make my little boy a fan for life. Vv

 

[notnothin]

Also, I don't think it has been mentioned on this thread yet that Disney now owns the rights to Marvel. IoA's Superhero Island cannot be updated and will eventually have to be rethemed, opening another super cool set of opportunities for Disney.

Unless something has changed, I don't believe Disney has the rights to use any Marvel characters within their FL parks.

 

[mbrou24]

Before Harry Potter, US/IOA occasionally offered free passes to FL teachers. That was the last time my husband and I were there. We had fun-- don't get me wrong-- but we always found the experience better at WDW. Better attention to detail, better attention to service, better everything. So we were willing to shell out considerably more $ for Disney APs for several years.

Right now, we are excitedly anticipating our son's (now 6 mos old) first trip to Disney World (probably around his first birthday). It is a rite of passage that has no equal at Universal. I think that no matter what happens, the "first trip" rite of passage will always be a major point in Disney's favor.

That said, I can also see a time 10 or so years from now when Disney- as it stands now-- will hold little appeal for our son. Harry Potter, Transformers, and Middle Earth will beckon him, and we will trade our Disney APs for Universal ones.

Disney needs to take a cue from Universal-- though it pains me to say it-- and give the people what they want-- not just would-be princesses. If they do what they should with newly acquired Lucas rights-- a Star Wars land with AWESOME, state-of-the-art attractions like the Harry Potter ride-- then, it will be game over, Disney for the win. Also, I don't think it has been mentioned on this thread yet that Disney now owns the rights to Marvel. IoA's Superhero Island cannot be updated and will eventually have to be rethemed, opening another super cool set of opportunities for Disney. But, come on Disney, really grab on to these opportunities. Make my little boy a fan for life. Vv

Marvel land can be updated, Disney owns marvel but universal has the agreement for in park theming. Marvel land can be updated so long as it is was with the Spider-Man ride just recently.

 

[Indy Denise]

This is how my family views visiting Universal and Disney..

We can go to Universal Orlando, stay onsite for a week, and be perfectly happy not putting one foot on Disney property.

However, when going to Disney (and staying onsite there ) we have to make time to visit Universal Orlando. The Harry Potter area is the most glorious place for my family of Potter fans (with the best ride I have ever ever ever been on, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey!)

 

[Robbi]

Code words for "smoke and mirrors"

Universal and Dinsey offer two different things. They share a city and "compete" for vacation dollars, but make no mistake about it, they do not offer the same thing.

It's like going to Las Vegas. Yeah, the golf courses and the gentlemen's clubs are both competing for what the black jack table doesn't take from you, but they don't offer the same thing. If they do, I must be playing golf at the wrong places.

Seriously though, Universal is more thrill ride/attraction driven while Disney is more story and experience driven. In time, Disney will offer something more to compete for the thrill ride dollars, but their focus is on telling a story with each ride, not just replicating a movie into something that turns out G forces.

OK, my bad ... I haven't seen anything other than spectulation regarding the new Harry Potter area. Did Universal announce that? I'd only heard the Transformers announcement. I'd love a link to the official Universal announcement or press release on the Amity change-over. Thanks.

As for the other stuff ... I was in Seuss Landing in October and it was faded and filthy. If it's been painted since then, great. Want to compare Popeye to Kali? OK ... still no contest. Kali wins.

The "Universal vs. Disney" argument happens all the time and no one's mind is ever changed. But if we're going to talk about "the new stuff set to open" ... the last thing they opened that was new was Minion Mayhem last July. The next thing on the list is Transformers this summer. One ride in one park. My point being that when Universal opens one new ride in one park, that's seen as huge. When Disney opens a park expansion that includes rides, shows, restaurants and new character areas, that's seen as "so what, where's my coaster?"

The new Harry Potter section is being built in the Universal Studios park where the Jaws ride was. The ride, Hogwarts Express, will begin in Islands of Adventure Wizarding World of Harry Potter and take guests into the new section in US. If the WWoHP is any indication, this will far surpass anything we've seen theme park wise to date.

 

[bcrook]

The new Harry Potter section is being built in the Universal Studios park where the Jaws ride was. The ride, Hogwarts Express, will begin in Islands of Adventure Wizarding World of Harry Potter and take guests into the new section in US. If the WWoHP is any indication, this will far surpass anything we've seen theme park wise to date.

And a little mermaid ride - under the sea - with no water in the ride isn't a very good substitute.

 

[Peter Fan]

We love both, WDW and Universal! Each is unique in it's own way.

 

[ToddyLu]

Jack Sparrow and Legolas in one day...good Lord, heaven!

Never been to Uni--but Legolas might get me there....Damn...

and don't even get me thinking about a Halloween Party in Middle Earth.

Star Wars could save it though....IMO... PoC, LotR, HP have nothing compared to the limitless world that could be Star Wars.